The Air BnB turned out to be a quaint little 1 bedroom finished ground story basement/garage in a gentrified neighborhood and within comfortable walking distance to a grocery. The grounds were an immediate clue that Mr. Koi had found a kindred spirit, judging by the numerous flowering plants. The proprietor even sold lavender honey gathered from her hives on the property. Apparently, Vancouver is part of Canada’s “Banana Belt”, with much warmer than expected winters due to the influence of the maritime climate influenced by the Pacific Ocean currents.
The building was clearly old, complete with warnings not to strain the electrical system by using more than 2 appliances at once, but surrounded by renovated or newly built townhomes and single family houses. Coming from a relatively low cost of living area in the US, we were surprised that 1500 sq ft townhomes on 1/3 acre lots seemed to average between 2-3 million CAD, with newer or particularly nice places ranging up to 6 million CAD.
In spite of having an old shell, the Air BnB was tastefully decorated inside, in good repair, and provided several important amenities- a hot plate and microwave, a washer and dryer, and enough space that the night owl among us could sleep in a separate room!
There were some thoughtful additions like children’s books and games.
And my favorite, a small espresso machine, ground coffee, and electric tea kettle!
Because we were staying in Vancouver till the next leg of the trip, we had time to explore. We found two hidden gems for the right type of person (namely nature lovers and those who love learning).
The first was the Beaty Center for Biodiversity, located on the campus of the University of British Columbia. While primarily a research and academic reference collection, the museum has numerous specimens for view with interesting displays, some interactive exhibits, and a movie about the collection and preservation of their premiere exhibit.
The collection ranges from mosses and algae through trees and from copepods to African ungulates. There are even fossils. The majority of the collection cannot be viewed, but there were still enough displays that we spent almost three hours there (if you include a short visit to the adjacent and completely free geologic museum next door).
And there was at least one family member that didn’t make it through all the displays at the Biodiversity Center…It is truly a natural history lover’s playground. If you love natural history and find yourself in Vancouver, it’s definitely worth a visit!
The second find was the Vancouver Botanic Garden. We were fortunate to have lovely, sunny weather through our visit in Vancouver, setting the stage for a delightful visit. The climate allows for a wide variety of plants. While it was certainly Mr. Koi’s type of type of attraction, even Little Koi liked the Maze garden. It was one of the most tasteful uses of foliage as decoration that we have collectively seen.
As amazing as the plantings were, showcasing plant communities from around the world, the highlight of the visit was the type of serendipitous occurrence that isn’t in the tour guide. As we walked away from a sun-dappled copse of trees toward a lily pond, “hoo-whooo hoo-whooo” careened out of the canopy. A hushed conclave agreed that it was unlikely we would be able to spot the source in the wind-tousled leaves, but fortunately Mrs. Koi’s superior pattern recognition skills quickly led to spotting the origin. Our solitary trio watched in awe for several minutes, being careful not to disturb the owl. It seemed a precious interlude, observing a wild owl resting on a sweet gum branch in the middle of a large metropolitan park. As we watched, the moment became even more amazing as we started to discern quick blurs of grey-green movement in the leafy gloom around the owl. The blurs revolved into a hummingbird harassing the somnolent sage. We watched entranced for several minutes before another group wandered by and noticed our gaze. We left to avoid disturbing the owl further, as it seemed to be unfazed by its avian cousin.
We wrapped up the day and prepared for the next stage of adventure – a cruise.
Leave a Reply