Before the start of our Alaskan cruise, we spent two days in Vancouver, BC, exploring. One of the things on our to-do list was a whale watch. We went back and forth on whether to do one in Vancouver or wait until we were in one of the Alaskan ports. We ultimately decided on Vancouver.
I booked the trip through Viator.com. Viator is a marketplace for tours. We used them for a couple of other tours with great success. The cost of the tour was roughly $100.00 per person. It included pick up and drop off at our hotel, bottled water, and snacks. The whale watch itself was to last anywhere between 3-5 hours, depending on the whales.
The tour left from Steveston, a little fishing village, 40 minutes away in the city of Richmond.
In addition to being a little fishing village, Steveston has been the site for various television shows and movies, such as The X-files, Godzilla, and Power Rangers. You may also know it by its other name, Storybrooke. Yes, this was the onsite location for Disney’s hit show Once Upon a Time.
We arrived in this quaint village, checked into our tour and was given some whale watching gear to put on. I must admit, I felt like Gorton the Fisherman!
The boat was a high-speed zodiac vessel. Let me tell you, this boat could move! After we went over a safety drill, we were off. As we were leaving the harbor, we saw this beauty.
The boat took us through the Strait of Georgia all the way down to the San Juan island, which are part of the State of Washington back in the United States. We spent a fair amount of time sailing the strait. Here we saw seals, beautiful scenery and a humpback whale.
After seeing the humpbacks, our guide received a call that there was a pod of Orcas further south. He sped the boat along and we were cruising at a pretty good clip. Soon we were back in the good old USA, off the coast of Bellingham, WA. Here we saw, what we all had been waiting for, Orcas.
Unfortunately, the whales did not breach, so this is all we saw. The photos do not do these creatures justice. I was mesmerized watching them swim across the water.
Our ride back to the port was just as pretty. We continued to see the stunning coastline and islands that make up this beautiful area of the world.
When all was said and done, the tour was about 5 hours. It was a great place to do a whale watch and I would recommend it. I wished we had spent a little more time in town, but we had dinner reservations and tickets to a show over at Canada Place. Next time we will know better.
Prior to our Alaskan cruise, we spent a couple of days in Vancouver, BC. Vancouver is a beautiful city, rich in culture with plenty to do. The morning of our cruise we ventured out to Grouse Mountain and had breakfast with the bears.
Grouse Mountain is located 15 mins from downtown Vancouver. It overlooks this beautiful city. In the summertime, there are numerous activities for people of all ages to do. The mountain offers zip lining, hiking, heli-tours, tandem paragliding, mountain biking and more. For the less adventurous, there are ranger talks, a sky ride to the top, world famous lumberjack show, birds in motion show, an owl show, guided hikes, fine dining, and the ever favorite Breakfast with the Bears.
Honestly, when I booked the breakfast, I did not take the time to research what else there was to do on the mountain I wish I had. There is so much to do, and I wish we had saved it for after our cruise. The day we went, we only had enough time for breakfast.
We started the morning by taking the Skyride 2800 feet up toward the top of the mountain. The mountain is just over 4,000 feet, so about three-quarters of the way up, is where the bear habitat and other activities can be found.
When we arrived, we followed the bear paws toward the bear habitat.
Along the way, we saw these wood sculptures. There are 31 of these sculptures in all. Each was carved from dead standing trees found in British Columbia. The 31 carvings are called the Tribute to the Forest. They are quite stunning.
As we headed toward the bear habitat, we met up with our ranger. He took us over and introduced us to Grinder and Coola.
Both bears are orphans. Grinder was found roaming the roads back in 2001. His mother was nowhere to be seen and he was clearly malnourished. Coola was only one of three cubs that survived after his mother was hit and killed by a truck. The bears were brought to Grouse Mountain, where they are safe and secure.
After learning the history of the bears, how they spend their days and had the opportunity to ask questions, it was off to the Grizzly Lookout Cafe for a “beary” good breakfast.
Photo Courtesy of Grouse Mountain 
Photo Courtesy of Grouse Mountain 
Photo Courtesy of Grouse Mountain
Nicholas eating his breakfast with his bear ears.
The cafe overlooked the bear habitat. The menu had both cold and hot options. There was Candied and Smoked Salmon, Red Onions, Capers, Crème fraîche Brown, White, Multigrain and Gluten Free Breads, Assorted Muffins & Pastries – including Bear Claws Assorted Cereals and Granola“Beary” Yogurt, Milk and Honey Forest Apple Crumble, Fresh Cut Fruit Salad and Coastal “Bearies”. As for hot food, the menu included Coola Pancakes, Honey Butter, Grouse Mountain Syrup ,Grinder ,“Bearioche” French Toast, West Coast “Bluebeary” Preserve, Scrambled Eggs, Braised Beef and Root Vegetable Hash, Bratwurst and Smoked Bacon Hash Browns. There was plenty of coffee, tea, milk, and juice. The food was delicious and the visit with the bears was even better. If you are ever in the Vancouver area, I highly recommend it. I know when we go back, we plan on taking advantage of everything the mountain has to offer.
