Traveling with Laura

Are you afraid of heights? Then you probably wouldn’t have enjoyed today’s outing to the Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain. Both included beautiful scenery, but also plenty of acrophobia-inducing moments.

But first, breakfast. In the form of rich, indulgent pulled chicken breakfast poutine at OEB Breakfast Co. by the water in Yaletown. The entire menu looked tempting, but I can’t get breakfast poutine at home so that made the decision easy. With herbed potato wedges, pulled smoked chicken, scrambled eggs, cheese curds, and a brown butter hollandaise, it certainly gave me plenty of fuel (and calories!) for the day.

I wimped out and took the subway over to Canada Place where I picked up the free shuttle to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. While the 450-foot long bridge over the Capilano River is the main attraction, there are several other things to do in the park. There is a nature walk through the rainforest, a treetop canopy walk, and a cliffside walk all included in the admission price.

My next stop was Grouse Mountain, a short 10 minute bus ride away. Once there, I took the gondola 2,800 feet to the (almost) top of the mountain. There is a lodge, a bear enclosure, a small lake, and a chairlift to the peak. It was today that I learned I am not a chairlift person. Swaying suspension bridge over a ravine? No problem. Swaying gondola up the mountain? Sure. Smooth chairlift ride? Recipe for a panic attack. It moved slow enough and wasn’t *that* far off the ground, but it was a mental disaster for me. Fortunately, there was a trail as well so I had a way to get back down without any more mental anguish. I rewarded my bravery with a “Beaver Tail” smothered in cheesecake, caramel, and Skor pieces and a strawberry lemonade.

I headed back to Vancouver mid-afternoon and rested for a little while before heading to Tap and Barrel on the False Creek seawall for an early dinner (hello, Happy Hour!). A Raspberry Crush drink and steak frites capped off the day.