It's Not Supposed to Rain in the Summer!

We started our first full day in Vancouver with a walk through Gastown to see the (world famous?) steam clock, do some window shopping, and visit the statue of Gassy Jack.

We also wandered through the Binners Market where people hawked random goods found by bindippers such as old VHS tapes and shoes without matching pairs.  We then walked by Rogers Arena and BC Place, the homes of the Vancouver Canucks, BC Lions, Vancouver Whitecaps, and the locale for a number of events in the 2010 Winter Olympics. 

Moving from the land to the water, we rode the bathtub sized Aquabus to Granville Island. 

On Granville Island, we met up with our friends Hutan and Erika.  Ironically, it was easier to travel 1,500 miles away to see friends who live just 150 miles away.  We strolled around the island, enjoying shops, donuts, and - specifically for Ava - the Kids' Market. 

For lunch we enjoyed a meal at the Granville Island Brewery.  Ava and Erika, however, had to abstain from tasting the beers. 

Leaving the island, we rode the bus (good thing we had change as the bus does not accept bills) to Queen Elizabeth Park.  

Queen Elizabeth Park (named after the Queen Mother - Queen Elizabeth II's mom) offers hilly and sunken gardens, and views overlooking the city.

As our sunny day turned overcast and gloomy, our views of the city were shrouded but we still saw cool plants and sculptures. 

The next thing we knew, however, we were caught in a torrential rain and we all got drenched. 

Escaping to the friendly confines of the 63 year old Nat Bailey Stadium, we ran into Bob Brown Bear, the mascot for the Vancouver Canadians.  Abby and Ava bought new shirts and tried to dry off as the sun came back out.

As it was family Sunday, Ava enjoyed her first ever root beer float for just $1 and got to meet A&W Root Bear. 

After a lengthy rain delay, single-A baseball was played in the warm sun.  We cheered the Canadians on to a big win featuring a homer, a triple, a close play at the plate, and a couple errors.

We ended our day with a trip on the SkyTrain (which went underground for our trip) back to downtown.  After experiencing drastic weather changes all day we are hoping for some consistent sun (or at least no rain) tomorrow.