Broughtons Summer Cruise - Day 29 Vancouver, BC

This morning we had a lazy morning and then took Synnova over to the fuel dock to get our 100 gallons of fuel. While we were there we were talking to the employee about the yacht that was there yesterday that kept us from getting fuel. He said it took 2-1/2 hours to fill the fuel tank and the guy bought 20,000 liters of fuel!  That is approximately 5,3200 gallons at $25,000!  We will take our fuel bill any day!

When we got back to the marina we stayed on the boat long enough to watch After Eight depart for Victoria. They had a lot of new guests onboard and were headed for Victoria's annual Splash event. We went a couple of years ago and the symphony performs on a barge out in the harbor then fireworks finish off the evening. It was a lot of fun but the marina was packed full of boats, dinghies, kayaks, etc.

We got our bikes out and rode over to Granville Public Market. We wanted to get cinnamon rolls to have for our early departure tomorrow morning. The market is much like Pike Place Market. There were lots of artisans displaying their wares as well as wonderful fruit, vegetables, delis and any kind of food you can think of. It is a fun place to go. Sue did some bicycling, too, but she went the other direction around False Creek.

Part way around the creek we noticed a sign showing the bike trails. We bicycled around the False Creek inlet in the middle but as you can see there are many places designated for bicycles. 

One really cool thing we discovered is the free bike valet service! We just checked our bikes when we arrived and picked them up when we were done shopping. The volunteers who checked our bikes said that the local merchants help underwrite it and then it depends on donations to supplement it. They said it has been a huge hit for tourists but also for locals who check their bicycles while they are at work.

Tonight we had our farewell dinner at a restaurant as Bob and I prepare to head back home. Jack and Moon's family joined us and it was fun to hear about Kate and Thomas's adventures at the aquarium today,

We had planned to go see the fireworks tonight like we did last year but we need to leave about 5:00am in the morning to get across the Georgia Strait. It is our last leg of open water and the forecast is not real good. We will be fine but it could be rough. Fortunately, we have several different routes we can take to  avoid the roughest water and the angle that we will be to the wind. We will decide in the morning which route to take depending on what we find.

Farewell cruising friends! We wish you all safe travels on the remainder of your vacation. We had a wonderful time with you all and look forward to next summer's cruising together.