Vancouver September 4,5, 2001
Vancouver
Canada
Captain George Vancouver first explored Burrard Inlet in 1792, and for his effort, he would later have Canada's third largest city named for him. But for almost 100 years, the only civilization in this area was a ramshackle saloon run by one Gassy Jack Deighton, who was to give his nickname to a small logging outpost called Gastown. It was a dot on the map until 1887, when the Canadian Pacific Railroad completed the first railroad across Canada. And Gastown, now more decorously renamed Vancouver, became the railroad's western terminus. With its location o n the eastern edge of the Pacific. Rim, Vancouver has drawn a tremendous amount of business investment from Asia. Today's Vancouver is a multi-ethnic rainbow of cultures, with the second largest Chinatown in North America and an equally thriving Japantown. Of course, the fact that the U.S. dollar is worth almost 50% more than the Canadian 'Loonie' has a lot of attraction for American visitors, who throng to Robson Square's tres chic shops. Other prime attractions in the Vancouver area include the serenely beautiful enclave of Stanley Park, an oasis of green right on the water in downtown Vancouver, complete with totem poles, an aquarium and a beaver pond. And there's the spectacular gondola ride up to the 4,000-foot summit of Grouse Mountain, where a panoramic view of the city greets you. Down below you can see Canada Place, the sail-shaped cruise ship terminal where the Navigator docks, lying at the edge of the inner harbor. And for a thrill even more elevating, walk across the swaying Capilano Suspension Bridge, the highest and longest footbridge in the world.
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