I’ve just looked at the Skytrain section of the [http://www.translink.bc.ca/]Translink website, and it doesn’t appear that the Skytrain goes to Coquitlam. It only goes to Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, and Surrey. So I think Ginger is out of luck there. Sorry about that.
I don’t really care where we go, either, as long as it is easily accessible by bus or something. (I don’t drive, you see)
F_X
We won’t be driving either, Flam…when I go up there I park at Bob’s and we take the Sky Train and/or bus it. He feels this is the best way to get around the city, and although I would be afraid to try that on my own (I’d probably end up in Saskatchewan), Bob knows his way around the public transportation system VERY well. Last time we were there, I think we took a water ferry to Granville Island, which was fun. That WAS Granville Island we went to , wasn’t it, Bob? It was a fun place to hang out.
But I really don’t care where we go, Granville Island was just mentioned early on and seemed like a good choice. If you have alternative suggestions and know how we can all get there and there are things to do for the afternoon and a place nearby for a good dinner, lets hear them!
Larry, what kinds of things are there to do in the West End? And is that close to Stanley Park?
WHATEVER we decide, we need to decide soon.
Well, depending where in Coquitlam Ginger is staying, there are buses that go to Skytrain.
#158 goes from Coquitlam Station to Braid on thenew section of Skytrain, and #155 goes from Coq. Rec Centre to 22nd Street Station. Both take about half an hour, IIRC. Or #151 goes to downtown without using the train.
Altogether, figure an hour or more to downtown, and a bit longer to Gr. Island.
Well, now I’ve got a working mouse, my email works once again. 
I am horrible at directions, so I have no idea if the West End is close to Stanley Park. In fact, I can’t name you one single thing that would be close to the park. Yes, I’m that bad, despite having lived in close proximity to Vancouver all of my life.
So rjk, if I’ve got a question about how to get around, can I just email you? 
Just kidding… calling the transit line would probably be faster. Of course, I have a feeling they don’t really want to answer my stupid questions like “So if it’s west on Georgia, does that mean I turn left or right at the bus stop when I get off?” (told you my directional sense was bad)
Looking forward to doing whatever it is we end up doing… but can we at least get a consensus on SoMETHING here? (sorry, that’s my “plan-everything-NOW!” side coming out)
F_X
Scotti, I love the term “Water Ferry.” It sounds like an obliging Naiad.
As it happens, the self-same ferry connects Granville Island with the West End & Stanley Park. About 15 - 20 minutes, if I recall correctly.
I honestly don’t know Granville Island well, as I said. The main attraction is shopping- It’s primarily a public market, after all.
The main reason I keep bringing up the West End is that it has that, plus all the good coffee shops, fine tobacconists (if you’re into that sort of thing,) and spectacular scenery. It’s bigger, and a short walk along the sea-wall to Stanley Park, or most of the downtown attractions, and Coal Harbour, where all the posh yachts & what-not are moored. You can’t walk a block in any direction without finding something interesting to do.
Never having attended a DopeFest, I don’t know exactly what we’re looking for-- a meal and a drink? A walking-tour? Hand-to-hand combat with plush toys? It’s all so new, and I haven’t a clue.
Whoopsie-- The Simpsons is on. All activity ceases.
Back in a bit, heh-heh.
Okay, Larry…which would make more sense? Meet on Granville Island around …say 2PM? do a little shopping and browsing and THEN take the ferry to the West End and Stanley Park…then dinner? Or vice-versa?
Or should we just skip GI and meet somewhere in the West End and make that our whole day? If we are going to head for the WE only, we need you to find an easy place to meet…I don’t know the WE at ALL.
Does 2PM work for everyone?
2 PM works for me, but all I have to know is where we plan to meet. To me, it doesn’t matter what we do (as I’ve stated before), but since my sense of direction is so horrible, I’d have to say that I don’t know the West End as well as I perhaps should. However, Larry is right about the West End being interesting. Just give me a place to be at by 2 or so, and I will do my best to be there reasonably on time. (depending on transit, I’m guessing)
Oh, and if by chance we’re going to be walking everywhere, I’d have to say that I will slow everyone down. (just because I have a mild form of CP that makes me limp, and go slower than most people… also, my tolerance for walks of a fair distance is low) Sorry about that. But don’t let that stop the planning… I’m just telling you now, so that you know. (I believe in being upfront about this) Just so you don’t wonder why we haven’t covered a lot of distance that you thought we’d be covering. I can keep up with the lot of you; just give me time, that’s all.
Larry, so what’s happening on The Simpsons tonight? I haven’t really watched it in some time, but it IS a good show. Just so you don’t feel out of the loop or anything, I have never attended a Dopefest myself, so I have no idea what to expect, either. Oh, and if we are taking the ferry anywhere, how much does it cost? (inquiring minds with a bent towards budgeting and saving money [for once] want to know! :D)
F_X
HOORAY!!!
At least we have a TIME settled on, now as soon as we hear from Larry about the logistics of GI and the WE, we can settle on a PLACE. Okay?
And Flam, don’t worry, once we get our mitts on you we are NOT, repeat NOT going to let you get away. [sub]at least for the day and evening, anyway…[/sub] evil laugh
You’re asking me?
[Tweak]
“Aagh! Too much pressure!”
[/Tweak]
I think it would be fun to meet at Granville Island and take the ferry across to the West End. The ferry is colourful, economical, and the sort of thing us residents never seem to take any notice of unless folks from out-of-town drop by.
I propose that a sensible place to meet for a light lunch might be the Granville Island Coffee House, which is located on the boardwalk at number sixteen, 1551 Johnston Street. The principle attraction is that they offer free internet use for us Dope addicts. 
They have indoor & outdoor seating, although they’re right smack underneath the Granville Street bridge, so don’t count on getting a tan. Once we’ve gathered ourselves to ourselves, we could check out some of Granville Island’s other attractions, (including F_X’s, fiddlin’ bro?) and then catch the ferry to the West End.
The ferry runs every few minutes, and fare is cheap – $2.[sup]oo[/sup] CDN. (I imagine they might let you on in exchange for the mere smell of American currency. )
We’ll disembark near Beach Avenue in the west end, which pretty much puts us on the Sea Wall. Weather permitting, it’s pretty spectacular. Sometimes I like to just chill there with a book, occassionally looking up at folks sailing, gulls doing that stuff that gulls do, all that. (I’m a shameless people-watcher, which admittedly may not be everyone’s cup o’ chai.) It’s also spitting-distance to Robson St, where all the posh shops are, and peeing-distance to downtown-proper, the pubs & clubs, theatres, and all that.
Walking can easily be kept to a mininum, so no worries, F_X. Out-of-towners may want to stop at a 7-11 store to pick up a Day Pass for the buses. ($7.[sup]oo[/sup] gives you unlimited travel, across all zones (eg Vancouver, Coquitlam, Richmond, even the ass-end of the universe known as Maple Ridge. Oh yeah, you can get good and lost with a day-pass, and cheap.) On second thought, the single fares have gone up since the last time I priced a day pass, from $1.[sup]75[/sup] to $2.[sup]oo[/sup], so I imagine that day-passes are slightly more expensive now, although they’re still a good idea if you’re planning on trucking around all day. They’re good for the buses, SkyTrain, and SeaBus, but not for the Granville Island Ferry. Different company.
[/end of geeky transit dissertation.] God, I sound like someone who’s out on a day-pass, don’t I?
Scotticher, you and Bob have a few options for how to get to Granville Island, depending on where you’re coming from, both literally and metaphorically. You could take a #50 “FALSE CREEK SOUTH” bus from Waterfront Station, which is the eastern-most SkyTrain station. That would make sense if it was convenient for you to be at Waterfront Station around one o’clock or a quarter-past. If you’re coming from a more south-easterly direction, or just want to start your tourist-mode a bit earlier, you may abe able to grab a GI ferry from Science World, which is near the Main St. SkyTrain Station. It’s five bills from there to GI, but I have no idea how long it takes.
Transit info links:
Buses / Skytrain
Granville Island Ferries
Uh, I should go to bed or something now, I’m cross-eyed.
F_X, The Simpsons was a stinky old repeat, the one where Lisa is determined to excel at tap-dancing. I’m used to downloading all my fav TV shows (count 'em, 3,) fresh off of USENET, but I’m visiting my mum (hey, in Richmond!) and she has cable TV, so I figgered I catch it “live.” She’s so twentieth-century.
I had a reply all typed up and ready to send, but I was a bit engrossed in talking to a friend, so when I was redy to send it, the hamsters had gone down for their naptime. Here is the best recreation of the original reply that I can manage:
Scotticher, I’m not that worried. Or should I take along my Magic Invisibility Potion[sup]TM[/sup]?
Larry, even I can cough up a loonie for the ferry, should we choose to take it. I’m not THAT cheap!
I talked to my brother over the weekend, and he said it’s been some time since they busked, but maybe not this weekend. There are lots of things to see and do on Granville Island anyways, so it’s not like we need to see them busk in order to make our day complete or anything like that.
Hey, sometimes I like to people-watch as well. I mean, as long as people don’t think you’re being a total creep, what’s wrong with just occasionally glancing up and seeing the rich panoply of human society play itself out in front of your eyes? (no, I have no idea where I got that from)
No worries about walking distances here, Larry. It’s just that my endurace probably isn’t the same as everyone else’s. Besides, it’s not like we’re planning to run the entire distance of the seawall, hike Lynn Canyon, and do the Grouse Grind while we’re at it, right?
As for American currency versus Canadian currency, I was taking the bus a couple of weeks ago, and had an incredibly chatty, helpful driver. At every stop, he would announce, “Okay, the fare for a one-zone ticket is $3 Canadian and 80 cents American. It’s like our money is as bad as the peso.”
Then again, I remember a time when a friend and I were at London Drugs about six weeks ago. There was this lady in front of us who made a $36.81 CDN purchase, which she then proceeded to pay for with a $50 USD bill. She got back $41.19 CDN in change. That was certainly something else.
Larry, you don’t sound like you’re out on a day-pass. Your extensive knowledge is the perfect opposite to my extreme lack of knowledge.
F_X
Okay…it is a consensus. We will meet at the Granville Island Coffee House at 2PM Saturday. Before that time we will find out who besides the five of us are coming and make arrangements to find them if they need to come later.
After we “do” Granville Island, or at least a portion of it, we will take the ferry to the West End, heading toward dinner somewhere there before or after more browsing.
Sound good?
Hi there.
Somehow, I keep on missing these threads until it’s too late. But not this time…
The forecast is improving for the weekend, so that’s nice. And I now live in the West End-- which is right next to Stanley Park. In fact, you could quick march it due north of Granville Island to Stanley Park in 15 minutes. A leisurely walk from the debarkation point marked on the False Creek Ferry map can take 30 minutes or more.
You should also know that there are two competing companies that hustle around the creek, with different drop off points.
It’s very possible to hop on an Aquabus (which is the official name for the water ferries) to go from Granville Island to the Seawall edge of the West End. Those who prefer to see Vancouver from the water can commission the bathtub boat for a half hour tour-- it’ll cost about $8 each.
Dinner in the West End (along Denman street) offers many possibilities, with varying budgets and tastes.
You should also know that Granville Island will be incredibly packed with people. I cannot stress this enough. If you’re looking for a mob, it’s there.
I just remembered-- this weekend is the Folk Music Festival. That takes place at Jericho Beach Park, in Vancouver. It’s at the western edge of Kitsilano/eastern edge of Point Grey. Think 4th Ave and Alma.
That’s always got lots of stuff going on too.
So, are ya in, Barbarian, or are ya just being helpful?
Just wanna second your observations about dining in the West End: You can eat well enough for next-to-nothing, or you can be knocked off your feet. The RainCity Grill, at Denman near Beach, is one of the best restaurants in Vancouver, and it would be negligent not to give people the heads-up on it. I, uh, haven’t budgeted for it this month, but I wouldn’t want to let my limitations keep anyone from having one of the best meals on offer. They’re also one of the few places in town that serves an astonishing variety of fine wines by the glass. (About the only way us po’ folk are likely to taste some of them them, heh heh.) I had the privilege of enjoying a bottle of the legendary '95 Inniskillen merlot there last Christmas, a stunning compliment to their wild mushroom risotto, which is something like sex, only not as messy.
Dear god, that was a good night.
All right, that sounds good enough for me! Just think: choir practice, then lunch, then Granville Island Coffee House to meet you all! (I really should note the address down, otherwise I’d get even more lost than normal) If I’m late, please wait for me… I have a tendency to get lost easily. :o
And if we do have wine at the Raincity Grill, Larry, you do not want to see me smashed on wine, believe me! (last weekend was enough)
F_X
Sounds like things are coming together.
Don’t kid yourself, F_X, everyone wants to see you smashed on wine, since you started that thread.
And have been trying to post for the last half-hour, much to the distress of the lone hamster, who’s no-doubt got enough on its mind dealing with everyone back east hitting the boards after work…
I didn’t want to let this stand:
I assure you, I’m just as much of a dumbass as the next guy, and I’m pretty sure that if someone with an extreme lack of knowledge was allowed to rack up a post-count like yours, the SDMB wouldn’t be universally acknowleged as the favoured gathering place of the digerati. Or something.
Well it’s about TIME you showed up, sweetie! I’ve been calling, and calling…
Okay, now are you saying incredibly packed like in FUN incredibly packed, or like in “This is giving me a headache” incredibly packed?
You know, I would be eternally grateful if someone who actually knows SOMETHING about Vancouver would just take the planning of this little 'Fest out of my incompetent hands and just tell us where to show up at 2PM on Saturday? (I’m talking to YOU, Barbarian and Larry Mudd! (I’d ask rjk, but I assume that if he had an opinion he would have already stated it.) I don’t care what we do, and neither does Rob, we just want to get together with you all and visit and do some fun stuff and have a nice (not extremely expensive) dinner.
Would it be better to just meet somewhere and take that $8 ferry tour of Vancouver and then head for the West End for browsing and dinner and a stroll through Stanley Park? How far is the Folk Music Festival from the West End? Inquiring Minds want to KNOW!
And if you think I sound a tad bit “testy” here, please don’t think it. I am just frustrated at trying to make decisions when I don’t know enough about Vancouver to figure out the best way to go about this. PLEASE HELP!
[elvisvoice]Thank you. Thank you verra’ much.[/elvisvoice]
Oh, and Flam dear, I wasn’t ignoring you there, but I (perhaps mistakenly) got the impression that you are like me and just want somebody to tell me where to show up and at what time. And if you are late, we will wait for you. You will have my cell phone number to call if for some reason you can’t make it, otherwise we will wait for you until you get there. I spend a great deal of time getting lost myself, so I understand these things.
Larry, if everyone wants to see me get smashed on wine, why didn’t you say so sooner? I can just imagine… “The chief entertainment of the night will be getting Flamsterette_X good and drunk, so we can see what she’s really like when she gets drunk.” Thanks, but no thanks. 
I don’t think all my posts have furthered the quest against fighting ignorance, though. Some of them have been downright silly and/or ill-advised.
Scotticher, there is a part of me that just wants to know when and where to show up. Of course, since I haven’t been to Granville Island in years (let alone by myself), I will most probably get lost. Then there’s the other part of me that fears I will get so hopelessly lost that I will strain the limit of everyone’s patience and thus miss this outing because I was way too late. Thanks, though.
F_X
Oh, and by the way… any idea how I’d know who to look for? I know that it’s going to be a small group (Scotticher, Silent_Rob, Larry Mudd, rjk, and myself), but Granville Island is a tourist attraction, and draws a LOT of people out there in the summer.
I’ve seen a picture of Scotticher, but as we all know, pictures sometimes do not do a person justice. Guess I’ll have to see when I eventually get there. (maybe the fact that rjk has a healing broken shoulder will help me… no offense, Bob)
Oh, and if I happen to get smashed, jackelope wants someone to take pictures. I don’t think that would be a good idea, personally. (and no, I have NO idea why he thinks it would be a good idea to see pictures of me drunk)
F_X