I’ve been referring to Vancouver as Canada ‘Couve to distinguish it from Vancouver, Washington. They call it “The ‘Couve,” to give it more of a “cool neighborhood” image in attracting people from Portland. (See Post #979). The locals here in Canada call their town of over 650,000 people, “Van City,” not to be confused with a Credit Union here of the same name. It’s in fact the fifth-most densely populated city with over 250,000 residents in North America behind New York City, Guadalajara, and San Francisco with a Metro of over 2.5 million residents.  The city takes its name from Captain George Vancouver, who explored the inner harbor of Burrard Inlet in 1792 and gave various places British names. It’s original settlement was called “Gastown” that we explored yesterday. It is distinguished by brick streets, gas lights, and the famous steam clock that whistles a version of Westminster Chime every 15 minutes. It’s adjacent to where the cruise ships come in. Port Metro Vancouver is the third-largest port by tonnage in the Americas (recently displacing New York City), 27th in the world. “Van City” is all about water. 

We entered Van City by ferry, have crossed its many bridges, and will dine tonight on the waterfront at a table for 200. Outstanding In The Field will actually take place on the shoreline rather than at a farm. I’m guessing that seafood will dominate the menu as famous Vancouverite Chef David Hawksworth will oversee the preparation. We’ll dine on the very inlet where Captain Vancouver first set eyes on the area 227 years ago. Hopefully, the rain will hold off. About 46 inches of precipitation falls annually here compared with about 43 inches in supposedly rainy Portland. As has been the case every day, there was some moisture in the air on our morning walk/run as we navigated the trail along the waterfront. A rock statue of Inukshuk, signifying safety, hope, and friendship is the centerpiece of the park. We all became familiar with the symbol during the 2010 Winter Olympics here in Van City.