Alone.

       I'll start with some pictures that go with my last post, since I was unable to put any up. The first is of Amanda and I having our first beer and meal in Vancouver.

The next is me on the Capilano Suspension Bridge.

Amanda is afraid of heights...

 

Amanda on one of the tree bridges:

 

Amanda on the Cliff Side walk:

More of Amanda on the Cliff Side walk:

The bridge from far away:

Amanda at Yaletown Brewing:

       Yesterday wasn't too eventful. We spent most of the day just walking around the city, checking out shops and such. In the morning, we decided to give China Town another try. It was not a good experience. The China town in Vancouver is very run down and full of unnerving people. It is not at all like any other China town I've been to. We walked a couple blocks in and then got the hell out. I really wanted to check out the Chinese Garden that's supposed to be somewhere in the area, but I wasn't going to brave that neighborhood any longer in order to see it. We ended up spending most of the day at the waterfront, where all the sea planes take off and land, looking at sea birds and people watching. We grabbed a couple beers at the Steamworks brewery before we made the trek back to our hotel. We had a late lunch/early dinner at a ramen place down the street and then spent the rest of the evening watching strange Canadian TV shows and getting everything together for the next day. I didn't sleep too well. The British girls next store were loud and drunk and I was worried about saying goodbye to Amanda.

      
       Today has been...okay. Amanda left this morning. I wont see her in person for 3 months. In fact, I wont see anyone I know for at least 3 months. It was hard saying goodbye. It was hard imagining my self being totally on my own from here on out. I still don't think I've totally come to terms with it. It still seems like a dream that in 2 days I will be boarding a plane, by myself, to Athens, Greece to spend 3 months living out of a backpack in several countries I've never been to. 
       In any case, I watched Amanda get on the bus and I went back inside the train station to sit down and think about things for a few minutes. I ended up with my sights set on the Bloedel Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth park. As it turns out, Vancouver has a really great transit system, so I hopped on a bus heading that way. This backpack I have is so damn heavy. I though 25 pounds wouldn't bother me too much, but I was wrong. I got off the bus a few blocks away from the conservatory and started walking. When I came into the park I arrived at a pond with the most wood ducks (or are were bufflle heads...Amanda would have known) I have ever seen in one place. All I ever see at home are mallards.
       The hill I had to walk up wasn't fun with my heavy backpack, but I made it to the top where the conservatory is.

The view from up there is awesome! You can see most of Vancouver and the surrounding mountains. Unfortunately, the photos I took with my little point-and-shoot camera don't do it justice. The inside of the conservatory is really cool. Its full of tropical plants and birds. I spent around hour just watching and listening to the birds and studying all of the many interesting plants. There were also benches to sit on with gave me time to write a bit in my journal in a nice environment.

       After that, I made my way back to the bus stop to catch a bus to my hostel. On the way I saw a black squirrel. I didn't know they came in that color...

       Anyways, I made it to my hostel, checked in, and ate a couple cheap slices of pizza from a dirty restaurant on the corner. I don't know what I'm going to do with my self for the rest of the evening, or tomorrow for that matter...

I'll post more tomorrow.