gbarron

The weather that time of year in both YVR & SEA are not the friendliest for pedestrian touring. That said, Vancouver is very much a walking/biking oriented city for the best sights. Transit in Vancouver is excellent as well. Since you have several days in Van a trip up the Sea to Sky highway is recommended, even if you only go as far as Squamish, the scenery is beautiful.

As already mentioned, a trip up the Gondola to Grouse Mountain for an afternoon on the outdoor rink and dinner looking over the city is a highlight. Stanley Park (Coal Harbour), Powell Street brewing district (East Village), Commercial Drive, Main Street, Granville Island and False Creek are all good places to hang out. Gastown is very touristy...packed with cheap souvenir shops and overpriced restaurants. For nightlife Granville & Davie Streets packs a lot of entertainment...both indoors and on the street.

A meet-up sounds great! I will put out the word to the local 928 group and see if we can arrange something while you are here in BC.

Spider4me

Airbnb has some great places to stay in Ballard area, with great food and beverages close by. Depending on location may be close to the beaches too. Also much less expensive than hotels up there

hacker-pschorr

That looks pretty damn awesome. I'm going to assume Saturday or Sunday would work best or do these work better on weekday nights for you guys? As long as it's not on the 25th we'll plan around what works best for all the locals.

That's a winner....maybe even take that helicopter tour too. Same as the Seattle crew, what day do you think would work best for the Vancouver meet up?

I've got those two spots on my radar too, was looking at the suspension bridge, that's defiantly on the list.

That looks like fun! We love doing stuff like that. In Vegas we like to wander out into nowhere exploring old ghost towns.

Seeing an SR-71 is on my bucket list so that's on the proposed agenda. If it's feasible to only spend an hour or two there, it's an option. If that's an all day kind of stop then it may have to wait for a return visit.
How does that compare to the Future of Flight Boeing museum?

No snow sports here. Always wanted to rent one of those rooms overlooking the slopes with a hot tub on the deck. Not sure this is that trip.

Beaches in January? I'm looking at Airbnb too.....need to pick a neighborhood to start narrowing it down.

Squamish looks pretty darn awesome, now I want to bring along my mountain bike....... I take it this would be best with a rental car so that could be our plan for the 23rd since I plan to rend a car for the trip to Seattle on the 25th. That was next on the list, where to do a day road trip.

Breweries & vintage clothing stores - which is the best neighborhood for those?

GT6ixer

I did the Boeing tour years ago. Haven't been in a while. It's mostly centered around the Boeing company. The Museum of Flight has way more variety and historically significant aircraft. Their Personal Courage wing for WWI and WWII aircraft is world class. Two hours is plenty of time to get most of it in. I don't think I have ever spent more than that over there. Plus if you guys like BBQ there is one of the best BBQ joints I've ever been to called Jack's nearby. I was in central Texas for work earlier this year and I ate some form of BBQ brisket every day and from a different joint each time. Jack's hands down has better brisket. Jack himself is from central Texas. Anyway can't miss BBQ if you into are that sort of fare.

I always wanted to check out the Shop . It's got my vote! I can make any day and time work.

docmirror

The future of flight allows you to see the production line of current planes being built. It has no historical significance at all. The museum of Flight is all about the history of aviation, with a focus on Boeing, but there are a lot of other brands there. The SR-71 in that museum is a rather strange bird. It is an M-21. The plane was modified to carry a drone aloft at supersonic speed, up to 70,000' and then deploy it as an unmanned recon vehicle. There were only 2 made, and one crashed. You can get up very close to it as well, so for me was a 'must see', but I'm a plane-nut of course.

http://www.museumofflight.org/Exhibits/cockpits

Yes, I had my picture taken sitting in there.

You can spend anywhere from 1 hour to all day in the museum. There is a guided tour, but I would bag that because they go too fast. For people who don't really know aviation the tour would be a good start. If you have only an hour or so, it would be best to come back another time. But again, everyone is different. Many people only see the main pavilion, and are out in a couple hours.

docmirror

OK, an nickel worth of free advice. I do a LOT of snow skiing. I've rented those places, I've rented condos, I've done all that stuff.

Bottom line - it's not worth the $$$. Of course, there are people for whom spending +$400/night is no problem. This will get you a true ski in, ski out(slopeside) place with a hot tub on the deck overlooking at least one run.

For non-skiers, this is likely a decent idea, and families who have non-skiers might enjoy it for a while. The truth is - in Jan/Feb in a resort with snow sports staying outside for any length of time is pretty daunting. You know - you live in WI. Yes, the ski areas are drier conditions, but it can get well below zero at ski resorts as well.

Now, before anyone chimes in with a lower price I say to you; 'if you are finding ski in, ski out with a hot tub on the deck for under $400/night in winter' - GO SEE IT. Because, it's not what you think.

This is about the best deal, but you are in a massive hotel/condo. Your room is going to be up on the 3-5 floor. You will NOT have a private hot tub, etc.

https://www.ski.com/book/lodging-det...2&currency=usd

There are other places, but this is good skiing and decent place. BTW, after dark with a full day skiing if it's an outdoor hot tub, it's going to be coooooooooooold.

gbarron

Yes, Sea to Sky trip would be best with a rental car. The nice thing about the drive is lots of good places to pull off for scenery/waterfalls, then craft brew and lunch in Squamish!

Best Van neighborhoods for craft breweries are Main St/Mount Pleasant and Strathcona/East Village. Best concentrations of vintage clothing stores is Main St. and Commercial Drive. Both also have an excellent variety of ethnic food restaurants to sample and a few good dive bars if that's your thing.

I have the word out on a GTG...have a few replies already. Does the Fri or Sat when you are in Van work?

http://vancouverisawesome.com/2016/0...intage-stores/
http://about.rennie.com/gallery/vanc...ery-districts/

GlenL

Tip: Seattleites go for hats over umbrellas.

hacker-pschorr

I'm sold!!! How much trouble will I get into if I jump the barrier to touch the Blackbird?

I figured as much. It wasn't really a requirement, but since we are not skiers that would be the best way for us to enjoy a ski area.

Most definitely Saturday for the GTG since our plane lands at 10PM on Friday. Unless some of you are up for a drink once we land, I'm sure we'll find the nearest brewery by the hotel.

I'm still researching hotels, if I wait too long we may need to crash on someone's couch! Sunday I think we will head to Grouse Mountain for a helicopter tour & dinner at the Observatory.

GT6ixer

There's not really much of a barrier. So I'm pretty sure you could rub yourself all over the nose gear.

hacker-pschorr

Whoa....

What if I climb on top to ride it like Slim Pickens in Dr. Strangelove????

gbarron

Alright, I will put out the 20th as the date! Afternoon work for you? 3-4 pm ish?

hacker-pschorr

Sounds good, we have no plans for that day so we can work around the locals!

gbarron

Righty then...I will get the word out. Once you know your hotel details let me know and we can work on finding a convenient water hole! I take it craft beer won't be an issue...??

GT6ixer

Hey Eric, if you guys have stage front tickets, be sure to wear some helmets.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news...cid=spartanntp