Day 3 - Lost Lake Park
 

So here we are at the Lost Lake Park trails for cycling/hiking/cross-country skiing and apparently, once upon a time, nude beach by the lake. We didn't go as far as the lake as we needed to just take Yodi through a quick short tour of the start of the trail and then make a run for the village as our drinks were catching up to us. The one by the lake was a fair distance away and I didn't want to risk it as the car was closer. :p

Day 3 - Lost Lake trail continued
 

Finally, a picture of the two together without Pichu mauling Yodi.
Attachment 279903

But Yodi didn't need Pichu's help to get into a little mischief herself. She really is such a pure sweet angel, she took it to heart when we told her she's a superhero named Batman. Sure she gets herself confused with Robin sometimes, and role plays as such, but I wasn't expecting her to act the part of Spiderman, too! So when Yodi fell behind, she thought she'd take the short cut to reach us... well, that's my version of it anyway, while the hubby says Yodi was baiting bears. :shocked7q

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When Yodi finally caught up to us, we had them pose for some stress-free pictures by the rock cliff overlooking the creek. :D

Day 3 - Whistler!
 

With searching for the ladies' and men's room as an excuse, we turned around and headed back to the car to get to the Whistler Village a.s.a.p.! I'm not going to admit to running away from the place overflowing with the biggest ants I've ever seen. Some solid black and the rest are shiny red with dark deadly looking black tail ends. :eek: I don't want to see the size of the other critters after seeing these!

In the picture Yodi is relatively deep into the village where there are lifts going up and cyclists coming down the mountain on the bike run. Couldn't get a good shot of this as everyone that was down just went back up the lift again.

Now this brings a pretty anti-climactic end to the day's journey up to the mountain displaying the beauty of British Columbia. I could not feel inspired to take village pictures as there were a ton of shops, beautiful, yes, but it'd just bore you to share with you my crazy shopping frenzy as I am a sucker for cute! Yodi did pick up a couple of souvenirs for her next host family while I picked up a few things I came upon that just shouted for me to buy them for a few special people. ;)

The day ended sooner than we had planned but in retrospect, it was good that we left the mountain while there was still daylight (8pm-ish) because then we wouldn't need to drive in the darkness through the mountain highway as it's NOT lit where it ought to be lit for nearly the entire ways down towards the next town of Squamish. We did grab a quick bite for dinner at Squamish's McDonalds. :)

By the time we got home at about 10:30 pm, I couldn't make it through resizing all of the pictures we had so I had to leave it to this morning. :( Sorry for the wait! And this is the end of yesterday, and now we shall start this new day! Check back maybe tomorrow for updates? I believe Yodi is scheduled to leave Monday. :( And I wasn't even told to where yet! Maybe we'll get to keep her here forever. :D :p

Day 4 - Babylon Cafe
 

Quick lunch. Babylon Cafe is take out food though they have a couple of tables inside this second location while for years their original location was just a tiny take out counter in a tiny store front on the very busy Robson Street downtown. There are also about 4 picnic tables outside this Robson Public Market spot for anyone to use as there are several food establishments (i.e., pizza, subway, bubble tea cafe) with their outside entrances facing the tables as well as food you can buy inside to take out to eat.

In the 4th picture, that's a stack of meat where they slice off strips of meat to make your fatty yet crispy chicken shawarma. MmmMm.

Day 4 - Babylon Cafe continued
 

We came here to grab a quick bite of our favourite wrap as it was on our way to our day's destination. We had to once again pass through Downtown Vancouver.

The two were all prepped and ready for their meal. Yodi must have been hungry because for the first time, she went against Pichu and fought her way in front of her to get first bite! It must be because she knew it was the last day of the visit so she had gotten brave--this way, she'd be running from Pichu with her tail tucked between her legs to her next family and not have to miss out on anything during this visit and Pichu wouldn't be able to get back at her. :p

Day 4 - Tweeting
 

After having eaten her share, we let the twitter addict tweet away on the hubby's phone.

Day 4 - Capilano Suspension Bridge
 

Back to doing the touristy thing, we took Yodi to the Capilano Suspension Bridge that's located up in the mountains in North Vancouver.

Yodi posing for a picture at the parking lot right across the street of the park entrance. Attachment 280228

Of course, as soon as we crossed the street, Yodi just had to snuggle up to the pretty pamphlet/brochure lady. She's either a naturally cheerful woman or she's mastered the art of making a fake smile look sincere. ;) Attachment 280229 (BTW, she's a lot cuter in person. ;) )

After passing through the admissions/ticket booth Attachment 280230

The hubby took a break from carrying Yodi around in the Outward Hound front-pack and passed it off to the Misters in black and white. Of course, it took two 2D black and white men to do a one 3D man's job. :rolleyes: Attachment 280231

Day 3 - Capilano Suspension Bridge
 

I didn't realize this was a photo frame that I had cut off the top of... But here was a life sized photo experience for the two. :)

Attachment 280233

I don't think Pichu was too happy sharing this tiny totem space with Yodi.

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While we were finishing off with our totem experience, a Mexican tourist couple came up and asked for permission to give Pichu a little rub. Of course, I'm not one to deny any polite requests as Pichu wouldn't mind and the woman looked like she was truly melting at Pichu's sight. This was because she had left her two yorkies back home in Mexico for the sake of this vacation. I feel for her. I can tell how much she loved her little ones. :lovewings I should have offered her Pichu's escorting service for the duration of their stay. :pAttachment 280236

Day 4 - Checkers
 

Pichu got impatient with the 5 minutes it was taking Yodi to make her first move in the checker game they were having outside of the gift shop. She threw a missy fit and tossed her pieces. What a sport she is. :rolleyes:
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Then she proceeded to ask us when we're going to be crossing that darn bridge as she's looking forward to the heights. :p
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So off we go to cross that bridge!

Day 4 - The Capilano Experience
 

We got many more "Oh! I thought that was a real dog!" on this day than all of the previous days combined and then some. Even the cashier at the gift shop when we entered said at a glance, Yodi looked like a little dog. We had gotten so many stares... it's like we became part of the tourist attraction to these people who probably just came out of a cave. :p :p :p

Then there was the one woman after we had crossed the bridge and was taking pictures with Yodi. She calls out to me while she was seated a few meters away, looking seriously confused, "I just want to know... why do you have that a stuffed dog when you have THAT real one?" :rolleyes: What's the big deal anyway. There's no law against it. I think the real "purse puppies" children carry around is just confusing people nowadays and since I didn't have a child in tow (how'd they know she wasn't on her way across the bridge :p ) it just makes me a strange person. :p I simply said, "This is a travelling dog." And she responds with, "Ohhh, I see." Then went ahead to explain to her still confused husband. I think they're thinking JMuedog's vacation doughboy more than the travelling-alone-in-a-box visiting-different-families dog.

Day 4 - The Capilano Experience Ends
 

Yodi thought she'd go and catch a few fish for our last dinner together as well as maybe save some for her next family. That was so thoughtful of her. :D

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I didn't have the heart to tell her she needed to dive lower and actually get wet to maybe be able to catch some bugs at least out of that pond.

At the rest stop before getting back onto the bridge, there was a concession area that sold ice cream bars, chips, candy, hot chocolate... sweet prepackaged stuff mainly. This might be why there were so many squirrel spottings who came so close as they're used to being around people.

As I was attempting to capture Yodi in motion chasing squirrels, I heard some mumble in the background between a mother and her daughter by the tables a few feet away but thought nothing of it. This was until immediately after I put down my camera, the cutest looking little toddler came up to me with outstretched purple-y colourful fingers saying what I deciphered as "Icy, icy, ICY!" (which, btw, was "Can I see" repeated in rapid succession) I was trying to figure out which language she was speaking but I know I heard the mom speaking in English. I'm thinking these are American tourists. Eventually, I caught on after staring puzzled for a good minute. My eyes zoomed in on the tip of her outstretched arms where there were the fresh sticky colourful fingers attached... I just couldn't do that to Yodi and didn't think tossing Yodi into the local laundromat would be a good idea so early in her travels... So I sadly had to say, "Sorry, but no.....".

The little girl ran back to her mother who said to her daughter, "That's okay..." while finally getting around to wiping her daughter's hands all the while after a brief glimpse and glare upwards, she continued with a frown and nodding her head in disapproval. I guess she couldn't believe anyone would be so heartless as to say no to a little child over such a "harmless" request?! When you teach your children to ask for something, do you teach them to resent a response that's different from what you wanted?? Do you ALWAYS go in expecting a "Yes"? Then there'd almost be no point in asking in the first place. I had actually hesitated and was about to offer Pichu the furrier dog for the petting, though she must have seen her hiding next to the ice cream freezer (wanted to keep her sight off of the squirrels on the other side of the freezer box) who was with the hubby. BUT I didn't do so as I was about to speak then realized I had just given Pichu a bath on Friday. :p She would NOT appreciate another one. But seeing that kind of a response from the mom makes me almost glad I didn't make the offer. I always felt Pichu is not a volunteer for a free self-help mobile petting zoo.

Day 4 - Cleveland Dam in N. Vancouver!
 

On our way down the mountain, we made a turn-off into a park area we had never been to before but the hubby had noticed on the way up. It is our very own Cleveland Dam in North Vancouver. This park had the most beautiful view. Unfortunately, we didn't get to go around the entire place to see what else they had to offer because aside from the kite fliers and picnic'ers and barbecue'ers of the park, there were also a small population of little furry 4-leggeds. We did not hear a single bark coming from anywhere in that tranquility save for Pichu's ear piercing barks whenever she spots a dog. We did not want to ruin the relaxed mood of everyone else at that beautiful spot, so we had escorted ourselves out of there after enjoying a few minutes of the view.

Where were the days when our little angel never attempted to bark at dogs who were a mile away?

In the picture below, she's busy glaring at Yodi probably because Yodi wasn't running around the grass with her. :( Pichu needs to understand that not all dogs are the athletic type. :p

Day 4 - Zakkushi Charcoal Grill
 

It took a long drive to get back into the main part of Vancouver as traffic on the Lion's Gate Bridge was not fun. By then, we were about ready for our last supper together. We decided to take Yodi to one of our favourite hangouts. A Japanese tapas type of place called Zakkushi Charcoal Grill on Main Street. This is their 3rd location and the best for variety (different menu). The next best would be their downtown location. I don't much care for the food at the 2nd location on 4th Avenue as the one doing the grilling must not have the technique down.

We started off with a crispy buckwheat noodle salad. Seeing as how we have Yodi with us and she wanted to experience the raw diet she's heard about from YT, we got her an order of beef sashimi (raw beef seared on the outside rim). Then we handfed her a skewer of deliciously marinated BBQ chicken. It was so juicy with the charcoal aroma present. Yummy. Same goes for that skewer of lightly cooked quail eggs topped with shredded dried seaweed and Japanese mayonnaise. Those are also my two most favourite skewers from this place.

Day 4 - Zakkushi Dining Continued
 

And more on dinner...

We needed to fit in some vegetables in our diet other than the lettuce salad we started off with, so here are some tomatoes, asparagus, mushroom, tofu, and buttered corn--Yum, love their corn, so sweet and juicy. Attachment 280272

This deep fried patty thing known as a croquette, I can do without... it was pretty boring and the oil might need changing. :( Attachment 280273

Love love love the mochi (sticky rice cake) skewers wrapped in bacon. Crispy, soft, sticky, chewy... what more can one ask for? Processed mozzarella cheese, says hubby... :rolleyes: Attachment 280274

Since Yodi's earlier fishing attempt was a complete failure, we decided to order her some nice Sockeye Salmon belly to munch on as part of her craving for raw. Attachment 280276

Day 4 - Zakkushi Dinner Finale
 

Figured Yodi might try something other than what we're known for up here (Sockeye Salmon), so we got her a lightly seared dish of Yellowtail/Amberjack fish. It is served in the tastiest Edamame (Soy Bean) puree ever. I actually prefer this over chick pea puree commonly used in other cuisines. It's "lighter" perfectly sweet and just overall a lot more refreshing and tasty. :) Yodi didn't get a chance to lick the plate as I cleaned it off perfectly well beforehand. ;)

So with that, our visit with Yodi came to a halt. :(

What\'s left is the tearful farewell! :cry8: