Vancouver Intro

I've had an ongoing love affair with Vancouver for as long as I can remember. The summer after I turned 7, my family drove from Calgary, Alberta to Vancouver Island. I don't remember very much about that summer except that I loved the ocean and beachcombing. I had a little pixie haircut and cats-eye glasses. We drove in an old Pontiac Parisienne. In those old cars, it was amazing what you could pack into it. In the front were my mother and father. There were 3 of us kids (Steve, Sheila, and I). We stopped in many places that summer (I always loved an adventure). What I wasn't prepared for was how excited I was to see the blue water peaking between buildings. I'm sure I drove my family crazy: "Is that the ocean?", I asked many times, as I couldn't believe that we were finally there.