Day at my favorite beach - Kitsilano Beach

Today was another HOT HOT day here in Vancouver BC, so mom decided to take me to Kitsilano Beach for me to cool off. Kits Beach is located in Vancouver Westside and we are lucky that we live only ten minutes away from the beach so I get to go there a lot.

Kits beach and Vanier Park get pretty busy during this time of the year because tourists from all over the world come to enjoy the beautiful ocean view and also to visit the three museums situated on Vanier Park.

• Maritime Museum - Explore Vancouver's Maritime Heritage including the historic RCMP vessel St. Roch - one of the first ships to navigate the famed North West Passage. Kids will love the Maritime Discovery Centre and the floating vessels in the Heritage Harbour.
• H. R. MacMillan Space Centre - Features the H. R. MacMillan Planetarium and Gordon Southam Observatory.
• Vancouver Museum - Canada's largest civic museum explores the story of Vancouver: Past, Present and Future.

We started our walk at the boat launch just east of Kits beach and Vanier Park. There, mom let me do some swims in the water to warm up for the excitements still to come. I also did my last few swims there before heading home to wash off all the sand from my body since the boat launch slope is not off the beach so it has no sand. Here are pictures of me at the boat launch!

Swimming at the boat launch over looking English Bay and Downtown Vancouver

We made our way across Vanier Park where a lot of people were flying their kites. I was a very good girl and listened to mom when she told me to leave the kites that were on the ground alone and not pee on them........yes.....even though I'm a girl...I tend to "lift" my leg and "mark" on things that don't belong to me.

Vanier Park

SMILE!!!

During the summer months (April-Oct), me and my doggie friends are not allowed on the main stretch of the beach, but the cool thing is that there is a designated "Dog Beach" area that is opened all year round for us to play and swim in.

DOG BEACH - view from above

Come on, lets PLAY!!!

Me staring off the crane

Prancing on the beach with my ring

Another reason Kits Beach is my absolute favorite beach is because of the little False Creek ferries that come and go. These little ferries are like sea buses that take people (and dogs) to most tourist attraction spots around False Creek. I love these ferries so much that everytime we go to Kits beach, I run down to the dock and sit at the little ferry terminal like a good little girl and wait for my ferry to come. Today was no exception.

Here is a map of the False Creek Ferry routes.

We took the ferry from Maritime Museum to the Aquatic Center terminal at English Bay.

• Aquatic Centre - Located at Sunset Beach in the West End, you are only a short walk, either along the Seawall to Stanley Park or up Burrard Street to downtown. The Aquatic Centre features an Olympic sized swimming pool, diving pool and fitness facilities.

Waiting patiently for my turn to get on the ferry

Ahhh....FINALLY on the ferry over looking Vanier Park

Over looking the Burrard Bridge and the boat launch

I love playing on the beach at English Bay because it has tons and tons of huge rocks that Kits beach doesn't have. For some reason, I just LOVE to play with rocks. I showed no signs of slowing down even after forty minutes of diving, digging, and splashing for rocks. Mom let me play for a little longer and decided to hop on another ferry to meet some friends at Granville Island for a drink.

Me on the rocky beach at English Bay

Granville Island is a MUST GO destination for tourists visiting Vancouver. It is the home of the famous Granville Island Public Market. The "Island" is a people place in the heart of the city; a rich mixture of colour and culture featuring the Granville Island Brewery, Kids Only Market, water park, street entertainers, numerous restaurants, galleries, and theatres. Throughout the year, there are festivals and maritime adventures for all tastes.

Bridges Restaurant - one of the many restaurants on Granville Island. Dogs allowed on the patio.

Sammy J Peppers on Granville Island

After mom and her friends finished their drinks, all of us walked along the Seawall from Granville Island back to the boat launch at Kits Beach. I was ready to go for a "second" round and headed up towards Vanier Park. Unfortunately, mom said that was enough for today and called me back to the car. It took me a LOOOOOOOONG time to walk back to the car because I kept testing mom to see if she would give in and take me for a second round. However, mom knows all my tricks and didn't give in. So reluctantly, I got into the car and we headed home.

As soon as we got home, mom put me into the bath tub and started rinsing the salt water off me. Then the most AMAZING thing happened...........I fell asleep in a sitting position while mom was bathing me!!! I guess the warm water together with mom's massaging was just too relaxing.