What to do in Vancouver

My family and I beat the Phoenix heat by taking a trip to Vancou­ver, British Columbia, last month, enjoying the breezy sea air, mild temperatures, and Asian restaurants.

Some favorite sites include:

Stanley Park: This is the gem of the city, the primary reason people visit Canada’s third-largest metropoli­tan area and spend exorbitant amounts of money to live there. This 1,001-acre downtown, mostly forested peninsula boasts a 5.5-mile (8.8 km) seawall trail, a miniature train replicating Canada’s first transcontinental passen­ger train, a rose garden, an aquarium, multiple running and bike trails, playgrounds, monuments, restaurants, grassy knolls, and two beaches. While on these beaches we saw no trace of Cadbo­rosaurus, or "Caddy," the Pacific Northwest’s al­leged sea serpent, (During the past 200 years, there have been more than 300 claimed sightings.) But we were excited about plenty of other things to see.

Girl in a Wetsuit sculpture in Vancouver.

Girl in a Wetsuit is a 1972 bronze sculpture located on a rock along the north side of Stanley Park. Although the statue resembles Copenhagen’s The Little Mermaid statue, sculpture creator Elek Imredy said that was not his intention. He instead wanted to honor scuba diving’s growing popularity in the area.

The Gastown Steam Clock in Vancouver.

Gastown: Vancouver’s historic center boasts the Gassy Jack Statue, which pays homage to Vancouver’s first settler and saloon owner, Captain John “Gassy Jack” Deighton. The Gastown Steam Clock is one of the few operating steam-powered clocks and is worth seeing.

The Sam Kee Building: the world’s shallowest commercial build­ing (4 feet, 11 inches, or 1.50 m).

Chinatown: In the early 20th century, Vancouver's Chinatown was home to Canada's largest Chinese community. The Vancouver Asiatic Exclusion League, an all-European group opposed to immigration from Asian countries, encouraged Vancouver City Council to widen Pender Street, which was Chinatown's main street. The original lot, zoned for commerce, went from roughly 30 feet (9.1 m) to 6 feet (1.8 m).

Businessman Chang Toy, also known as Sam Kee, constructed what is now known as the Sam Kee Building out of defiance. Today, the building holds the Guin­ness Book of Records’ honor as the world’s shallowest commercial build­ing (4 feet, 11 inches, or 1.50 m) and is on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

Coal Harbour Community Cen­tre: A playground that offers a view of Vancouver Harbour on one side and the city’s skyline on the other.

Jack Poole Plaza: Location of the 2010 Winter Olympic cauldron and a great place for watching seaplanes.

Maplewood Farm: Preserved in order to offer urbanites “the rural ex­perience” within the city’s limits, this farm is home to about 200 animals – some of them friendly enough for young children to pet.

Some fun facts about the area:

• According to Stephen Ruttan's Vancouver Island Scoundrels, Eccentrics and Originals (2014), Victoria resident and recluse Victoria Jane Wilson (1877-1949) willed her estate to her birds. Her parrot, Louis, became a celebrity for his spendthrift lifestyle and died under mysterious circumstances. Chateau Victoria now occupies the site of Wilson’s now-demolished mansion.

• Architect Francis Mawson Rattenbury (1867–1935) designed notable buildings like the British Columbia Parliament Buildings, Empress Hotel, Canadian Pacific Railway Steamship Terminal in Victoria; Vancouver Art Gallery in Vancouver; and Chateau Lake Louise in Banff, Alberta. His personal life, however, was infamous: He divorced his wife and flaunted his affair with much-younger, twice-married Alma Pakenham. He and Alma eventually married and moved from to Bournemouth, England, where Alma began an affair with their 18-year-old chauffeur, George Percy Stoner. Rattenbury was murdered in March 1935, both Alma and her lover claiming responsibility. Stoner served seven years of his sentence, released early in order to join the army during World War II. Alma committed suicide.

• Mystic Edward Arthur Wilson, better known as Brother XII (1878-1934?), founded a spiritual community, the Aquarian Foundation, on Vancouver Island in 1927. His misuse of funds and extramarital affair led to the colony’s breakup. Wilson reportedly died in 1934 in Switzerland, but eyewitnesses claim this was not true.

• D’Arcy Island was a leper colony for Chinese immigrants from 1894 to 1924.

• Amor De Cosmos (1825 –1897) was a Canadian journalist, publisher, and founding father of British Columbia. He lobbied to have a railway built linking the province to the rest of Canada and pushed for British Columbia to join the Confederation. He was born William Alexander Smith but changed his name during the California gold rush. He also had a fear of electricity.