Burnaby jones

Thursday morning breaks in Vancouver with a knock at the door. Complimentary French-pressed coffee. My sister says it's the best brew she's had all week. Even I drank some.

Though the prepaid tickets we bought Wednesday had open dates, we decided to use both Thursday so that Friday would be less stressful. We drive north to see the Capilano Suspension Bridge, but get sidetracked by hunger. We take a side road and find ourselves in Edgemont Village.


I don't know why I know this, but I'm aware of a Canadian show called Edgemont that starred Kristin Kreuk of Smallville fame. Knowing that both shows film in Vancouver, and that we were unlikely to locate the Kent Farm or Luthorcorp building, we capitalize on our discovery.

We pick up some croissants and rolls from Cobs Bread, then stop by Kidsbooks to buy gifts. All in all, a nice detour. The Capilano Suspension Bridge is scary but secure. We cross.


On the other end is a new feature: the Treetops Adventure. Ostensibly, it's a chance to be elevated among the tall trees, but we dug the fact that it looks like an Ewok village.


Driving back through Stanley Park we get to the Vancouver Aquarium. Their collection lacks penguins and manatees, but the dolphin show was nice.


We're not remotely done for the day. We head back to Granville Island to pick up reduced-price community night tickets to Shear Madness, and visit the island's markets before they inexplicably close at 6 pm. We use one of our dining coupons for a free entree (with the purchase of an entree at equal or greater value) at the Dockside Restaurant, and bide our time before the show.

The play is a murder mystery set in a hair salon. It dares to invite audience participation, and has been adapted to make topical references to Vancouver (which we didn't get). The first half is scripted, and a detective -- described as a local yokel from the rural outpost of Burnaby -- invites audience members to ask investigative questions after the intermission. I get my chance.

"How is it that Mr. Edwards knew the victim was stabbed in the neck by a pair of scissors?"

"Ah, an excellent question. Tell me, are you from Burnaby as well?"

"I spend my summers there."

My ad-lib gets a laugh from the audience. My sister gets to ask a question too, but not an opportunity to be funny. I hold the higher ground for the evening.