West Vancouver

West Vancouver stretches along the shore west of the Lion's Gate Bridge and the Capilano River. It also creeps up the mountainside from the water, eventually stopping against a wall of forest. The main highway - the one that goes up to Horseshoe Bay, Howe Sound, and Whistler - contours the hillside and bypasses the community. Marine Drive, on the other hand, winds closer to the shoreline, from the bridge, past the mall, through the business districts of Ambleside and Dundarave, then on through wealthy shoreside neighborhoods and Lighthouse Park.

We drove out to Dundarave, where we walked down to the beach and around the neighborhood, then headed west so I could check out Stearman Beach. Then it was back to Stanley Park and the city.