017【育兒胡謅寶典第六集】 - 小企鵝温哥華背包客初體驗

從SEA BUS看温哥華

親愛的家長們,

小企鵝與三豬媽沒課 - Maker Kids從2015年9月7日發表的第一篇文章到現在也已經快二年了, 其中一天打漁三天曬網的時間居多, 其實不好意思的說, 是一個月都在曬網, 小企鵝不只一次的告訴我說, 媽媽, 你應該繼續你的小企鵝與三豬媽沒課 - Maker Kids, 我覺得它很捧. 既然有小企鵝的加持與鼓勵, 三豬媽就加減再繼續經營我們的這個純創意、史無前例的實驗學校. 我分享的東西有點天馬行空, 但其實是離不開當初三豬媽設立實驗學校的訴求, 那就是期望由做中學, 讓孩子經由生活產生知識及解決問題的能力.更多請看教育理念.

背包客對孩子來說是蠻有意思的生活體驗. 現在三豬媽要開始進入這期的主題, 小企鵝背包客初體驗. 

小企鵝與小小企鵝當背包客

當媽多年的我, 到現在還是嚮往背包客的生活, 所以今年的春假, 我要挑戰一人【獨自】帶兩小【出國】當背包客的目標. 說出國是有點心虛, 其實就是到離西雅圖三個小時的車程, 講英語也會通的温哥華而已啦!
盼著他們大了, 可以自理. 我要挑戰異國. 呵呵呵, 這個心願連自己也興奮不已. 但愈接近出發的日子, 愈有點不安....萬一, 萬一.....腦子的雷逹, 不停的掃描著各種可能的突發狀況.

從QUEEN ELIZABETH PARK看温哥華

我必須坦承, 我是個路痴, 路痴記錄非常豐富。國中當班長, 開學第一天升旗, 把全班帶丟, 全校都在找2年16班在那裏. 大學規劃營隊路線, 所有學員全迷路. 上班時, 帶老外從國父紀念館回公司, 連老外都跟我說, 回公司要往另一個方向走. 其實更丟臉的是, 我家就在對面.每天出沒的地方, 也可以帶到迷路.....所以說, 為什麼愈接近日期, 我的腦子開始不安起來. 萬一迷路呢!!!!!我又作了困陷在美國中西部的夢.  在台灣, 有聲控路人GPS可用, 迷路問路人也可以通. 在國外, 我的經驗是, 第一你要先找得到路人可問, 第二, 在國外問路人成功率只有50%, 一問三不知, 亂指機率蠻高的.

Queen Elizabeth Park 的小鴨子

我家小企鵝認路能力比我更糟. 小小企鵝喜歡看地圖, 但完全不可信啊. 這迷路三人組, 三個臭皮匠, 有機會勝過諸葛亮? 行前訓練, 我要小企鵝把所有行程規劃列表. 包括所有的交通怎麼連接, 公車怎麼坐, 要怎麼走.想玩那裏, 吃什麼, 票怎麼買最划算...等, 萬一網路不通, 就靠她這個表 ...... 結果是, 温哥華的大眾交通運輸太方便, 整個旅程非常順利, 只迷路過二次. 網路也真的在第二天失效. 完全要靠人工, 就是小企鵝的這張表.

小企鵝的行程規劃表

【Day 1 - Home - Vancouver Hotel】

這是第一次在Seattle自己搭公車 , 前一天還先去車站演練, 看看Seattle 公車長什麼樣, 準不準時. 公車其實是又新又準時.

【DAY 2 - Stanley Park - Vancouver Aquarium - Robson Square -Vancouver LookOut - Canada Place 】

Vancouver的天氣和Seattle很像, 冷冷陰陰的. Google Maps說從飯店到水族館只要走30分鐘, 但是我們花了1個半小時才走到. 邊逛Stanley Park, 邊看風景、邊迷路, 倒也不累. 背包客最大的樂趣就是慢活. 觀察當地的文化. 用兩隻腳行走, 慢慢欣賞不同景物.

Vancouver水族館還蠻值得逛的. 比Houston的大. 其中有免費4D電影院, 一定要去試試, 不僅是3D視覺效果, 還有噴水、風吹、振動椅特效, 身歷其境.很有意思. 電影有一段是海鳥在啄魚, 椅背冷不防的, 突然有東西也在啄你, 對於這特效, 有點生氣, 因為會痛, 但又驚訝得覺得好笑.

水族館的SHARK

看起來像不像FINDING THE NEMO場景呢?

小企鵝迷路找路中

傍晚, 在Robson Square, 我們不小心迷路了, 走到南邊(飯店在北), downtown南邊是有點恐怖, 男男同性戀街上熱吻, 刺青怪異打扮很多, 路上煙味讓你無法呼吸.天色開始變暗, 天冷又迷路, 連我都慌了. 這時愛遷怒三豬媽脾氣也破表了, 指責小企鵝為什麼不幫忙找路.小企鵝一臉無辜的說, 我看不懂地圖. 三豬媽聽了更火, 現代小孩真沒用, 只會用GPS, 不會看地圖. 對孩子唸了緊箍咒, 自己氣消冷靜後, 只得耐著性子讓他自己學會看地圖找路. (雖然我自己這方面也很弱, 所以才迷路啊! 我是只許州官放火, 不准百姓點燈的大官!). 試了几次, 小企鵝終於會判斷帶路. 這樣才像一起自助旅行, 會解決問題的夥伴!!!孩子啊!真的不要只靠路痴天王媽媽! 自己要有判斷力 !!!

【Day 3 - Sea Bus - Queen Elizabeth Park - Watermania 】

Watermania是網友介紹, 小企鵝堅持一定要去的行程,當日行程較多站, 買DayPass比較划算. 也順道玩了一下Sea Bus.

Queen Elizabeth PARK 櫻花綻放

Queen Elizabeth Park是在去Watermania路上, 順便逛逛. 櫻花綻放, 至高點可以看到整個Vancouver 算是不錯的順道景點. 老天賞臉, 下午放晴, 覺得公園蠻漂亮的.

Watermania是多雨季節的Vancouver, 適合孩子的室內玩水景點. 好玩又划算.孩童票一人不到加幣5元. (美金:加幣 = 0.75:1)

Watermania的人工海浪

【Day 4 - TELUS World of Science - University of British Columbia -home】

TELUS World of Science 有很多動手作設施

TELUS World of Science 還蠻好玩, 很多Hands On Experience. 沒有太多文字, 活像個大的playground. 可以消磨3個小時以上.

也想讓你家小朋友試試當背包客嗎? 以下是小企鵝背包客初體驗的密訣分享:

1. 讓小朋友自行Google資訊. 規劃自己的行程. 一來比較有參與感, 二來多個小幫手.
2. 給小朋友一個相機, 讓他也可以捕捉旅行的一點一滴
3. 旅行總是會有非計畫的事發生. 遇到困難, 家長自我冷靜控制情緒. 遷怒是人性, 別太自責.
4. 給孩子地圖, 請他們幫忙找路. 訓練解決問題的能力. 
5. 不用帶iPad或tablet, 無用且增加背包重量. 用智慧手機即可, 體積小, 該有的資訊也都看得清楚. 飯店、旅遊中心都有地圖及旅遊資訊可索取.
6. 在旅行中, 讓孩子知道家長不是萬能, 也會犯錯或抉擇錯誤. 讓他們當作自助旅行的一員, 參與並享有決定權.

小企鵝中文寫作不太好, 請大家看看英文遊記囉....看他對初次當背包客的感覺是什麼. 

後記: 温哥華是個蠻強調環保的城市. 在水族館餐廳, 用的丟棄餐具是可分解的. 玻璃清潔劑用的是小蘇打粉+ 醋泡製, 不是化學藥劑 (我這資深家庭主婦, 一聞就知道). 有飲水器, 不提供頩裝水, 飯店也是. 飯店房間內放三個垃圾桶, 要垃圾分類, 沐浴乳等用品用的是大瓶裝, 而不是小包裝. 節省塑膠用品的浪費.他們不亂砍樹木, 縱使國內樹木很多, 也產油, 但就是不開發, 木材、石油也多是進口.

Our trip to Vancouver!

About a month ago, we went to Vancouver...

Pre-Vacation:

My mom told me that my job was to plan what we were going to do in Vancouver. I just waved that off. But a few days before going to Vancouver, I realized she was serious! I had to plan what to do, how to get there (without a car!), where to stay, and what to eat in three days. That was A LOT, even though I did enjoy the fact that I could have a say in where I wanted to go. Surprisingly, I planned it in time.

Going to Vancouver!

It was pretty simple, get on the bus, and go. Finding the stop was the hardest part, but we got there pretty quickly. To pass the time, I played on my phone and slept. Eventually I got tired of that, and so I played with my stuffed puppy. The bus stopped at our hotel, which I thought was the nicest one we've ever been in.

Day 1: Stanley Park - Vancouver Aquarium - Robson Square - Vancouver LookOut - Canada Place

Stanley Park looked pretty close to our hotel, so we wanted to walk there. It turns out, it was really far! We walked for hours, and finally getting to the Vancouver Aquarium. There were cool animals, like bull frogs, sea lions, penguins, and a very loud toucan. But I especially liked the 4D Movie. There were birds that poked our backs as they dove into the ocean, water spraying all over us when the dolphins splashed into the sea. It was funny and exciting.

Isn't that just sooooo cute?! I'm obsessed with sea otters now.

Then we rode the bus to Robson Square, where people were practicing their dance. That wasn't much, but near there, we saw a Canada Goose! I thought that was cute too. Next stop, Vancouver LookOut! Unfortunately, Vancouver LookOut was already closed by the time we got there, so we decided to go to Canada Place instead. I wasn't too thrilled by all the smoking, but the harbor view was nice!

Day 2: Queen Elizabeth Park - Watermania

I really looked forward to Watermania, but we had to go to Queen Elizabeth Park first. The cherry blossoms were pretty and there were tulips! Sadly, they didn't bloom yet, although some did, and they were very pretty. We saw even more ducks and geese, which, they're still cute!

The ride to Watermania was looong. But it was worth it. I loved the water slides the most, while the Wave Machine was nice too. The water was also warm, so that was great.

Day 3: TELUS World of Science - University of British Columbia

TELUS World of Science was a fun museum. I liked the water section of it, while my brother liked Eureka! I think they were both fun though. Outside there were chickens, plants, and a power generating bike. Also, there was a power generating wheel, like a hamster wheel for humans that generated power! That was hard to run, but it was funny to run like my hamster.

My dad came to pick us up after that, and he wanted to see the University of British Columbia. By then, my brother and I were tired, so we fell asleep. I can't say much about what happened at the University of British Columbia...