Road Trip 2025 - Vancouver Aquarium and area

On the first day of our West Coast adventure, we chose the Vancouver Aquarium as the ideal place to retake some of our iconic photos from our only other BC coast visit back in 1981 when we were a family of three...Nelson, Me, and 2 1/2 year old Crystal. The summer of 2025 would give us a chance to update the photos to include Jessie, Nick, and JJ, who missed it the first time around. 

The Vancouver Aquarium is located in Stanley Park, a 1,000-plus acre public park on the northern part of Vancouver's peninsula between English Bay and Burrard Bay. The Aquarium had changed in the forty-four years since we'd been there, but it seemed more amazing than ever. The 65,000 animals within the walls and waters of Canada's largest aquarium includes species from Canada's Arctic and Pacific coasts, the Tropics, the Amazon rain forest, and more.  A profuse amount of shapes and colours everywhere you look. 

Nelson holding Crystal and watching a Beluga whale, 1981, Vancouver Aquarium

The beluga whale that captivated Crystal and Nelson back in 1981 is gone, but the waters are alive with new and wonderful species. Last summer, there were so many people at the Aquarium watching the sea otters that it was hard to snap a clear shot through the underwater window. 

Nelson with Crystal in front, and Jessie and JJ behind him, 2025, Vancouver Aquarium

Nevertheless, our 2025 retake photo shows Crystal standing in front of Nelson, with Jessie and JJ behind him in the outdoor portion of B.C.'s Wild Coast exhibit. (Nick was off exploring at the time, and the person in blue is unknown.) This image contains what is often referred to as an Easter egg...a hidden message or image in a photo, video game, etc. In this case, although you're looking at the back of Crystal's head, the Easter egg is that you see her reflection on the window overshadowing the Sea Otter's body. 

The sea otters in the B.C. Wild Coast Exhibit are rescued orphans with the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Rescue Team and are available for symbolic adoption. 

Crystal found JJ, Anita, and Nick watching a Sea Lion, 2025, Vancouver Aquarium

Along the glass in the B.C. Wild Coast gallery, we stopped to watch the antics of rescued California sea lions that Fisheries and Oceans Canada has deemed as being non-releasable. The Marine Mammal Rescue Centre at the Vancouver Aquarium is "...the only facility of its kind in Canada and one of the largest rescue facilities in the world..." 

Here are some of the images I found when I went through all of our photographs that show the array of colour and shapes we discovered:

Jessie found a unique Pig-nosed Turtle and some Tropical Fish, 2025, Vancouver Aquarium

Nick showed the size of Jellyfish, 2025, Vancouver Aquarium 

JJ and Nick were caught watching Linneaus's Two-toed Sloth. 2025, Vancouver Aquarium

JJ found some Golden Poison Frogs, 2025, Vancouver Aquarium

Jessie and Nelson attended 4-D Theatre, The Great Salmon Run, 2025, Vancouver Aquarium

Meanwhile, during a coffee break, I was checking out the vegetation. I was surprised to find holly with blue berries instead of the red ones like the Christmas holly that I've seen growing in Vancouver. On the prairies, you can't find holly growing outside at all so just seeing it in its natural state was special.

Mahonia aquifolium, 2025, Vancouver Aquarium

With a bit of searching, I matched my holly image to Mahonia aquifolium, a member of the Barberry Family also called Oregon Grape Holly and Holly-leaved barberry. It appears the main difference in the leaves is that the barberry type leaf is more tapered at the end whereas Christmas holly seems to stay the same width for most of its entire length. 

Fern, 2025, Vancouver Aquarium

A grouping of this fern was growing beside the Holly-leaved barberry. I suspect it's a sword fern, but I know nothing about fern types. What I do know is that each frond contains small capsules called sporangia that are filled with thousands of dust-like spores that will scatter in the wind when ripe. And it's the artful display of the sporangia that fascinate me, especially when seen with the sun behind the fronds. 

JJ, Jessie, Nick, Anita, Nelson, and Crystal in front. The Draper Family, 2025, Vancouver Aquarium

After a long, wonderful afternoon exploring the Aquarium and its grounds, we stopped for a photo beneath the 5.5 meter tall bronze statue called, Killer Whale, Chief of the Undersea World by Bill Reid. There is so much beauty connected to the Vancouver Aquarium and too much to see in one afternoon. It's certainly a reason to return some day. 

Note: For those with a calendar, this post matches the images shown for January 2026.