YVR Observation Deck: Thumbs Down for Entertainment Value

The new YVR/Vancouver Airport Observation Deck was not as exciting as I was anticipating. As part of our first trip on the new Canada Line Skytrain, we visited new Observation Lounge that opened in July.

The lounge is in a small loft area and is basically a bunch of tables and chairs, large windows overlooking the not-so-busy domestic terminal tarmac, and a couple displays.

Expectations and Reality

Honestly, I was expecting something a bit more exciting. The scale model of Sea Island was pretty fun to look at with the blinking lights, and was probably the highlight of the lounge.

However, it is quieter to wait for friends and family there, as opposed to the domestic or international arrival levels. I was hoping for more activity in the lounge or on the tarmac to keep me entertained so I was a bit disappointed there.

YVR Observation Deck: Only One Thumb Up

The idea behind the lounge is good, but I think it needs a bit of work. It gets one thumb up for being a great place to chill between flights, or while waiting for family members to arrive. No thumbs up for entertainment value though.

The younger kids seemed to enjoy it more than I did, so at least some people can still enjoy the area. But, other than being a quieter place to chill at the airport, next time I’ll bring my own entertainment (perhaps a book).

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Review: Rival Electric Ice Cream Maker

If you live in Vancouver, you KNOW how hot it’s been lately. It’s so got we’ve set temperature records! Last week, after one of these exceptionally hot days, my boyfriend Dan and I impulsively decided to buy our own ice cream maker.

Zellers was the closest, but they were sold out. We drove an extra 20 mins to Walmart and found only one brand available: The Electric Ice Cream Maker by a company called Rival. We’ve never heard of them, but it was so darned hot that we decided for $30…why not!

To our excitement, the teller rung it up as $20! Even sweeter!

After freezing the canister overnight (as per the instructions), we made chocolate mint ice-cream for the first night. night two was vanilla ice cream with fresh raspberries on top and night three was Peach sorbet (with more fresh strawberries on top).

What We Liked

I have to say that for a $20 ice cream maker it makes really tasty ice cream and is really easy to use! All you have to do is freeze the container and take it out when you’re ready to use it. For most recipes, you just mix everything in a bowl and pour it into the machine.

What We Didn’t Like

When we opened the box we couldn’t find the instruction and recipe booklet. Thank goodness for Google because we were able to download the booklet. Ironically, the Rival website didn’t have it available online. They had manuals for some of their other products, just not the ice cream maker.

Recommendation: (4/5 stars)

To beat this crazy summer heat, I would definitely recommend the Rival ice cream maker from Walmart for about $20. It’s cheap, works well, and makes enough for two large bowls. I guess it could serve 4 if you wanted smaller portions… but “smaller portions” for ice cream is not in my vocabularly!

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