VANCOUVER: Forests, beaches, trails -- and that's just downtown.

We hike in the hilly forest of the giant park, emerging to find a paved pathway that leads to a sandy beach. There we meet our guide, John Reed, and jump into kayaks.

Although Vancouver is less than two hours from major ski resorts like Whistler that offer winter sports into April, the city's weather is the mildest in Canada. A strong, warm Pacific Ocean current blows from Japan, and a flow of air originates near Hawaii. Spring flowers come alive by early March. Sunny days in the 70s prevail from June through October. Winter is the rainy season; snow in the city is rare, although locals talk about heading 30 minutes outside the urban center for a couple of hours of skiing or snowboarding on days when they can be a tad late for work.

There are times during our three-hour kayak trip that we can imagine being in the wilds of Canada and can spot in the distance the Coast Mountain range. Then suddenly we see the city skyline and majestic bridges. When we row to shore, I turn to Reed and spontaneously blurt, "I want to live here."

"Everyone says that when the sun is shining," answers Reed, who in the winter moves down to the Baja Peninsula of Mexico and California to guide sailing, kayaking and whale-watching tours.

Reed tells us of the moonlight kayak tours he leads off the shores of Vancouver during the summer months, and I promise myself to return.

We need not have brought a picnic snack. There is a teahouse in Stanley Park, and the area where we beach our kayaks is only a short stroll from city streets filled with restaurants. But it's a welcome treat before we set off biking through the park.

Mountain bikes are available for the hilly terrain of the forested area of the park, but we opt for cruiser-style bikes and follow paved pathways along six miles of sea wall. Again, on the bike ride, the view sometimes appears to be wilderness territory. But turn a corner and a cityscape appears in the distance.

Despite the gourmet snack, we're ready for a seafood lunch by early afternoon, and I round out the day with shopping. Actually, there is more salivating than shopping in Yaletown. The stores carry upscale goods. I come very close to buying an antique Chinese chest of drawers that is a huge bargain but back out when I discover shipping will cost $600.

That evening I head to the Vancouver Playhouse to see "Proof," the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama. Toronto is Canada's theater central, and Vancouver's three city-operated theaters and smaller venues may not have anything you want to see on a given weekend. But its theater is supplemented by a vibrant music and dance scene. And the local production of "Proof" -- the scenery, acting and staging -- was first-rate.

Cow Shops and Inline Skating

Hotels are one of Vancouver's strengths, and although we love the Opus, we want to sample the city's variety and get a feel for different parts of town. So the following morning we head to the heart of the downtown shopping area and check into the Pacific Palisades.

The main draw for the Pacific Palisades -- aside from a glass-enclosed indoor pool -- is its location along Robson Street, the main commerce area. We are drawn immediately to Cows, a store across the street that sells cow-themed items of every imaginable variety. And we can't resist buying Canadian-made inline skates: An end-of-the-season sale, combined with the famed Canadian exchange rate, makes them too cheap not to buy. Besides, we couldn't help noticing the day before that Stanley Park is a skater's heaven.

It's a short walk down the hill from the shopping district to the edge of Stanley Park. Skating for miles, we stumble on a permanent exhibit of huge carvings of native tribes at the edge of the forest. Our diversions off the main pathway also lead us to an English garden, cricket fields and, eventually, the Vancouver Aquarium. Raffi -- a singer known to all parents of toddlers -- lives in Vancouver, and I think of him immediately when seeing the baby beluga with his giant white parents.