We're running a half!

 

I'm not using the royal "we". For the first time in my running journey, Matt is going to join me for a half marathon! We won't run it together since he's much faster than I am, but that's beside the point, which is that Matt's seen me run over a dozen half marathons and wasn't interested in trying himself until a firefighter buddy of his ran one in Seattle. Suddenly, his interest was piqued.

Our Winter Trip to the PNW: Vancouver

Shortly after returning from Seattle from Scott and Robby's wedding, Matt and I decided we wanted to take another trip up that way. Having just experienced summer in the Pacific Northwest, we thought it would be fun to see what the winter was all about. So, we planned our first actual winter vacation in years.

We flew out of Tampa to Vancouver early on Christmas day. The Vancouver airport is so cool! There's lots of art and even an aquarium! (Click that link to see the waterfalls by the escalators.) The airport seems to really be trying to highlight and celebrate the art and history of various First Nations tribes.

Not a bad view flying in!

Going through customs was easy; they have kiosks set up that you just slide your passport into and it takes you through all the usual paperwork via the screen. Then it snaps your picture and prints out a receipt that you give to the customs agent.

This display played bird sounds and had real running water beneath it. It's the first thing we saw out of the gate.

Matt has his Canadian passport now, so he went a different way than I did. I kept saying "we" to the customs agent and he looked at me kind of weirdly and asked who I was traveling with. Once I explained that my husband was with me but is a Canadian citizen, he let me through without any further questions.

We didn't have a rental car on this trip, so we had to figure out public transit. Luckily, it's not hard in Vancouver or Seattle. We took a train to our bus stop, then took a couple buses to our first Air BnB. We spent that first day not doing much - we got pho at a Vietnamese restaurant within walking distance from our place, walked around a bit, and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

Waiting for our bus. You can barely see the mountains behind us.

The next day, I planned our two sight-seeing adventures. First, we went to the Bloedel Conservatory, which is a climate-controlled dome housing hundreds of tropical plants and birds. Obviously Matt and I are bird-lovers so this was a must-do. Plus, it was rainy and cold so being indoors was a bonus.

Excuse me, serious photographer here.

Lady Amherst's Phesant

Saffron Finch

Zebra Finch

Guinea Turaco

We spent a couple hours walking around the dome. Matt got a new, real Canon for Hanukkah, so we played with the settings and took some great photos. There were some really neat birds we'd never seen before, including this paradise whydah whose body is the size of a finch's and whose tail is basically two feet long.

Long-tailed Paradise Whydah and Orange Cheeked Waxbill

Umbrella Cockatoo and...the one bird I couldn't identify!

Red-Cheeked Cordonbleu

Pekin Robin

Canary

After the conservatory, we grabbed a bite to eat and then headed to Grouse Mountain. We chose not to go up Grouse during our July trip because it was expensive and we were short on time, but a work friend told me Grouse was well worth it in the winter, so we put it on our list.

Riding the gondola up the mountain was an experience. In four minutes, we went from 40F to 28F. We could see the distinct line in the trees where the snow suddenly began to stick and build. When the doors opened, we walked out into a blustery winter wonderland.

Matt and I toured the Light Walk (where I performed a perfect Patronus charm and produced a corporeal stag) and rode on a "sleigh".

Expecto Patronum!

Afterwards, we enjoyed some hot beverages at the lodge.

Hot chocolate and Kahlua. Yum!

The next day, we toured Granville Island, which is basically Vancouver's Pike Place. Besides delicious local fare, there are lots of artists in the market, and we spent most of the day there.

Our plan was to take a train to Seattle early the next morning, so we spent the evening packing and prepping for that. I enjoyed our time in Vancouver; the weather wasn't terrible (a bit rainy and pretty cold) and it was easy enough to get around on buses and trains.

Stay tuned for an update on our Seattle trip!

ABK

Vancouver Vacation: July 8-10, 2018

Because our trip to the PNW was so long, we decided to make a side-trip to Vancouver. I have never been to Canada before, and Matt hadn't been since he was a baby. His mom was born and raised in Montreal, so through a weird little citizenship rule, Matt and his brother actually have Canadian citizenship! They just need to claim it.

On the morning of July 8, we packed up and drove out for coffee and pastries. Did I mention in my last post that the PNW is amazing for those of us with celiac? Even small coffee shops and restaurants have GF options. I had a raspberry muffin with my coffee and it was fantastic.

We drove about 2.5 hours to the Canadian border. We didn't have any paperwork besides our passports, so we were a little nervous that we were missing something, but other than being asked the usual questions (Why are you here? Where are you staying? Where are you from?) we didn't have a hold up. We continued straight to our Airbnb, an old heritage house apartment/loft. It was very quaint and pretty convenient.

Overlooking the city from Stanley Park.

Robby, his parents, and Scott's mom and aunt were also along on this trip, so we had some time to kill before we met up with them. Matt and I had lunch at White Spot, then walked around Stanley Park. Have I mentioned that being able to spend huge amounts of time outside without dying of heat stroke is amazing?

I like to pretend I'm adventurous.

Finally, we went out to meet everyone at the Capilano Suspension Bridges. I had really been looking forward to this! The bridges weave through ancient trees and across ravines. There's a lot of history there and you can learn about the various plants, but I honestly didn't pay much attention. I was just there to be entertained!

Funny story: Matt and I were trying to get a selfie (pictured below) and a super sweet lady overhead shouted down that she'd take our photo and text it to us. I shouted Matt's number up to her as we finished our walk around the bridge.

Robby and I spent a lot of time catching up on last-minute wedding drama, discussing his vows, issues with suits and dresses, etc.

After exhausting ourselves on the bridges, we went out to dinner at Fanny Bay Oysters. This was a mistake - the food was absolutely phenomenal but it was truly haute cuisine. My scallops and pork belly consisted of literally four bites of food. Afterward, Matt and I hit up a grocery store so we could have some food for breakfast the remainder of our trip.

Don't even ask me how much this cost.

The next day we got to sleep in a bit before heading back to Stanley Park. I really wanted to run it after exploring it the day before. Matt and I decided to run around the seawall. I was concerned about hills, but because the seawall is fairly flat (and paved), this turned out to be perfect. We had gorgeous views during the entire four-mile run, my legs and lungs felt amazing in the cool weather, and we finished in plenty of time to meet everyone else for our bike ride.

We joined Robby and his parents on a seven mile ride around the entire park, pausing every once in awhile to enjoy the view. I don't really love riding bikes but it was a great way to sightsee.

We met Matt's mom and aunt after the ride and we all went to lunch at La Catrina Tacos. Afterward, I really needed a nap. Matt and I returned "home" for a little while before deciding we had to try some local ice cream.

Once more, we met everyone at Earnest Ice Cream for dessert. They (like most businesses in the PNW) are very concerned with sustainability. It was so cool to see that they have to-go pints in glass jars, so they can be returned and reused. I had scoops of whiskey hazelnut and espresso chip ice cream with a drizzle of hot fudge, and Matt tried an affogato with salted caramel ice cream.

It was our last night in Vancouver and I really wanted to see Gastown, so while the parents went back to their place for the night, we took Robby out with us. The night was chilly and a little rainy, but I'm glad we made the trip. Gastown is what I expected all of Vancouver to look like!

Of course we saw the steam-powered clock and walked along the streets a bit. We stopped for a drink and dinner at Steam Works Brewing Co before calling it a night.

Our last day in Vancouver was Matt's and my 8th anniversary. We originally were going to leave early and check some more stuff off our Seattle list, but instead we took a detour to check out the suburbs of the city (in case we considered moving there in the future) and the Lynn Canyon Park suspension bridges.

This was an easy little hike in gorgeously cool, misty weather. After some strenuous exercise the day before, it was really nice to stretch our legs and see some waterfalls.

I am so glad we took the time to make a trip to Vancouver while we were on the west coast. It's the first time I ever ran in a foreign country! While I can see why people really love it there, I was much more enamored with Seattle/Washington in general...still, it's nice to know if we want to make a quick escape to our neighbor-to-the-north, Matt has his citizenship ready to go.

ABK