Month: April 2018

This morning, we woke up and drove to Gastown.  Gastown is a hip, gentrifying area in Downtown Vancouver.  Interestingly, Gastown is an “island” surrounded by an unsafe neighborhood that seems to be filled with drug users.  In Gastown, we spent about an hour walking the entire area, including walking past the steam clock and the Woodward building.

After Gastown, we visited Stanley Park for a couple hours.  We parked and walked around at a few spots including the totem poles, lighthouse, and viewpoint of the bridge. We then crossed the bridge to West Vancouver and visited Park Royal Mall.  After a few hours at the mall, we drove to Burnaby to wash the RV at a self-serve car wash.  Now we’re working at Starbucks for a few hours and having a relaxing night.

This morning, we drove to Granville Island and spent a raining morning walking around the island and Public Market.  Public Market includes dozens and dozens of unique vendors including grocers, bakers, prepared food vendors, and artists.  My favorite booth was that of Granville Island Tea Company.  Granville Island Tea Company offered a wide selection of hundreds of high quality teas and made-to-order beverages.  I ordered a matcha masala hot tea with ginger and cayenne pepper.  It was a great tea and I really enjoyed it.

Next, we drove to Pacific Centre and spent a couple of hours walking around the mall.  Then, we drove to Coquitlam and had dinner/drinks at Earl’s.

This morning, we woke up and drove to the end of Ucluelet to hike the Wild Pacific Trail. The Wild Pacific Trail is a 2.6KM loop that follows the perimeter of the peninsula and offers wonderful ocean views.  The weather was overcast, which made for perfect, cool hiking weather.  After the walk, we had breakfast at The Blue Room, a casual breakfast spot in town.

We then drove back toward Nanaimo and arrived at Departure Bay at 3PM.  The ferry was scheduled to leave at 3:20PM, but there wasn’t enough room on the ferry, so we were forced to to wait to board the next ferry at 6PM.  We arrived on the mainland at 8PM and drove to Downtown Vancouver to have a drink at Phat Bar in Yaletown.  We enjoyed some poutine, while watching game 6 of the Utah and Oklahoma City playoff series.

After the game, we drove about 45 minutes back to the AirBNB in Coquitlam.  The AirBNB is a beautiful, newer 2-story home, but it seems a bit too far from Downtown Vancouver.

This morning, we left the hotel about 10AM and started driving toward Tofino.  Our stops along the way included:

• Goldstream Provincial Park
• Kinsol Trestle
• Ladysmith, BC (Lunch at Appetit Food for Thought)
• Coombs Country Mart
• Little Qualicam Falls Park
• Chesterman Beach, Tofino

After a beautiful walk on Chesterman Beach, we enjoyed a slice of pizza in Tofino and then drove about 30 minutes to Ucluelet, BC, to spend the night there.

 

Today, we woke up and spent the day in Downtown Victoria.  We visited the Fairmont Empress, Fisherman’s Wharf, Beacon Hill Park, and had dinner at Earl’s in Downtown Victoria.  Tomorrow, we’re looking forward to starting our trip to Central and Northern Vancouver Island.

At 10PM, I walked for a couple of hours from the hotel to Inner harbor and back.  The walk was a great way exercise and unwind, and is an activity I want to incorporate into my schedule more.

Today, we woke up and walked through Whistler Village.  After a quick breakfast in Whistler Village, we checked out of the hotel and drove south towards Vancouver.  On the way, we stopped in Downtown Squamish and strolled through the Downtown area.

Just a few miles before Vancouver, we exited the highway at Horseshoe Bay and boarded the ferry to Nanaimo, Vancouver Island.  We arrived on the Island at 6PM and drove about 1.5 hours south toward Victoria.

At 7:30PM, Dad and I met Michel and Tyler for dinner at Six Mile Pub in Victoria.  We enjoyed catching up for a couple of hours and then checked into the Ramada Inn hotel in Victoria.

This morning, we enjoyed a continental breakfast at the hotel and then drove about 4 hours south to Whistler.  On the way, we stopped for a quick hike at at Joffre Lakes.  The hike to Lower Joffre Lakes took about 10 minutes in each direction.

Once we arrived at Whistler, we checked into Blackcomb Lodge and had lunch at the Warehouse Restaurant in Whistler Village.  After a few hours of working, we walked around Whistler Village and had dinner at an Indian restaurant near the ski lifts.  Apparently, we’re visiting Whistler during shoulder season (after winter but before summer), so the city was relatively quiet and empty.

This morning, we woke up and had a quick breakfast in Lake Louise Village.  From there, we drove through Yoho National Park, stopping at Natural Bridge and Emerald Lake.  From there, we continued west, passing through Glacier National Park and Revelstoke National Park.

After about six hours of driving, we stopped for the day at Kamloops, BC.  Kamloops, BC had a distinctly British Columbia feel, as I remember experiencing during the couple of weeks I spent in BC during 2016.  The feeling can be described as pleasant, mild temperatures, a coastal feel and an affluent middle-class lifestyle.

In Kamloops, we parked in Downtown and ended up walking to McArthur Park and back to Downtown, what ended up being a total of  at least 6 miles.  Dad wasn’t too excited about the walk, but persevered and completed the walk.

For dinner, we stopped by at Earl’s restaurant and enjoyed a light, healthy meal.

This morning,  we woke up in Fernie and drove north toward the national parks in the Canadian Rockies.  On the way north, we stopped by at Lussier River Hot Springs.  The hot springs are located about 10 miles off the main highway and can only reached by driving on a dirt road.  After parking, we walked a few minutes down the ramp to the hot spring.  The hot spring is located adjacent to the Lussier River and is a beautiful setting adjacent to the river.

After visiting the hot springs, we drove back to the main road and drove through Kootenay National Park towards Banff.  We then continued to Lake Louise where I booked a night at the Fairmont Lake Louise for Dad’s birthday.  Upon arrival, the front desk offered us a bottle of Beringer Main and Vine Cabernet and vouchers for two free drinks.  But first, we walked about 1KM along the edge of Lake Louise until we looked back and had a beautiful view of the hotel from a distance.  While we were walking, it was snowing, and the combination of the frozen lake, snow, and white landscape, all contributed to a feeling of stillness and peacefulness that made for quite an experience.

After returning to the room, we enjoyed the bottle of wine, and then walked downstairs to Alpine Social where we had dinner and a dessert for Dad’s birthday.

This morning, we woke up and drove to the Valley of the Five lakes about 10KM south of Jasper.  The 4.2KM loop hike provides a thorough, scenic, and immersive view of the secluded lakes located just outside of Jasper.

We then continued down the Icefields Parkway, visiting Athabasca Falls, Sunwapta Falls, the Icefield Centre, and Bow Summit.  After a few hours of driving, we arrived at Lake Louise, one of the most well-known, picturesque lakes in the region.  We spent about an hour walking on the frozen lake and enjoying beers in the hotel lounge overlooking Lake Louise.  Next, we continued on to Banff and spent the night in Banff.