Bonus - Sneak Attack: Vancouver

When Ellie was on her recruitment trip for volleyball at Seattle U, James had time to play with Google maps and discovered that Vancouver was just a 2 1/2 hour trip over the Northern Border. There was NO WAY we weren’t invading Canada.

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James has been keeping this little part of the greater Seattle plan in his back pocket all this time and, when Ellie was going to be unavailable for a few days, it was the perfect opportunity to spring it on Denise. “Mission: Canada” was ON. Despite massive skyrises being constructed all around us, we managed some killer hikes in Mosquito Creek and Stanley Park. Vancouver was an incredibly clean city for its size and the views from the bridges and cliffs landed this “foreign” city on the long-shot list of our future possibilities.

WHERE WE WENT:

Lonsdale Quay Hotel in North Vancouver - Hotel was junky but it’s above a market near the SeaBus ferry which was really cool.

Mosquito Creek Park - great hike, and Roxy finally found her mojo here.

Granville Island - great community market with tons of food joints and farm goods, local artisan shops and a pier where the locals and tourists graze together while overlooking the harbor. Thumbs WAY up.

Stanley Park - As stated, this park has miles of gardens, views and play areas for the kiddies. It’s pretty big and it was busy, but it never felt overcrowded.

Denman Street - a solid few miles of every type of cuisine you could wish. So many areas in Vancouver are similar to Denman, but this street is right by Stanley Park so it’s a no-brainer for visiting Euros, Americanos and whoever else wants to nosh.