Vancouver Island

We were very fortunate when we went to visit Vancouver Island. One of our friends, Andy (Brad's roommate from university), is from Victoria. His parents still live out there and invited us to stay with them, so we ended up with a great tour (and BBQ!). The ferry takes about a scenic hour and a half. We took it into Victoria (well, just outside) and then took it back from Nanaimo, just north of Victoria - basically so we could eat a Nanaimo bar in Nanaimo (yes, we're a bit cheese like that - and were genuinely surprise to find that no one else seemed to be doing the same).

Below: Vancouver Island from the ferry

Below: More totem poles - in Thunderbird Park in VictoriaBelow: The B.C. Parliament buildings (complete with statue of Queen Victoria)
Below: Another B.C. bear
Below: The inner harbour in Victoria - and some funny little boats. My favourite though had to be the "Prince of Whales" boat. Yikes!
Below: The sea planes coming into the harbour

Below: This is from a viewpoint somewhere in the city. Our friend's parents took us to this spot. You can also see the snow-capped Olympic Mountains in Washington state from here.

Below: Brad and I loved this! Apparently, this is what a Canadian castle looks like, built by a Scotsman. They even had Blackpool rock on sale in the gift shop! Below: More beautiful views. This was taken on the drive to Nanimo. Poor Brad and all the rest stops he has to pull into so I can take a picture. I bribed him with ice-cream on this one though!

Below: We stopped at a cultural centre run by the Cowachin peoples and watched a great dance ceremony, and had a walk around the art centre, garden, more totems and some of hte other buildings.

Outdoor fun in B.C.

We definitely had a glimpse of B.C. life while we were out there - having almond milk on our organic cereal, eating organic rice chips, and some wild B.C. salmon, but Caroline also made sure we had a taste of B.C.'s outdoor life.

In one day, we managed to hike Grouse Grind (which is definitely not as easy as I'd anticipated), go canoeing, and then take the dog for a walk (hey, there's a lot of hills in their neighbourhood).

GROUSE GRIND

As Caroline put it before we started, it's like the stairmaster from hell - and it definitely felt like going an hour and a half on the stairmaster on hard! But, it was definitely worth it when we got to the top!

Below: I think we were maybe 3/4 of the way up at this point. They kindly let you know how far along you are. The first 1/4 is definitely a little depressing though.

Below: Enjoying a well-deserved beer! The nachos weren't long to follow!

Below: The view from the gondola on the way back down. Had to take this photo for Brad who was busy staring at the back of the gondola and trying NOT to look at the view poor guy (not a fan of heights).

And if that wasn't enough ...

DEEP COVE

Here we are canoeing in a place called Deep Cove in North Vancouver- another beautiful spot. While we were canoeing around an island called Jug Island, we saw a deer and spotted some wild seals. We also canoed along the coast to check out some of the beautiful homes along the lake ... just in case that lottery win ever comes in!

In Vancouver

We spent a few days in Vancouver, walking around and being shown around by our friend Caroline (one of Dawn's roommates in university) who lives in Vancouver. I've tried not to overload, but here are a few of the photos from in and around Vancouver.

Below: Totem poles in Stanley Park

Below: Vancouver skyline

Below: Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Gardens in Vancouver's China TownBelow: Our sampler of Granville Island beers in the brewery in Granville Island Market (Great place! We also went to see an improv show here one night).

Below: With one of the B.C. Bears

Below: I won't inundate you with pictures from the Vancouver Aquarium, but this one is too cute to miss. The otters were floating and sleeping - while holding hands! The beluga whales were also one of my faves - all white and absolutely huge and blubbery.

Below: Brad at one of the beaches in the city

Whistler and the Sea to Sky Highway

After hiking down the Chief in Squamish (post engagement), we headed to Whistler for lunch. I think it would be great to see in the winter full of skiiers, although it was packed with mountain bikers for a festival while we were there. We did manage to see a biking show though and a few stunts (no back flips though).

Unfortunately, it was a bit misty so we didn't get a great view of the mountains in Whistler, but managed some good ones later driving back to Vancouver along the Sea to Sky highway.

Above: A few of the ski hills in Whistler (underneath the mist)

Above: A river running through the Whistler Village

Above and Below: Views from along the Sea to Sky highway

3 flights, 4 boarding cards and 15 hours later

4 a.m. (Toronto time) - we head to the airport to catch our 6:30 a.m. flight to Winnipeg

6 a.m. (Tor) - we find out that our 6:30 flight is now leaving at 7:10 from a gate down the other end of the airport, so we begin our trek.

7:30 a.m. (Tor) - flight to Winnipeg finally gets on its way

9:15 a.m. (Winnipeg time, 10:15 a.m. Toronto time) - we arrive in Winnipeg airport, having missed our 9:05 flight to Vancouver. We are handed 2 new boarding passes. We are now flying via Calgary.



9: 35 a.m. (Winnipeg) - begin boarding the flight to Calgary

11:15 a.m. (Calgary time, 12:15 a.m. Winnipeg), we arrive in Calgary to the news that an amber alert in the airport has delayed some flights so we are okay to catch our connection to Vancouver.

noon (Calgary) - we board the Vancouver flight, which surprise surprise is late to board.

1 p.m. (Vancouver time, 2 p.m. Calgary), we finally arrive in Vancouver, pick up the car and head out to Squamish.

4 p.m. - we finally arrive in Squamish after battling the VAncouver traffic. The drive was well worth it though. It was absolutely beautiful, and although Squamish is a bit of a small funny town, with a mix of hikers and drunks, it was aboslutely beautiful.

Above: A tired Brad collapses on the bed at the hostel, but we had a great view of the Chief.

Above: This is the hostel - the Inn on the Lake - in Squamish.

Above: Dawn in Squamish

Some unsurprising news ..

I don't think we really surprised anyone with the news, but Brad and I got engaged while on holiday in British Columbia. He really made me work for it though. I wish we could say that the sweat and red face was due to nerves, and my week knees to emotion, but after an hour-long uphill hike, I think it was more exertion than anything else.

We had gone to bed early the night before after a VERY long day flying out to Vancouver (details on that later), and so were up really early to hike the Stawamus Chief (pictured below).

I wish we could tell you that we made it all the way to the top, but we didn't even make the first peak as we wanted to go back and phone everyone and had to check out of the hostel we stayed in, but even going just up to the first rest stop was absolutely beautiful and definitely a great hike.