The Other Side of Canada/ British Columbia 2016
It's weird to think I was on the other side of the continent and in a different country just a month ago. Having a girlfriend 2,500 miles away has it's advantages and also it's downsides but we get to some places that we wouldn't have thought of otherwise. Hanna and I had our sights on British Columbia this time, so we booked our first AirBnb in Vancouver for the first three nights. In the heart of downtown, it was definitely different living in a city but our loft was super comfortable. With an underground parking garage, we were able to drop the car off and roam the area pretty freely. It started to rain on the ride up there and we didn't end up seeing the sun again for the next seven days.
Travel Partner: Hanna Walters
Our first location was the Bloedel Floral Conservatory in Vancouver. Blake and Clare were nice enough to meet us at a mall a couple blocks away and teach us the public transit system. The humidity in the dome was unbearable to keep our jackets on, so we wrapped them around our waists and got to exploring. The place itself isn't too big but there's so much to look at. Plants I've never seen, birds flying everywhere and the aroma of flowers.
The view outside of the exit deserves to be on a postcard. The surrounding grounds still had a lot to offer us so we roamed even more. Fall in Vancouver is absolutely incredible and I've never seen that many orange and yellow leaves in one place.
Hey look! We're in another aquarium. We heard Vancouver had one of the best aquariums in the states so we had to check it out. We're kind of suckers for aquariums. We even showed up about a half hour before the Beluga Whale show. I've never seen one of them in person and let me tell you, they're one of the most beautiful creatures in the sea.
Being pretty close to it, we headed toward the Lionsgate Bridge. The fog was rolling in fast, but we were getting used to that. This whole week was rainy and foggy but it created such a different atmosphere that I definitely wasn't used to, but it was a nice change.
I actually didn't take any photos out of our apartment windows the first night but this was from the second morning. About the moment where I was trying to judge how cold it was outside but the guy in the t-shirt, the guy in the coat, and the guy in the tux weren't helping me out too much.
Meeting over Instagram, Hanna and I both knew how Instafamous the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge is. While Blake and Claire told us to get there super early because it's usually packed, we got there around noon with absolutely no one on it. After we got to the end, the tour guide asked us if we got all the shots we wanted because she had a group of about forty people with her.
Coming back from the hike, we were able to get some more photos on the bridge. Between the sound of the rushing river under you and the fog everywhere, I felt like I was in a dreamland.
After we did some hiking at Lynn Canyon, we got to a stoplight and saw roads that led up. We decided to take one of them and we ended up going toward Mt. Seymour. The fog was starting to get really bad and we only saw a few cars heading up the road, but we kept driving. We stopped on the side of the road when visibility was only about five feet.
We didn't know where the road headed but we continued at about 15mph because we didn't know what to expect.
Come to find out, there was a lodge on top. It was so foggy that we had to practically walk up to the building to see what was on it.
We headed down the mountain to a location Blake told us about, Deep Cove.
There were so many parks in this area, we just started turning into every one we saw. This one ended up being a short hike to the Point Atkinson Lighthouse.
A quick stop down the road was Horseshoe Bay where we watched the ferry leave.
On the way to our hotel in Squamish, we saw this massive peak, which we later found out was the Stawamus Chief peak.
Our hotel was off the Sea to Sky highway which is rated one of the most beautiful drives in the world, and now you can see why. While heading to the Sea to Sky Gondola, we saw an exit for Shannon Falls so we decided to check that out.
There ended up being a hike from the falls to the gondola so instead of driving, we hiked through the forest. I really felt like I was in a different world. Moss like this doesn't grow like this in New Jersey so I was in awe.
Like everything in this area, you could find gems at every turn. We found Alta lake by complete accident.
We kept seeing snow capped mountains and we wanted to head more north to get into the snow. Two hours north of Squamish, we weren't in the snow and it was getting dark so we decided to head back.
And this is where our week in British Columbia came to a close. We saw so many new things, tried food you can only buy in Canada, made the most of the indoor pool in our hotel and ate some really amazing taco flavored chips. Canada, Hanna and I will see you again someday.