Happy Friday, y’all! I hope you are enjoying these last few weeks of summer. The last few years I’ve been kinda down on summer, just waiting for the autumn cooler temps. But this summer has honestly been one of the best summers I’ve had in such a long time that I am actually dreading the end of it. Maybe it helps that we went north on vacation a few weeks back and got a little break from the Arkansas summer heat. Whatever the reason, it’s refreshing to be loving summer this year, and I hope you are too!
Today’s post is all about our recent trip to Canada. It was honestly the perfect summer vacation, with cooler temps and beautiful scenery. My husband Keith had never been to Canada before, and we love exploring new places together. And I love writing these travel-journal-style blog posts!
Day One – Travel Day
From where we live in Northwest Arkansas, it only takes about an hour and twenty minutes to get to the Tulsa, Oklahoma airport. This is usually worth it for the cheaper prices on flights from there. And this trip was no exception. It was about half the price to fly from Tulsa as from our local, national airport, XNA. But that also meant that we had to get up at 4:00 am and be on the road by 5:00 am to make our flight. It helped that we were traveling with friends and carpooling to the airport.
I’ll save you the boring details of the logistics of our flights from Tulsa to Salt Lake City to Seattle. That day, and honestly the whole trip, went so smoothly with flights. Especially considering all the flight cancellations and delays that have become more and more common lately across the board.
That first night we were driving from Seattle across the U.S.-Canada border to a town called Abbotsford where we were meeting some friends for supper. We ate at a restaurant called Trading Post Eatery which was very delicious, although I was almost too tired to enjoy it. When we finally got to our Airbnb that night, we all pretty much crashed immediately.
Day Two – Groceries, Driving, & Ski Resorts
Before leaving Abbotsford the next day, we stopped at a grocery store called Real Canadian Superstore. We figured it would be cheaper to buy groceries from there than from anywhere in Whistler, which was where we would be staying for the next few days.
With a quick stop in Vancouver to exchange some currency (a Google search showed us which shop had the best rates that day), pick up some bear spray at Mountain Equipment Company, and eat lunch at Chipotle, we were finally on our way to Whistler via the Sea-to-Sky Highway. I had driven that route once before while on a trip with my parents several years ago, and it was just as beautiful as I remembered it.
Three of the four of us on the trip get incredibly carsick, so every drive was a balancing act of who was driving, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, and making sure that we made plenty of stops to relieve everyone’s queasiness. One of the stops we made along that route was at Tantalus Lookout roadside viewpoint. The view was stunning, and we were blessed with a sunny day that day.
Once we arrived at our Airbnb in Whistler, the boys opted to rest in the condo while the ladies went out to explore the town. It’s a very typical ski resort town with lots of souvenir shops, coffee shops, and restaurants to wander through. One thing that makes Whistler so cool is that it was the host of the 2010 Winter Olympics, so they still have the olympic rings up in the village and on top of the mountain. I have only ever been to Whistler in the summer, but I can only assume it’s equally amazing to visit in the winter.
That evening after making our supper in the condo, we all drifted off to sleep pretty quickly. It had been a long day after all. Unfortunately, it was more of a nap. Around 11:30 pm someone in the building pulled the fire alarm, so we all had to evacuate and wait for the fire department to check the building before we could go back inside and climb back in bed. That was one of those moments that makes you question why you ever decided to leave home.
Day Three – Museums & Parks & Lakes
The original plan for this day was to hike at Joffre Lakes Park, a provincial park (similar to state parks in the U.S.) about an hour north of Whistler. But because of the high volume of visitors during the summer season, the park requires a hiking permit. The permit is free, but you can only reserve it two days before you plan to hike. That was our plane travel day, and despite our best efforts we weren’t able to secure permits. Looking back, we should definitely have had someone reserve them for us who wasn’t on a plane when the reservations opened. But you live and you learn.
Luckily there is so much to do in Whistler that it turned out to be an awesome day anyways. In the morning, after securing some much needed caffeine at Blenz Coffee Whistler, we walked to the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Center, a museum that celebrates the indigenous peoples from that area of Canada. There are several museums in Whistler, and my only regret is that we couldn’t visit them all.
After lunch in the condo, we headed back out to walk to Rainbow Park. The walk from our condo was long, but it’s one of the things I loved most about our time in Canada – all the walking we got to do. Rainbow Park had a very nostalgic quality to it. First of all, it was gorgeous. With the mountains as a backdrop, the park features a lake, beach volleyball courts, and a grassy lawn. But what really made it stand out were all the flowers. Along all of the walkways and trails was the most gorgeous mix of flowers. It was so beautiful.
On our walk back to Whistler from the park that evening, we got a recommendation for supper from a kind local, and it did not disappoint. We ate at a restaurant called Hunter Gather, and I really loved how fresh everything was. For sunset that night we drove to a few different spots, but our favorite was Alpha Lake. The trick is to go inside the dog park (which was not busy at all) and take pictures on the dock there. It was a really lovely way to end the day.
Day Four – I Have A Thing For Ferry Boats
After breakfast in the condo, we hit the Sea-to-Sky Highway again for our journey to Victoria. We had gotten an early start so that we could make stops as needed to quell carsickness. Our first stop was at a scenic overlook by a tributary of the Squamish River that runs along the highway for several miles from Daisy Lake to Cheakamus Canyon. It was so pretty and the water was so silty.
Since Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, is on Vancouver Island, we got to take a ferry to get there. We took the ferry from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver to Nanaimo. I highly recommend booking the ferry ticket in advance as this saved us a lot of time and hassle and guaranteed our spot on the ferry.
I had ridden a ferry before with my parents when I was very young, and then more recently when I went to Italy with some friends several years ago. When I worked my travel nurse contract in Tacoma, Washington, one of the things that I had really wanted to do was to ride a ferry (any other Grey’s Anatomy fans out there?). But, as happens, we never got around to it and I had always regretted it. So on this trip to Canada when I realized we would take two ferry rides, I was very excited.
The ferry to Nanaimo did not disappoint. It was a sunny, beautiful day and the views were gorgeous. We walked around for the first half of the ferry ride, and then settled down inside – out of the wind – for the last half. Once we were on the island it was a really nice drive to get to our Airbnb.
That night we ate supper at a restaurant in downtown Victoria that had really good reviews but was just mediocre in my opinion. It’s called Stone Ground Pizza Co. & Bar, and it wasn’t worth the trip.
Day Five – Thrift Stores & Book Stores & Sushi
This was our “Explore Victoria” Day. Once again we split off between the ladies and gentlemen. I’m honestly not even sure what the guys did – I think it involved mini golf and possibly playing pool, but my friend and I were able to check out a bunch of thrift and vintage shops as well as some bookstores. For the last few years I haven’t really been buying typical souvenirs; instead I try to find secondhand books about the location we’re visiting, and maybe an item of clothing from a vintage shop. On this day, I bought several secondhand books – a few of which were about Canada – and a really cool vintage faire isle cardigan. I love experiencing cities from thrift shop to thrift shop, book shop to book shop.
When it came time for supper, we met back up with the guys, and while our friends went to one more book shop, Keith and I sat down by the water and watched seaplanes coming and going from the harbor. Then we walked up to Uni Modern Japanese Restaurant, and it turned out to be the best meal we had on the whole trip! Ending up at Better Acres Ice Cream for dessert was the perfect way to end the perfect day (the best homemade pistachio ice cream I’ve had in years!).
Day Six – Flowers on Flowers on Flowers
When I told my parents we were going to Victoria, they told us we had to visit The Butchart Gardens. They had visited years ago, before they had kids, and still remember it as being so beautiful.
We arrived around mid-morning when the weather was perfect and it wasn’t too crowded yet. It’s a very “see it at your own pace” kind of place, and during the morning hours we enjoyed strolling through each garden leisurely and enjoying the beautiful plants.
After lunch at one of the on-site eateries called The Blue Poppy Restaurant, which was like stepping into an episode of The Golden Girls (it had a very 1980s Florida aesthetic), we went out to see the few gardens left on our tour. By this time it was much more crowded and hot, and my husband’s allergies kicked in while we were in the Rose Garden. We were more than ready to leave after that, around mid-afternoon.
The rest of the day was more of a chill day; we did some laundry, rested, and cooked supper at our Airbnb. By the way, staying at places that have laundry machines is one of my biggest travel hacks for packing light.
Day Seven – Lakes & Whales
We finally got to go on a hike on our last full day in Canada. It wasn’t as spectacular as Joffre Lakes, but it was really beautiful and the perfect length to feel like we were actually hiking without being so strenuous as to exhaust us. The hike was at Matheson Lake Regional Park, and we hiked all the way around the lake, plus went on a side quest to see a waterfall that was unfortunately dry.
That evening we went on a whale watching boat tour with Eagle Wing Tours. Keith and I had gone on a similar tour on our Alaska trip last fall, but we hadn’t seen any whales on that one. But this tour was a total success! It started off with a bang; while we were waiting to board the boat, the Snowbirds (the Canadian equivalent of the Blue Angels) buzzed overhead.
Once on the boat, we saw a pod of orca whales hunting and eating a seal, which our guide said she’d only seen five or six times in the several years that she’d been working for that company. Since the tour was a sunset tour, it was really beautiful but it did get very cold as we were coming back to Victoria and we were glad to have our warm coats with us.
Day Eight – Oh Canada
Our last morning in Canada and we finally stopped at Tim Horton’s for breakfast. The food was mediocre, but the vibes were strongly Canadian. Victoria is just across the Salish Sea from Port Angeles, Washington, and of course there’s a ferry that runs between the two. This time, I mostly stayed inside since it was much earlier in the morning, colder, and foggier than the first ferry ride had been. It was still so beautiful though, and of course we were glad to be heading “home” to the U.S. of A.
Our time in Canada on this trip was so much fun! The weather could not have been more perfect, and having time to walk around and explore different towns without a firm agenda was really nice.
I have part two of this trip coming up in a few weeks, so stay tuned for that to read about our time in Port Angeles, Forks, and Olympic National Park!
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