To celebrate our last day on the job, we boarded a plane for a “Pilot Trip.” Destination: British Columbia. We wanted to give ourselves a taste of what’s to come.
First stop – Vancouver
It was the end of October and we knew to expect rain. It came every day. We tried to not let it slow us down, but it did limit our outdoor activity.
Some of the places we enjoyed in Vancouver:
- The Victorian Hotel – a great option for your stay in Vancouver!
- The Aquabus to Granville Island
- Granville Island Public Market
- FlyOver Canada – highly recommended!
- Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
- Jules – our new favorite restaurant!
Second stop – Victoria
We took a five minute ride on the SkyTrain to the Central Bus Station, an hour-long bus ride to the Ferry terminal, an hour-and-a-half-long ferry ride to Vancouver Island, a 45-minute-long bus ride to Victoria, and a 15 minute walk to our hotel. Good thing we left early in the morning, because this trip takes a whole day.
Some of the places we enjoyed in Victoria:
Third stop (more of a journey) – Whistler, Kamloops, and Hope
After Victoria, we took the day-long trip back to Vancouver. We spent the night in Vancouver before picking up a car and heading north. On the way out of town we stopped at the Capilano Suspension Bridge. It’s a little pricey, but an exciting stop – even in the rain.
The town of Whistler was deep in the heart of the off-season. Just about every business was closed, so there wasn’t much to do, see, or eat in town. This gave us the opportunity to explore the broader area and discover dozens of types of wild mushrooms.
- Shannon Falls
- Nairn Falls
The drive to Kamloops took us up and over the mountains. The drive was beautiful. Unfortunately night fell on us before we arrived, so we retraced some of our route the next morning to be sure we didn’t miss anything.
Our last stop before returning to Vancouver was the town of Hope. One of the things we had looked forward to seeing in Hope were the Othello Tunnels at Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park. Unfortunately they were gated closed with no explanation.
Fourth stop – a final night in Vancouver
Our 10-day trip ended with a second visit to our new favorite restaurant, Jules, and another visit to Granville Island.
