British Columbia 2018

I took a trip all by myself to Vancouver, British Columbia in mid-May 2018, and it was so glorious! I have done individual recaps for parts of the trip, so this is just an overall summary of things, but you can click on the individual titles to find the more detailed overviews of each part of the trip.

This was a healing trip for me. I had checked my husband into an Assisted Living facility three days prior to my trip for a rare form of brain degeneration that will one day take his life, so to say this trip was a necessary part of my healing at that point was a severe understatement. I had planned this trip to be respite from caring from him, but as the cards fell, it just so happened that it ended up being the trip to sort of take a break from the former life I knew with him at home and to ease into the new life without him home with us. As such, I had planned a lot of nothing, beyond a 90 minute massage and a 90 minute facial.

I spent a LOT of time just relaxing, journaling, reading, and taking in the view from the private dock where I was staying.

It was so easy to find things to do once I got there, and the lack of planning was not a problem at all. I could've easily spent a couple weeks here and really enjoyed the longer stay.

Accommodations

I stayed in a cottage I found on vrbo.com just up Mount Seymour from Deep Cove in North Vancouver. It was a little slice of heaven, truly! I did a full recap of the accommodations and my pros/cons of the place here. (The overall gist was that I loved it, but probably wouldn't return to that particular place.)

Dining

I did a full dining recap, but here's the basic rundown:

Honey's Doughnuts in downtown Deep Cove (☆☆☆)

Very yummy cake doughnuts, pretty good coffee, long wait, VERY popular with locals and visitors.

The Lobby Lounge in Fairmont Pacific Rim in downtown Vancouver (☆☆☆☆☆)

Good sushi, great atmosphere! (www.lobbyloungerawbar.com)

The Brasserie in Whistler (☆☆☆☆)

Delicious poutine with pulled pork, great for people watching!

Activities

I did a full recap of all activities in this post, but here's my overall ranking from the activities. (Click on the titles to view my recaps of each place.)

Capilano Suspension Bridge ☆☆☆☆

It was really cool with lots to see and do there. It really made me miss my kiddos, who would have eaten that place right up! VERY touristy and busy.

Willow Stream Day Spa ☆☆☆☆☆

I had a 90 minute facial, and it was an incredible place! Very professional staff and extremely relaxing environment. Don't forget your swimsuit for the rooftop hot tub!

Baden Powell Trail and Quarry Rock (☆☆☆☆)

Beautiful, well-paved trails, very serene in the mornings, Quarry Rock was a nice view of Deep Cove!

Whistler, British Columbia (☆☆☆☆☆)

An easy day drive from Vancouver. Olympic Village was SO cool, the mountain bikers were fun to watch in the "off-season" from skiing and such, and the mountain views are incredible!

Sea to Sky Highway (☆☆☆☆☆)

There is no way I could ever describe in word or picture or video just how it felt to drive this. It was beyond out of this world! Highly, highly, highly recommend this drive!

Overall...

I HIGHLY recommend pretty much all parts of the trip. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and I cannot wait to go back some day!

This particular trip really ended in quite a hurry, and I don't want to get into it here, but let's just say that I'd like to repeat this trip at some point where I'm not rushed and hurried at the end for a super early morning flight. And I'd like to stay somewhere along the Sea to Sky Highway (perhaps in Porteau or Squamish or even Whistler) to really have a great shot at actually sitting back and truly taking in the scenery around there without so much of the hustle and bustle.

British Columbia 2018 :: Lodging

As I mentioned in my post Solace last month, I went on a vacation all by myself to get away from life for a little while. Life has just been...intense this past year. If I'm being honest, it has been intense for longer than that, but it just all seems to have caught up with me more recently, and this trip to Vancouver and the surrounding areas was just what I needed to get my thoughts back together and be refreshed.

I'll cover the more personal aspects of the trip in my other blog eventually, but here I tend to just stick to a recap of the places I went and what I did and ate, so I'll stick more surface level here :)

I opted, once again, for a vrbo rental, which overall, has always been a really great choice for me. I'm going to do a little bullet point list for the upside and downside sections, and then expand on them.

The Upsides...

• Impeccably manicured grounds.
• Incredible view of the bay.
• Owners were extremely helpful and friendly.
• Cottage was very well stocked and extremely clean.
• Incredible masseuse as a neighbor, just steps away.
• Owners allowed use of their private dock.
• Extremely comfortable bed.
• Sound system in the cabin was really nice.
• Hardly any bugs.

Bliss Cottage was a little slice of heaven. Seriously. It was absolutely incredible!

The owners were extremely helpful and kind, leading me out to their place in the dark when I got in later, and also recommending a good friend of theirs for the most incredible massage of my life the next afternoon. The grounds were impeccably manicured and the view absolutely stunning. They gave me some really great tips for traveling (such as visiting Whistler instead of Fort Landrey, or getting to Deep Cove earlier in the morning to make sure to get a parking spot), and left nothing left un-turned when it came to amenities. The cottage was incredible!

The little Adirondack chairs were the perfect spot for coffee in the morning while watching the boats go by out in the bay. The flowers were placed just far enough that I could see the bees pollinating without worry of being stung or bothered. This little oasis in the middle of nowhere was just delightful! The owner, Jodi, left no stone unturned!

The Downsides...

• A ridiculous amount of stairs...everywhere.
• A little creepy at night
• Poor lighting in parking area.
• I felt extremely vulnerable as a single woman.
• If you aren't a huge dog person, be prepared. I can 100% guarantee that the owners would have kept their pups closer to their home if I had expressed concern, but they have two large dogs. If you aren't a dog person, mention it to them upon booking so they can be prepared.

It is CRAZY to get out there, even if it wasn't very far from town (approximately 10 minutes). And quite frankly, getting there at nighttime was really intense and a little scary. I don't even want to gander at what some of those hairpin decline turn angles were, but I'm going to throw like...25-30% grade maybe? That's what it felt like to me, anyway. It wasn't quite so intimidating after maneuvering it a few times, but there were definitely times when I would turn and not be able to really see the road in front of me. Getting there in itself was a little scary. And then there wasn't really great lighting from the car down to the stairs to the cottage (which...there were a LOT of stairs), so it was pretty crazy the first and last nights trying to get my luggage unloaded and then re-loaded. And well...I felt extremely vulnerable in those moments. I mean...we're in the mountains, so aside from worrying about some creeper attacking me, there was also the threat of bears or mountain lions or something. Considering I went by myself as a single woman, I found myself more guarded and creeped out signif more easily than I would have been if I had been there with a friend or with my husband. For that reason, I'd have a very hard time recommending this place for a solo trip. I initially intended to return to this exact spot every year, but I just don't think that I will. I'd prefer to stay somewhere a little more...public. I found myself so paranoid the night before I left that I ended up booking a hotel and driving across town instead of staying there. I'm sure I wouldn't have had that same paranoia if I was there with a friend, but my gut instinct just told me to run, so I did.

Based on my last night experience alone, I'd have a hard time recommending the place, which makes me horribly sad, because beyond that last 20 minutes of my stay there, it was like something out of a Debbie Macomber book, and I really did want to return.

British Columbia 2018 :: Activities and Places to Go

Activities and Places to Go

Deep Cove

Deep Cove is a little slice of heaven! I absolutely adored my quiet morning exploring there. I would love to go back! For a full recap of my morning in Deep Cove, click here.

Capillano Suspension Bridge

Capillano Suspension Bridge was pretty cool, although not nearly as death-defying as I had envisioned. It was basically just a busy tourist attraction. They did a lot of awesome work keeping up the grounds, and the tree top experience was really cool. My kids would have LOVED it! It was really expensive, but I do feel worth doing once. Granted, it would only be a half day kind of experience, and I felt like I saw enough after just a couple hours. For a full recap, click here!

Willow Stream Day Spa

The spa was incredible, and I would HIGHLY recommend it! Keep in mind that the cost for parking is crazy high, since it's in downtown Vancouver, and also that you can enjoy the spa ammenities with purchasing even a small package or treatment. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably just get the basic treatment (I did a facial) and then relax in the hot tub (bring your swimsuit) on the gorgeous rooftop lounge area. Oh, and show up at least an hour early. For a full recap, click here!

Baden Powell Trail and Quarry Rock

The long story short is that I ended up hiking a significant portion of the full Baden Powell Trail by accident, but it was really beautiful, and I would do it again! The hike to Quarry Rock should have been significantly shorter, and the view was awesome, although not quite as awesome as the view from Bliss Cottage. For a full recap, click here!

Whistler

Whistler was absolutely beautiful, and a really fun way to spend a day. There is something for everyone in Whistler, and a really fun place to be by yourself or with a huge group. The people watching is awesome, and the little village is so fun! For a full recap of my afternoon in Whistler, click here!

Sea to Sky Highway

This drive is a MUST! This two hour stretch of mountainous road between Vancouver and Whistler is absolutely stunning. It took my breath away and left me with goosebumps numerous times. Our God is so incredible, and it was absolutely magnificent! The stops along the way back that I took included Brandywine Falls, Shannon Falls, a random pull over on the side of the road in Squamish, Porteau Cove and Horseshoe Bay. For a full recap of this drive and my stops, click here!

Sea to Sky Highway :: British Columbia 2018

There really wasn't a "bad" excursion on my whole trip, but the Sea to Sky Highway was by far one of my very favorite parts of my trip! It was absolutely stunning. It took my breath away. I want to go back today. I opted not to stop much at all on the way up to Whistler, but let's just say that the drive back FROM Whistler took me 4 hours, so yeah - I stopped. A LOT. I'm going to break down my Sea to Sky Highway experience down to my stops so that it breaks the beauty up a bit ;) Highlights, however, were Brandywine Falls, Shannon Falls, a random pull over on the side of the road in Squamish, Porteau Cove and Horseshoe Bay.

Brandywine Falls

It was raining fairly steadily when I stopped at Brandywine Falls, so I was thankful that I had snatched up an umbrella from the place I stayed at on my trip. I enjoyed that it was a short walk, as I had sandals on (rainboots would have been nice!) and

The falls were incredible, and I certainly wasn't expecting them to be quite THAT incredible. But going just a short jaunt further, the view literally stopped me in my tracks and took my breath away. The cool thing about going to check them out in the steady rain was that not many other people decided to also go out in the rain, so I had the whole view to myself, and it was just...there are no words.

Tauntalus Lookout

There weren't nearly as many of these little lookouts along the way as I felt there should be. I feel like while the views were incredible, there were even MORE incredible views that I had to just drive right on by and there was nowhere to stop and take it in, so while my jaw was dropped and I felt like I wanted to just sit there in awe and wonder, I had to also still drive on a windy mountain road and not drive off the cliff, so I had to just pass them by. This lookout was just a very, very small taste of how beautiful it is.

Shannon Falls

Shannon Falls was a lot busier than Brandywine Falls, probably partially on account of it not raining anymore, but also on account of it actually having a little gift shop and being more spread out. It wasn't nearly as easy to snap a picture of the falls, as it was more covered by trees, but through the trees, it was easier to see in person.

Squamish stop

Technically, this was two stops, but I'm going to combine it into one. The first stop was just a slam on my brakes at the last second stop as I was coming into Squamish. It was just such a breathtaking view right there on the side of the road that I had to stop. I didn't stay long here, maybe 10 minutes, but as the photos show, it was totally worth the quick pull over. It made me want to move to Squamish, considering this is just commonplace there.

The second stop, however, I stayed for more like half an hour. I had to sorta jump down this cliff (after checking to make sure there was a safe way to climb back up), and it was just full of driftwood and

Porteau Cove

Porteau Cove may have been my favorite stop of the entire trip. It was busier than most of the other stops, but so spread out that it felt like I was the only person there. It was just so...quiet. It sounded...hollow, for lack of better words. The sounds of the sea were amplifie.

Horseshoe Bay

I would never have made this stop, but it was getting closer and closer to sunset, and I was just really wanting to get a beautiful picture of the sunset with an incredible backdrop, so I kept trying to decide where I needed to stop in order to get a really neat sunset picture. Well...I didn't have enough patience to actually stick around long enough, as I was still a jaunt from the cottage I was staying at near Deep Cove, and they had invited me to dinner. Still, I was glad to have stopped here! There wasn't much to it, but I would have enjoyed meandering a little longer. It was just your typical little town, however. It looked like there was a small cruise ship docked there. It would've been a neat little town to stay in, close to Vancouver, along the Sea to Sky Highway, and with this beautiful view!

I WILL be back to tackle the Sea to Sky Highway again, most definitely. I'd like to stay along the shoreline in a little cottage somewhere and just really soak in the immensity that is there. It's so astoundingly beautiful! It's hard to imagine without actually being there, but you feel so alive and so tiny and just...free. I'd love to feel that feeling every single day.

Whistler :: British Columbia 2018

My second (and final) day in Vancouver, at the suggestion of the owners of the cottage I stayed at, after an early morning hike that eventually took me to Quarry Rock, I made a day trip to Whistler and enjoyed the incredible beauty of the Sea to Sky Highway, going from Vancouver up to Whistler. It literally took my breath away and gave me goosebumps. The signs kinda taunted me, saying absolutely no stopping, because all I wanted to do was slam on the brakes and sit there in the middle of the mountain road staring. Seriously. Incredible!

I took off around 10am from North Vancouver, and although I WANTED to stop along the way up to capture the insane raw natural beauty along the way up, I made it a straight shot, with this being my only stop:

How crazy is it that when I stopped, I was sad that they chose THIS spot to have as a stop for photo op, because compared to what I had just seen, it was NOTHING.

I made it to Whistler around noon time and found parking, and then some lunch in the ADORABLE little Whistler Village.

I walked around the village for a good half hour before deciding to stop for some lunch at The Brasserie.

I decided at the urging of a few of my Canadian friends to give poutine another try. The only other time I had tried it was at the Toronto airport before we went to Ireland, and I was sorely disappointed. This time I opted to add some shredded pork to it, and it was a HUGE hit! I still wasn't overly fond of any bite that I took where it was just the fries and gravy and cheese curds, but any bite with the pork was AWESOME!

While Whistler is known for its incredible skiing in the winter time, when it gets into summer time, it isn't skiing, but mountain biking that takes over. There was a really cool course, and I'm assuming some sort of tournament while I was there. There were mountain biker dudes (and dudettes...and little biker kiddos) EVERYWHERE.

The people watching was paramount here! It was the perfect place to just sort of sit back, relax and watch all the different people.

After lunch, I explored more and did some light shopping for the kiddos and myself.

Whistler was such a wonderful little place! I would absolutely go back, given the opportunity! It was such an easy, relaxing place to stroll around, shop a little, eat a little, relax a little. I think it'd be an excellent place for families and kids, was SO walkable, and the village was just so quaint and cozy and inviting. It was absolutely worth the drive up from Vancouver.