A Long Post About a Little Vacation

I recommend Vancouver as a vacation foray. I recommend this guy as a travel guide/idea man/photographer extraordinaire.


Our first stop was Peace Arch Park at the U.S./Canadian border. The past few times we've been to Canada we've crossed elsewhere so we let our kids get out and run around and relish standing with one leg in a different country.

It was beautiful, but it was COLD. Here I'm kissing Braeden less out of maternal love and more about trying to get my nose warm.


This tree line is the border. There are houses in Canada and a playground in the U.S. This led to our imagined scenarios: "Mom, I'm going to America to play." "OK, be home for lunch."

Oh, we're witty.


Once in Vancouver we soared over the Frasier River on the Lion's Gate Bridge. This picture in no way does it justice.


Some Stanley Park shots (why doesn't Seattle have a park like Stanley Park?):




Inside the aquarium, Mark declared that he was (once again) having the best day of his life.

Here he is, his first glimpse of the beluga whales:


I must admit, I'm rather taken with them myself.



We also saw the adorable sea otter:


And the impressive, leaping dolphins:


Some of us had a better view than others for the show:


The tropical fish:


My two favorite photographs Adam took:

After leaving Stanley park we navigated around Vancouver, took a few wrong turns and finally found our destination Gastown, named for Gassy Jack. Braeden wondered if he was named Gassy Jack for the reason he thought he was named Gassy Jack. No. I try to get Braeden to not be a (very nearly) twelve year old boy but then I remember, he is a (very nearly) twelve year old boy.

The Just Say No to Drugs people need to include a drive down Hastings street in Vancouver to their curriculum. It's a sad and scary lesson in why you don't want to do meth. Our kids asked us thirty times if the doors were locked.

They were.

We rounded out the visit with one of our favorite go to restaurants, The Old Spaghetti Factory:


And none too soon because our tired kids were hungry...and getting crabby. (or was that me?)

Mark slept almost the entire drive home. We stopped at Costco in Mount Vernon for hot dogs for the kids who were (somehow though why am I surprised anymore?) hungry. Mark woke up and staggered around holding his hot dog. While I was shepherding him back to the van he sleepily said, "Mom, something is strange. They changed Costco." I told him it wasn't our regular Costco.

Later when we got home, he mentioned the Costco in Canada. I told him it wasn't in Canada.

He walked away from me, thoroughly confused but not caring anymore.






And now you're going to need a vacation if you valiantly suffered through all these pictures.