by Annie | Jul 4, 2011 | Travel
To celebrate Independence Day, Joe and I climbed a mountain. No really. We climbed a mountain. Grouse Grind, commonly referred to as Mother Nature’s Stairmaster, is a 2.9km trail up Grouse Mountain. It includes nearly 3,000 steps and an elevation gain of over 850 meters. Not for the faint of heart. And when I say steps, I don’t mean stairs like the ones you’d find in your house. No no. I actually rejoiced at the sight of “normal” stairs along the trail. Most steps were several normal stairs high, created out of rocks and wooden planks anchored into the side of the mountain. Before heading out on the trail, I knew we were in for quite a hike. But after all, we’d hiked a mountain or two before, so I figured we’d be okay. I kid you not, I probably spent half my energy reserves laughing (in fear!) at the sheer size of the mountain when we got to the base. We’re climbing THAT? But I knew there was no turning back at this point, so we headed out on the trail. Within minutes, I was out of breath. I tell you, my breath must be in much better shape than I am, because I spent the next hour and fifteen minutes trying to catch it. Once we finally reached the top (the summit is over 1,100 meters high), the view was breathtaking. We could see all of greater Vancouver and Mount Baker. A bag of trail mix later, we were ready to explore. We spent the next few hours watching lumberjacks, birds of prey, and grizzlies, getting sunburned,...
by Annie | Jul 4, 2010 | Travel
It’s official: Joe and I have been married for 3 years! Well, actually, almost 3 years. Those of you who were at the wedding might remember that it actually took place in October, the day after my birthday. And thus, because I would only be receiving one gift for two occasions, I had to lobby for a new date. So as of July 2nd, we’ve been unofficially married for 3 years. To celebrate, we dropped the dog off for an overnight stay at The Woof Dog Lounge and Spa and then headed up to the Sunshine Coast. After an hour on the road and 40 minutes on the ferry, we arrived at the Ruby Lake Resort, a 99-acre resort surrounded by water and mountains and claiming to have the best northern Italian fare in all of British Columbia. Though it was cloudy on the Sunshine Coast when we arrived, we were not deterred. After a quick meal of boar sausage sandwiches (yum!), we headed out on a hike to see the Skookumchuck Rapids. Fairly early in the hike, the conversation turned to previous anniversary celebrations, and the fact that neither of us could recall any of them irked us for the rest of the trek. Back at the resort, we checked in and headed to our room, which consisted of a large canvas tent with standard hotel furniture inside (queen bed, lamp, tables, chairs, fireplace, and private porch). “Glamping,” as this style of travel accommodation has been termed, stems from the combination of the words “glamorous” and “camping.” It’s a real thing, I swear. It’s the perfect compromise between...
by Annie | Jun 27, 2010 | Travel
After a 3am courtyard brawl woke us up in the middle of the night, Joe and I arose this morning more than a little out of it but still determined to go through with the Whistler excursion we’d planned. Coffee in hand, we headed out on the 2-hour drive to one of North America’s top destinations. When planning for this day trip, we were completely overwhelmed by the endless menu of outdoor options and activities available within the small resort town. Mountain biking, frisbee golf, river rafting, alpine hiking, bungee jumping, ziplining, kayaking, sky diving, canoeing, ATV tours, geocaching, mountain climbing, horseback riding, wine tasting, and helicopter tours were all possibilities, not to mention spa visits and a myriad of dining options. And these were just the summer activities! During our short time in Whistler, I think I figured out why the town is thus named. We were whistling quite a lot throughout the day, though for several different reasons. Reason 1: [Continuous whistling] “Ah, I’m so happy to be here. What a wonderful place. I’m having so much fun.” Reason 2: [Downward whistle, accompanied by widening eyes] “That costs HOW much?!” Reason 3: [Upward whistle, followed by scrunched eyebrows and flared nostrils] “Sofie, get over here, NOW!” Reason 4: [Downward whistle, with eyebrows raised] “Wow, that’s frickin’ gorgeous.” Reason 5: [Downward whistle, accompanied by fast walking] “Finally, a bathroom!” Truly an amazing place that we will be visiting as often as...
by Annie | Jun 20, 2010 | Travel
How do you turn a 3-hour trip into an 8-hour one? By leaving something important behind, of course. On our way back to Vancouver from Seattle, we decided to stop in Bellingham, two hours north of Seattle and just south of the Canadian border. Why? Because Bellingham has the only Chick Fil-A in the state of Washington. Round and round we went, weaving in and out of the quiet residential streets of suburban Bellingham with only an iPhone to guide us toward the fast food beacon. Unfortunately, as we soon discovered, iPhone maps are a little less than accurate when it comes to tiny suburban streets. More than one street the iPhone promised as a through street ended up leading straight into someone’s driveway. Several minutes later, we made it onto the campus of Western Washington University, home of the Vikings and a branch of Chick Fil-A. Unfortunately, classes were out for the summer and the campus was almost completely desolate. Nevermind. Back to the highway toward Vancouver. Until… [iPhone rings] Bad news. Joe’s work computer was left behind in Seattle. Two hours later, we were back in Seattle to pick up the computer, then turned around and headed back toward Vancouver. Four hours into the trip, we were back at the starting gate. We just had too much gas in our car, that’s all. Felt we should release some to the environment so our car didn’t have to work so hard on a full stomach. It was the only responsible thing to do. All in all, I suppose it’s good to know we could travel to Seattle several...
by Annie | Jun 4, 2010 | Travel
Thanks to all those who have followed along through our many adventures during this roadtrip. I will continue documenting our adventures here in Vancouver, for those who are interested. In the meantime, here are some pictures to illustrate the many interesting experiences we’ve had (click the picture below to open the album). Enjoy! DC to BC...
by Annie | Jun 4, 2010 | Travel
Well, I guess you can’t expect a roadtrip of this magnitude to go off without any hitches. During the past couple of weeks, we’ve woken up to wet pillows/sleeping bags/tents multiple times, the lens popped out of my glasses as I was laughing at a funny email (no joke), an interior car panel unhinged itself (presumably from Sofie stepping all over it), our ketchup and mustard bottles were flooded with old cooler water, and a bottle of body wash exploded in my backpack. On top of all that, we were nearly kept out of Canada as we were passing through the border today: BORDER OFFICER: So, what are you coming to Canada for? ME: I’m studying game design at the Vancouver Film School, so I’d like to apply for a student visa. BORDER OFFICER (to JOE): And you? JOE: I’m assuming I can be under the same student visa? BORDER OFFICER: Sure. Marriage license? US: Oh… Oops… Didn’t know we needed that. We’ll have to get it from the car. [We walk to the car, spirits still high, while security cameras pan toward us and the guard outside eyes us suspiciously.] JOE: Do you know where it is? ME: Yup, it’s in one of the large plastic boxes. [I beam at my supreme organization, immediately pulling out my iPhone to access the annotated lists of the contents of each box.] JOE: Great, so it’s in the rooftop carrier. [JOE rummages around, trying to find the key for the rooftop carrier.] ME: Oh yeah, I remember seeing that key… JOE: Well, where is it? ME: I think I put it...
