Vancouver

tldr; beaches in Vancouver?

After our weekend in Olympic and a few more days in Seattle, we met back up with Brooke and Paulo in Vancouver! The border opened to Americans on Monday and, with our vaccination cards and negative test results, we crossed over on Thursday afternoon. Our crossing into Canada went very smoothly and we were so excited to drive the van into a new country! Our crossing back into the US just two weeks later was less smooth

Once we got to Vancouver, we headed straight to a beach near our Airbnb. It was really peaceful, with lots of people sitting out on the sand or swimming in the water. We people watched and watched the sunset for a while then all grabbed dinner at a mediterranean place nearby.

Unfortunately, we arrived in Vancouver while there were some big wildfires going on nearby so the air quality was pretty poor and we spent more time indoors than we usually would have. We made up for it though by packing plenty of activities into our outdoor time and playing lots of games (and watching a couple more of the Twilight movies) while indoors.

We loved being so close to the beach and took a break during our workday on Friday to walk down to the water. Paulo even saw some otters playing in the water on his morning run. After work, we all headed to Granville Island, a great little island near the city full of shops and restaurants. It’s a really colorful and lively place, with fun murals painted all over. We walked around shops, got donuts, and sat out by the water. That evening, we went to a bar where we got to have an iconic Canadian dish, poutine. We snacked on our poutine while we played (you guessed it) Spot It!

On Saturday, we spent our morning inside playing some games before heading out to Stanley Park. Stanley Park is a huge park that makes up the end of the peninsula of Downtown Vancouver. We walked around and checked out one of the park’s many beaches during the afternoon. Like many of the other Vancouver beaches, it was crowded but remarkably peaceful as Canadians seem to be much quieter and calmer than us Americans.

On Sunday, we visited yet another beautiful beach, Kitsilano, and went to a popular Dim Sum place for lunch. It didn’t disappoint! After lunch, Brooke and Paulo headed back to Seattle and Choi and I checked out Gastown, an area by the water with a cool mix of really old architecture and new.

After Brooke and Paulo left, we spent the next few days in North Vancouver, where we had a Planet Fitness to shower at, before heading to our next destination, Squamish!

Vancouver, we love your great food, your friendly people, and your many amazing parks and beaches. Along We Go!