International Traveller

Steve and I recently realized that we hadn’t been to British Columbia since we were engaged in Victoria 9! years ago (we thought that we hadn’t been to Canada at all since then, until we remembered the epic mini golf game of 2007 at Niagara Falls with Megan and Lars). So, it seemed time to take Grace on her first big international trip. Pop, resident Vancouver expert, joined us for the day trip. We headed up to Stanley Park, but not without a very dramatic stop at an Instabank (Canadian word for ATM) to get Loonies (one dollar coins). I heart Canada.

Stanley Park is an amazing park, rather like Golden Gate Park or Central Park with lots of attractions within it. We hit a playground, picnicked on the beach, and walked along the seawall. Vancouver is a really beautiful city, so I was disappointed the clouds didn’t lift so we could see the surrounding mountains. We planned to take Grace on the miniature train, but she fell asleep while riding on Pop’s shoulders. Poor tired lovey. So, we ditched the train and headed back to Bellingham. Grace loved Canada and is very excited to now be a citizen of the world. We tried to teach her to sing “O, Canada!”

Back in Bellingham, and without any Peace Arch photos since G was asleep, we stopped at Mallards for ice cream. Grace ate most of the one she was sharing with Steve and then finished mine – espresso with actual coffee grounds. She does, after all, like to eat coffee beans (don’t worry, I only let her have the decaf, and I only gave them to her in the first place is because I figured once she tried them she would stop asking… woops). Re-energized and with the sun out, we headed over to Lake Padden for the rest of the day. We walked around the lake, waded in swimming area (Grace the toughie went barefoot while Steve and I couldn’t stand the rocks without sandals), and played on the playground.

I think the trip ended up being the park/sun/food tour of greater Bellingham because we mostly visited parks, reveled in the sunshine, and ate.