Vancouver - Clip 'n Climb, Jinhwa & Flying Home

 

Day 6

We didn't have any major plans on Monday morning, so we decided to just go for a walk in Central Park (no, not that Central Park). They had a fun playground and nice hiking trails.

Couldn't quite figure out this equipment

Mommy the pro

Sweater swap (still cold out there!)

We got some Ramen takeout for lunch, then Steve and Emily enjoyed an afternoon at the Clip 'n Climb while Jessi and I explored the Metropolis Mall, a nearby playground, and Peter's backyard. 

Wanting to go back since 2018!

Episode 34: The Clip n' Climb Tubes

(Making it look easy!)

Learning to walk on a tightrope

We did so many tricks on this rope ♥

Last dinner with Peter & fam

Day 7

On our last day in Vancouver, we had a quick meetup with Jinhwa and family before heading to the airport. We were so glad to catch up after all these years!

Maelle has grown so much since we last saw her!

Returning the rental car

We were gearing up for a long day of travel with a connection in Calgary, Alberta and arrival in Ottawa at midnight. We got bad news when we reached the Vancouver airport, however: our flight to Calgary was over 1.5 hours delayed, which meant we would miss our connection.

Steve at the WestJet counter, trying to find a solution

Amazingly, there was another flight to Calgary with the same airline that was boarding just as we arrived at our gate. We asked if we could transfer to this earlier flight and thankfully the answer was yes! This is where having only carry-on luggage (and a lot of luck) really paid off.

We're gonna make it!

Goodbye, Vancouver!

McDonald's fries did not travel well...

We landed in Calgary with an hour to spare before our connecting flight started boarding. Other than some ear pain for Jessi during landing and takeoff (due to her stuffy nose), the rest of our flight experience went smoothly.

Reached our car at 12:40am

The final leg of the trip was the 2-hour drive from Ottawa to Kingston. We were all so tired and relieved when we got home shortly before 3:00am!!

Thanks for the memories, Vancouver!

But there's no place like home ♥

Vancouver - Stanley Park, Peter's House & Lynn Canyon

 

Day 4

On Saturday morning we packed up our things and checked out of our Airbnb in Whistler. Our plan for the day was to hike the Sea to Sky Trail before heading back to Vancouver and meeting  up with our friends.

Unfortunately we didn't last very long on the Sea to Sky Trail because of mosquitos and cold weather. We got as far as this waterfall (about 10 minutes), then turned around:

Every once in a while on our drive to Vancouver we'd stop at some lookout points, but the clouds obstructed a lot of the mountain views... then it started raining! Oh well.

Since we didn't get to do our planned hike, we decided to check out Stanley Park, thinking we'd either just drive around or start hiking once the weather improved. It did! So we did!

Big trees ♥

Checking for caterpillars

One funny thing about Stanley Park at this time of year was how many tiny caterpillars were randomly hanging down from trees, ready to hop onto unsuspecting hikers! We kept finding some, including when we got back in the car:

One less funny thing was getting lost during our hike, the rain starting back up, and taking a very long time to drive out of the park (due to a wrong turn). The kids eventually recharged with some McDonald's. 

After lunch we arrived at our friend Peter's beautiful home in Burnaby and spent the rest of the day socializing, checking out a nearby playground, and settling in to their basement guest suite.

A perfect balance

Day 5

Day 5 had a rough start: Jessi was sick with a cold! The runny nose that started the evening before (which we hoped was just allergies) turned into a stuffy nose and cough. History was repeating itself as she got sick the last time we were in Vancouver. Miraculously the rest of us didn't catch it!

Sad girl

We took it easy all morning, eating breakfast treats and watching Survivor in Peter's basement home theatre (so fun!). We also discovered Drawful from Jackbox Games -- an entertaining drawing game played on the big screen. Lots of little pleasures! 

In the afternoon Jessi was feeling well enough for a hike at Lynn Canyon Park. Due to the day and time, the bridge and trails were much busier than the last time we went, so nowhere near as picturesque! But cool nonetheless.

Our ultimate goal for the hike was to reach the 30-foot pool because that was where they shot scenes for the Descendants movies!

The scene (source)

Days 4 and 5 in the books; only two days remaining!