To the Northwest!

For the last week I've been galavanting around the Northwest with my mom and it was wonderful! From Seattle to Victoria the whole area is gorgeous and there are a ton of things to do. Here is how my mom and I kept ourselves busy through the trip:

Day 1: San Jose to Seattle to Anacortes
To begin with the flight from San Jose to Seattle is absolutely beautiful on a clear day. You pass right over Mt. Shasta, Crater Lake, Mt. St. Helen, and Mt. Rainer with great views. Once I arrived in Seattle my mom and I actually found each other without too much trouble (she finally has a cell phone) and headed off to our first destination ... REI :) A few pairs of sale shoes later we headed down to the famous Pike's Market to look around a bit and have some lunch. The amazing bouquets of flowers and the energetic folks throwing around fish make the overwhelming fishy smell of the market worth it. At this point we were done with the city and headed up to Mukileto to catch the ferry over to Whidbey Island. We spent the rest of the day driving up the narrow island stoppint at wineries and farmers market. We went for a quick hike at Deception Pass, a narrow and supposedly dangerous narrow passage between islands, and finally called it a night at the northern tip of the island at Anacortes.
Deception Pass

Day 2: Anacortes to Vancouver Island
The next moring we got up REALLY early to catch the first ferry over from Anacortes to Sidney. After the 90-minute ferry ride we ventured over to the Butterfly Gardens where we peacefully watched all the butterflies and birds float around (my favorite part was the venus fly traps and carniverous ferns). There was even a special moth that after 5 years had just come out of its cacoon. The guides said the moth would only be alive for 3-5 days ... that's a lot of waiting for not a lot of life! From the butterfly garden we headed over to the Buchart Gardens, a huge old limestone quarry that had been turned into an amazing garden. Here we had I think my favorite part of the whole trip, an afternoon tea. The tea, food, and views were just too good to forget. We ended up liking the gardens so much that we came back in the evening for dinner and to see it lit up in lights.

"The" Moth

Day 3: Exploring Victoria
Just about 20 miles south of Buchart Gardens is the capital of British Columbia, Victoria. We decided the best way to explore the city would be by bike so we rented a couple and rode down the Galloping Goose Trail (that is really what is called) to Hatley Castle at Royal Roads University. The 60,000 square foot castle was amazing and looked like it had been plucked right out of medieval Europe. We hadn't had enough castles for the day though so we headed over to the Craigdaroch Castle that sits on the highest point in Victoria. We spent the evening exploring downtown and then relaxing at our amazing bed and breakfast which sat right on the water and even had a hot tub.

Mom on Galloping Goose

Day 4: Zip-lining and forts
For our second day in Victoria we decided to head over to the town of Sooke and try ziplining. My mom has been bugging me to do this for years (wouldn't you think it would be the other way around) so I finally let in and we went. After an ATV ride through the forest, 8 ziplines, suspension bridges and two hours of beautiful views I have to say it was totally worth it. It may not be quite the adrenaline rush that it might have been in Mexico where you are unsure if your equipment is going to hold up but their added saftey measures means they can get their ziplines going really fast and the harnesses let you lay down, spin around, or do whatever else you want. In the afternoon we went and explored an old fort and light house before heading back downtown for dinner in Chinatown.

Day 5: Back to the mainland
Well ... the morning of this day didn't start out too great. We had three hours to get to the ferry station on the northern side of the island at So, we took our time, explored some cute little cities (one of which had an amzing amount of murals) and in the end we ran into some construction and missed our spot on the ferry by three minutes! They use a reservation system where you have to be there 30 minutes before the ferry leaves and we were exactly three minutes late which meant we had to wait 2 more hours for the next ferry ... oh well, we learned our lesson about dawdeling. We finally got out of Nanaimo headed to Vancouver about noon. For the afternoon we headed up "Vancouver's Mountain" (aka Grouse Mountain) on a cable car. At the top we were greeted with pretty views, a fun and corny lumberjack show, grizzly bears, a bird of prey show, and a delicious dinner. For anyone heading up this way and planning on going up the cable car this is last point makes it totally worth it! The dinner is expensive ($35-40) but if you are planning on going up anyways thetickets for the cable car are $30 so you might as well get a gourmet meal with a beautiful view for a few extra bucks (or loonies or whatever they call them). Reservations are required though.

Crazy Logger

Day 6: Vancouver
Our first rainy/foggy day of the trip (I guess the Helen hot-air, high-pressure zone really does work ... my mom likes to talk ... a lot). We started off the morning going to Lynn Canyon which has a gorgeous suspension bridge over a deep gorge with waterfalls and crystal clear waters. We did a big figure 8 loop around the park. Continuing our outdoor theme despite the rain we decided to rent bikes and make the trek around Vancouver's Stanley Park. The trail goes right along the coast of the park and makes a circle past totem polls, cool bridges, cliffs, and lots of blackberries (like everywhere else in the Northwest). Also in the park we went to the Vancouver Aquarium. I forgot how excited dolphins, whales, and cute sea otters make me ... what ever happened to becoming a marine biologist? They even had a baby beluga whale that was just too cute. At this point it was time to head back into the United States. After an easy drive over the border we decided to end the trip and style with a dinner at the top of space needle. It turns out my mom and her mom did the same thing 43 years ago when my mom was just starting her first summer at Boeing so it made it a nice, memorable end of the trip. As one would expect the views and food was amazing. Dinner on the top of the space needle

Day 7: Homeward bound
All good things must come to an end and I hopped on the plane at the early hour of 6am back to San Jose. I guess the one good thing about leaving the husband at home is it makes you super excited to get back home although I don't think I'll be leaving him behind again any time soon (build up those vacation days honey!).