Vacation 2013 Part 3 - Whistler and Back to Reality

The best is yet to come, friends! Whistler was absolutely gorgeous and a great way to end our trip. We drove from Vancouver along the Sea-to-Sky Highway, and took a gondola to Whistler mountain and then across to Blackcomb mountain.

Day 5: Our car rental was set for 10 AM and we got there at around 9:45 thinking we'd get an early start. Well, many others had the same thought and we ended up waiting in line for about 45 minutes! The car rental employees were doing the best they could and by the time we got to the counter, we killed them with kindness! Because were only renting for the day and planned to return the car that night, the guy upgraded us to a Volvo S60 with a sun roof and leather seats... FOR FREE!! We were riding in style.

We hit the road and in no time found ourselves on the Sea-to-Sky highway. It was the most beautiful drive that we've taken (so far). Chelsea navigated and took pictures of the beautiful mountains and lakes around us. We arrived in Whistler around noon and decided to eat before going up both mountains. Now, a trip to Canada wouldn't be complete without some Poutine. I used Yelp to help us find some good Poutine in Whistler and we ended up at El Furniture Warehouse. The picture below says it all.

All is well in the world when you have french fries covered in gravy with bacon and cheese curds... good thing we biked and walked a lot!

 

A picture from the passenger side of the car.

The gondola ride up to Whistler mountain was both beautiful and terrifying. We decided to take the ski lift up to "The Top of the World". The 15 minutes of terror were totally worth the views from the top: glacier lakes, snow capped mountains as far as the eye could see, and the feeling of being 7,000 feet above sea level. The gondola ride across to Blackcomb mountain was also beautiful. We were in a gondola with a glass bottom and unfortunately did not see any bears...

View from the ski lift. It was really scary!

From the Gondola

The Olympic Rings!!

Glacier Lake

The lovely Chelsea

Now, a trip to Whistler also wouldn't be complete without a fashionable souvenir! Chelsea found a neat hat that she can use to disguise herself as a real Canadian. At the end of a long day, we were ready to say adios.

We hopped in our in and drove back home. We stopped at the Southside Diner for some comfort food and then watched the sun set over the mountains as we drove back to Vancouver. Words cannot describe how beautiful the drive back to Vancouver was. It will live forever in our memories and in our hearts.

Day 6: How do ya top that, eh? Well, on our last day in Vancouver we ate breakfast at a waffle bar (they serve waffle sandwiches and flavored milk), I ate a Japadog (a hot dog that is Japanese style. It was a pork sausage with mayo, teriyaki sauce, seaweed, and fried onions), we visited the memorial for Cory Montieth (the Glee actor who died in his hotel room), walked to Gastown for an afternoon drink, learned about Canada's involvement in the war of 1812 (we skimmed a couple of statues), and stocked up on snacks for our train ride back to Seattle, and back home.

Memorial for Cory Montieth

Japadog!!

Waffle Sandwich for the Miura Waffle Bar in Vancouver

View from the Amtrak

Lunch was at a Mexican restaurant where the staff all spoke Spanish and made delicious food. English is not the first language for 52% of the population in Vancouver, so we heard all kinds of languages during our trip which was cool.

The train ride back to Seattle was beautiful. We could see Mount Baker from the train and the sun setting over the pacific. What a way to end the day, eh. 

We got into Seattle at around 10:30 PM and made it to The Moore Hotel. Apparently, this is a haunted hotel (I didn't tell Chelsea until the morning) but we were so tired that all of the ghosts in the world could not have woken us up. Before going to bed, we decided to have one last hurrah at this place called Rocco's. It's a pizza place with a neat bar and really friendly staff. The guy who checked us into the hotel recommended it. We ate slices of pizza and recalled our favorite moments of the trip.

Day 7: We went back to Seattle Coffee Works in the morning where the barista remembered us! We gave Pike Place one last tour and ate the BEST Greek yogurt. It was homemade and topped with berries and streusel. The breakfast of champs! We took the monorail to the airport and got to see other parts of Seattle which was nice. Unfortunately, a woman on the train had an odd episode where she started yelling, as if she were arguing with someone, but there was no one next to her. I think she got upset that the train was stopped but she settled down after a while. We hope that she got to her destination ok.

Beautiful Latte Art from the Moore Cafe

The BEST Greek Yogurt

Well, folks, that was our trip. It was incredible. Seattle was full of life and excitement. Its attitude was very laid back and was home to very delicious restaurants, friendly cab drivers, ghosts, unforgiving hills, and a breeze that took me back through all of the beautiful moments in life. Vancouver was clean, very chic, and vibrant. It is a city of contrasts. High peaks next to a Marina. A plethora of (expensive) high rise apartments and a sizable homeless population. But I suppose that's true for most cities. We felt as though we were just beginning to scratch the surface of Vancouver... which means we'll have to go back and explore some more! Until next time friends!

Lovebirds at the Top of the World!!

This is "Ilanaaq, the official mascot of the Whistler Winter Olympics. It is an Inuksuk: a man made structure made by the Inuit people.

View of the valley from the Gondola

View from the Sea to Sky Highway on our way back to Vancouver

Ms. Chelsea posing for a photo

Isn't she lovely!!

Me!!

View from the Sea to Sky Highway