British Columbia to PA in Just Four Days

Happy 2013!  A new year with new adventures to share.

We haven't wasted time finding more places to see and things to do in the great state of Washington, however we did finally make our first trip out of the country to our friendly northern neighbor - Canada, Oh, Canada!

Before I dive into our exciting trip north (then east), I'll briefly share how we rang in the new year.
Sadly, we worked late on December 31st, but treated ourselves to a drink and live music at a local bar called the Pour House (or the "Po House" due to burnt out bulbs).  Much to our delight we ended up with a free drink and paid $1, instead of $6, for a cover charge!  Happy new year to us! (Don't worry about how we got away with that.)  Being old and lame we left the bar way before midnight to play a board game.  It was strange receiving happy new year messages from home.  Turns out Pacific Coast new years are pretty anti-climatic, especially when you don't have cable!  Regardless, we enjoyed having New Years Day off and sleeping in.  It was a brisk, mostly clear day which meant we had to get outside and so we did.  We hit up the Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge which was recommended by some co-workers.  A hidden gem behind a small town airport.  This refuge is a great spot for bird watching.  It is located at the mouth of the Chehalis River with muddy tide flats that attract hundreds of thousands of shorebirds each year.  There is a well maintained boardwalk trail that makes for a nice walk through the marsh, mudflats, and wooded areas.  Winter is a less active time for shorebirds,  however we were excited to see a grandiose owl soaring above and landing nearby. We ended the day with home cooked meal and a night of Netflix.

As Charlie noted in a previous post I was under the weather for a few weeks in December and still hadn't been able to shake the ailment the first week in January.  Turns out I simply needed an overdue visit with our kayaking and camping friends from northern WA, Kayla and Nate (plus a night of sleep on a non-inflatable bed). They were nice enough to invite us to Kayla's hometown where they made us feel right at home.  We stayed at Kayla's parents' house and were lucky to meet her welcoming family.

Nate, being a dual citizen who currently lives in Canada, had a Canadian adventure planned for us.  Fueled by Kayla's mom's homemade sticky buns and healthy smoothies we drove <10 miles to the border and entered British Columbia, "The Best Place on Earth."

Enough said.

We headed toward Vancouver (the capital of B.C.) where we made a stop at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park.  Here we trekked across the 230 ft high Capilano suspension bridge that was originally made of hemp (eek!).  We also made our way through the temperate rainforest via a cantilevered walkway jutting out from a granite cliff, then we continued on to Ewok Village which they prefer to call Treetop Adventure.  We prefer Ewok Village.



Treetop Adventure, a.k.a Ewok Village

He clearly belongs in Treetop Village

 Needing to be refueled after some hunting with the kind Ewok above, we made a stop at the infamous White Spot, an enjoyable Canadian dining experience where they offer french fries served in a way that will clog even the healthiest persons arteries.  It is a Quebec dish called poutine (pronounced poo-teen) that covers french fries with brown gravy and curd cheese (and leaves you with a belly ache).  We capped off the belly ache with palate cleansing gelato where we had 218 flavors to choose from (pear and blue cheese was NOT the winner).  We ended the day with a walk along the Burrard Inlet, which is part of  the Vancouver Harbor and within Stanley Park.  An awesome end to a great day spent in Canada, Oh Canada!

What would we do without these guys?

Before I bid farewell I cannot forget to mention that, as the title of this blog states, we went from Canada to good ol' PA in a 4 day window.  We were finally able to make it home after 6 months away...the longest stretch thus far.  After our weekend with Kayla and Nate we spent Monday at work then booked it to the Seattle airport where we took a red eye flight (which is no fun, especially when Chuck ends up with ginger ale spilled in his lap) to BWI.  We had just five days home with four of them being weekdays.  We focused on immediate family and were excited to fit some quality time in with a few friends along the way.  It was 100% refreshing to be home and we want to thank everyone for being flexible and spending your free/hectic moments with us!  Can't wait to see more of you in April.


Non-stop action Kiera!

Anna wants in one all the excitement.
I can't blame her.

We have returned to WA with 13 weeks to go and know that time will disappear.  We're planning our remaining weekends and making special arrangements to host some upcoming visitors from home...stay tuned.