We haven't been on an official vacation since Hawaii last Thanksgiving, so we were definitely ready for some time away from home.
Our friends, Katie and Rob had their wedding on beautiful San Juan Island so it was the perfect excuse for us to plan a trip. We didn't exactly get off to a relaxing start, with the four and a half hour drive consisting of bursts of screams. But as long as Collin stuffed his chubby cheeks with cheerios he was sort of content. We missed the first ferry and had to wait another three hours in Anacortes, WA with no place to go. After buying an absurdly expensive peanut butter and jelly sandwich at the cafe, Collin threw pieces of it on the ground and acted like it was poison. He proceeded to fall headfirst off a bench onto the hard floor with bloody lips, sending me into a panic and wondering where the nearest hospital was. Luckily it sounded much worse than it was. He was happy five minutes later with not even a bruise.
We stayed on San Juan Island for a couple days, had a fab time at the wedding (beautiful bride and groom, amazing setting, delish food, full bar, dancing). Plus I had an excuse to dress Collin in an argyle sweater vest. Collin behaved himself, happily gobbled up the food, then passed out in his portable crib inside while mom and dad partied a little. Of course Collin's 6 am wake up call still applies so it's hard to get motivated to stay out past eleven...
We then headed to Vancouver, B.C. for four nights and I scored us a great deal at a luxury hotel, complete with full kitchen which is handy with a toddler who needs milk and isn't always the best at restaurants (of course they don't tell you parking is $30 every night and should you want to use the Internet that's another $15 a day). Plus because we went over the magical border, phone rates, data usage, etc. skyrocketed so no Internet for us. There was also poor service in the San Juan's-- without access to Internet for three or four days, we were beginning to get the shakes. We did find a few free wi-fi spots...Mike and I casually stood at the entrances to cafes with our iphones in sync, scrolling down to check emails while we satisfied Collin with a cup of cheerios.
The weather in Vancouver was beautiful, between 70 and 75 degrees and the air smelled crisp. The streets just seem cleaner in Canada, the people friendly (except for a certain part of town that was overrun with porn shops, peep shows, and Heroin zombies). We walked a lot. Probably an average of five to ten miles a day. Through neighborhoods that sometimes looked a lot like Portland, other times reminded me of New York, and also went through the biggest China Town I've seen. Hopefully trecking all over the city, made up somewhat for all the food indulgences. Ah yes I can't mention my vacation without describing the eating. We found a hole-in-the-wall falafel place that was authentically delicious, sampled Japa Dog--a Japanese style hot dog stand right outside our hotel with mile-long lines...concept sounds a bit weird but my bratwurst marinated in soy sauce with radishes and green onion was quite tasty and I suddenly understood the hype. We also had amazing Indian take-out. Mike and I tried "poutine" basically French fries, with cheese curds and gravy. Sounds a little gross but actually addictive (and yeah terrible for you). I'm surprised it hasn't caught on in the U.S. Granville Island had a huge market which was basically my version of heaven...food glorious food, everywhere. Fresh baked bread, pastries, meat pies, fruit pies, jams, honeys, chutneys, chocolate, all local, all fresh. They had a Kid's Market which was also pretty cool. Lots of unique wooden toys and cute Olympic logo clothes for kids--overpriced of course.
We explored Stanley Park and the Aquarium with an awesome display of tropical and ancient looking fish. Collin played on the swings at the playground and we left without seeing the children's train and petting zoo because we were entering Collin melt-down phase. We also went to a cool suspension bridge park where Mike got to meet his boyhood dream of climbing up a giant tree house. The park was in the middle of a Canadian rain forest and complete with gorgeous views of the greenery and water below. We also had some grown-up time--again cheerios were the saving grace and went wine tasting about an hour outside of Vancouver where we picked up some nice bottles, all under $15.
Although Collin had his thrashing, high-pitched shrieking moments, for the most part, he was a flexible traveler. He dozed in his stroller, napped and slept fine in his portable crib in the hotel. He didn't seem too thrown off by schedule changes though we've never been regimented about any of that. He managed to stay out of trouble in the hotel rooms after some quick furniture rearranging. He probably consumed a whole box of cheerios and also loved the packs of yogurt with muesli which sadly they don't sell here.
On our trip home, we spent 90 minutes in line to pass the border. Collin and I played on the grass while Mike inched along. And of course there were cheerios...
After a humorless custom's agent questioned us, we headed to see my childhood best friend, Jodi, her husband Brent and their adorable kiddos Tucker and Bella in Blaine, WA. The three of them played in the wade pool and Collin chased after their two friendly Labs. Jodi and I reminisced about how we used to play with dolls and here we are with families of our own...life is crazy like that. After dinner and a nice break, we headed back to Portland. The timing was perfect with Collin's bedtime so he slept nearly the whole way back. Thanks to some speedy driving, we shaved about an hour off our trip and made it home in four hours!
So no more cheerios for a while...Though Collin won't remember this vacation, we'd like to think his view is expanded--even if he found the pebbles on the ground more fascinating than any of the sights. We'll carry the memories for now.
