When my parents decided to finally try and venture further out of Australia than New Zealand, I hoped and prayed that they would come my way. Sadly the closest they would come would be Vancouver (I got told it was due to the tour company, but who knows). Thankfully I was able to coordinate a weekend up in Vancouver when they were going to be there, prior to them flying home to Australia. What it meant for me was time to spend with my family.

My parents were scheduled to step off their Alaska Cruise saturday morning, so it meant if I drove up Friday night, I could have an night to myself, a morning to hit the Grind and then spend the rest of the day with my folks and possibly catch up with someone else on Sunday morning before hitting the road back to Seattle. Plans settled!

I drove up last Friday night and unfortunately got my first windscreen chip in the truck 🙁 Thankfully (if you can be thankful) it is on the passengers side of the truck right down low. But the border crossing wasn’t to bad and after dropping off some donuts at a mates place on the way north, I was safely in bed in Vancouver without a hassle. Back at my old haunt the Fairmont! Saturday morning I got up super early and headed straight to Grouse Mountain to get on that trail before it got way to crowded. I was aiming for less than an hour. My prize for getting under an hour. Ice Cream! I made it in 57 mins, with no issues at all. Hell I was suprised I didn’t have to run the last bit. Though I was disappointed that you now have to pay to come down the mountain when previously it was free. After breakfast I ran into my parents in the lobby of the hotel and as expected. My mum burst into tears right in the middle of the lobby.

I got to spend a good afternoon with my family, we went over to Granville Island to the markets (they had some lunch) and then Dad came with me while I ran some errands (I was not letting him near the drivers seat of the truck) and then I took dad to try his first Japadog! He actually liked it! (my mum and aunt would not even get close to even remotely wanting to try).

From Family Visit to Vancouver

After a quiet afternoon it was time to celebrate my Mums Birthday. So we went out for a special dinner and it was me this time wanting to show them an amazing restaurant in Vancouver (probably the only one I really know). Tojo’s was introduced to me a few years back by a fellow contiki traveller and friend. It was a great experience and I had to go again. This time I did order the Omakase and it was worth every cent! My parents had a great time and of course, Tojo’s did not disappoint with singing my mum Happy Birthday

Of course, I was going to take my parents out for a special ice cream (and for my reward) but the place I wanted to go had about a 45 minute wait, and I wasn’t going to put them through that, so we went back to the hotel and I went for a walk to get ice cream myself, which was overpriced and crappy… No reward at all. More like pity in a cup.

Sunday morning I hit up a ride thanks to the hotels free bikes and then after breakfast with my aussie friend Roylene, I headed home to Seattle. thanks to a 90 minute border crossing and being totally behind plan for the day, I threw caution to the wind and indulged in that ice cream reward by going to Snow Goose but that is for another day.

My time with my family may have been limited, but it was better than the three hours I had with them back in April. I miss them already and wish I could of stayed longer but work rules my life at the moment. So I take what I can get, and cherish the moments I do get. Who knows.. maybe they will come back and spend some time with ME this time. Who cares though. I have photos like this to keep me happy for a while

From Family Visit to Vancouver