In the past a few years, my son and his wife worked while traveling ( or traveled while working) in different provinces of Canada. On the east side, they went far to the city of st. john's, newfoundland and labrador. On the north side, they went far to the city of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. On the west side, they went to Vancouver and Vancouver island, British Columnbia. Of course, they had worked in Toronto and nearby cities too. Toronto was their homebase.
And then, they decided that Vancouver city is the most suitable place for them to set down after considering all factors. So they signed a one-year contract to rent an appartment in a condo in downtown Vancouver and moved over from toronto in September last year.
They invited parents of both side to visit Vancouver during Chinese New Year in January this year. We didn't go. I prefered to go when the weather got warmer. I thought summer might be a better time. The other two parents went because they planed to go ski in Whistler - the famous ski resort during their visit.
When I started planning the trip, I realized summer time is not good for the famer in our family. In toronto area, the summer monthes from June to August are very crucial for gardeners. So we decided to travel from April 5 to April 20. This was the first time we traveled to the west side of Canada and the first time only two of us traveled after the nest is empty.
Since we had enough time and Vancouver is very close to Seattle area of Washington state of US, we planned to spend a few days in Olympic National Park before visiting Seattle and coming back to Vancouver. I booked all the hotels in advance, except the one in Seattle. It turned out it was a very good decision. Both of us like nature more than big city. After visiting Olympic National Park, there are a few options to come back to Vancouver. We chosed to bypass Seattle and stay one night in the city of Bellingham, which was a very pleasant route , saving lots of driving time and geting some unexpected experience.
Picture 1: Toronto -> Vancouver
Picture2: Vanvouver -> Victoria -> Olympic National Park -> Coupeville-> Skagit Valley -> Bellingham -> Vancouver
April 5: AC127 YYZ/term 20:15PM flight from toronto to Vancouver YVR/term M 22:03. All local time. the total flight time is about 5 hours and there are 3 hours different between Toronto and Vanouver.
April 6 to April 10: in Vancouver, picked up rental car on April 10
April 11: Drive to Victoria ( taking Ferry from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay ), stay one night in Victoria
April 12 to 13: Drive to Olympic national park ( taking Ferry to Port Angeles), stay two nights in ProtAngeles
April 13 to 15: Drive to Forks, stay two night in Forks
April 16: Drive to Bellingham ( taking ferry from port townsend to CoupervillaAC)
April 17 to April 29: Drive back to Vancouver and stay for another 3 nights in Vancouver
April 20: AC116 YVR/tem M 13:30 pm flight back to Toronto
