Image Map

Capilano Suspension Bridges

We finally made a trip to the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park in North Vancouver, British Columbia. I'm going to post a link right to their website BRIDGES. Honestly, this is one of the things that I never considered doing prior to this year because I really go for the FREE parks or parks that are not covered with huge groups getting off busses. But, i will say that THE PRICE IS WELL WORTH IT!!!!!

We stopped by the bridges in the am on a weekday, but as it was raining sideways we decided we'd come back later. We drove around for a bit after a stop for bagels and coffee at Tim Hortons (of course) and then ended up deciding to park the car and hop the light rail to see more of the city. We parked at the waterfront and found an information lady because really we had no idea where to start! After getting on a wrong train first, we hopped off and took the train that she had suggested. It took about 2 hours total but we saw a ton! From the light rail you get to overlook all of the neighborhoods, the views to the mountains, the views to the oceans, television and movie crews filming and setting up all of their trailers, just so so much. It was a great couple of hours. ;)

Arriving back at Capilano, we used our AAA card, paid the fee, stopped by the coffee bar for a snack and to load up the cameras and were on our way. We spent almost 3 hours exploring all of the bridges and the Cliff walk, and loved the tree house like bridges in the forest itself. I quickly remembered loving the Swiss Family Robinson stories from my childhood. In the tree area they have a scavenger type hunt set up for the kids to make sure they don't miss anything. My husband was wearing a GoPro on his baseball hat, so if you are interested in seeing some videos you can look on our Instagram page here:

Vancouver, BC

We just got home from our quick trip to Vancouver, BC. So much fun! The entire way North, about 2.5 hours from our home in Tacoma, we saw eagles everywhere, and some huge amounts in the trees up by Blaine~I love eagles, so to see that many was amazing. We also saw the trumpeter swans hanging out in the fields on both sides of the highway near Burlington. In Vancouver we stayed at the Sandman right in the heart of everything, walking so many different places was really handy as a family. On Davies street, where we stayed, it's like a little multi cultural village and we had our choices of many different types of restaurants basically right outside the entrance to the hotel. It also had a grocery store and two Starbucks within a block and 3 bakeries. ;)

While we were in Vancouver, we spent a bunch of time at Stanley Park and The Capilano Suspension Bridges. I wish that this time we had spent an entire week in Vancouver, there is so much to see and do! Here are a few snaps of our visit.

CrownCoastUmbrella #productreviews
We were offered a discount on this awesome umbrella, but the opinions are our own! AMAZON This great, travel sized umbrella is our new favorite! It's the perfect size and the perfect color for an 8 year old, especially. My daughter was amazed that we found one that matched her raincoat perfectly. All of the other travel umbrellas we have had in the past were very flimsy, but this one is really sturdy and made well. I am glad we stuck the umbrella into our backpack the day we were walking all over Vancouver and taking the trains and walking on the suspension bridges, because it rained heavily on and off all day. There is no struggling with this umbrella, it opens right up into a full size canopy. Love it! #singingintherain #happy #rain #walking #family #roadtrip #pic


Hometown tourists

We have been busily hunting treasure during the Tacoma Monkey Shines time. It is a scavenger hunt to find special glass orbs and other treasures all over Tacoma. Tacoma's Monkeyshines event happens around the Chinese New Year and entails a community-wide scavenger hunt for handblown glass. We normally go out and visit parks in the area, but these last couple of weeks we have been focused only in Tacoma and trying to find treasure....so far the treasure is seeing more of this great city and spending even more quality time with friends and family.