We took a three-week road trip around the Pacific Northwest in the summer of 2017, and I am recounting our trip in a series of blog posts. You can read the previous posts here: Ashland, Portland, Bellingham
Days 9-11: Vancouver, BC
Vancouver is right over the US border from Bellingham and on a good day, one could theoretically travel the distance in about ninety minutes. We were looking forward to our first day of being on the road for less than five hours, but we definitely packed some drama into this short drive.
We had done some research on how we would be able to use our Verizon cell phone plan in Canada and discovered that it would be pretty cheap and easy. The setup would be simple (so we thought), so we decided that we would get it all squared away before we left Bellingham. It wasn’t until we were waiting in line to go across the border into Canada that we realized we had both forgotten to set up the cell phone plan. Cue frantic Googling, app downloading, call-center runaround-ing, all while we were crawling slowly towards the border. We finally got our cell phone plans all set up just moments before approaching the border guard’s kiosk and handing over our passports.
Taking a dog over the border to Canada was easier than I thought it would be. We did a lot of research on what we would need in terms of documentation for Cosmo because every country has its own policies. To travel to New Zealand for example, any dog or cat needs to be quarantined for 180 days. It gets even trickier if your journey involves air travel because the airlines will have their own additional regulations. To bring Cosmo into Canada, all we had to do was present a valid Rabies Certificate which we acquired from his vet. We beamed with pride as we presented Cosmo’s little certificate it to the Canadian border guard who could not have given more than two shits about it as he waved us through. Canadians are so chill.
Driving into Vancouver was spectacular. It was our shining beacon, our apex, our triumphant accomplishment! We had driven 1300 miles (2000 kilometers – that’s Canadian for distance) and were finally reaching the northernmost point of our journey. While we were planning this trip, Vancouver had always been part of our itinerary. Early versions of our route actually had us flying to Vancouver and renting a car to drive down to LA, but I have to say that having our own car was mostly the right decision (I’ll expand on the mostly part in a later blog post).
In a prior post I wrote about how I wouldn’t be reviewing our accommodations on this blog per say, but here is where I will break that rule to gush about where we stayed while in Vancouver: L’Hermitage. We cashed in ALL of our credit card points to book this very nice, dog-friendly hotel because we knew that by this point in our journey we would be ready for the kind of pampering that only a hotel can provide. Not enough hangers (I never have enough hangers)? Call the front desk! Breakfast buffet? Don’t mind if I do! Steam room? Yes, please!
Everything at L’Hermitage was impeccable. The staff made us feel completely welcome from the moment we arrived and even had a bowl and some doggie gifts all set up for Cosmo in our room. I was SOLD.
After settling into our plush accommodations, we explored the neighborhood a little. We stayed in Downtown Vancouver which we chose for its central location. Like a lot of downtowns in other cities, this area of Vancouver has tall buildings, people in suits, fancy restaurants, and a general feeling of superiority, but I have never, ever, in my life seen such a clean, manicured downtown. I could point my camera anywhere and capture total perfection.
I work in Downtown Los Angeles every day, and to a certain extent, I wear that fact as a badge of honor. DTLA is gritty and unpredictable in a way that gives it some authentic merit, but I would be lying if I said that I wouldn’t mind walking to work in a DTLA that was more like downtown Vancouver. Even just 20% fewer “mystery puddles” would be nice.
Alex and I decided that we would both take a few hours to explore the city solo the next day. I took off early to check out Granville Island and take some photos while Alex rented one of the Mobi bikes and took Cosmo on a ride around town.
Once an industrial manufacturing area, Granville Island is now a shopping district filled with markets, restaurants, and pubs. Vancouver being a major cruise ship hotspot, Granville Island is definitely on the cruiser radar and I was in the thick of it that day. I enjoyed the industrial architecture and energy of Granville, but in the end, I actually felt like it wasn’t living up to its full potential by catering to the tourists (and I say that as a tourist myself). Unless you are looking for a maple-leaf embroidered oven mitt, a baseball cap with moose antlers, or a teeny tiny hockey puck-shaped bottle of maple syrup, I’d say skip Granville Island.
Later that day the three of us met up to explore Stanley Park together before settling in for the night to watch the Game of Thrones season finale on our iPad.
The next morning, I stayed back at the hotel to babysit Cosmo while Alex went to the Museum of Anthropology. Although I would have liked to join him, we had long ago accepted that bringing our dog along on this trip meant that there would be situations where we wouldn’t both be able to participate. The Museum of Anthropology is, understandably, a dog-free zone.
Cosmo would totally try to pee on this.
I wasn’t that upset about it. After being on the road for so long, I was long overdue for a pamper-fest. I picked up some new nail polish, a face mask, some Timbits, and went to town. Cosmo and I spent that morning lounging around our lovely hotel room and watching Sex And The City. It was glorious and I regret nothing.
Before leaving Canada to continue our journey, we made a point to stop at the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Vancouver. The park is kind of hard to describe. The one large suspension bridge is the main attraction, but the park has a series of pathways and smaller bridges that crisscross through the treetops. It was like nothing I have ever experienced before. Not knowing how Cosmo would handle the bridge crossings on his own, we took turns carrying him in the backpack. Once again, Cosmo handled it like a champ. To him, these days of adventure and new experiences were becoming routine.
We were sad to say goodbye to Vancouver but invigorated by the journey that lay ahead. For the first time on this trip, our path would be leading us southbound.
Next stop: Seattle!
