To Canada We Go!

On Thursday morning, we left Seattle on an 830 Amtrak. Our destination--Vancouver. It would have been quicker to take a bus, but a train seemed scenic and fun. And, for the most part it was. It was about a 4.5 hour ride. Most of it was beautiful. But, the last hour was long and not very pretty. We just crawled along. But, customs was easy and the official humored us by stamping our passports, even though it isn't required for Canada. Train views:

Things got a little sketchy on the ride when our Airbnb host contacted me with some rules: We couldn't walk into the apartment with our luggage, instead, we had to meet her driver, 'Ivan' in a parking lot and he would drive us in. She also said if asked we had to say that we were visiting family. Under no circumstances were we to make contact with the building's concierge or walk through the lobby with luggage. We were not a fan of these restrictions and tried contacting Airbnb for assistance, but reception was incredibly spotty and all I could make out was that the host had to honor the reservation. That wasn't really our concern. We were more worried that Ivan was going to mug us or, more likely, that we were going to be put in an uncomfortable position of lying or facing a harassing concierge.

The Airbnb process had already been difficult. We have never had any trouble renting a place before and have rented homes/apartments multiple times. It is challenging to find hotels for a family of 6 and our kids are too big to squeeze into a small hotel suite (we love a two-bedroom Homewood Suites, but those are hard to come by). So, generally, it works better for us to rent through Airbnb or similar. I had booked us a place to stay a while ago. Then, less than a week before check-in, I got notice that the host canceled the reservation. No explanation, no offer from Airbnb to help us find an alternative. So, I got online and found this place. It was clear the two measly reviews were faked, but it also said she had been a host for the past month and I figured if no one had complained yet, it was more likely than not a legit listing. And again, this was less than a week before our stay. There was almost nothing available and the ones that were available were way outside our budget. 

So, we met Ivan in a parking lot. His car couldn't fit all of us, so Thomas, Luke and Kara drove with him and the luggage to sneak up the back elevator. The rest of us walked to the building. Ivan got them in, then Thomas came and walked us up. We weren't mugged (yet) and the place is real. At least that is good. It is very small. No bigger than a one-bedroom hotel room. And, there are multiple signs in the lobby about no short-term rentals and one that specifically says no Airbnbs. Fortunately, we are only here for two nights, so we will make it work. And, it has an in-unit washer and dryer which is very nice. 

Okay, enough of that. After we dropped our stuff, we took a bus to our first Vancouver attraction--Capilano Suspension Bridge. It was absolutely amazing. One of, if not the, prettiest places I've ever seen. Luke wasn't feeling well, so that was a bummer, but he pushed through and we walked all around. My favorite was the cliff walk. The pictures don't do it justice, but are better than words, so enjoy a photo dump below (they aren't in any logical order as some are from me and some from Thomas). We spent about 2.5 hours there, including having dinner. Now we are relaxing in our tiny apartment.  

Crossing 450 feet above the ground. The swaying was a little crazy.

The cliff walk, the cantilevered walkway is built into the cliff and is 350 feet above the ground.

More cliff walk.

In the rainforest area, it was so pretty!

Luke would be the same height as a 9-year-old Douglas Fir or a 12-year-old Red Cedar. Jack is about the height of a 16-year-old Hemlock or 14-year-old Red Cedar.

View from the suspension bridge, there are some kayakers way down below.

Luke next to a giant tree and looking up the same tree.