It's My Life: Crossing the Border, PAC NW 8/12

We arrived in Vancouver a short time after crossing the border. The crossing into Canada was A LOT different from the crossing that leads from the USA to Mexico. I guess crossing into a third world country is the biggest reason for the difference.

We followed Doug...in hopes he knew where he was going. We did not know where we were going...other than to Vancouver. I was pretty surprised to be the sister driving because Robyn & Randi always drive and I am very happy to be the passenger. Even though I was criticised and given pointers on how to drive several times by all 3 sisters, I did a fine job (with the exception of 1 freak out on Randi, Sorry).

We made a stop for lunch at a place called "Local". We ate a variety of yummy foods and watched the Summer Olympics.

After a nice lunch, we walked across the street to one of the coolest parks I've ever been to. We called it "Kits Park" because neither Doug or I wanted to try to pronounce it correctly.

My boys were changed into swimsuits quickly so they could try the Canadian waters.

Derek was on a mission to swim out to a large floating raft, which he did several times.

Carsen was more content to dig a deep hole, although he did swim out with Derek once. He was not a fan of the freezing water.

Cody was pretty neutral about the water temperatures, even though his little feet were turning bright red. He is so, so mellow.

Billy, Nick & Ryan were content to comb the sea shore for shells.

I have to admit that this is also one of my boys favorite activities. Looking for treasures every where we go.

Jake's favorite shells

Carsen's favorite shells

Even more exciting than finding shells is eating Popsicles. Billy found an ice cream man and bought these special treats that the boys loved!

After we had had enough fun at the beach, we checked in and unloaded into three rooms (Randi shared with Robyn, Billy, and Blip...our room was connected to theirs. That made it so much better than completely separate rooms), and we headed out to explore.

We walked a couple of blocks to the Olympic Cauldron! I was super excited to see it in person! I think I was even more excited than normal because the 2012 Summer Olympics were just underway. The Cauldron was cool...and the view was beautiful.

We walked along the waterline thinking we were close to Stanley Park. Someone working at our hotel told us it was about a 15 minute walk from the hotel....I think they were confused. The weather was so nice, so we walked until we came to a restaurant that looked good. It was called Cardero's. The food wasn't bad, but the service was lacking. Oh well...it wasn't all bad.

After dinner we walked back to the hotel...not knowing how late it was. It wasn't even close to dark, but it was around 9pm. So strange.

Robyn, Billy and I took the boys and met Doug and Kristi's gang at the pool. Randi bathed Blip and then put the baby bed. After that, we laid around and laughed with each other in our room. Robyn doesn't approve of jumping on the bed in hotels, so we had to find another way to enjoy ourselves until bedtime.