Whale Watching! (and other creatures) :)

I got a groupon to go Whale Watching with the Island Mariner company out of Bellingham, WA so I went at the end of September. It ended up being cold, rainy, foggy and gross. But it ended up being completely worth it when we saw the Orcas at the VERY end of our journey through the San Juan Islands. I think we actually crossed into Canadian territory.. but they found them for us! :)

 

The Captain called them Sea Sausages and it's right on target! :)

 

The first sighting!!!

 

 

 

 

Portland, OR in October!

For my 29th Birthday I decided to go to Portland for a day or two and explore a little bit of they city that was almost my home! When I set my eyes on the West Coast, I was looking at Portland and Seattle, and ended up in Seattle. Portland was a pretty cool city though and looking forward to more visits back!

 

The drive there had some beautiful fall views.. that sadly these pictures don't do justice!

 

The Rose Garden in Washington Park

 

We drove up to Pittock Mansion where we had these gorgeous views of the city below

 

Inside the mansion!!

 

The view from some of the bedrooms!

 

They got the idea for master bathrooms pretty early on!! This was an amazing bathroom.

 

This was a child's doll but was terrifying!!

 

A short but lovely trip. We had some great food, did a little bit of tax free shopping, and lucked out with some great weather on our day of exploring the park. Can't wait to get back!

 

October 26, 2013 visit

Sea to Sky Highway, and Squamish, British Columbia

I had heard about this amazing drive along the Sea to Sky Highway in Canada and planned to drive up there one day. Then I found a groupon for a nice hotel in a place called Squamish, which was along the STSH about forty minutes south of Whistler. I booked it and made the drive one Saturday morning.. and was blessed with a truly gorgeous weather.

Once you are north of Vancouver on Highway 99/Sea to Sky Highway, here is what awaits you!!

 

Squamish! Not a whole lot to do in this town, but it was just gorgeous. It reminded me of living in East Tennessee... just so gorgeous!!

Brackendale, a place famous for the amount of Bald Eagles here.

They weren't in the area on my visit...

 

Except this guy!!

 

Seal in the river!!

 

Gorgeous shadows on the mountains

 

The view from my hotel in the morning. Stunning!

 

This is what reminded me of Tennessee... such a gorgeous back drop behind

normal things like stop lights and grocery stores.

 

Such a gorgeous drive.. I can't wait to do it again another time! I'm continually amazed at Canada's beauty and can't wait to keep enjoying it!

-October 15, 2013 visit