outdoors – Page 2 – thosecoolkims

KimTrippin: Pacific NorthWest — Day 13 (Grouse Mountain, Vancouver)

Today we escaped from city life and went to check out Grouse Mountain, just outside Vancouver. We were initially drawn in by the aerial tram rides, but once we got there, we found there was so much more to do.

The ride up on the tram was stunning. You could see all of Vancouver and beyond. We don’t know our geography that well up here, but we were told the snow capped mountain visible was Mt. Rainier, way out in Washington.

We found out the Cheung family was planning on visiting Grouse Mountain, too – so we got to meet up with them today. Ruby was thrilled to see their girls again. We saw a Lumberjack competition and a Bird Show!

For a few bucks more, we paid to ride the chair lift and go up even higher. It was definitely a memorable experience.

Tomorrow will be our last full day in Canada, and then we’re headed back down south!

KimTrippin: Pacific NorthWest — Day 11 (San Juan Island)

Today was a beautiful day spent on San Juan Island. We got to take our car over with us on the ferry and it was the most amazing ferry ever! It was huge and you could barely tell you were moving — unless you went outside and felt the wind! Here are a few shots of the ride over from Anacortes:

Driving on to the ferry

Waiting patiently to embark

Enjoying the view

The main part of town on San Juan Island is Friday Harbor. It’s very quaint and has an old-time feel to it. We also explored Roche Harbor which was very picturesque.

But the main attraction on San Juan Island is the whale watching. So many orcas pass by – very close to shore even – that it’s common to spot them on most days. We were hoping to catch them, so in the later afternoon, we headed toward the Lime Kiln Lighthouse where they’re known to pass by most often. It was beautiful there.

After about an hour of patiently patrolling the water, we were lucky and caught sight of a pod of Orcas as they passed by the lighthouse afterall! We decided to just enjoy the moment and not stress over photos that couldn’t come close to capturing the magic of these whales in front of us, so there will be no documentation here. One thing for certain, after the orca sighting, someone is in love … :)

Our ferry back to Anacortes was scheduled to depart at 6:30pm, so it was a full day on the island.

We got our car back on board …

And this girl helped us get back! :)

Tomorrow we leave Anacortes. Next stop: Canada!

KimTrippin: Pacific NorthWest — Day 6 (outside Portland)

Today we ventured outside of Portland to see some of the natural beauty that’s less than one hour away. We knew we wanted to start at Multanomah Falls and do a little hiking, but the 100 degree temps completely thwarted our plans! The heat and uphill stride were a little much for Ruby, so we cut things short. We still were able to get some sights in and enjoy the Falls for a bit though!

Too hot! That’s a wrap :(

We decided to hop in the (air-conditioned) car and continue driving north towards Hood River to take a little break. We decided to stop at the Bonneville Dam to see what that was all about. It actually ended up being quite interesting — the dam is massive and we also got to see the fish ladder that was constructed to help the salmon and sturgeon swim upstream without being harmed. There were also fish hatcheries and a big old Sturgeon named Herman! (Bonus points for the air-conditioned Visitor Center.)

Bonneville Dam:

Looking at the fish swimming upstream from underwater:

Weird looking Lamprey with their “teeth” on display!

Huge sturgeon putting on a show

After we left Bonneville, we drove to the adorable town of Hood River. The town is very quaint and the view of the Columbia River was absolutely stunning. Carrie’s 1st college roommate lives there and wanted to meet up, so we met for chips and salsa and caught up after 20 years!

Just for kicks, we crossed the bridge on the way home and drove home on the Washington side of the river. It was a gorgeous view as we paralleled the Oregon side.

We’ll be heading off for Washington in the morning for real this time — 4 days, starting tomorrow!

KimTrippin’: Pacific NorthWest — Day 5 (Portland)

There can only be one word to describe today’s adventures: EPIC.

To kick off the day, there were two things to check off our mandatory Portland list — coffee and doughnuts. Ruby got to try her first Voodoo Doughnut and Ed + I got properly caffeinated thanks to Stumptown Roasters. (Ruby enjoyed a cup of milk ;))

Ed did some research before we got to Portland and found out we could rent bikes — and an awesome bike trailer seat for Ruby! — from Waterfront Bicycles. He made us a reservation so we could get our sedentary butts moving and take advantage of one of the country’s best bike cities. Admittedly, I was intimidated at first, but it ended up being the best day ever! Ruby loved being on a bike ride and said several times during the trip, “I’m so happy doing this!” We thought it was a great way to see Portland, and definitely made for an authentic experience.

This was a general overview of our route:

Biking over Hawthorne Bridge

Carrie’s lovely Linus bike (want!!!)

The bike shop even had some pretty sweet helmets for us to borrow.

It was 90+ degrees in Portland today and we thought all of our biking across town justified a stop at one of Carries favorite ice cream shops on earth — Salt & Straw. Salt & Straw opened a location in L.A. this year and we’ve been several times, but we’ve never visited where it all began in Portland. As usual, they had some very interesting flavors — including a street food flavor called “Kimchi & Rice“! (Seriously, click that link for the ice cream description — INCREDIBLY creative!!!). Salt & Straw is generous with the samples before buying and we usually aren’t afraid to taste anything concocted by their geniusness, but I guess we just weren’t as adventurous today. Doesn’t mean we don’t still have a ton of love + respect!

We rode those bikes from 10:00 am when the shop opened until about 4:30pm when Ruby completely crashed out. We got our money’s worth.

After heading back to the hotel for a little downtime and a quick dip in the pool (it’s HOT), we topped the evening off with our favorite meal of the trip so far at an Indian Street food joint called Bollywood Theater. The food was so good, we didn’t even get any pictures of it.

Tomorrow we’ll get out of the city for a bit and explore Multanomah Falls and the Gorge. Looking forward to some hiking!

KimTrippin: Pacific NorthWest — Day 3 (Bend, OR)

Today brought us to Bend, which appears to be mecca for the outdoorsy, adventurous types. Our thoughts were, “When in Rome …”, so we got outdoorsy too and rented a canoe.

About 30 minutes in, Ruby said she was “bored,” so we went back to get her a kid-sized paddle!

After getting some sufficient exercise with 2 hrs. of canoeing, Ed had another brewery on his list. We headed straight to Deschutes Brewery. Because he couldn’t decide, Ed ordered another sampler!

We walked through Downtown Bend (which is super adorable, by the way) and found a cool shop with Ruby’s favorite character, Totoro inside. The shop owner loved her so much she gave her a tiny Mei figurine! (Ruby dressed as Mei for Halloween this year).

We also stumbled upon a gorgeous park after dinner with a fantastic view. I think it’s safe to say we like Bend!

Tomorrow ends our nomadic streak – we’re headed to Portland, where we’ll be staying for three days. Can’t wait!