The Grand Finale Trip

In September, we ventured out one more time in hopes to capture as much of the Northwest in our memories as possible! Daniel's parents and their friends, Tyrell and Barbara, flew out from Houston to join us. We relied entirely on public transportation -- beginning at the train station in Portland, Oregon. We travelled by train all the way to Seattle, ferry to Friday Harbor, on San Juan Island, WA, ferry to Victoria, Canada, ferry to Vancouver, Canada, and then train back stopping in Seattle and ending in Portland.


In Friday Harbor, we were able to start our trip with a little relaxation and beautiful summer weather on this quaint island. We think of the San Juan Islands as the Outer Banks of the Northwest. You can only access the islands by ferry and there are just a few main roads around the islands. We toured the island via a tour van one afternoon, but the highlight for sure was our picnic lunch where we spotted two Orca whale not too far off the shore. Daniel and I had camped here earlier in the summer and weren't so lucky -- but this time they were out playing. It must have been the sunny day!

Our next destination was Victoria, Canada. I think everyone agreed this was a favorite. We spent three night in downtown Victoria. We saw the Parliament building lit up at night, toured the famous Empress Hotel, and took a very educating bus tour around the city one afternoon. But we didn't stop there. A must see on everyone's list was the well-known Butchard Gardens. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. With the sun shining and the weather warm, we spent a couple hours touring the unique gardens. My personal favorite was the Sunken Garden -- I wanted to just grab a blanket and some lemonade and sit out here for hours. A beautiful rose garden and traditional Japanese garden were among the many others. This is definitely a recommendation for anyone travelling to Victoria.

But, we didn't stop there! On mine and Marjie's to-do list was "High Tea!" Hey, this is about as close to London as I was going to get. We found a cute little tea place for lunch one day. And...yes, the men even came along! However, they probably don't want that being made public. We had a delicious lunch of tea sandwiches and scones. I think I could get used to that way of life!


Our third destination was a night in Vancouver, Canada. And, well, no offense to those who love Vancouver, but it was a unanimous least favorite vote here! From the minute we stepped off the ferry and had to wait for a crowded bus for over an hour, our appreciation for this major city quickly went downhill. That day happened to be Eldon's birthday, so we made reservations at the "Top of Vancouver" rotating restaurant. The excellent meal and view did redeem our views slightly, but we were all getting very tired by this point. In light of time, we also did a bus tour here and got an overview of the city in just a few hours.


After Vancouver, we boarded the train for Seattle. We were going to stop here before heading back to Portland the next day. Daniel and I have gotten to spend a lot of time in Seattle while living out here, so it was fun to show the family around Pike's Place Market. Even though the weather is typically grey in Seattle, the city itself is very clean and unique with lots of places to run, walk, shop, eat and board a ship to head somewhere else.


Portland was the final destination all together. We have seen so much this year that it's hard to pick favorites, but this trip sure was memorable. We are so glad to have had the opportunity to see so much of the Northwest.