Pillow family Alaska/Canada Mega Trip!

[pillow]

Hello fellow travelers! In an attempt to preserve one of the most fantastic trips we’ve taken, and to also help those of you who are in the planning stages, I’m attempting my first trip report. I’m new to this, so take it easy on me please. Please feel free to ask any questions.


A little about us . . . DMyself47 Jodie - love to travel and especially love to plan said travel (over plan is more like it); DH49 Mike - just enjoys being away from work and lets me plan away; DS17 Cary (who just turned 18) – not a big fan of travel and would rather be home with friends instead of spending 18 days with his very un-cool boring parents; DD15 Jill – loves to travel like her mom.


We’ve taken lots of fun trips as a family and enjoy independent travel over tours. We have also enjoyed cruising Disney (this would be our 8th Disney cruise). We enjoy both, and it can be hard to choose between the two. Since DS will be starting college in August (our travel budget will be pretty much nonexistent for years to come), we decided to do one last big family trip, combining both independent travel and a Disney cruise. Thus, the Canada/Alaska Mega trip was born.


We began planning this trip over a year in advance and decided that we would book a porthole room to save some money (it was an additional $2K for the verandah for our family of 4) and that we would fly in 10 days early to explore Canada on our own. Independent travel takes more work, but we enjoy the freedom of renting a car and doing what we please. The #1 goal when planning was to schedule some fun active activities but to also have some relaxing down time. The #2 goal was to not break the bank and to get the most bang for our travel buck. I think we pretty much accomplished both. So, here we go . . .


The overall travel plan was as follows:


Nights 1-3 Whistler

Nights 4-6 Tofino (west coast of Vancouver Island)

Night 7 Victoria

Nights 8-10 Vancouver

Nights 11-17 Cruise

Night 18 Airport hotel before early flight next morning


Day 1


Does anyone else hate those early morning flights?? Ugh – up at 4:40am east coast time for our 7:25 flight. I had booked our Delta flights using air miles that I had been accumulating for years. The flights weren’t the greatest, but they were free, so we made do. After way too many hours of travel, we arrived in the Vancouver airport somewhere around 2:45-3:00 or so. The customs process was super easy with no lines, and we were out in fresh air in no time.


(Side note for planning purposes: Since we were planning time in Canada, we wanted some Canadian currency. Just before walking out the main doors, we stopped at the ATM machine. This is the best way to get the best rate when converting currencies. We withdrew the max of $400 CAD to make the most of the ATM charge. While traveling, we used our Amex Delta Platinum card first since there is no foreign transaction fee. Then we used either the cash or our credit union Visa (1% fee) as a backup.)


We were greeted by lovely but warmer than usual weather – blue skies and NO HUMIDITY! Hallelujah! We had reserved a mini-van through Costco for a week for a crazy cheap price. We were planning to pick up a cooler and some supplies, and with luggage for four, I figured we needed the space. We were given a Ford Flex, which really didn’t have that much space. Our stuff barely fit, and I pined for my old beat up 2005 230K mile Honda Odyssey, which was sitting all alone unused at the airport. At 3:30, we were off in search of the Interstate and happily on our way to Whistler. A pic of our van, which DD named the "blue mobile" . . .

I want to stop here and address my overly ambitious planning . . . I knew we would be pooped after flying all day – especially with the 3 hour time change. But I figured we could suck it up for the day. The plan was to get our car, stop at Wal-Mart for groceries (I had one picked out), and make our way up to Whistler. I had naively assumed we would just hop on the interstate and be on our way after renting the car. NOPE! First of all, there is no highway access to the airport. You don’t actually get on an interstate until after crossing the Lions Gate Bridge. So, we were driving on regular city roads on a Friday afternoon at 3:30 in major traffic while trying to convert my printed MapQuest directions which were in miles to the car’s odometer, which was in kilometers. It took us about an hour to get to the Lions Gate from the airport. We were in “lets just get there already” mode, so we skipped the grocery shopping plan in an attempt to, well, JUST GET THERE ALREADY! In hindsight, we probably should have spent the night in North Vancouver before grocery shopping the next morning and driving to Whistler. Oh well . . . live and learn.

The drive up to Whistler on the Sea to Sky Highway was spectacular. Here are some pics lazily taken from inside the car on our way up . . .

We rented a 2 bedroom condo in Whistler Village so that we could spread out and also so that we could cook our own meals. We would have three nights and two full days here. The plan was to hike, zip line, and putz around the village a bit, with the Peak to Peak gondola as a possibility if time. I had researched two possible hikes, Wedgemount Lake and Joeffrey Lakes. More on the overly ambitious hike from hell in the Day 2 report .

We stopped for convenience store sandwiches on our way which were surprisingly delicious. After arriving in Whistler and checking into our condo, we walked over to the IGA to pick up food for the next few days. This is where we realized that skipping the Wal-Mart shopping stop was a mistake. Holy mother of God, the groceries were expensive here (even after converting to USD)! Just for fun, here is a sample . . .

1 gallon milk (not organic) = $5.99 CAD
Cereal (regular size box) = $6.29 CAD
Chicken breasts non organic (about 1.5 lbs or so) = $16.56 CAD
2 bars Dove soap = $4.99 CAD
Half gallon Breyers ice cream = $6.99 CAD

Back at the condo, we passed out from both physical and mental exhaustion. Condo pics . . .

DS opted for the pull-out versus sharing a room with DD.

We enjoyed having a balcony.

Our condo was on the 2nd and 3rd floor here.

Up next . . . Wedgemount Lake hike . . .

 

[RedHatDisney]

Hi! I'm glad to see your thread! DD, DGS13, DGS7 (8 on the cruise) are sailing 8/31. Do you have any navigators to share? Was AntMan available?
Thanks for your thread!​

 

[pillow]

Hi! I'm glad to see your thread! DD, DGS13, DGS7 (8 on the cruise) are sailing 8/31. Do you have any navigators to share? Was AntMan available?
Thanks for your thread!​

Welcome! I did not keep Navigators, but there are some here: http://disneycruiselineblog.com/201...ight-alaskan-cruise-itinerary-a-june-15-2015/

I don't know about AntMan - sorry. My kids are older and don't pay much attention to characters these days. This cruise was truly wonderful!

Jodie

 

[RedHatDisney]

Thanks.

 

[pillow]

Day 2

Due to the time difference, DH and I were up at the crack of dawn this morning. It allowed us to have a leisurely morning sipping coffee on the deck while the kids slept. I had planned a hike to Wedgemount Lake today – a tough hike that I figured would take most of the day. I finally had to wake the kids, as hiking in daylight is preferable in bear country, and we did not pack our night vision goggles.

I should also add here that the weather is almost always cool in Whistler. Unfortunately, we brought the heat with us, and many places in Canada broke all sorts of temperature records this particular weekend. Even with the warm weather, we were happy to be away from the east coast humidity.

So, about this hike . . . I enjoy getting out into nature and away from crowds. Plus the mountains are just gorgeous. I could not wait to get out and hike! There were two hikes that caught my eye – Wedgemount Lake and Joeffrey Lakes. I figured we could do Wedgemount one day and Joeffrey Lakes the next. Wedgemount was the priority though as the pictures I had seen were just breathtaking. I had been looking forward to this hike for MONTHS! The kids are in good shape from running track/cross country. DH and I are in fairly decent shape as we both hit the gym and run regularly. I figured that even though the hike was rated as difficult, we could handle it if we took our time and made a day of it. To get to Wedgemount Lake, you hike approximately 4.3 miles with 1,200 meters of elevation change. That doesn’t sound so bad, does it? 1,200 meters is just 3 laps around a track, so I figured it was doable. I knew the hike was mostly uphill, but I didn’t realize just how steep this hike would get. Here are some pictures of us on our way up (and up and up and up) . . .

Near trail head - just beginning

Silliness!

More silliness!

Almost there

I didn’t mind the uphill portion of this hike. It was difficult, but I enjoyed the cardio burn. I thought of it as a really great workout with scenery as an added bonus. The difficulty here for me was the steepness and the muscle strength necessary to grind uphill for over 3 hours. Even so, the uphill hike was fun, and DH and I enjoyed seeing the vegetation differences between here and Virginia. The kids couldn’t care less about vegetation and were way in front of us talking and laughing most of the way. We had to keep reminding them to periodically stop and wait for us, as we don’t need anyone to get eaten by a bear on this trip! We met lots of friendly hikers from quite a few different countries (no bears though). So, finally, after 3 hours and 20 minutes (yes, I timed us), we reached the top!

Wedgemount glacier

The pictures do not do this place justice. It is just jaw droppingly beautiful! We were all exhausted and collapsed for a while. After eating lunch and resting, the kids went down to the lake, but DH and I were too tired to move. While taking in the beauty of this place, I found myself distracted by the fact that we had to turn around and hike back down. No helicopter to transport me back down the mountain??? Oh well, a girl can dream. Many of the fellow hikers we met had brought tents and other gear to camp overnight. Wooden tent platforms and an alpine hut were available to those folks. I have to admit, I was a little jealous. I wanted to crawl into a tent and take a nap followed by a cold swim in that glacier fed lake . . . followed by a campfire and a little red wine . . .

Back to reality! Oh God, we have to hike down! For me, downhill hiking is harder than uphill hiking, and SCARY! It was so steep, I kept picturing myself falling head over heels down the mountain to my death. I thought we would NEVER get down that mountain. And yes, it took us longer to hike down than up. I did not take pictures on the way down as I was too busy grabbing hold of saplings, tree roots, and every other stationary object to prevent a fall. Truth be told, I bit off a little too much with this hike. There was NO WAY we were hiking Joeffrey Lakes the next day. As a matter of fact, I felt I was doing well just to hike down the stairs in our condo the next morning!!! Our post hike evening consisted of spaghetti in the condo for dinner, ibuprofen, and a very comfy bed for about 10 hours.

Up next . . . gondolas, zip lining, and more ibuprofen . . .

 

[pillow]

Day 3

As a result of the previous day’s Everest summit, everything from my waist down was sore, which is where the ibuprofen comes in (glad I packed it!). Again this morning, DH and I had a leisurely breakfast and coffee on the balcony while the kids slept in (it amazes me how much teenagers can sleep). At some point that morning, we all decided to go explore Whistler Village. We meandered through town and did a little window shopping. I also wanted to scope out where we would need to meet later that afternoon for zip lining. It was a nice cool morning but warming quickly, so we decided some additional elevation would be nice. We purchased tickets to the Peak 2 Peak gondola experience. This was the perfect thing for us on this tired morning. In a nutshell, the gondola takes you up Whistler mountain, where you can catch the Peak 2 Peak gondola over to Blackcomb mountain before riding a chair lift down to the base of Blackcomb. The Peak 2 Peak gondola boasts that it is the highest and longest lift in the world. You also have the option at the top of both Whistler and Blackcomb to ride additional chair lifts even higher on the mountain. The views are spectacular from the top! One could spend an entire day up there exploring, hiking, having lunch, etc. Some pics from our morning, including the black bears we saw from the chair lift . . .

Whistler Village is WAY down there!

Bear bums.

At the base of Blackcomb, there was an alpine slide. I love these things!! This one was way too short though – a bit lame. Not sure why everyone looks so serious here . . .

. . .Except for DH, who is RARELY serious!

We walked back to our condo for lunch and then headed over to our zip line meeting place. We had booked the late afternoon Eagle tour with Ziptrek. http://www.ziptrek.com/en/whistler-canada/tours/ziptrek-eagle-tour (check out their video)

Planning note: They offer discounts for booking online and for booking off peak times. We took advantage of both.

These folks did a fantastic job with our tour. The guides were terrific – safe, fun, and informative. This was one of the highlights of our vacation. It was a huge thrill and so much fun!! I wasn’t able to take my big camera with me, but I did purchase some pictures from Ziptrek. DS (who really wasn't thrilled about going on this vacation) was in his element and couldn't stop smiling.

Aldo, our hilarious guide on the left with DH on the right.

I should mention that in addition to the actual ziplining, the treetop trails between lines were enjoyable to walk and very scenic (similar to the ones at Capilano but without a million tourists - more about Capilano when we get to Vancouver).

That was pretty much our day. We walked back to the condo for dinner and did laundry and packed for an early morning departure.

Next up . . . goats on the roof!!

 

[podsnel]

I am SOOOO excited!!! You are writing a TR!!!! YAYYYY!!! And it is GREAT! I love that lake- it must have been spectacular, and completely worth every ibuprofen. The scenery is gorgeous- I truly could spend so much time up there exploring. Wish we had had more time pre-cruise in Canada. But not this time.... anyway, I am looking forward to hearing all about it- and enjoying more beautiful photos!

 

[pillow]

I am SOOOO excited!!! You are writing a TR!!!! YAYYYY!!! And it is GREAT! I love that lake- it must have been spectacular, and completely worth every ibuprofen. The scenery is gorgeous- I truly could spend so much time up there exploring. Wish we had had more time pre-cruise in Canada. But not this time.... anyway, I am looking forward to hearing all about it- and enjoying more beautiful photos!

I learned from the TR master herself!!

I'm a big chicken when it comes to the downhill part of a hike. Its quite humbling actually. So gorgeous though!!

I'm glad you're back. I've missed reading your posts. Funny when I look at your Alaska cruise pics from last year, they look completely different from ours. You actually had some sunshine, which was almost nonexistent for us in Alaska (stay tuned)! Glad you're following along.

Jodie

 

[pillow]

Day 4

Before I move on, I want to share a few reflections about Whistler. For those traveling on your own, VRBO has some great condo availability here that is very reasonably priced (I think I paid roughly $115 USD for ours per night). I wish we had just one more day as I would have really liked to do the Joeffrey Lakes hike (we should have done that one instead of Wedgemount). If anyone is interested, there are some great videos on YouTube of both hikes. Regarding condos, many are not air conditioned. It is very rare that you need air conditioning here, but in our case, we were so hot at night, we had a hard time sleeping. If I go back, I will ensure that my condo has air. And one final note: my legs are still sore from that darned hike! (Note to self: must lift more weights and lose the 15 pounds I’ve slowly gained over the last couple years.) OK – moving on . . .

This morning, we were up early since we had a ferry reservation from Horseshoe Bay (North Vancouver area) over to Nanaimo (Vancouver Island) at 10:00am. We were in the car waving bye to Whistler at 8:10am, which was unnecessarily conservative, but I wanted to allow plenty of time. We stopped for a quick photo stop on our way . . .

Since travel via ferry was new to us, and since I have a travel planning addiction, I felt compelled to make a reservation for the ferry. I’m not sure this was really necessary. We arrived early, and there was plenty of availability. We arrived over an hour ahead of time, checked in, parked our car in the designated lane, and went in search of coffee. Coffee and cinnamon buns = breakfast #2! Uh oh . . . I’m close to water, and I'm already beginning to eat like I’m on a cruise ship!

I haven’t been on a car ferry since 1999, so this was oddly fun for me. It felt like an adventure! The kids were less impressed. The scenery, again, was lovely. I tried to encourage DS to come outside and look, but he was content to sit inside and read.

After the 90 minute ferry ride, we began making our way to Tofino, which is on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Per MapQuest, the drive is about 2 hours, 40 minutes. We made quite a few stops though, including a stop at Wal-Mart for groceries in Port Alberni. Prices here were much more reasonable versus Whistler, but still high compared to the U.S.

I had read on the Disboards that we should stop in Coombs (between Nanaimo and Port Alberni) at the Old Country Market, where they have goats on the roof. Huh? Yes, really! There are goats on the roof here! Some establishments will do anything to attract tourists, and I must admit, it was pretty brilliant! Almost as brilliant as a giant mouse! What a crack up! I wonder how long it took them to build that roof?? They also have some excellent specialty items. They are known for their smoked salmon (yum), and have wonderful fresh produce, and delicious mouth-watering ice cream. We probably spent about an hour here looking around and stocking up on a few things. We grabbed some ice cream and were on our way.

The next stop we made was at Cathedral Grove, which is in MacMillan Provincial Park. Walking amongst these trees where the ferns carpeted the ground, I felt like I had gone back in time to a prehistoric age. I kept expecting to feel the earth shake as a dinosaur came lumbering through the forest. Again, the weather was lovely. What a great car break and mini-hike!

Next was Port Alberni for groceries and gas, and then no more stops until we arrived at the Visitor’s Center near Tofino. The drive to the coast was mountainous and curvy. Also, the temperature dropped 25 degrees between Port Alberni and Tofino, which was quite unexpected but welcome. We picked up various maps at the Visitor’s Center and then checked in to our hotel, The Pacific Sands Beach Resort. I wanted to ensure that we all had a “real” bed (as opposed to a pull out), so we had to book a 1 bedroom lodge suite. We were on the 3rd floor with a great balcony, a spacious living area, and a small kitchen. This worked perfectly for us, and the beds were super comfy. I think I could live in this suite for the rest of my life and be perfectly content! We had a partially obstructed view of the beach from our balcony, which was a nice place to sip wine in the evenings and have coffee in the mornings.

After checking in, DH drove the 4 or so miles into Tofino in search of pinot noir while the kids and I unpacked and got dinner started. After dinner, DH and I sat outside on the balcony for a while with our wine chatting with DS about politics, college plans, etc. Then we came in for movie night. The kids had picked out DaVinci Code from the hotel’s movie library. DD and I couldn’t keep our eyes open and conked out before the boys. Nice night and nice memories!

Coming up tomorrow . . . fog, donuts, and hiking (nice flat easy hiking I might add, and the end of sore legs).

 

[xlxo]

This is where we realized that skipping the Wal-Mart shopping stop was a mistake. Holy mother of God, the groceries were expensive here (even after converting to USD)!

Some thoughts...

• There's a Walmart 5 minutes North of Squamish. However, the smarter choice might been to go to Superstore on Marine by the airport. Dairy and eggs are cheaper in Washington, but that would have delayed your drive and due to an animal flu, they are currently banned crossing the border.
• The locals avoid the downtown/Lion's Gate. Iron workers bridge would have bypassed the downtown congestion.
• fyi... the area around Vancouver is surrounded by volcanos. In the background of your picture I believe is "Black Tusk". It's an extinct volcano.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Tusk
  https://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47...0150715190232279.JPG/ps=50/r=0/rx=720/ry=480/

 

[pillow]

There's a Walmart 5 minutes North of Squamish. However, the smarter choice might been to go to Superstore on Marine by the airport. Dairy and eggs are cheaper in Washington, but that would have delayed your drive and due to an animal flu, they are currently banned crossing the border.

The locals avoid the downtown/Lion's Gate. Iron workers bridge would have bypassed the downtown congestion.

I had planned to visit the Walmart on Marine, but we just didn't feel like stopping. I didn't notice the one in Squamish until on the way back unfortunately.

I wish I had known about that alternate route. That downtown traffic was truly insane!!

J

 

[pillow]

• fyi... the area around Vancouver is surrounded by volcanos. In the background of your picture I believe is "Black Tusk". It's an extinct volcano.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Tusk
  https://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a5d934b3127ccee9ca3b2397f900000030O00AauGzVy1cuGIPbz4a/cC/f=0/ls=00108959568520150715190232279.JPG/ps=50/r=0/rx=720/ry=480/

Great info - thanks!

 

[jtba]

following along as we were on the same cruise as you! really enjoying your TR so far and looking forward to more!!!

 

[zchantie]

Also following! Going to Alaska next year and DH & I are avid nature people so keep all the good planning material coming!

 

[pillow]

following along as we were on the same cruise as you! really enjoying your TR so far and looking forward to more!!!

Thank you! More coming soon.

 

[pillow]

Also following! Going to Alaska next year and DH & I are avid nature people so keep all the good planning material coming!

Excellent! Are you planning to go out early and travel?

 

[zchantie]

Yes, we're planning to do 2-3 days in Vancouver.

 

[pillow]

Day 5

We woke up to a rather gloomy foggy morning. A foggy beach is better than no beach, so DH and I walked while the kids slept. Then we all rode into Tofino to explore a bit. We found this excellent little café, called the Rhino Coffee House that served fantastic donuts. Both of the kids ordered an enormous donut with bacon pieces on top (ick). I had what was either sour cream or cream cheese (can’t recall). I have to say that it was by far the best donut I’ve ever had! We walked into a few stores and just looked around a bit, while crossing our fingers that the fog would lift.

Tofino is a touristy town with a funky, hippy, eclectic vibe. We liked it because it was different. We also loved seeing all the VW camper vans, which we never see back at home in Virginia. I was happy though that we were staying a few miles outside of town at a quiet resort. We stopped at a seafood store and purchased some fresh salmon for dinner and then drove the few miles back to our resort to have lunch.

We had planned a short hike for the afternoon and were happy to see the fog begin to dissipate. We drove the 30 minutes down to Ucluelet to hike the Wild Pacific Trail's Lighthouse Loop. This is an easy flat well maintained trail with nice sea views . . .

After driving back to the suite, both the kids and DH went out for short runs before dinner, followed by movie night #2 – The Blind Side. All in all, it was a pretty chilled out day.

Tomorrow brings a longer hike, a gorgeous sunset, and a pale naked man on the beach . . .

 

[pillow]

Day 6

Did you really think I would post pictures of a naked man??? Sorry to disappoint, but this is just my shirtless hubbie taking advantage of a beautiful day in Tofino.

Since my legs were feeling normal again, I was looking forward to a short run this morning. Between our resort and Tofino, there was a paved walk/run/bike trail that was too inviting to ignore. I ran while the family slowly woke up and had breakfast. Then we headed down to Ucluelet again to hike a different section of the Wild Pacific Trail.

I should mention here that I preferred Ucluelet over Tofino. Its quieter and more scenic in my opinion. I don’t have pics of the town unfortunately, but I do have about a million of our wonderful fabulous sensational hike! From where we parked, this particular section of the trail was out and back – 2.5 miles each way. It was flat and easy with gorgeous sea views. We kept our eyes open for whales and eagles. Unfortunately, the whales were elusive and the eagle we spotted was too far away to see well - even with the binoculars. However, we did see a snake slither across the trail as well as a few enormous slugs. Not exactly the wildlife we were hoping for, but we’ll take it. In addition to the the glorious weather and stunning scenery, the family time was very special. I don’t think I’ll ever forget trekking down that trail talking girl talk with DD while hearing bits and pieces of DH and DS’s conversation behind us. Best day ever!

You can see the tiny spec of the eagle's head on the rock in the middle of the photo.

Zoomed but blurry. It looks like he/she was having lunch. My eagle pics from Alaska are much better, so stick around.

A mutiny of two occurred just after this photo was snapped. They had been pretty good sports with the picture taking, but they've about had it at this point.

After the hike, we stopped at the local liquor store to purchase some wine to accompany dinner. Right next to the booze shop, DD and I purchased a panko fried oyster snack from the “Ravenlady Oyster Forte” food truck. Unbelievable food here! A definite “must do” if you’re in the area.
Back at our new home away from home, we inhaled lunch because we wanted to spend some time on the beach. The temps were in the 70’s, which is lovely for hiking, but it was a little cool for the beach. Still, we spent a nice afternoon sitting, reading, and people watching.

Sadly, this would be our last night in Tofino. After dinner, we quickly ran into town in search of more yummy donuts. Then we packed up a few things and DH ran down to the first floor of the building to throw in a couple loads of laundry. As the day was drawing to a close, I realized we hadn’t made the short walk out to Pettinger Point. The trail to the Point was on resort property, so DH and I grabbed the camera and ran out the door to get a few pictures before dark. Unbelievable sunset!

Up tomorrow . . . saying bye to Tofino and hello to orcas!

 

[bcwife76]

Following. We live in Vancouver (just outside) so I love to read TR from people who visit here, love seeing our province through the eyes of people who have never seen it before. Your photos are gorgeous!!
Plus, we're hoping to do Alaska on DCL in 2016