Canada and more...

Praise God!!!

Do you like your life? Life is meant to be enjoyed, so go out and enjoy it!! God has given us life and a wonderful world to live in. It is meant to be experienced. I was walking through the Cascade mountains today thinking about all that God has given me and thanking him for his blessings. God does amazing things, we just have to learn to trust in him. We may not understand what he is doing in our lives or be patient enough to wait, but he is always loving us and guiding us. We just have to learn to listen...

Last week Tiffany and took a trip to Vancouver and Whistler, Canada. Kind of a last minute, not very planned trip. But it went very well and we had a great time!! We almost forgot our passports! Luckily Tiff's grandma reminded us right before we left the apartment. For some reason is wasn't really sinking in to me that we were going out of country. We even got through the border and stopped at a gas station and I forgot about having a new currency! The border crossing went very quick but then we got stuck in traffic outside of traffic for almost two hours because there is a tunnel that went from at least three lanes of traffic to just one. It was horrible. But we made it to our hotel, then set out for dinner. That was an experience! Tiffany was driving, and the one way streets and bridges in Vancouver can make it very confusing to drive around the city. We spent a long time looking for the place we wanted to eat. Crossed a couple bridges quite a few times, drove in circles a few times. At one point Tiffany thought we had turned into wrong way traffic, flipped a quick U, which then made us turn into wrong way traffic so she flipped a U again. Happened so fast I didn't really know what to think. So then we are sitting there at a stoplight and next to us drives up three cops on Four-wheelers. The funniest think I have ever seen. Luckily they didn't see what we did. It was very strange to see four-wheelers in the middle of the city!

Looks like a little plastic city huh? It's real!!

Didn't snap a very good pic, but these are the cops on four-wheelers!

The next day we walked around town a little, over some bridges, under some bridges, and over to this cute little island with some good stores and food. Then we went to Stanley Park. I thought this was where I had been before in Vancouver where there a lot of statues throughout the park, yeah, wrong park. But is is a gorgeous and big park! It was nice. Then we headed up to Whistler.

On the bridge looking towards downtown

The runner statue

The port. Ported here before on a cruise with my family to Alaska after my brother graduated high school.

Lighthouse in Stanley Park, was kind of disappointing

The drive to Whistler is absolutely amazing and breathtaking! You follow the water along the mountains quite a while. Awesome views!! Tiffany tried to get some pictures as I was driving! We made it to Whistler, got some information on things we wanted to do, then found the best camping spot right along the river, great for falling asleep to! Tiffany wasn't sure about the whole primitive camping experience, but she ended up enjoying it, I think. There was a porter potty there, so not that primitive. Much better than the huge campsite option closer to Whistler.

Tiff and I along the drive to Whistler

Chilling by the river by our campsite

The next day we drove into town and I dropped Tiffany off to go zip-lining while I set off for some awesome mountain biking single track. It was a little tougher than I expected, of course, it was Whistler after all. Whistler is highly known for its winter activities, but most avid mountain bikers know it is an awesome destination for biking as well. I didn't do the take the lift up and downhill ride down because that is not only intense riding, but would also be more enjoyable with someone else. So I experienced a lot of the trails in the valley area. It was tons of fun. I had to walk a lot of just blue rated trails and did small sections of some black. It was tough at times but a lot of fun! Can't wait to go back.

This was supposed to be a blue trail. They really expect me to bike over this rock? I think not!!!

After meeting back up with Tiffany we hiked to and around Lost Lake with some nice views of the lake and Whistler and Blackcomb mountains in the background. That afternoon Tiffany talked me into going to a Scandinavian Spa. The idea here was to go from hot, to cold, to relaxation. You spend about 15 min. in the hot, then a short time, maybe 5 min. in the cold, then you relax for at least 15 min. The first was a eucalyptus steam room. It smelled amazing, hard to breathe at first, but got used to it. Then into a cold bath, then lounging and reading. The second was a hot bath, then the cold, then laying in a hammock. I kind of drifted, but don't think I totally fell asleep. Then a warm bath again, cold bath/shower, and layed and took a nap. This was a long relaxing time for me because I really think I fell asleep. I kept drifting in and out of sleep in the hot bath times and relaxation times. I guess the idea to relax you really worked on me!! I finished it up with a short time in the steam room again cause that was my favorite part. Not sure if it totally worth the money, but it was definitely relaxing and a good memory, plus it was gorgeous!!

Whistler Mountain

Scandinavian Spa

That night we went into Whistler Village to hang out and experience a little nightlife. It felt so good in town. Definitely a great summer destination! As well as winter destination. I could and definitely want to spend at least two weeks here in the summer and in the winter!

Canadians have some kind of fascination with this rock formation or something. Not sure what it means

The 2010 Olympic rings!

Driving back from Whistler we had to wait a little longer crossing back in to US, but not too long, maybe around 45 min. Then I got back and worked four nights straight. These nights did not suit me well. When I worked five in a row, I slept decently between my shifts. This time I was lucky to get 4-5 hours of sleep. It's so hard, and I feel like such an ineffective nurse because I am just trying to do my best to stay awake. I don't feel like I am living up to my potential as a nurse. Whenever I finally stop travel nursing I really hope to get a day position, I just can't do this night stuff. But I will survive!!

This week I only had two days off. Today was an awesome day!! I went to Index Peak, it is east of Everett. I was going to do this great hike I read about called Blanca Lake, but the road to the trail was washed out, and I would have had to go 45 min around to do an alternate route. So I decided to do Lake Serene and Bridal Veil Falls instead. It was awesome!! The weather was so great today. Actually, as I was headed down it started sprinkling a bit and I couldn't figure out how it was sprinkling, the sky was clear! Just a few clouds, not rain clouds. It was weird. But wasn't anything much.

There was a road closed sign way before this, but kept driving. Then I ran into this, guess the road is really closed, had to turn around :(

Lake Serene

Some girls I met jumping in, I went afterwards! I was cold, but I have been in colder...

Bridal Veil Falls

Looking down from Bridal Veil

Today, I remembered and reflected on how much I love the Pacific Northwest. Many times I hate it because it rains so much, but when you catch those gorgeous days and get to take advantage of it, it is the best day! The temperatures are so perfect, maybe some humidity, but nothing ever much. And there is so much to do out here, it is never ending!! Now, I have never spent a winter up here, and dont really care to. I would love to live up here if it wasn't for the winters and so far away from the rest of the country.

Thank you God for the experiences you give me!!