Squamish trip to see Thomas the Tank Engine (July 19, 2014)

Let's talk about some occasional events that happen around the city. The Greater Vancouver area attracts many big name performers who like to visit our side of the country for the weather, the scenery and the wide range of fanfare. Last month, my family and I made a trip to Squamish, which is rural town 45 minute drive from Downtown Vancouver and on the way to the world renowned, Whistler Resort. The purpose of this trip was give our little boy the chance to meet his idol, Thomas the Tank Engine!



Thomas was visiting the West Coast Railway Heritage Park in early June and stayed for 2 weekends. Prices for admission was $24 per person but for an event that kept us busy for over 4 hours, it was well worth it.

If you have never been to this museum, they have some really cool exhibitions of all kinds of trains and miniature train sets that is entertaining for kids young and old.

The event itself was a enjoyable. We got to ride in a train towed by Thomas, checked out all the exhibitions, ate some delicious carnival food like mini donuts, wrote a letter to Thomas to thank him for being awesome and played with the trainsets in the kids play zone. The kids also get face painting and tattoos just to remember their special day.

 

If you are into the great outdoors and have never been to Squamish, then I urge you to make the trip soon. Aside from a railway museum, they also offer Rock Climbing, Windsailing, hiking trails, biking trails, fishing and much more. If you like museums, then you can also stop at Britannia Mines on your way from Vancouver.

Did I mention the incredible views from the Sea to Sky Highway?

Skytrain adventure Part 1: Ferry to Granville Island (June 29, 2014)

One of the nice things about living in Burnaby is being far enough away from Downtown that it actually feels like we are going to a foreign country when we take the Skytrain. On a side note, the skytrain is good place to observe each area's demographics if you are unsure where you want to live. Each station has its own personality.



Because of all the places you can go by taking the skytrain, we will share with you in this first part of the Skytrain Series, our trip to Granville Island and the route we chose to take. We started off on a train towards Waterfront Station from Lougheed station where we parked our car. Waterfront station is the last stop on the Expo Line and this is where we switched trains towards YVR on the Canada Line to our destination, Yaletown. At Yaletown, we boarded the False Creek Ferries / Aquabus and crossed False Creek to Granville Island. The trip totaled 45 minutes and our little guy had a sensory overload from all the things he got to see along the way and talk about along the way.

The arrival dock at Granville Island couldn't have been a better place for us to have our picnic. We sat on a bench which overlooks all the boats at the marina and a breathtaking view of the city with its mountain backdrop. To our surprise, a street performer set up a few meters from us and play some soothing recorder music while we enjoyed our lunch boxes.

After replenishing, we went for a walk through the market and took in all the atmosphere that Granville Island has to offer. Just a sample of what caught our eye...

Hope you give this journey a try and enjoy your local explorations!