Our First Time Flyer...

Well, Halle and I flew back from BC yesterday. Yup - we were gone for 10 glorious days and I loved every second of it. The perfect taste of all of the excitement that we have coming our way. With this week at home dedicated to getting the house packed up and ready to go, I thought I'd share our trip with you - starting from the beginning...


Since B left the Sunday after our Niagara trip, Halle and I were left to fly out on our own on the 22nd. We were scheduled to fly out at 8am, so I wanted to make sure the two of us were there with enough time to get through security and relax before boarding. Everything went smooth and we had more than enough time to get to our gate and have a little breakfast. For me that meant a banana and a latte I picked up, while Halle had some pureed pears...

{Making friends at our gate at Pearson}

As we got to our gate I could almost hear everyone thinking "Oh great! A baby!" - Thankfully she was a great flyer! I was lucky to be surrounded by people who loved little one's, so even when Halle did get a little upset, they helped to entertain her. 


When we finally arrived in Vancouver, both Halle and I were so excited to see B! We collected our luggage, and made our way back to our hotel, where we had a nice lunch, followed by a little cat nap in our room. Once we were all rested, we decided to take a drive into the city to check out more of it. We headed towards Gastown, and down towards the water where we were greeted with this view...

Lovely, right? We have both agreed that we will never tire of these stunning views. By this time, Halle was starting to have enough, so we agreed to make our way back to Richmond and relax until dinner time. Back at the hotel, we scanned around online for a place to eat. We finally decided on The Old Spaghetti Factory. We knew what we could expect, and we knew that it was family friendly, so if Halle did fuss a little (in adjusting to the time difference), it wouldn't be a huge deal. Thankfully, none of that became an issue and Halle played happily with some spoons and her Dada, while we ate dinner...

We really lucked out, and Halle adjusted to the time change really well. She managed to stay awake until around 7:30, 8 o'clock... so we're talking 10:30 or 11 by her internal clock. I should also add, that she was quite happy too - as her little smirk in that last photo would indicate.

The next morning we were all up by 6:30 (still on Eastern Standard Time), and got to watch the sunrise over the mountains from our hotel room. Can't complain about that! We followed that up with a quick breakfast in the hotel restaurant, and then packed up and made our way out for day 1 of the rental hunt. It had us driving all over Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Northern Burnaby... and Halle was not a very happy camper of all of the in and out of her car seat. Though we always like trying new places, and aren't really big fans of fast food - we ended up at a MacDonald's for a quick lunch, and at least Halle was happy about the car seat break and a chance to eat some cereal...

After our final viewing (of 3) in Coquitlam, we headed back to the hotel to relax and find somewhere new to eat for dinner. While online, I found the perfect rental in Coquitlam that had just gone up, so B and I called the lady instantly and made an appointment to view it the next day. We then found a great BBQ place in the Steveston area of Richmond, called Hog Shack, and decided to head there for dinner with B's managing director. Unfortunately, when we arrived they were all booked for the night, but we ended up at a Seafood place nearby, with a great view of ocean and Vancouver Island. 

We enjoyed our food, and Halle lasted until after 8:00pm, smiling and laughing all through dinner. She must love travelling and eating out just as much as her Mama and Dada!

The next day brought much of the same beautiful weather, and thankfully quite a few nice rentals to check out...

{the view from the front of the first rental we viewed that day}

We also had the chance to stop at a lovely little deli for lunch on this gorgeous day. Much better than the previous day... and of course we had to snap some cute photos...

When we arrived a little early to our final viewing of the day, we were thrilled to find a small park around the corner. After the two days of in and out of the car, and rental hunting that Halle had endured, we knew she deserved a little bit of fun. So, first time on the swings... and boy did she love it!

We finished off the day at a busy Chinese restaurant in Richmond. Halle loved all of the noise and people. She was so happy to just watch and wave at everyone... they all smiled and waved back...

So there you have it, our first few busy days out west! The proper sight seeing started the following day... so be sure to come back tomorrow to see all of the fun places that we visited. Yes, that means a little bit longer before I reveal photos of our chosen rental. Can you handle the anticipation?