The day before they left for Vancouver, all 4 of them came down with a nasty stomach bug. We had planned to spend that day together, but being that it was so contagious, I couldn't risk going. I was scheduled to leave for flight attendant training the following week and couldn't afford getting sick right before leaving. We quickly made plans for me to visit them in Canada before they headed overseas.
I arrived in Vancouver around 12:30pm and waited for Ryan at the airport. When he got there, we hopped on the train and headed to their apartment. Halfway through the hour long ride we had to switch trains, so we decided to stop off and grab lunch then. Located just outside of the train station is a street corner with a bunch of food trucks, so we had plenty of options to choose from. The best gluten free meal I could find was from Korean Mama Express. I ordered a beef rice noodle bowl crossing my fingers that there wouldn't be any gluten in it. Ryan opted for the Kaboom Box ordering the Salmon "Salmwich" with a side of Poutine. My dish was a little bland, but I still enjoyed it.
Sadly, when I got there, this little guy was sick. As the days passed, he only got worse and Josiah ended up catching it too. Evidently my timing is terrible when it comes to this family getting sick.
Later that day, we walked to a nearby park, talked, and played with the boys. It was wonderful.
The following day, we slept in, ran some errands, and headed into the city. Ryan and Bethany have had a few visitors in Vancouver since they've lived there so they quickly learned the best places to take me.
I can barely handle Isaac's face in this photo.
Vancouver has an abundance of bike trails along the coast, so we rented some bikes and set out on an absolutely stunning ride through Stanley Park!
I was feeling a little sick myself at this point, so I rented an electric bike to make the ride a little easier on me. Seriously, that thing was a rocket.
I've been dying to go biking for a while now. Clearly, by this ridiculous photo, you can tell I was stoked.
The view was incredible. Mountains and the ocean? Probably my favorite nature combo.
At one point, Bethany pointed towards the ocean and said she saw a sea otter. Ok. Those of you who have known me for a while know of my LOVE for otters. I nearly dove into the water to go find the little guy. Thankfully, he recognized my voice, popped up for a minute, waved to me, and went on his merry little way. It was bliss. God bless otters.
I don't know the story behind this so I did a little googling. To my surprise, I discovered that rock stacking has been around for years. Artists will stack them, oftentimes leaving no signature, allowing us to enjoy the artistry until wind or water knocks them down. Crazy huh?
Being that the boys were feeling poorly and the weather for the next few days wasn't the best, we stayed inside a good bit. I loved every minute of it. We talked and caught up the majority of the time but of course squeezed in a couple games of Carcassonne after the boys were asleep.
I am beyond thankful that I was able to go and visit them before they headed overseas. Our time together is so precious and sanctifying. I'm excited for their move and can't wait to visit them across the pond!
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