This morning, we left Vancouver Island and headed to the British Columbia mainland. We still have a couple more days in Canada; we’ll briefly head north, and then dip back down into Washington. Be prepared for lots of pictures today – there were so many great sights!
An Early Start
After waking up at 04:30PST, Dad and I met in the hotel lobby at 05:15 to walk to the offsite parking and get the van. We met everyone else downstairs at 05:30, loaded up all our luggage, and hit the road north, again driving up the Saanich peninsula. The hotel, at our request, had set out some breakfast for Faith and Walker, so they ate in the car during our commute.
Instead of turning off for Bremerton Bay and the Gardens, we drove all the way to the northernmost point of the peninsula to the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal. Along the way, we passed some beautiful farmland illuminated by the golden sunrise, including the farm where we’d stopped for raspberries yesterday.
Swartz Bay
Around 06:00, we arrived at Swartz Bay, in plenty of time for the ferry and fairly close to the front of the line. Since we were all quite tired, we stayed in the car instead of going in the welcome/waiting center. Soon, we boarded the ferry, and made our way up to the passenger deck, where we secured a seat just off the port bow, below the observation deck.
Gulf Islands
The ferry ride took us through the Gulf Islands, which are neighbors to Washington’s famous San Juan Islands. As the ship passed the Portlock Point Lightstation in Gulf Islands National Park Reserve on Prevost Island, the water began to narrow.
We soon wound our way between Galaino and Mayne Islands, passed Active Pass Lighthouse on Georgina Point, and then hit open water.
Strait of Georgia
Crossing the Strait of Georgia (no relation to the “King of Country Music”), and briefly sailing through US territorial waters, we soon approached the Tsawassen Peninsula and the mainland ferry terminal.
After a short wait to drive off the ferry, we continued our journey north into the upper mainland, approaching the Vancouver city center about 40 minutes later.
Granville Island Public Market
Once in Vancouver proper, we headed straight for our late-breakfast destination: Granville Island Public Market. For those of you who have really been paying attention, we visited one evening back in March 2018, but it was mostly winding down for the night, and it was the off-season. In July, it’s a bustling hub, packed with people and almost every kind of food and craft you could ever imagine.
While I’ll also rate the market as a whole, I’d like to call out Lee’s Donuts in particular. This iconic spot, with its bright green and yellow boxes, has been serving pillowy honey-glazed donuts since 1979. While we also got a blueberry filled and a Bavarian cream, I’d recommend sticking with the original. In our minds, this place is up there with Britt’s Donut Shop in Carolina Beach, NC, and those of you who’ve been there know that is an extremely high standard. After eating our first round, we walked back over and bought another box for the road.
Lee's Donuts
Granville Island Public Market - Vancouver, BC
Amazing honey-glazed donuts! Skip all the other flavors and just get the original.
* – Would definitely visit again
** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area
*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there
After we secured our box of donuts, we began to work on acquiring other food, mostly in the form of free samples. However, we did purchase a few things, including a giant container of mixed fruit for Walker (including some tasty gooseberries); a ham, cheese, and Gruyère crêpe; some granola for Mom (also a repeat from last time); some Nanaimo Bars (more on those later); a “cheese pillow” and a sandwich from A Bread Affair (for later); a charcuterie sampler from Lina’s Deli; and some delicious espresso drinks and coffee from JJ Bean Coffee Roasters.
The free samples were nearly endless, so we mostly filled up on those. This is a non-comprehensive list of everything we tried: a sample from The Lemon Square (with a coconut-graham cracker crust); several varieties of honey; granola; pickles (sour, half sour, bread and butter, mustard, honey mustard, dill, etc.); canelés from La Bise Bakery; bread and pastries from two bakeries; and so much more that I can’t even remember.
Walker was intermittently napping in the stroller, so we pushed him around the market for a while, taking in the almost overwhelming selection of goods. Rather than trying to describe it all, I’ll just put a ton of photos below. Suffice it to say, this rivals any European market I’ve ever been to, and I consider it a bucket list destination for everyone.
Here’s the “photo dump” – I simply don’t have time to describe them all, but there’s some really fascinating sights if you have the time to browse through. If you click on one photo, it’ll bring up a slideshow you can scroll through.
Granville Island Public Market
Vancouver, BC
So many amazing places to choose from – you could spend a lifetime eating here and still maybe not get to all the vendors. A must-visit on the Canadian west coast.
* – Would definitely visit again
** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area
*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there
Lions Gate
Successfully but slowly navigating the traffic nightmare that is downtown Vancouver, we passed through Stanley Park and crossed the Lions Gate Bridge into North Vancouver. While the bridge does have lion statues guarding the entrance, it’s actually named after the “Lions” or “Two Sisters” mountain peaks that rise above the city in the distance. The bridge is famous for causing a lot of traffic problems, and the lanes actually switch direction throughout the day to alleviate some of that (see video below). Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (Lionsgate Studios) is also named after the mountains, and has created thousands of film productions over the years.
On the other side of the bridge, we entered West Vancouver, finally joining Highway 1, the Trans-Canada Highway.
Sea to Sky Highway
At Horseshoe Bay, the road splits, and Highway 1 continues via ferry back to Vancouver Island and Victoria. We took the fork north onto BC-99, which is known as the Sea to Sky Highway. Our last visit, we were able to drive part of the way up the highway, but were forced to turn back at a chain-up area, as vehicles are restricted from going all the way to Whistler if not carrying chains.
The road winds north alongside the Howe Sound, and is often precariously close to the water. The Canadian government spent millions of dollars preparing the road for the 2010 Winter Olympics, as it served as the only corridor between Whistler and Vancouver. The city put in a bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympics, but the IOC chose the French Alps instead.
The Sound gets its bright turquoise color from “glacier flour”, which is sediments that washes downstream during glacial cycles. It’s hard to believe that any water could naturally be that shade of blue, but the farther you get from the Pacific, the more vibrant it gets.
Lions Bay
We stopped briefly at Lions Bay General Store for a bathroom break. This small town sits right below the Lions Gate Bridge’s namesake peaks. We ate our Nanaimo Bars and the “cheese pillow” we’d picked up at the market. The Nanaimo Bars were excellent, but while the “cheese pillow” indeed had an amazingly soft texture, it had an off-putting bitterly-herbal aftertaste.
Shannon Falls
Our first sightseeing stop was Shannon Falls, a repeat from our 2018 trip. Last time we visited, there was fresh snow on the ground, and almost no other visitors. In summer, the 1,099′ waterfall is much more crowded, and we could even see rock climbers high above us on the cliffs next to the falls.
After enjoying the sights and sounds of the water thundering down and then cascading downstream, we walked back to the parking lot and continued our drive.
Sea to Sky Gondola
Just up the road from Shannon Falls, we boarded the Sea to Sky Gondola, yet another repeat from 2018. This time, there wasn’t snow on the ground – I’ll show a comparative picture down below. The gondola rises high above the Howe Sound and the community of Squamish. As you ride up, the gondola passes the Stawamus Chief, a famous rock formation that hovers over the towns below.
After eating a snack in the parking lot and lathering up with sunscreen, we boarded the gondola and began the journey up. Mom still does not like any sort of heights…I think she kept her eyes closed for the duration of the ride. So, I guess these pictures will be her chance to see what she missed on the climb up the mountain.
At the top, Mom, Dad, Faith, and Walker enjoyed the view from the covered deck, while I hiked around some of the trails.
It was blisteringly hot, so none of us felt like exploring too much, especially since there was not much shade on the trails. We did venture out onto the Sky Pilot Suspension Bridge, but quickly returned to take advantage of the misting fans positioned around the lodge.
As promised, here’s a comparison between March (2018) and July (2024):
Descending back to the parking lot, we continued our drive on the Sea to Sky Highway.
Fox & Oak
In the valley below the Chief, we visited Squamish, which is known for its multitude of outdoor recreation offerings. However, needing a break from recreating, we instead headed to another donut shop.
Dad got an affogato (double shot of espresso over vanilla ice cream), I got a pour over of a Myanmar coffee and a maple walnut brioche donut, and Faith got an iced latte.
Fox & Oak
Squamish, BC
Wonderful brioche donuts, plenty of quality coffee offerings, and attention to detail make this a must-visit establishment.
* – Would definitely visit again
** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area
*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there
Brandywine Falls
Just south of Whistler in Brandywine Falls Provincial Park, a picturesque 230′ waterfall plunges like a ribbon into the gorge below. It’s a fairly short trek from the parking lot to the falls. We were able to push Walker in the stroller, even though we had to navigate across some railroad tracks and fairly rocky terrain.
By this point, we were thoroughly exhausted and famished, so we decided it was time to head back to the car and find some dinner ASAP.
Creekbread
Fifteen minutes up the road from Brandywine Falls, we pulled into the Whistler Creek community for dinner at Creekbread, a restaurant serving pizza out of a wood-fired earthen oven. Since we arrived about an hour before the dinner rush, we were able to get a table, even though one would typically need a reservation.
To start, we split their special salad, which had raspberries, goat cheese, crispy wontons, and a raspberry vinaigrette. For the main course, we ordered two pizzas: the “Whistler Community Creekbread” (wood-fired cauldron tomato sauce, caramelized organic onions, BC grown mushrooms, premium whole milk mozzarella, pecorino cheese, on dough with house-made garlic oil and house-blend herbs), and “Homemade Sausage” (maple-fennel sausage, sundried tomatoes, caramelized onions, BC-grown mushrooms, whole milk mozzarella, and asiago cheese on dough with house-made garlic oil and house-blend herbs).
The pizza was outstanding. The dough was nicely fermented and just the right thickness (probably closest to NY-style), and had excellent charring from the blazing oven. The toppings were obviously top quality and delicious. Walker was highly entertained by the flames of the oven, and spent most of the meal turning around and craning his neck to look at it (when he wasn’t shoveling down food).
Creekbread
Whistler, BC
Exceptional wood-fired pizza in a casual setting. Their offerings are simple, but extraordinarily well done.
* – Would definitely visit again
** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area
*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there
Checking In
Leaving Creekbread, we continued into the heart of Whistler, one of the world’s most popular ski destinations. It [obviously] wasn’t ski season, so I was able to get us a fairly affordable room in one of the lodges at Whistler-Blackcomb, one of the area’s two main slopes. We checked into our suite, navigated their maze-like underground parking, and settled in.
Whistler Village
After Walker was asleep, Faith and I decided to take the bus down to the heart of Whistler Village, the bustling, high-energy, pedestrian-only area at the bottom of the ski slopes. In many ways, it’s very similar to an old European city center, but much more modern, and lined with expensive hotels, fine dining, and shopping.
It was fun to walk around and imagine life as a Canadian ski bum, but the little energy we had left was dwindling quickly. We walked back to the bus stop, and caught the next #5 route, which conveniently dropped us off right back at the front door of our lodge. We headed to bed around 22:00, ready for another early start in the morning.
Video
Here’s a short video from today’s adventures.
The Best Things we Saw Today
Isaac
The best thing I saw today was… “Howe Sound”.
The best thing I ate today was… “all the free samples, plus Fox & Oak and Creekbread. All of today’s food was fantastic!”.
Faith
The best thing I saw today was… “Granville Island Public Market”.
The best thing I ate today was… “the crêpe and the donut from Fox & Oak”.
Jerry
The best thing I saw today was… “the gondola ride”.
The best thing I ate today was… “the affogato and Lee’s Donuts”.
Amy
The best thing I saw today was… “Shannon Falls and the view from the top of the gondola”.
The best thing I ate today was… “the lemon square (I should’ve bought one)”.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading! Click here to subscribe to email notifications.
Tomorrow, we’re retracing our steps back down the Sea to Sky Highway, and eventually heading back into Washington.
– Isaac, Faith, Jerry, Amy, and Walker
3 Responses
What a wonderful day. Proud of Jerry and Amy keeping up with you younger ones.
Your mom is not the Amy I knew. She would never ride that gondola. And just for the record I definitely would not. Once again I am impressed by her courage.
I’m still surprised she’ll get on an airplane!