Vancouver & Whistler

While Chuck's mom, Pat,  was here, we decided to take a little trip up to Canada. She really wanted to see Vancouver and we were excited to explore the city a little more!

We left early on Saturday morning with no real plan except to sightsee at Stanley Park (like we did when we took my sister up there) and potentially drive the Sea to Sky Highway depending on the weather.

Around noon we finally arrived in Vancouver and found our way to Stanley Park using only our memories, as we couldn't use our phones without getting charged a whole lot for data usage. This is when we discovered it's really difficult to get anywhere without GPS and that we are basically helpless without our phones.

Anyway. We were pretty hungry so we followed signs to a restaurant that I now can't remember the name of so we'll call it the Stanley Park Restaurant. It was really nice outside so we sat on the deck and had some delicious burgers and fish & chips. We also discovered that Vancouver serves only sweet tea unless you ask for unsweet. This became a whole ordeal for us, as we had advised Pat earlier in the week that in Seattle, there is no such thing as "sweet tea" so therefore no reason to order "unsweet" because the waiter will be confused. So Pat kept getting sweet tea brought to the table, thinking it was unsweet and therefore adding Splenda to it, making it twice as sweet. We laughed pretty hard. All this to say- is anyone besides us surprised that Vancouver serves sweet tea, just like the South?! I didn't know Vancouver had such a sweet tooth. We felt right at home. :)

 

Next, we rented bikes from the same place as last time and took off on the 6 mile ride around the park.  Pat couldn't remember the last time she'd been on a bike but she picked it back up pretty quick and rode like a pro!

 

Unfortunately it was pretty cloudy but it was still a nice ride with some nice views. After the ride, we returned the bikes and made a Starbucks stop before we headed to the Sea to Sky Highway, also known as Highway 99.  Everything we read about the drive on Trip Advisor said this was a must do and I'd have to agree. Although, again, it could have been a little better without all the clouds.

As we drove, we made stops whenever we saw a sign that said "Point of Interest ahead." One of our stops was at Shannon Falls- a waterfall only a short 3-5 minute hike from the parking lot.

 The road kept going and we kept following it, all the way to Whistler. We had heard of Whistler before as some of our friends discussed taking a ski trip up there, but we had no idea what to expect.

 Whistler Village was a pleasant surprise and was totally worth the long drive North of Vancouver. Whistler Village was the host mountain resort for the 2010 Winter Olympics and hosted a lot of the events nearby.

 The Village was so cool- shops, restaurants, hotels, and it all looked brand new. There was a Tough Mudder event nearby earlier in the day Saturday so the place was packed with young people who had come up for the race. We also found out the next day that a friend of ours, one of Chuck's LGO classmates, Jane, was also at Whistler Village at the same time! She's living in Portland while working for Nike on internship but had driven up for the weekend to go skiing. Cue: It's a Small World song.  Chuck and I were bummed that we didn't know at the time because it would have been great to meet up for dinner or drinks with her!

Instead, we found an Irish pub in the Village that was going to have live music and decided to eat dinner and have a couple of drinks. The food and atmosphere were pretty good and the band was awesome. They played mostly country, like some John Denver classics, which was kind of weird for an Irish pub but also awesome.

After our long day of sightseeing and driving, we decided to find a hotel and stay the night in Canada. (We had packed overnight bags just in case.) Whistler was completely booked, so we drove south towards Vancouver. Well, after stopping at about 5-6 different hotels and finding out they were all booked, as well as getting a little lost in Vancouver (again, no GPS = helpless Americans) we decided to just drive back to Seattle even though it was already 1 am. Luckily we had the Super Moon out to light the way home.

 

Sleepless in Seattle

 

In the last two weeks we had two visitors- Chuck's dad and then Chuck's mom.

 

The weather was gorgeous (most the time) for both of their visits and we tried to cram in as much stuff as we could so they could both see as much of the Pacific Northwest as possible while they were here. Their trips can be told pretty well by pictures. We took a LOT of pictures. (Please note- these pictures are in no particular order.)

 



 

The San Juan Islands. 

We visited Orcas Island and just as a piece of advice to anyone who plans to visit the San Juan Islands- make sure you plan to spend at least 2 days here. We tried to do the trip in one day and spent most of our day just traveling. Driving from Seattle to the Ferry, waiting for the ferry for 2+ hours, riding the ferry... We saw some gorgeous sights and had fun, but think it would have been time better spent if we had allowed a whole weekend for it.

Of course we showed off Pike Place Market.

 Fresh donuts. Yum.

 

The gum wall. Ew.

 

 

We took a Duck Boat tour because, while they are extremely cheesy, they are a great way to see a city and who wouldn't have fun riding in a vehicle that can drive on land and water!?

 



 

 

 

My favorite part of the tour was when we floated past the Sleepless in Seattle house. Too bad Tom Hanks doesn't actually live there. 

 

Watching airplanes land and take off from the lake was a highlight as well. 

 



We went back to the Ballard Locks, the same place Chuckie and I visited a month or so ago. It's so pretty on a nice day and watching the boat elevator (I don't think that's really what it's called but that's what I call it) is pretty entertaining. We also got to go underneath to the fish observation room and watch some salmon pass by which was pretty cool!

 

 

The weekend his mom was here we took a trip to Vancouver and Whistler. I took about 100 pictures that day so I will save that adventure for its own post.

All in all I think they both got to see not only a good portion of Seattle, but a good portion of the Pacific Northwest! We love having visitors because it makes us go out and do and see things that we may not go do and see on our own. With only 8 weeks left in Seattle I'm not sure how many more visitors we will have but with all of the LGOs, Sloanies and other MBAs from Amazon, we will hopefully stay busy and make the most of the remainder of our time here!

 

 

USA vs. Panama

The last couple of weeks have been extremely uneventful due to work, work, and more work. Chuck has been working hard at Amazon and I have been working my two jobs pretty much non-stop. He and I have hardly seen each other and haven't had a lot of spare time to hang out and enjoy the (finally) nice weather Seattle's been having. So this week we had the opportunity, very last minute, to buy tickets from an LGO friend for the USA vs. Panama World Cup qualifier game that was taking place right here in Seattle. We decided to take the opportunity and do something fun together for the first time in a couple of weeks.

 

Side note: Chuck did get a chance to go rafting on a river somewhere a couple hours away last weekend with some other LGOs while I was at work. Here's a picture of them on the river!

 

Such a cool experience for them!

 



So, back to soccer. Those who know me know that I am not a big soccer fan. I just don't understand who would want to spend 90 minutes RUNNING up and down a field kicking a ball around, hitting it with their heads, and potentially ending those 90 minutes completely scoreless or in a tie with the other team. What is that all about anyway? Isn't 2-2 the same thing and 0-0 and therefore the game could have just not been played at all and have the same outcome?

 

But even with my anti-soccer outlook, I was still very interested in attending Tuesday night's game. Working at Niketown, I've been surrounded by soccer mania for the past two weeks leading up to the game. I've seen some of the USA players in the store, met some of the players (including two starters for the team!), helped them shop, and sized a couple of them for Nike Fuelbands. I've talked to so many customers who flew in from all over the country just for the game. It was hard NOT to get excited about the game. Chuck loves most sports and enjoys soccer, so when I mentioned getting tickets to the game, he was immediately convinced.

 

Tuesday after work, we met up and walked a mile from downtown to the stadium.



 

 

 

Once we were in the stadium, we bought some $8 pizza slices (ridiculous) and found our seats. This was our view of the field.

 





 

3rd row, center?! Really? We were shocked. We knew the tickets were in the lower bowl but had no idea they were dead center and in the THIRD ROW. "Beyond excited" doesn't really even describe how we felt when we got to our seats.  While the teams were warming up, I snapped a picture of Chuck representing the Cards at the game! 

Then he took a picture of me with the USA team in the background warming up. Don't I look like a real soccer fan? (The shirt and scarf were my work uniform for the last week. Thanks, Nike!)

The crowd and the atmosphere were incredible. Everyone got a free scarf as they entered the stadium and at points throughout the game, everyone would hold them up like this. The stadium looked so awesome when everyone had their scarves up at the same time.

 

The most entertaining part of it all was this section seen here in this picture. 

Picture the student section at a football game and that's what this section was like, except way more intense. They had leaders who led them in chants and cheers. They stood the entire time chanting, cheering, and doing things like the picture above. It was pretty entertaining. (Maybe this happens at all soccer games so any soccer fans reading this, please excuse my ignorance.)

When the players were on our side of the field I took as many pictures as I could, trying to get a good action shot. I just couldn't get over how close we were. We could see their sweat. I told Chuckie we were so close I could "see their brains working." Seriously. We could see their eyes scanning the field and making a decision on what to do with the ball. It was so cool.

The US scored two goals and beat Panama 2-0.  We were really excited we got to see two goals scored and I was excited we didn't see a tie.

All in all, it was an amazing time and will probably end up being our favorite Seattle experience of the 6 month internship. I don't think I'm going to become a soccer fan but I do have a lot more appreciation for the game now. I also think Chuck and I will be paying a little more attention to the USA team standings and will probably watch some games on TV next summer if the US makes it to the World Cup!

The work schedule for me is slowing down finally and tomorrow, Chuck's parents come to town for a visit!

One Down and One to Go

This week is the halfway point of the LGO program. Can you believe it?
Last year on June 4, Chuck attended his first day of classes and met the people he'd be working alongside for the next two years. Next year on June 6, he will be graduating. Everyone warned us that the program would fly by, and so far it has.

Here is Chuck on his first day of class last summer. I made him take the traditional "first day of school with your backpack on" picture before he left for class that day. He was a little reluctant but he humored me. :)

 

 At this time last year, we were still unsure of what to expect out of these 2 years in the program, but I can honestly say the reality of it all has FAR exceeded our expectations. The fact that we are counting down the days until we can get back to Boston in September is an indication of how much we love the program, the school, the city, and most of all, the friends we have there.

 

It is so funny to me to go back and look at this picture taken in mid June last year after we took one of the infamous Duck Boat Tours around the city with some of the LGO classmates and their families. (Jessica, if you're reading this- I stole your picture from FB because I love it! Hope you don't mind!)  

 

At the time this picture was taken, these people were still pretty much just strangers to us. Now I look at this picture and see good friends, neighbors, Chuck's teammates, people we spent Thanksgiving with, people we have plans to go visit in Portland next month... I get a little teary-eyed thinking about having to say goodbyes next June. While I'm looking forward to the day we settle down, both have full time jobs again, get a house and get back to a "normal" routine, I am also dreading the end of this experience.  It feels a little bit like real life is on hold for these 2 years and it's kind of fun. I know I will have very mixed feelings when it's over and I know Chuck feels the same way.

But... it's too soon to think about that, so I'll stop. We have 2.5 more months in Seattle and then it's back to Boston for two more semesters! I'm so excited to have another Fall in the Northeast and to be reunited with friends.  Until then, we are going to enjoy our summer in Seattle where the weather is starting to be sunny and warm every day AND several more of the LGO and Sloan students have arrived to start their internships for the summer. Things are going to get a lot busier and a lot more fun around here and we are very happy about that.

Year #2- GO!