Oh, Canada! You're a beaut: Part III

Monday, June 26th - Thursday, July 6th, 2017

The first Heiken-Prokop extravaganza = British Columbia, Canada

Monday, July 3rd

To the mountains!
We rented a car to take along the famous Sea to Sky Highway, north of Vancouver toward Whistler.

Started the morning off with the Sea to Summit hike just outside Squamish, BC: 7.5 km with 918 m elevation gain. Lots of root-steps, rocks and tall trees of the Pacific NW! 

Trailhead for Sea to Summit hike

Near the start of the trail

Beautiful lookout of mountains, Howe Sound and Squamish

Hiking alongside Shannon Falls! Beautiful views!

Some steep and challenging sections - parts requiring fixed rope lines to assist, if needed.

At the top! The hike took us 2 hours and ~8 minutes!

Suspension bridge at the top.

On the suspension bridge - great job, Luke!

We opted for the gondola ride back down. Great, relaxing ride.

View of the Stawamus Chief and Squamish from the gondola.

We grabbed lunch in Squamish, then continued to the drive north toward Whistler. Quick stop at a waterfall.

Brandywine Falls.

 Made it to Whistler! Checked out the Whistler Mountain Bike Park and a great variety of caesars :)

Watchin' some hoppers rock the bike park at Whistler.

Caesars at Garibaldi Lift Co

Tried some brews at Coast Mountain brewery before amazing wood-fired pizza at Creekbread!

Tuesday, July 4th

We did not succeed in our quest for Beavertails, so we enjoyed some unique and fancy treats at Cartems donuterie.

Apple fritter and bourbon-maple + peanuts

Then, the Prokops spent their last day in Vancouver and the Heikens headed up to Squamish for some world-famous mountain bike trails!

Here are a few epic sights and spots from our 1.5 days of mind-blowing trails!
Rode almost 30 miles in 3 rides complete with a 2,951 ft climb.

Riding up to Half-Nelson.

Fun on bridges in the trees.

Cruising up the climb trail on Wednesday.

Hal at the top of the climb trail

Oh, Canada. You sure are beautiful!

Beers and well-deserved pizza at Backcountry Brewery in Squamish.

The "Chief" with a full moon on our last night in BC.

Cheers and last poutine of Canada at Copper Coil Still and Grill under the full moon of a beautiful night!

What an adventure :)
Thanks to the Prokops for sharing such an unforgettable trip with us! What a way to begin the summer.

Oh, Canada! You're a beaut: Part II

Monday, June 26th - Thursday, July 6th, 2017

The first Heiken-Prokop extravaganza = British Columbia, Canada

Saturday, July 1st

It's CANADA DAY!
Excellent, full day of celebration, beer, laughs, dancing and adventure. No need for much commentary, just enjoy.

Canada Day outfit.

Oysters and caesars at Joe Fortes Seafood and Chop House. 

Olympic flame near the waterfront and Canada Place. Huge celebration!

Piece of the Vancouver skyline from the waterfront.

Lana and Mary near one of the main stages.

Railway bar for $3 beers before 3:00 pm! - oh, and lunch.

Quick-ish stop at Malone's! Parties everywhere!

Dinner and festivities at Blarney Stone in Gastown... Happy Canada Day! 150!

Cheers to Canada!

Great band at Blarney Stone!

Yes, that is a giant penis on the dance floor. There was a bachelorette party running around Blarney Stone all night with it!

Sunday, July 2nd
We took it a bit easier today. Delicious breakfast at Tuc, then took a water taxi to Granville Island. We cruised around Granville Island on a beautiful day! The public market was amazing as well as the variety in food and shopping!

 Breakfast at Tuc was complete with a round of (arguably the best) caesars. Sam ordered oh-so-good chicken and waffles!

Our water taxi (via Aquabus) cruise over to Granville Island.

View of Granville Island from the Aquabus. Perfect day!

Pierogies, sauerkraut, caramelized onions and sausage for Mary's lunch.

 After quite a bit of action, we opted to buy supplies for dinner at the public market. Fresh shrimp, pasta, french bread, an amazing assortment of fruit accompanied by super-uber fresh salad fixings.

Dinner at the apartment tonight.

Great relaxing evening in with card playing, G&T's and ice cream+fresh fruit!

Tomorrow... to the MOUNTAINS!

Oh, Canada! You're a beaut: Part I

Monday, June 26th - Thursday, July 6th, 2017

The first Heiken-Prokop extravaganza = British Columbia, Canada

Monday, June 26th

Enjoyed a celebratory drink at MSP airport before take-off. Fly into Vancouver, BC!

Bloody's and beer at MSP prior to take-off. Vaca, here we come!

We took the SkyTrain from the airport to downtown/waterfront Vancouver. Little early for our rental car, so we stopped at Malone's on Pender and Seymour for lunch (including poutine!). Great spot.

Then, we hopped in our rental car, Vic, and headed toward Okanagan Lake and our home for the next 4 nights: Kelowna. Beautiful drive (despite traffic...) with awesome views of Mt Baker.

Found our way to Kelowna! Stopped for dinner at Earl's Kitchen + Bar, complete with deliciously fresh margaritas. We then settled in for our first night in BC with thoughts and plans for the adventure ahead!

Super fresh mango, strawberry and lime margs at Earl's in Kelowna.

Tuesday, June 27th

First up for the day = Myra Canyon. It is a 12-mile round trip (out-and-back) restored section of the Kettle Valley Railway Trail. We rented bikes and enjoyed the glorious weather, scenic views as well as 18 trestles and 2 tunnels!

Dark tunnels and long trestles

View from one side of Myra Canyon and the trestles up ahead!

More of the scenic route along the trestles.

After our bike ride, we washed up and headed to Boyce-Gyro Beach. Beautiful day!

Okanagan Lake.
The water level was really high, most beaches were flooded (look at that tree on the right!).

We found our way to one of the many wineries: Summerhill Pyramid Winery.
We took in the sights, enjoyed a tasting, went on the tour and LOVED the unique musical performance (see below): alpenhorns!

View from Summerhill Winery

Lana and Mary at Summerhill Winery. Enjoying a glass of Cipes' sparking wine.

 

Wednesday, June 28th

To Summerland on the other side of Okanagan Lake. We hike Giant's Head (aka "Giant's Head Grind"): an uphill 1.6 km to the summit of Giant's Head Mountain overlooking Lake Okanagan and beyond.

We also stumbled upon the Giant's Head Freeride, where ~250 crazy humans skateboard down the steep, curvy-ass paved road that snakes its way up the mountain! Nuts! Here's the event website: http://www.giantsheadfreeride.com/. 

At the start of the hike up Giant's Head Mountain.

Okanagan Lake from Giant's Head Mountain.

The summit! Complete with the waving Canadian flag.

Near the top, where the all the skaters gather before riding down the mountain.

After the hike and excitement from the freeriders, we grabbed lunch on the lake in Summerland just as the clouds rolled in.

The clouds and rain held on, so we decided to experience another winery: Mission Hill Winery. Another tasting, great views and unique atmosphere.

View from Mission Hill Winery.

We stopped at a fruit stand/farmer's market in West Kelowna on the drive back. Bought fresh cherries and veggies with plans to cook dinner in tonight: fajitas!

Sam posing with our delicious shrimp fajitas meal.

Cheers - it is Sam and Mary's 3rd wedding anniversary!

What a spot to spend an anniversary.

Thursday, June 29th

So, today Lana and Mary went parasailing! In Lumby, BC, which is up toward Vernon, on the northern part of Okanagan Lake.

A hang-glider at Freedom Flight School.
Also, that cleared patch of land on that mountain is where we launch from!

Freedom Flight School = amazing! Great people, great vibes, perfect day.

Lana and I have our ENTIRE flights available to watch! Just ask :) Sam and Luke enjoyed the weather, had a few beers, played beersbee with a traveling band and patiently awaited our flight.

After that unforgettable experience, we headed to Kalamalka Lake ('Kal') for a dip and some beach volleyball! 

Kalamalka Lake - refreshing and beautiful!

We met up with Lana's boss' mom, Darls, who lives in Vernon, for dinner and drinks at Marten Brewing Company. Great company, great times!

Beer flight at Marten Brewing Co.

Friday, June 30th

We grabbed a quick breakfast at Tim Horton's (of course!), complete with Timbits for the road, and headed back toward Vancouver. Made a lovely stop at Harrison Hot Springs, drove by Sasquatch Inn and munched on famous beef jerky from Deroche on the way.

Caesars in Harrison Hot Springs.

Back in Vancouver, we checked into our legit rental in Gastown ("staying with our friend, Steve"). We took a stroll in search of a Roots store for Canada Day gear, then grabbed dinner at La Casita. Resting up for the big day ahead: CANADA DAY!