Vacation, part 2: Oh Canada!

July 6 was THE day!  The whole trip was focused on the Great Wall outside Squamish.  SMS had been there in 2007 and decided that one day, he would climb it.  He and Eric have been talking about it for almost a year and they were set.  We stayed at the Howe Sound Inn and Brewery in order to minimize any logistical headaches.  We walked through the campsite the next day and it was pretty cool, but we were happy we stayed at the hotel.

Left: Angela after her first 5.7 outside, Top: Happy to be climbing
Bottom: Top of Peak 1

So, Angela and I decided to walk to the base with the guys.  They were kind of tense and we were pretty high energy- we had very little at stake!  But they were happy we came and afterwards, we headed into town to the coffee shop to plan our day.  We ended up climbing across from town down Loggers Ln and climbed a 5.7, 5.6, 5.7, 5.10a, 5.11a, 10c, and 5.7/5.8.  It was a really packed day and we were done by 2.  We then hiked the first peak trail for Chief and the views were spectacular.  We were hoping to run into the guys on their way down (they made it!), but no luck.  We did see them in the parking lot, where they were hanging out after they saw our car.  We hung out for a bit longer talking about our climbing days and then we went to Shannon Falls as a group.  Afterwards, we went to the Brewery for dinner and celebratory beers.  It was really a lot of fun and I hope we all hang out/travel again!

Views from the top of Peak 1!

The next day, SMS and I headed out for brunch in Vancouver.  We went to Stanley Park and had brunch at the Teahouse, which was DELICIOUS!  The restaurant is on the site of the former WWII Officer's Club and we had a delicious smoked salmon flat (sort of Eggs Benedict-like but with a base of roughly mashed potatoes rather than muffin or biscuit) and corned beef hash that was served with a potato base with slices of corned beef.  It was a spectacular breakfast and we were really happy.  In addition, we walked along the Sea Wall to and from brunch and it was so beautiful.  It is also nice to walk a bit after a delicious meal that was quite filling.

SMS outside of Rocket Donuts- we followed our noses!

Then, we headed back across the border.  Again, no paperwork problems (yay!) but a 55 minute wait, boo!  We stopped briefly in Bellingham (cute town!) and got some awesome Seattle recommendations from the guy working at Rocket Donuts.  We only did three of the four, but they were all fantastic: Petit Toulouse, Gasworks Park, Alki Beach (didn't do) and Stumptown Coffee.  They were totally awesome and part of part 3!