Our very first stop of the 3-day Seattle road trip was Fairhaven, a small town on the south side of Bellingham. We crossed the border very early in the morning, so it was a perfect stop to get a latte and wake myself up.
Latte Tony’s Coffee House
Jimoco Cafe & Pasta is a neighbourhood restaurant serving Italian food in Coquitlam. It is only a 5-minute drive away from my house. In late January 2018, we returned to the restaurant for the first time in many months. The food was still as great as it was.
I’ve been living in Metro Vancouver for more than 10 years, and I don’t think people here waited for this long to go across the border. I finally visited Seattle for the first time on the Easter long weekend. Like my Big Island trip, I did all the research myself, and it turned out to be better this time. Below is my 3-day Seattle Itinerary. I am more and more confident on trip planning!
Photos from my Seattle Trip. From left to right: Burke Museum; Braised Beef Noodle Soup from Din Tai Fung; Seafood from Toulouse Petit; Cherry Blossom at University of Washington; Huge number of birds near Skagit Valley; Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum
On the last day of 2017, I brought my family to Iona Beach Regional Park. It was a sunny but windy day, and the scenes were gorgeous.
Iona Beach Regional Park – Looking towards the south
On the new year’s eve of 2017, my family and I visited Continental Seafood Restaurant in Richmond. There are a lot of Chinese seafood restaurants that serve dim sum at lunch hours, but I never know which one has the best in Richmond. My sister had been here before, so we gave it a try. There were some unique dishes which I enjoyed very much.
Vancouver is a beautiful city to live and visit, and so as the neighbour cities in Metro Vancouver. Even though I’ve lived in this area for more than 11 years, there are still loads of places unvisited or needed to be revisited. I decided to be active this year (2018), enjoy these wonderful parks and restaurants, and broaden my view of this city. This is my list of Vancouver weekend sightseeing for the year. I hope this post will inspire you to visit different places in Metro Vancouver.
From top-left: Viewing downtown Vancouver from Stanley Park; linguine soul bianco from Jimoco Café & Pasta; the skeleton of a blue whale at Beaty Biodiversity Museum; ramen at Hokkaido Ramen Santouka; Viewing Burrard Inlet from Barnet Marine Park
On Day 5 & 6 of our Big Island trip, we stayed at a bed and breakfast, Shaka Shak Garden Inn. It is the first time staying in this type of accommodation. My short conclusion is that it is OK with mix feelings.
Waipio Valley Lookout was the very last stop of our Big Island trip. I think I probably missed something when I was there…
View from Waipio Valley Lookout
After seeing Akaka Falls, we headed towards our final destination of the day, Waipiʻo Valley Lookout. We stopped at Tex Drive-In to enjoy the malasadas, and they were delicious!
Tex Drive-In
Our 4th stop on Day 7 was Akaka Falls State Park. It is about 20 minutes away from What’s Shakin and a must-see when driving along Hamakua coast.
Akaka Falls