Day Trip From Seattle To Vancouver // Part 1

The first thing Charles and I did when our plane landed in Seattle was pick up our car rental and head to our Airbnb in the Capitol Hill area of the city. For those interested, here is the cute studio apartment we stayed at – the rooftop view was the deal sealer for us.

Once checked in, we walked about 5 minutes to the nearest grocery store, bought some breakfast food and toiletries then made our way back to the Airbnb where we crashed out early for the night.

Rest was essential because the next morning, we planned to do a day trip from Seattle to Vancouver, British Columbia – a 3 1/2 hour drive one way across the Canadian border (passports required).

We woke up around 5am, showered, cooked breakfast in our little kitchen and were on the road by 6:30am.

Thankfully, our ride was smooth sailing for most part and we arrived in Vancouver around 10am.

Leading up to our trip, I went a little google crazy trying to figure out what we could realistically squeeze into about 8 hours of exploring Vancouver.

After creating a general list of 25 things to eat, see and do, Charles and I discussed what was most important to us on this day trip – being outside, eating good food, not feeling rushed, staying in budget.

We went back and forth a few times but eventually narrowed the list down to the top 5 things we wanted to do while in “Van City”.

The first item on our Vancouver to-do list?

Getting in touch with the great outdoors at the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park.

Located in North Vancouver, about 10 minutes outside of the downtown city area, the Capilano Suspension Bridge is exactly what it sounds like – an outdoor park whose main attraction is their 470 feet long suspension bridge hanging 230 feet above the Capilano River Canyon.

In addition to the suspension bridge, the park also offers:

– nature trails

– a Tree Top Adventure, consisting of 7 walk bridges suspended high up on the old-growing Douglas Fir trees (98 ft. above the air)

– A Cliffwalk, suspended walkways jutting out from the side of the cliff rock above the Capilano River

– And is home to the largest private collection of First Nation Totem poles in North America.

Canadian Tourist Trap? Very likely. But the minute we found out about the park, there was no way Charles and I were going to pass up an opportunity to face our mutual fear of heights and experience something as exhilarating as crossing the suspension bridge and its additional suspended attractions.

^^ Setarra here. Get ready to face my fear of heights… No big deal.

^^ Behold. The bridge. The “slippery when wet” sign freaked me out because it had literally just stopped raining 5 minutes before we arrived at the park.

The minute I saw the sign, I looked at Charles and said, “If I slip off and die, remember that I want to be cremated. Don’t you dare stick me in a coffin.”

(In addition to my fear of heights, I also have fear of coming back to life in a coffin buried under ground. Even in death, I refuse to subject my bones to any potential form of claustrophobia)

^^ Slowly making my way from one end to the other with a death grip on the railing. I was surprised by how much the bridge swayed as we walked across.

^^ Views from the bridge with the Capilano River rushing along below us.

^^ The minute we made it to the middle of the bridge, I turned around and told Charles to hurry up and snap a pic for memories sake so I could get across. This photo is the result. A little blurry but it fits with how I was feeling at the time. Hashtag smile and go.

^^ Vancouver in the fall is soooo pretty!

^^ Once we got across the suspension bridge to the west side of the river canyon, we made our way to the entrance of the Treetop Adventure.

^^ The whole time we were walking through the treetops, I kept expecting an Ewok to pop out. (<- we’re bff’s if you know that reference.) The lights along the suspended railing made the overall experience feel pretty magical.

After walking through the treetops, we made the torturous journey back across suspension bridge to the “mainland”.

Along the way, we ran into two girls who asked if we could take their pictures. I said “yes” in exchange for them to take our picture afterwards. Love it when trading pictures happens organically like that while traveling. :)

Once back on the main side of the park, we walked our way through the Cliffwalk which I personally thought was a little bit more scary than walking across the suspension bridge.

I’m pretty sure it had something to do with the fact that some parts of the cliff walk had glass floors which made me feel uneasy. A little scary but totally worth it.

^^ A selfie to celebrate making it through!

With our certificate of bridge crossing completion in hand, Charles and I exited the park after a good 3 hours of exploring and made our way back to the car.

All that walking around had stimulated our appetites and we were ready for lunch.

Well, more like breakfast for lunch…

Planning a visit to Vancouver and on a budget? Make your way over to Bon’s Off Broadway, a super divey restaurant, for their all day breakfast special.

For $2.95, the breakfast special includes 2 eggs, hash browns, your choice of sausage or ham and toast.

That’s right… TWO DOLLARS & NINETY FIVE CENTS. I didn’t quite believe it myself when I first found out about Bon’s Off Broadway online but the deal is real and such a steal.

^^ Just don’t get caught talking about how good everything is with your mouth full of food while your husband is taking a picture. Not my best look but too good not to share. Charles got me good ya’ll. :)