The Great Canadian Honeymoon Part III

Here is the last and final post of our honeymoon. The last 2-3 days of our trip were probably my most favorite. We took a beautiful drive up to Jasper on a particularly chilly/rainy day and went canoeing on Moraine Lake and at Lake Louise.

Peyto Lake

Bow Lake

Peyto Glacier

The Columiba Ice field in Jasper National Park

Stopping to skip rocks on the side of road. I was pretty paranoid about bears the whole time on our trip, which I regret in hindsight because we didn't even end up seeing one. So while Mike skipped rocks I was on bear watch. 

Handsome husband

The colors of this place!

Canoeing on Moraine Lake. We were so glad we happened to be early risers this day. We got to the lake around 10am because we planned to canoe on Lake Louise as well that day and didn't want to rush. We left Moraine Lake at noon and they had closed the road up to the lake because there were too many people already. AH! There is always that conflict in me about touristy places like this, the crowds can sometimes ruin the experience a bit, but for us our solution will always be get there early. Also to really keep the crowds away, take a hike. Most tourists in Banff don't like to walk more than a 100 ft. from there car, which you can have the luxury of doing and still get amazing pictures and see so much beauty.

Quite the photogenic place

Reflection

Canoe part 2 on Lake Louise. We decided to use our Moraine Lake plan with Lake Louise and got there at 8:30am on our last day in Banff. The lake was empty and we were the first ones out on the water. 

The fog cleared right when we finished canoeing. 

Goodbye Banff, you were perfect. We then began our long 12 hour journey home. We left Banff at 11:00am, got back into the US around 4:00pm and arrived back to our home in Seattle at11:00pm. We were pooped to say the least, but so glad to be home as husband and wife. 

It was so wonderful traveling with Mike. We have gone on small trips together before but nothing like this. It was so fun to laugh together and suggest crazy dreams for the future (like moving to Europe, learning a new language, building a house, getting a dog, maybe having babies, going to grad school, and adventuring in the mountains). We came away from this trip knowing it was just the first of many more to come!

The Great Canadian Honeymoon Part II

After camping we hopped in the car and headed towards the magical wonderland that is Banff. 

Are we in Switzerland or something?

Finally entering Banff National Park!

We stayed in a little cabin about half a mile from Lake Louise. When we first arrived we went to straight to the lake, I have seen so many pictures of this place but being there in person is really something else. 

The next morning we hiked to the teahouse on Lake Agnus. It was a 2.5 mile climb straight up the mountain, but well worth it.

The tea house was so incredible. We had fresh tea biscuits, hot chocolate, and lemon poppyseed bread. 

That patch of blue below us is Lake Louise

We enjoyed having yummy breakfast in our cabin everyday. 

We drove to the town of Banff from Lake Louise after our hike to take a dip in the hot springs. It was such a chilly day and it was the perfect way to warm up.

The Great Canadian Honeymoon Part I

Hello there little blog, it has been quite some time has it not? The past two months have been full to the brim of so many things, like having my best friend here for three weeks, preparing for my wedding, getting MARRIED, going on a honeymoon, and then settling into our little cottage. But I'm back to blogging now and I am excited to keep using this space as a creative outlet. Let's start with a recap of our honeymoon. We took a grand road trip through Canada, with out first stop being Victoria, BC.

Boarding our ferry out of Port Angeles, WA > Victoria, BC

We stayed in an amazing Air B&B. We highly recommend finding places that way. We had fresh muffins, fruit, granola, and coffee every morning. Our bathroom had a vintage claw foot tub and we had a few of the Olympics across the Strait of Juan de Fuca 

 We walked all around Victoria, 8 miles total. The architecture was truly stunning and it gave us a little taste of Europe (sadly, a place we have never been, but one day!)

Victoria was the one "big" city we were in on our entire trip, so we took advantage of all the culture it had to offer ( and culture to us means coffee and bakeries, obviously). 

Habit Coffee was a delicious afternoon pick me up. Plus I loved the design of the place.

Mike made me walk up this big hill to see this castle. I was all grumpy about it but that changed as soon as it came into view. BEAUTIFUL!

 Mike outside the parliament building. 

We headed out of Victoria to Whistler, BC. We took a ferry to Vancouver and then drove up on the Sea-to-Sky highway. We were only in Whistler one night, which I was sort of grateful for, it wasn't our favorite place to be. It was really touristy and the village made me feel like I was in some suburban mall.  Yet it was still the mountains and still gorgeous. We took a hike on the drive up to this amazing waterfall. 

 The next morning we drove east towards Banff and were in awe of pretty much every view we saw. The landscape was so incredible, mountains turning into the high dessert is such a beautiful transition.

 We camped outside of Kamloops, BC. I knew there was a chance of thunderstorms in the evening but I didn't think too much of it. We set up our rain fly just in case. 

 Around 9pm we heard thunder in the distance and it slowly became louder and louder and the rain got heavier and heavier. Soon we were in the middle of a torrential downpour where the thunder was so loud it shook the ground and the lightning was right on top of us. Of course I assumed we were going to die and it was going to be so tragic and the news would cover it as the American couple who was on their honeymoon and got struck by lightening. Clearly none of that happened and we lived, but still, it was pretty terrifying. 

 Other than the thunderstorm, camping felt so good after staying in a yucky hotel in Whistler. We got a lot of reading and pipe smoking time in (well Mike was the one who smoked the pipe).

We are so grateful that we received so many camping gifts from our registry. They came into great use during our trip.

San Juan Island Engagement

We drove north and hopped on a ferry

in one of the heaviest rain storms of the year

We planned to camp, but due to the weather we had to glamp (oh shucks.)

The red head made me a leather pouch, I thought "how cute, a pouch!"

Little did I know inside that leather pouch was a shiny ring.

The proposal was a simple affair. He popped the question when we were huddled under blankets looking at a map of the island while it was pouring rain outside; it was perfect.

We explored the island and watched for orca whales. We went to a few bookstores and ate clam chowder. We played checkers by a fireplace and had breakfast for dinner. We spent a whole 24 hours being engaged before anyone else knew, it was lovely. 

Being with Mike has been quite the journey. It was about two years ago that this tall red head walked up to me in the backstage of a symphony hall and introduced himself, all for the sake of having to talk to the beautiful girl with the crazy hair (which, to my great disbelief, was me). Even though he was a complete stranger, I knew our first introduction was the start of something life changing.  

By God's grace we have made it to this point and we are so grateful. This relationship has been humbling, full of joy, frustrating at times, and oh so beautiful. 

Here's to our next step, engagement!

The Sea and the Woods

Last weekend a dear friend and I adventured down to the Oregon coastline. 

The weather was foggy and wet, but it suited us well.

The best things about a girls trip is having ice cream for lunch two days in a row.  

This was Apsen's farthest trip from home. 

(Who is Aspen you ask? She is my 2003 Subaru Outback)

Cape Kiwanda

Meg and I grew up backpacking, so to us, car camping is a luxurious thing. 

(Left): St. John's Bridge (Right): Here comes a big statement... This was the best ice cream I have ever had. Sorry Molly Moon's.  Salted Almond Brittle, you slay me.

Portland Rose Garden

Portland is to be my home for the first half of 2014, I am quite the lucky gal.

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 There has always been something about the sea and the woods that soothes me; the smell of the earth and salt water releases my mind from many heavy things. It was bliss.