Author: Joshberu@gmail.com

This morning, we woke up at about 6:30AM with the intention of packing up and crossing the Hoh River as early as possible.  Based on the tide maps on the WTA website, low tides were at 6AM and 6PM, and high tides were at 12AM and 12PM.

By 7AM, we were wading through the mouth of the Hoh River in waist-high water. The river was flowing very strongly and lucky-for-me, Mike came up with an idea to use a stick to help anchor ourselves to the ground of the river with each and every step.  Without this stick, there is a high chance that I would have lost my footing while wading across the river.

The trail itself had many similarities to the Lost Coast Trail:

• Very remote and relatively difficult for the public to access
• Alternating beach hiking and overland hiking
• Numerous rivers and waterfalls flowing directly into the ocean
• Backcountry camping (For the most part, camp wherever you want to

The highlights of the hiking trail were:

• Beautiful overland portions (especially the 2nd overland portion with the waterfall/river and the last overland portion with the water flowing into the ocean)
• Many sea stacks and tide pools along the trail
• Ascending and descending steep portions of the trail with stairs and ropes
• Swimming in the numerous semi-circle ocean coves

Spending time with Mike really made me think about my negative, dismissive views of organized religion.  My views are that passionate followers of especially illogical religions (such as Mormonism, and Scientology) are stupid, brainwashed and are wasting their lives.  Through spending time with Mike, it became crystal clear that religion had a very positive effect on all areas of his life.   His religion (and the values that come along with it) can be directly given credit for the following:

• Mike doesn’t drink alcohol, smoke weed, or drink caffeine
• He married at age 22 and as a 31-year-old he has three kids.  His wife is OK with him taking days off at a time to go backpacking on his own and even take month-long cross-country road trips on his own
• He has gained immense skills and confidence in dealing with people from his time spent living in Chile and being a missionary
• He has a framework through which he can have an easier time making decisions that are rational and right (at least based on the beliefs he holds)

If the worth of a religion can be judged by the quality and character of its adherents, I think mormonism is not a bad one.  So far, the mormons that I’ve met have been living family-oriented lives, refraining from the “porns of life,” and have generally been respectful and kind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At about 6:30 PM, we arrived at “Scott’s Beach,” an expansive sandy area near a strong-flowing creek. At that point, the choice seemed to be to camp at Scott’s Beach or to hike another couple of hours and camp at Third Beach.  We decided to have a relaxing afternoon and camp at “Scott’s Beach.” True to his resourceful nature, Mike used a tarp to create a makeshift sun blocker which served well for the next couple of hours.  We spent a a few hours gathering food and building a fire near our tents.  Then, Mike used two sticks to create a (highly effective) laundry drying line near the campfire.  During our discussions, Mike recommended I read “The Millionaire Next Door” and “Against all Enemies” by Tom Clancy.  He also suggested I listen to the album “Millencolin” by the Pennybridge Pioneers.

 

 

 

At 6AM, we woke up and began descending the trail by 7AM.  The descent was relatively quick, downhill, and easy.  Within a couple hours, we arrived at the trailhead and drove to the visitors center to drop off the borrowed bear cannister.

On the way back to Tacoma, we stopped at Mcdonalds for breakfast and stopped at a casino for a few hands of blackjack, before arriving at the airport rental car building at about 12:30PM.

 

From the rental car building, I boarded the light rail and a bus to Discovery Park where the Pow Wow festival was taking place.  The Pow Wow festival is a yearly Native American cultural festival which takes place in numerous cities throughout the country.  The Seattle festival consisted of 3 days of vendors, dancing, music, and celebrations.  As I arrived at the festival, a dance-off competition was just starting.  About 20 Native American men dressed up in traditional garb were passionately and individually dancing to drum music being played by a circle of Native American men.  The Native-American passion and pride was evident throughout the entire festival.

After the dance competition, I walked passed all the vendors who were selling Native-American inspired apparel, art, and foods.  Most of the food vendors seemed to be selling variations of fry bread, which I decided to try out.  I had previously learned about fry bread while researching about the relatively high rates of obesity among Native Americans.  The fry bread was average tasting and very unhealthy, but I’m glad I was able to try it out for the experience.

After a couple of hours at the Pow Wow festival, Mike Tew (https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/mikelv), emailed me about his last-minute plan to drive over to the Olympic Peninsula in order to spend two nights hiking one of the coastal trails.  It was Saturday afternoon, I had just arrived in Seattle after two days of backpacking, I hadn’t showered since Thursday morning, but I decided to join him.  About 30 minutes after our confirmed plans, he picked me up from Discovery Park and we drove north toward Edmonds, WA. From Edmonds, WA, we drove onto the Ferry which was headed to Kingston, WA.  Luckily, we were one of the last five cars that fit onto the approximately 300-car-capacity ferry.

From Kingston, we continued around the entire Olympic Peninsula until arriving at the West Coast.  After discussing for a couple hours, we decided on hiking the entire South Coast Trail, a 17 mile coastal trail stretching from the Hoh River to Third Beach.  The one concern we had was how we would be able to hitchhike to the start/end of the trail before or after completing the hike.  Ultimately, we decided that we would park at the northern trailhead and try our luck at hitchhiking to the Southern Trailhead before beginning the hike north.

At about 11:30PM, we were approaching the northern trailhead on La Push Road.  Based on the map, we anticipated La Push Road would be a very quiet, lightly traveled road, especially at the time we would be arriving.  Surprisingly, there were hundreds of cars traveling in the opposite direction (in the direction we were trying to hitchhike in.)  We had hit the hitchhiking lottery!

As soon as we parked at the trailhead, we began flagging down cars for a ride to Highway 101.  After about 10 cars ignored us, one car pulled into the parking lot but stopped well before where we were standing.  It seemed obvious that the car wasn’t stopping for us, but for some other reason.  As I approached the car, the two Native American men kept quiet and ignored me as one exited the car to take a restroom break.  Mike then approached the driver who nonchalantly agreed to give us a ride to Highway 101.

During the car ride, it became evident that both of the middle-aged men had been smoking marijuana (one of them was actually smoking marijuana in the car and offered it to us.)  During the 20 minute car ride, Mike displayed his expert-level socializing skills by engaging in passionate conversation with the Native Americans about them being Makah Indians and details about their indian reservation in Neah Bay.

Mike and the two Native Americans even became immersed in a discussion about the process of lampooning whales, which one of the Native Americans had actually done a few times in the past.  Perhaps because of his experience as a Mormon missionary, Mike is an expert at communicating and building rapport using a pleasant tone of voice, non-condescending tone, genuine interest and genuine love/compassion/respect.  Mike had visited the Indian reservation of Neah Bay numerous times and had even visited the reservation’s museum multiple times.  By the time we reached Highway 101, the Native Americans willingly offered to drive us a couple of miles out of their way to a nearby gas station, where we would have a better chance on the next leg of our hitchhiking journey to Lower Hoh Road.

Luckily, the gas station was also extremely busy at Midnight, likely due to the same festival at La Push.  Within a few minutes, a couple offered us a ride in the back of their pickup truck to the mouth of the Hoh River.  At the mouth of the Hoh River, there was a beautiful waterfront area which was ideal for camping.  At about 2AM, we retired into our tents and prepared to begin the South Coast Trail in a few hours.

On Friday Morning, I woke up at about 8AM which I thought to be very late.  Much to my surprise, Theresa, Omer, and Chloe woke up at about 10:30 AM.  I spent the two hours walking around camp, using my phone, and just sitting around.  Waking up late wasn’t much of a concern because we only had to hike 5 miles today to reach Heather’s Park.  As far I was concerned, Lake Angeles was an ideal, scenic spot to spend a few hours at.  When everyone woke up, we walked over the edge of Lake Angeles and prepared breakfast while sitting on some logs at the edge of the lake.  It was an ideal breakfast spot with a few of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met.  In short, Theresa, Omer and Chloe were inspiring for the following reasons:

• Love
  • One can’t be a couchsurfer without being a loving person who strives to see good in everyone.  One can’t not be a loving person when they agree to a 2 night camping trip with people they don’t know.
• Free Spiritedness/Adventurousness
  • Each of them were hungry for experiences, open-minded, and seeking adventure.  It was inspiring to be around people who put their lives on hold for 3 months-2 years, taking a huge risk by traveling (or moving) internationally.  Spending time with them really made me want to take a year off and just travel the world.  It really set the tone for the rest of my trip

From Lake Angeles, we continued the ascent up to the ridge.  The climate/terrain slowly transformed to a more barren, less vegetated, more snowy, and more foggy terrain/climate.  We took our time on the hike, stopping multiple times to climb peaks and take numerous side-trips.  On one of these side trips, we left our packs on the trail and spent a total of an hour climbing to the viewpoint, relaxing at the viewpoint, and eventually descending back to the trail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After hiking at a sub-1 MPH speed, we arrived at Heather Park at about 6PM.  Near a creek, we came across an ideal developed campsite which included a stone fireplace, rock enclosure, and a graded area large enough for two tents.

At the campground, we had a 4 hour dinner surrounding the fire which included Tuna/Avocado/Pepperoni Bagels, Smores, warmed beans, Hot Chocolate, Coffee, diluted Honey Whiskey, and cookie butter.  It was such an amazing night, where I was continually amazed by the group’s resourcefulness and patience in preparing the food and enjoying it.

Late at night, we went to sleep with the intention of waking up at 6AM so that we would be able to return the rental car  before noon on Saturday.

 

This morning, I woke up at about 6AM with the intention of visiting the International District before meeting Omer, Chloe, and Theresa at the airport rental car pickup building. Unfortunately, I boarded the wrong bus and ended up at Redmond, WA instead.  By the time, I started heading to the airport I didn’t have time to stop in the International District anymore.  Instead, I met the group at the rental car building, we rented the car, and began driving to Olympic National Park.

Here is some information about each of the group members:

• Omer Peretz (https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/omer-peretz)
  • Omer was born and raised in Israel (spent 8 years of his childhood living in the US) and currently lives near Tel Aviv
  • Omer completed his army service last year and is currently working as a birthright security guard/medic
  • He has been traveling for a few months and has visited Thailand, South America, and the west coast of the United States
  • Omer’s book recommendation:  The important things in truth (in hebrew)
• Chloe Smyth (https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/chloe-smyth-1)
  • Chloe currently resides in Brisbane, Australia, and was raised in the UK, Scotland, and Australia
  • She has been working in interior design and has taken a few months off to travel the world, eventually planning on ending up in Vancouver and spending a few weeks here
  • Chloe’s book recommendation:  Siddhartha (audiobook)
  • Chloe’s music recommendation:  Kygo’s remixes
• Theresa Li (https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/resilein)
  • Born and raised on a rural farm in Austria
  • Spent 6 months studying abroad in Houston, TX
  • Spent the last couple of months traveling through South America and the West Coast
  • Theresa’s book recommendation:  Clockwork Orange
  • Theresa’s? music recommendation:  Matavenados

The drive to Olympic National Park took about 4 hours.  On the way, we stopped at Walmart at Jimmy John’s, eventually arriving at the Visitors center around 4PM.  At the visitor’s center, we decided to hike a loop consisting of the Lake Angeles Trail and Heather Park Trail.  The plan for the hike would be as follows:

• Day 1:  Hike from the trailhead to Lake Angeles (approximately 4 miles)
• Day 2:  Hike from Lake Angeles to Heather Park (approximately 5 miles)
• Day 3:  Hike from Heather Park to trailhead (approximately 4 miles)

The first four miles of the hike steeply ascended about 2,000 feet through lush green rainforests.  After about 4 hours, we arrived at Lake Angeles, an Alpine Lake surrounded by higher land in all four directions.  There were a few campsites along the edge of the lake, which were mostly occupied.  Luckily, we found a nice spot a minute down the trail where we camped for the night.

This morning I woke up, showered, and checked out of the AirBNB.  I walked a few minutes to the intersection of 50th and Brooklyn and rode the bus until University Bridge.  At University Bridge, I began walking along the waterfront path toward Gas Works Park.  Gas Works Park was previously a gas plant, which was transformed into an urban park in the 1970s.  The waterfront park now includes numerous walking paths, play areas, and open grassy areas for picnics.  During my early morning visit, there were only a few visitors at the park, but I can imagine it would be a vibrant, happening place on a summer day.

 

After a brief visit to Gas Works Park, I continued walking along the waterfront walking/bicycling path toward the Hiram M Chittenden Locks.  During the morning, I probably walked 7-8 miles, which was pleasant during the beautiful weather.  The walk passed through an area filled with high-tech office parks, houseboats, heavy industrial uses, and areas undergoing transformation from older industrial/residential to high-density, mixed-use residential uses.  The Hiram Chittenden Locks is basically an elevator for boats to be able to transition between the water in the bay and the ocean.  The water levels of these two bodies of water vary between 6 feet and 20 feet depending on the tide.  The Locks are also the location of a fish ladder, by which fish can swim upstream and complete their life cycle.

After walking across the Locks, I ended up in a heavy industrial district on the other side of the bay near Discovery Park.  After walking a couple of miles, I boarded a bus to Downtown Seattle and got off near Pike Place Market.  At Pike Place Market, I snacked on a Mac N’ Cheese at Beecher’s Cheese. At Beecher’s Cheese, there is a seating area facing a huge glass window through which you can view the cheese being made.  The process takes about three days and requires boiling, constant stirring, and probably many other steps.

Near Pike Place Market, I came across a beautiful mixed-use residential project in Downtown Seattle.  The project included 3-4 buildings intersected by a wide staircase/walkway between 1st Ave and Western Ave, and an alleyway between Seneca Street and Union Street.  Harbor Steps is owned by Equity Residential, which developed the project to not just be an apartment building, but a mixed-use, walkable, urban environment in which residents can live.  Because of the intelligent design and layout, the building gains the following benefits:

• Income from retail/office tenants located along the alley and steps intersecting the project
• Increased walkability, accessibility, and public common areas to for residents and the public
• The location becomes much more central, high-traffic, and prime because of the increased pedestrian traffic and visibility

Many landlords would hesitate to make a portion of their privately-owned land accessible to the general public, but Equity Residential seems to have made a great decision which increased the value of their investment and increased the quality of life for their residents.

From Harbor Steps, I walked to meet with Omer, Chloe, and Theresa at the food court at the city complex.  Afterwards, I decided to visit the Chihuly Glass Museum.  Chihuly Glass Museum is Seattle’s #1 rated Seattle attraction on Trip Advisor.  Dan Chihuly is quoted as saying that he’s never seen a color he doesn’t like.  His embrace and appreciation of all colors is visible in all of his art.  His art seems simultaneously gives off the feeling fragility, strength, randomness and order.  While walking through the museum, I couldn’t help but think of how Chihuly’s work influenced Wynn in not only the design of Bellagio but also the design of Wynn.  The vibrant colors that are seen in much of Chihuly’s art are the same vibrant colors that are seen throughout the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas.  I also got to thinking about what the purpose of art and came up with the following:

• To inspire the viewers of the art to increase broaden their imagination (as Chihuly’s work seems to have done to Wynn)
• For the creator of the art to express themselves and the feeling inside them
• For the viewers to be entertained and experience pleasure
• For the creator to make money

Afterwards, I walked to the Capital Hill neighborhood of Seattle to meet with Perry.  I chatted with Perry on J-Swipe and we planned to meet for a drink at a bar named Unicorn. Perry recently graduated from a University in Vancouver and is working as a cake decorator near Seattle.  After having a drink at Unicorn, we walked through the Capital Hill neighborhood.  During the walk, we stopped at the Starbucks Roastery store, an approximately 15,000 SF coffee roastery, tasting bar, lounge, restaurant, and retail store at the edge of the Capital district.  After about 30 minutes of walking, we stopped by Molly Moon’s to have ice cream.

Visiting Capital Hill was probably my favorite experience in Seattle.  Unlike Pike Place Market and Downtown, I didn’t feel like I was in a touristy, artificial area.  The neighborhood had character, uniqueness, and a genuine livability to it.  While walking to Unicorn, I passed by a public park in which locals were playing “bike polo.”  This local, hipster game could very well be the official sport of Seattle, which is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the United States.

 

After parting ways with Perry, I boarded a bus to Northgate and almost immediately fell asleep from exhaustion.  That night, my sleep was probably the most blissful sleep I’ve ever had.  Here are my notes that I felt compelled to articulate the following morning:

“I had the most amazing dreams last night during the entire night.  Everything was perfect… no issues, no worries, etc.  The reason the dreams were amazing is because my mind was too tired to bring its pessimistic view to the events in my dreams.  My purely subconscious, autopilot dreams were blissful and my thoughts didn’t have the energy to dim them.  Let my life be blissful without interference from my negative mind.”

This morning, I woke up at 3AM after sleeping for just three hours.  Even with waking up that early, I arrived just on time to board the 6:15 AM flight to Seattle.  When I booked the flight, I didn’t really think about how little sleep I would have.  The first few hours of the day were difficult, but once I landed in Seattle I was energized and ready to go.

Upon landing in Seattle, I walked to the light rail station and bought an all-day pass for the light rail.   After 30 minutes on the light rail, I exited at Pine Street.  From Pine Street, I walked a few blocks downhill toward Pike Place Market.

 

Pike Place Market was interesting and nice, but wasn’t as unique as I thought it would be.  It was basically like an Israeli Shuk which I’ve been to in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.  The market consisted of an approximately 1/2 mile long building with several floors.  Lining the interior of the entire building were vendors selling produce, flowers, gifts/novelty items, and a fish stand.  The whole area had a very touristy feel to it.  For example, the much hyped Fish Stand with the “flying fish” was a let down.  The throwing of fish and obnoxious bickering between the workers was completely rehearsed/unenthusiastic and served no practical purpose other than to entertain.  It was as pathetic as it sounds.  I embedded a video below to show the true nature of the”flying fish” experience.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the Pike Place Market was visiting the original Starbucks store located at 1912 Pikes Place.  At the time I visited, there was an approximately 15-minute line outside the store.  Upon entering the store and walking to the cash register, you can order pretty much anything you want.  The wait time for all handcrafted drinks (everything except drip coffee and tea bags) seemed to be at least 15 minutes.  For that reason, I just ordered a blonde roast, and immediately received my order.

Gum wall was a wacky spot near Pike Place Market.  The walls of the alley are filled with thousands of pieces of used gum.  Maybe I was just disgusted, but I felt like I could smell the fruity gum flavors while walking through the alley.

 

From Pike’s Place, I took the 33 bus from 3rd and Union to Discovery Park.  The bus dropped me off at the North Parking Lot, where I met up with the Discovery Loop Trail and completed the 2.8 mile loop trail.  The  loop trail crosses many paved road, dirt roads, throughout Discovery Park.  It was a beautiful trail (especially considering its location inside the City, but wasn’t anything tremendous or extremely unique).

After completing the Discovery Loop Trail, I took the same route 33 bus to Space Needle. Space Needle is part of a huge tourism complex comprised of Space Needle, the Glass Museum, children’s museum, and park-like grounds.  The Space Needle restaurant didn’t have any available reservations, which would have allowed me a free trip up to the top (ith a lunch purchase) so I didn’t think it was worth it to pay the $20-30 fee to get a ride to the top. Instead, I ate lunch at the food court inside the complex, and then walked over the Gates Foundation Museum.

Although, I may not agree with Bill Gates’ politics, I really admire the level at which Bill and Melinda Gates set goals.  They have a very high-altitude view of the problems in society and strive to completely eradicate/solve the issues through very rational methods.

I’m living it up in LA thinking that the biggest issue facing the world is a lack of critical thinking which leads people to believe in and do stupid things.  However, that’s mostly a first world and developing countries problem.  There are billions of people who are struggling with preventable hunger, sickness, and lack of necessities that we in America take for granted.

After visiting the Gates foundation I slowly walked and traveled via public transportation to the AirBNB in the Northgate District.

Schedule for Tomorrow:

• Gasworks Park
• Locks
• 701 5th Ave (40th floor) – Sky Bucks
• 1124  Pike Street (Starbucks 15,000 SF reserve store)
• 917 E Pine (Molly Moon’s Ice Cream)
• Check out one museum (Chihuly Glass maybe)

7/12 Update:

After the first day of the trip, I’m realizing that attempting to nail down a concrete schedule for this trip will just lead to frustration and stress.  This trip will pose many new challenges which I haven’t dealt with before, which are due to the many unknowns, the many flexible, constantly changing details, and the details that I don’t have too much control over.  The unknown/changing parts are as follows:

• Inconvenience of Public transportation System and Urban Sprawl
  • Seattle is much more sprawled out than I was expecting.  The bus ride from Pike Market to Discovery Park was about 30 minutes and the route from Space Needle to where I’m staying  (near Northgate Mall) required almost an hour of public transportation and walking.
  • The National Parks are each a minimum of 3 hours away by car, which makes public transportation extremely inconvenient
  • Unlike San Francisco, the Seattle area is very spread out.
• Lodging
  • During this trip, I’m relying on AirBNBs, Couchsurfing, and camping.  All three of these options (especially Couchsurfing) can lead to last-minute decisions and much uncertainty.  This uncertainty means that the entire trip can completely be changed because of a lodging option or lack of a lodging option
• Weather
  • Due to my plans of spending many days in National Parks and wilderness, I need to be prepared for at least a few rainy/snowy days which will lead to delays or cancellations of my plans
• Work
  • Depending on how things are going with work, I may decide that it’s important for me to have cell phone access, rather than go on a hike or visit a National Park.  This decision could lead to delays in my plans
• Meetup Events/Backpacking Trips
  • I’m heavily relying on Meetup events for outdoor activities and transportation.  My dependence on Meetup makes it so that I may need to modify my schedule to work around the Meetup events
• Couchsurfing social interactions
  • I’m hoping to use Couchsurfer events to arrange outdoor activities and meet like-minded travelers.  My dependence on Couchsurfers makes it so that I may need to modify my schedule to work around events, activities, or other people’s schedules

Given the above factors, I’ve decided to expect major changes in my schedule throughout the trip.  In fact, the best way to prepare (which would allow me to not be stressed and to focus on the moment) would probably be to only focus on planning the current day and the next day.  Looking further than that into the future isn’t be productive.  As part of my daily blog posts, I’ll start including a rough schedule for the following day.

Seattle (Nights of July 12th and July 14th (Staying in AirBnb – “Flower Room near University”)

• Tuesday July 12th
  • Pike Place Market
  • Discovery park (nice 3 mile loop walk)
    • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60878-d141360-Reviews-Discovery_Park-Seattle_Washington.html
  • Space Needle 
  • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor Center
    • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60878-d2484267-Reviews-Bill_Melinda_Gates_Foundation_Visitor_Center-Seattle_Washington.html
• Wednesday July 14th 
  • Chihuly Gardena and Glass
    • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60878-d3184389-Reviews-Chihuly_Garden_and_Glass-Seattle_Washington.html
  • Kerry Park
    • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60878-d1050677-Reviews-Kerry_Park-Seattle_Washington.html
  • Water locks
    • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60878-d319153-Reviews-Hiram_M_Chittenden_Locks-Seattle_Washington.html
  • Green Lake Park
    • http://www.seattle.gov/parks/park_detail.asp?ID=30
• Thursday July 14th
  • Hiking Round Lake with Meetup
    • http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/round-lake
    • http://www.meetup.com/MidweekHiking/events/232550837
  • OR 
  • http://www.meetup.com/Kitsap-Outdoors/events/232482391/
  • Seattle Ferries (Maybe take a ferry to Victoria or a nearby island)
    • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60878-d563102-Reviews-Washington_State_Ferries-Seattle_Washington.html
• Saturday July 16th to Tuesday July 19th
  • Victoria, BC
    • Royal BC Museum
      • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154945-d186969-Reviews-Royal_BC_Museum-Victoria_Victoria_Capital_Regional_District_Vancouver_Island_Briti.html
    • Inner Harbour (walking path where you can also stop by tourist attractions and take water taxis)
      • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154945-d219337-Reviews-Inner_Harbour-Victoria_Victoria_Capital_Regional_District_Vancouver_Island_British.html
    • Beacon Hill Park
      • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154945-d186967-Reviews-Beacon_Hill_Park-Victoria_Victoria_Capital_Regional_District_Vancouver_Island_Brit.html
    • British Columbia Parliament building
      • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154945-d155473-Reviews-British_Columbia_Parliament_Buildings-Victoria_Victoria_Capital_Regional_District_.html
    • Scenic Marine Route (Dallas Rd and Beach Rd along the coast)
      • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154945-d155904-Reviews-Scenic_Marine_Route-Victoria_Victoria_Capital_Regional_District_Vancouver_Island_B.html
    • Fisherman’s Wharf
      • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154945-d1859141-Reviews-Fisherman_s_Wharf-Victoria_Victoria_Capital_Regional_District_Vancouver_Island_Br.html
    • Ogden Point Breakwater (along the scenic marine route)
      • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154945-d4222656-Reviews-Ogden_Point_Breakwater-Victoria_Victoria_Capital_Regional_District_Vancouver_Isla.html
    • Government Street
      • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154945-d155974-Reviews-Government_Street-Victoria_Victoria_Capital_Regional_District_Vancouver_Island_Bri.html#MAPVIEW
    • Victoria Pear
      • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154945-d2424137-Reviews-Victoria_Pier-Victoria_Victoria_Capital_Regional_District_Vancouver_Island_Britis.html
• Wednesday July 19th
• • Vancouver, BC
    • Festival of Lights Firework Show
      • Saturday July 23^rd, Wednesday July 27^th, Saturday July 30^th
        • Fireworks at 10PM
      • Stanley Park (HUGE park in Downtwon) (use Trolley bus service)
        • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154943-d155652-Reviews-Stanley_Park-Vancouver_British_Columbia.html
      • Seawall (and 28km oceanfront bike path along the water) (rent a bike?)
        • http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/seawall.aspx#_=_
      • Granville Island
        • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154943-d156255-Reviews-Granville_Island-Vancouver_British_Columbia.html
      • English Bay
        • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154943-d156265-Reviews-English_Bay-Vancouver_British_Columbia.html
      • Downtown Vancouver
        • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154943-d501708-Reviews-Vancouver_Downtown-Vancouver_British_Columbia.html
      • Queen Elizabeth Park
        • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154943-d156254-Reviews-Queen_Elizabeth_Park-Vancouver_British_Columbia.html
      • Good Lunch spot
        • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154943-d155842-Reviews-Gastown-Vancouver_British_Columbia.html
      • Robson Street
        • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154943-d155842-Reviews-Gastown-Vancouver_British_Columbia.html
• Thursday July 28th to Sunday July 31
  • Canada National Parks
    • Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
      • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154942-d219344-Reviews-Pacific_Rim_National_Park-Tofino_Clayoquot_Sound_Vancouver_Island_British_Columbia.html
      • West Coast Trail (47 miles)
      • Walk to the Wild Side Trail
        • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154942-d2149215-Reviews-Walk_the_Wild_Side_Trail-Tofino_Clayoquot_Sound_Vancouver_Island_British_Columbia.html
      • Rainforest Trail
        • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154942-d317660-Reviews-Rainforest_Trail-Tofino_Clayoquot_Sound_Vancouver_Island_British_Columbia.html
    • Strathcona Provincial Park
      • http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/strath/#_=_
    • Maquinna Provincial Marine Park
      • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154942-d281029-Reviews-Maquinna_Provincial_Marine_Park-Tofino_Clayoquot_Sound_Vancouver_Island_British_Co.html
    • Carmana Walbran
      • http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/carmanah/
    • Juan De Fuca Marine park Trail
      • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154944-d607422-Reviews-Juan_de_Fuca_Marine_Trail-Vancouver_Island_British_Columbia.html
    • Macmillan Provincial Park
      • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g181778-d6419397-Reviews-MacMillan_Provincial_Park-Port_Alberni_Vancouver_Island_British_Columbia.html
    • Garibaldi Provincial Park
      • https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g154922-d310715-Reviews-Garibaldi_Provincial_Park-British_Columbia.html