Just Another Day at the Beach...Orange Beach, Alabama

We try to go to the beach once a year with the entire family and it has not worked out the last two years. This year we finally got everyone on board to go in October. We rented a beautiful condo at Turquoise Place big enough for everyone to have their space. We were really high up and at first I was concerned. I'm not a huge fan of heights. But the view was beautiful! This was a low key vacation. A lot of beach time and family time. I have tons of pictures but I'm not comfortable posting pics on here of family and friends. So for now it's more of a writing post.

I brought most of our "supplies"...food, drink and beach stuff. We literally had a full vehicle. It's a shame for vacations close enough to drive to we always overpack. Yet we can go to Europe for three weeks with one medium size suitcase. I brought prepared food which came in very handy when we were all tired and didn't feel like cooking or going out. We did do our fair share of going out. We went to Acme Oyster House (wasn't great), Lulu's (more fried food but a great atmosphere), Louisiana Lagniappe (very good) and Cafe Grazie (one of our faves). We did rent a party barge for one day and had a great day exploring the islands in the bay. We stopped and had lunch at Lulu's. We were also treated to a show by a few dolphins in the bay. We stayed for 10 days and had two groups meet us over the course of that time. Sometimes its hard to get that many people to agree on just about anything, but we did and it was a pleasure to have another family vacation.

One of the few days that I actually saw the sun rise...

 Turquoise Place has so many amenities. It was perfect for a large group. Just a short walk to the crystal clear water...

Office...

Probably my favorite picture of the week so I had to share...David playing in the water with our granddaughter.

I have never been to a beach anywhere that had really, really good shells. So we buy them and scatter them on the beach for the kids to find. Our granddaughter almost caught on, but it was a fleeting moment. Makes for a fun day at the beach.

A message in the sand never gets old.

This was our last trip before David retires. He has been practicing very hard!

Vancouver & Victoria, What a View...

We arrived at the Port of Vancouver in the early morning. The weather was perfect and made the water look so very blue.

After disembarkation we checked in to our hotel. We stayed at the Four Seasons because we got a good deal. If I had known just how gorgeous the harbor was, we would have stayed on the water. We did what we normally do when it is our first time somewhere, we took a tour. The Hop On Hop Off bus tours are usually great because we get an overview of the city and can decide when to get off on our own. We got off to take a water ferry to Granville Island.

The market on the island was huge! I wish that we lived in a city that had a huge market like this one. You could buy anything from flowers to fresh seafood.

You can grab lunch and sit outside and watch one of several street performers.

We headed back to the Hop On Hop Off bus route to finish our tour of the city. Vancouver is really beautiful and seeing it from an open top bus is the best. The weather is wonderful and even though it is far north, it stays just right year round!

Canadian Geese were everywhere...hence the name.

The Rose Garden at Stanley Park was on our route. The garden boasts over 3500 rose bushes and with perfect weather they thrive.

We were only in Vancouver for three full days so we toured Vancouver on day one, went over to Vancouver Island on day two and went Salmon fishing on day three. Here are a couple of pictures around the city.

Day two was a long day of sightseeing. We took a bus to Victoria. Victoria is on Vancouver Island and requires planning to get there especially just going for the day. Next time we go, we will definitely stay a couple of days. Anyway, getting there on the bus, that literally drives onto the ferry, is a process that takes about three and a half hours. It was an adventure. Bus, ferry and a helicopter ride back. But it was worth it! Going in by water was breathtaking as was leaving by air.

Once we arrived in Victoria, we got off of the bus and got lost...typical. After a few (by that I mean many) blocks, we arrived at the waterfront.

The Fairmont Empress Hotel is located right on the harbor and it is stunning. We had originally planned to stay here two of the four nights but logistically it did not work out for everything we wanted to do. But now we know we want to go back.

After an amazing lunch on the waterfront we decided to do another tour. We were only here for about 5 hours so it was really the best way. If your familiar with duck tours that tour a city by land AND water we did that tour only it was call a Hippo Tour. I know cheesEEEEE. I can't stand when people say that things like this are too touristy. I mean, come on, we are tourists and we don't know a soul here. So we got right up on that hippo and took off.

Into the water we go...

We could have never covered that much ground and water on our own.

We had a great afternoon in Victoria and our ride is waiting to whisk us back to Vancouver.

We ordered room service and called it a night. Early the next morning we met up with our guide to go salmon fishing. John with Bites On Charters was a great guide. He probably played a more pivotal role in our trip than he may think. It was on this trip that David made up his mind to retire after working for the same company for 42 years. He decided that he wants to travel more and spend more time with family. Stayed tuned for how it's going...

We caught only three fish...

Since we were doing more fishing than catching, John suggested a harbor tour for the last hour. We were thrilled. Any day on a boat is a good day for us!

Not sure how these people managed to get the truck out of the water. It was painful to look at how badly it was going for them.

So this ended our last day in Vancouver. We will definitely go back. It's funny how we both immediately know the places we would like to go back to. Usually any place with water. Some people are drawn to mountains, we are drawn to water.

Who wouldn't fall in love with Vancouver, eh?