Once we got the rental car, we headed to meet an old fraternity brother of mine for dim sum at Din Tai Fung in Tukwila, WA.
Tom, Joy, and I are outside Din Tai Fung's window where the people make the fresh soup dumplings by hand.
The Xiao Long Bao or soup dumpling are delicious at Din Tai Fung!
This is the peace arch on the US-Canada border by Blaine, Washington and Surrey, British Columbia.
I changed the speedometer to KM once we got into Canada. The metric system sucks! LOL.
We got some Canadian Dollars at an ATM, and I was surprised they did not have King Charles on them yet.
Our first stop was a Tim Horton's to get their famous donuts!
I like the Iced Capp at Tim Hortons even though I rarely drink these sugary frozen coffee drinks in the US.
We went to Point Roberts,WA, which is an US exclave located within Canada. There is a small border check point to cross from Canada back into the US at Point Roberts.
Point Roberts is a peninsula and cut off from the rest of the US by water.
Point Roberts was created by the drawing of the US-Canada border along the 48 parallel.
This brave swimmer did the polar plunge into the cold waters!
This was our view of downtown Vancouver from our room at the Hyatt Regency.
The Hyatt Regency in Vancouver gave us our complimentary bottled water in these metal bottles instead of plastic. Canada is way too liberal when it comes to environmental policy!
We went to Black+Blue, a Canadian steakhouse for dinner in downtown after checking into the Hyatt Regency.
Black+Blue was so beautiful inside!
They had Kujira 20 Japanese whiskey! It was not cheap, but I got it! LOL. I loved Kujira 8 before, and the 20 year is just amazing!
Cheers! It does not suck to be the Roys!
We got oysters from the west coast of Canada to start.
For my entree, I got the beef wellington medium rare.
Joy got the sablefish. Sablefish is found in the icy waters of Alaska so it was fitting since it was freezing cold in Vancouver with the Arctic blast that weekend! LOL.
I got lobster bisque too which had a nice lump of lobster salad in the middle before they poured the amazing soup in.
We got bananas foster for our dessert.
The waiter made the dessert tableside!
The finished dessert was great! He served it with ice cream!
This is another view of the restaurant with the display case that has the aging meat in it!
We had a Canadian "breakfast of champions" with Tim Horton's donuts the next day. The Hyatt sent up as many bottles of water we needed since I do not refill bottles with tap water! Fuck the environment!
For lunch, we went to Fisherman's Terrace for their great dim sum and Chinese food. This is shark fin soup with seafood dumplings!
The shrimp fried rice was amazing!
I liked the har gow too. That is a shrimp dumpling.
I went to the Canadian Brewhouse in Richmond after lunch to watch the Packers at Cowboys Wild Card game.
Since it is Canada, they had a big hockey display with replica Stanley Cups.
I did not expect the Packers to beat my Cowboys! The game was pathetic!
We got some candy candy to go with my Gibson's Finest 12 year whiskey to try to cheer me up. LOL.
We were tired after the game and going to the nearby outlet mall so I ordered Nando's Peri Peri chicken via Doordash for dinner! I loved it!
We went to Granville Island the next day, and even though it was cold, we took an Aquabus tour around False Creek.
The boat was somewhat heated so it was OK.
That globe is part of the Olympic Village.
This is a nice picture of downtown Vancouver with the large Canadian Football and Soccer stadium and the tower in the background.
The Granville Island Public Market was closed on Mondays, but we were able to check out other shops that were open in that area.
I saw a distillery called Liberty at Granville Island so we went in there so I could try their whiskey.
The whiskey was great!
I enjoyed seeing how they make their spirits through the window in the shop.
Joy and I made a brief stop at Stanley Park to get a nice view of downtown. A lot of water was frozen with the Arctic blast!
We went to Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver to hike down to see the cool lighthouse.
Lighthouse Park was very scenic with all the tall trees.
We were shocked to see this young lady dressed like that in the freezing cold weather in downtown. LOL.
We went to Punjabi Market after to sample some good Indian treats. It is one of the oldest communities of Indians in Canada.
The Indian restaurant in Punjabi Market had lots of the sweet treats seen here. Indians settled in Canada as early as 1890 I believe.
Joy and I went to a good sushi place in Surrey for dinner on Monday night. The dry ice on the sushi boat was super cool!
The sushi was very good!
I hated all the paper shit like straws and lids for the Nespresso cup. Canadians are a bunch of green freaks. LOL.
We went to an Ivar's for lunch near Seattle after crossing back into the US. This seafood chain is popular in Washington.
We went to Molly Moon's original location near the University of Washington for the great homemade ice cream!
We had time at Sea-Tac Airport to relax in the lounge before we flew home.
Joy and I went to the
Pacific Northwest for MLK Weekend in 2024. My wife wanted to go
to Richmond near Vancouver, British Columbia since they are known for
great Chinese food to ring in the Year of the Dragon early for Chinese
Lunar New Year. So, I planned an extended weekend getaway to
British Columbia. However, that weekend had an Arctic blast so
unusual cold air was swept into that area. Once we landed in
Seattle, we were freezing cold as we waited for the shuttle to the
rental car facility at Sea-Tac Airport. Once we got our rental
car, we met a buddy of mine for lunch at Din Tai Fung before heading
out to Canada.
The drive to British Columbia was pretty smooth, and we crossed the border by the Peace Arch in Blaine, Washington. After crossing into Canada, I unfortunately had to change the odometer to kilometers. I loathe the metric system! The rest of the world needs to be civilized and use what we use in the US. LOL. Maybe President Trump can force that once we bring him back into the White House! We got some Canadian dollars at an ATM near a Tim Hortons before getting an Iced Capp and some donuts at the famous Canadian donut chain. I was shocked that the money still had Queen Elizabeth II on them instead of King Charles III. Canada is a constitutional monarhy after all which recognizes the British sovereign as their monarch too.
We went to Point Roberts next which is an US exclave in Canada. The peninsula was created as a result of the 48' parallel being drawn. The small exclave was a quaint little fishing village with great views of the water and mountains. We did have to cross back into the US at a border check point at Point Roberts, and then we had to go through Canadian border check points also to go back into British Columbia.
After touring our famous US exclave, we went to downtown Vancouver to check into the Hyatt Regency. Luckily, they had valet parking so we did not have to find parking in the icy cold conditions. The hotel upgraded us to a high floor king room with a view since I have status with Hyatt. Also, we got extra bottles of the metal bottled water from our bellman who was happy with the tip. I got metal bottled water at the Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach in the beginning of the week too so I was wondering if Hyatt was doing the weird green bull shit. Although, I found out that British Columbia did not have plastic bags or straws. They are major green freaks! I hate paper straws and prefer plastic! The hotel had a nice outdoor pool which was heated so lots of people used it despite the cold weather. I was happy just working out on the elliptical instead.
For dinner, Joy and I walked the few blocks to the fine dining Canadian Steakhouse, Black+Blue. This high end restaurant in downtown had great aged Canadian meat which was displayed in a cool display in the front. The bar was nice too. We were shown to our nice table on the second floor shortly after arriving. I saw they had Kujira 10 on the menu so I ordered that since Kujira 8 is one of the favorite Japanese whiskies. The drink actually ended up being Kujira 20! It was pricier than the 10 year whiskey, but it was well worth it! Our wait staff was very attentive, and we enjoyed a great dinner that included Canadian oysters, lobster bisque, and a beef wellington for me! Our dessert was prepared tableside too!
The next day, we went to Richmond so Joy could get her Chinese food fix at Fisherman's Terrace at Abeerdeen Center! The dim sum and Chinese food was amazing! Afterwards, we went to the Canadian Brewhouse, a sports bar chain, to watch my Cowboys play the Packers in a Wild Card showdown. We lost bad! I was upset and shocked! Afterwards, we went to a high end outlet mall to cheer up by buying some nice luxury clothes. I got a great cashmere sweater at Club Monaco and a hoodie at Armani. We were too tired to go out to dinner that night so I got Nando's Peri Peri doordashed to the hotel!
We went to Granville Island on Monday to check out the quaint tourist hot spot known for the public market, restaurants, and shops. The public market was closed on Mondays, but we still got to check out some of the other shops that were open including a chocolate place. We got on an Aquabus to get a nice tour of False Creek by boat. Our tour took us to the Olympic Village also. Once we got back, we got some great seafood at a little restaurant on Granville Island before going to the Liberty Distillery to try their whiskey. I saw they sold a Canadian Glencairn glass so I had to get one to see if it is better than a regular Glencairn glass for tasting whiskey. Afterwards, we went to Stanley Park. The water by the waterfront in Vancouver was frozen! It was still super cold! We went to hike down to a cool lighthouse in West Van after that. Despite the cold, it was a nice hike down to where I could see the cool lighthouse. Afterwards, we went to Punjabi Market to get some delicious Indian snacks. Indians came to Canada as early as 1890 being a British colony. Punjabi Market is the oldest "Little India" in Canada. We stayed in Surrey that night at the Sheraton Guildford so we could see closer to the US border. After a great sushi dinner, we got some gelato at a local mall before turning in to avoid the cold!
The next day, we drove back to Sea-Tac, but we stopped at an Ivar's for lunch, and we found a great local homemade ice cream place called Molly Moon's!
The drive to British Columbia was pretty smooth, and we crossed the border by the Peace Arch in Blaine, Washington. After crossing into Canada, I unfortunately had to change the odometer to kilometers. I loathe the metric system! The rest of the world needs to be civilized and use what we use in the US. LOL. Maybe President Trump can force that once we bring him back into the White House! We got some Canadian dollars at an ATM near a Tim Hortons before getting an Iced Capp and some donuts at the famous Canadian donut chain. I was shocked that the money still had Queen Elizabeth II on them instead of King Charles III. Canada is a constitutional monarhy after all which recognizes the British sovereign as their monarch too.
We went to Point Roberts next which is an US exclave in Canada. The peninsula was created as a result of the 48' parallel being drawn. The small exclave was a quaint little fishing village with great views of the water and mountains. We did have to cross back into the US at a border check point at Point Roberts, and then we had to go through Canadian border check points also to go back into British Columbia.
After touring our famous US exclave, we went to downtown Vancouver to check into the Hyatt Regency. Luckily, they had valet parking so we did not have to find parking in the icy cold conditions. The hotel upgraded us to a high floor king room with a view since I have status with Hyatt. Also, we got extra bottles of the metal bottled water from our bellman who was happy with the tip. I got metal bottled water at the Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach in the beginning of the week too so I was wondering if Hyatt was doing the weird green bull shit. Although, I found out that British Columbia did not have plastic bags or straws. They are major green freaks! I hate paper straws and prefer plastic! The hotel had a nice outdoor pool which was heated so lots of people used it despite the cold weather. I was happy just working out on the elliptical instead.
For dinner, Joy and I walked the few blocks to the fine dining Canadian Steakhouse, Black+Blue. This high end restaurant in downtown had great aged Canadian meat which was displayed in a cool display in the front. The bar was nice too. We were shown to our nice table on the second floor shortly after arriving. I saw they had Kujira 10 on the menu so I ordered that since Kujira 8 is one of the favorite Japanese whiskies. The drink actually ended up being Kujira 20! It was pricier than the 10 year whiskey, but it was well worth it! Our wait staff was very attentive, and we enjoyed a great dinner that included Canadian oysters, lobster bisque, and a beef wellington for me! Our dessert was prepared tableside too!
The next day, we went to Richmond so Joy could get her Chinese food fix at Fisherman's Terrace at Abeerdeen Center! The dim sum and Chinese food was amazing! Afterwards, we went to the Canadian Brewhouse, a sports bar chain, to watch my Cowboys play the Packers in a Wild Card showdown. We lost bad! I was upset and shocked! Afterwards, we went to a high end outlet mall to cheer up by buying some nice luxury clothes. I got a great cashmere sweater at Club Monaco and a hoodie at Armani. We were too tired to go out to dinner that night so I got Nando's Peri Peri doordashed to the hotel!
We went to Granville Island on Monday to check out the quaint tourist hot spot known for the public market, restaurants, and shops. The public market was closed on Mondays, but we still got to check out some of the other shops that were open including a chocolate place. We got on an Aquabus to get a nice tour of False Creek by boat. Our tour took us to the Olympic Village also. Once we got back, we got some great seafood at a little restaurant on Granville Island before going to the Liberty Distillery to try their whiskey. I saw they sold a Canadian Glencairn glass so I had to get one to see if it is better than a regular Glencairn glass for tasting whiskey. Afterwards, we went to Stanley Park. The water by the waterfront in Vancouver was frozen! It was still super cold! We went to hike down to a cool lighthouse in West Van after that. Despite the cold, it was a nice hike down to where I could see the cool lighthouse. Afterwards, we went to Punjabi Market to get some delicious Indian snacks. Indians came to Canada as early as 1890 being a British colony. Punjabi Market is the oldest "Little India" in Canada. We stayed in Surrey that night at the Sheraton Guildford so we could see closer to the US border. After a great sushi dinner, we got some gelato at a local mall before turning in to avoid the cold!
The next day, we drove back to Sea-Tac, but we stopped at an Ivar's for lunch, and we found a great local homemade ice cream place called Molly Moon's!