Fairmont Hotel Vancouver

High Tea - a Christmas treat

Although it's only about an hour away the City isn't somewhere we tend to go to very often unless it's for something special.  Last week I was thinking about what would be a new outing and after a bit of searching on the internet I came across High Tea (or Bubblegum High Tea for under 12) at the beautiful landmark Hotel Vancouver.

  

 
Girlfriends make any outing that much more fun so Ruby and I picked up Shirley and Kaidence and we were off to Vancouver.  Here we are on the 15th floor of the Hotel Vancouver in 'The Roof' restaurant, indulging in High Tea.

Lively conversation between grandmas and granddaughters, tea with just the right amount  of sugar, and also sweet treats made for a wonderful afternoon.

(you got photo-bombed girls!)

Leaving there we headed out to do a bit of shopping, then we checked out the Festival of Trees at another big hotel, and then on to see the display of Gingerbread houses at yet another hotel.  The sun had set but it was a beautiful warm evening to be enjoying the big city holiday buzz.

And who knew that we'd see one of the reindeers in town??  The girls gave him a kiss and we were on our way!  Merry Christmas to all!

 

Three guys, Three cities, Three games

Philadelphia - Dec 6, 2014

Ted, Barry and Tyrel began this adventure with a flight to Philadelphia to see the Seahawks play the Eagles.  They got off to a delayed start with a diversion through Ottawa so they arrived four hours later than anticipated.  What's travel without a bit of adversity though?

Everybody loves a penguin

First thing in the morning they head for the Hop On - Hop Off bus tour to get a whirlwind tour of Philadelphia.  They made the rounds to the famous sites like the Liberty Bell and other landmarks, with lots of info from their tour guide.

They managed to find a great Philly cheese steak place and then made their way to the game.  Seahawks won so it was a great day all around.



New York

After two nights in Philadelphia it was time to move on and take the Bolt Bus to New York, approximately two hours away.  There they stayed in mid-town Manhattan so they were close to many of the famous landmarks.

 

Beautiful store fronts all lit up for the Christmas Season

In Madison Square Gardens they watched the Rangers and the Penguins, where the Rangers won in overtime, another action packed day.

Montreal

For the third city on their tour it was time to fly to Montreal, but once again they ran into a few snags.  After an early morning wake up call they had to scramble and get to the airport in time to head for an unexpected earlier flight as theirs had been cancelled.  No way they were going to miss the big game in Montreal!

'Nucks vs. Habs' game

Timing was perfect to be at this game as they held a tribute to Jean Beliveau's passing.

They passed right by the cathedral where the service was to be held as well.

Their whirlwind vacation was coming to a close and the next day they headed to the airport in Montreal on Wednesday the 10th.  Little did they know that instead of departing at 5:10 pm they would be sitting in the aircraft for seven hours on the tarmac, then be deplaning at midnight and then sleeping on benches in the airport.  They were told numerous reasons why they didn't depart that night, so who really knows the truth of what was going on.  

Finally Thursday at 11:00am they took to the air and were back in Vancouver later that afternoon.  All in all it was a great trip, lots of laughs, experiences and good times.  

Ordinary Joy

Day Three:

We've had our own routine with the grandkids here that I am really going to  miss, it's funny how quickly our lives adapt to change.  

 

And it doesn't take a lot of stuff for them to have fun, a few pillows and a chair and presto - a 'chair fort'!

 

One wanted the big tub, one wanted the 'regular' tub -  that made things quick and easy!

Although it's a school night I bent the rules and let them watch TV for an hour before bedtime.  We're out of microwave  popcorn, so I made it on the stove in a frying pan - the 'old fashioned' popcorn was a hit!

Then in no time they were both sound asleep.

When I look at them asleep with the blankets I made for them as babies it seems unbelievable that they're already five and seven years old.  We get so much joy from just doing everyday things with them and seeing them discovering life, we have been truly blessed.

Fun Stuff

Day Two:

I had to work so Ted was home getting the grandkids ready and off to school.  From what I heard - all went well and they got there on time!  After school it was back to the tennis courts, then they picked me up after work and we headed home.  

There's nothing like relaxing with a good book.

They had fun seeing how many times they could toss 'Parrot without dropping him.  We also raced around under the sundeck on an obstacle course timing each other, only I think they counted faster when they were timing my run, so I lost!

We have quite a few hummingbirds around our place, they love the plants.  Unfortunately this one hit the window and stunned himself, but we were able to get right up close for a look.  We wondered what length of time it would be before we should put him in a box to 'help' him get better, and we determined nine hours or so.  Eventually however he did fly off so we were very happy about that.

There's also a lot of indoor tennis being practised in the garage, note the blue x's to aim for on the plywood and garage door.  I think it's supposed to rain tomorrow so it'll be well-utilized I'm sure!

Discussing why they're called S'mores and we think we figured it out - they're so good you always want more so they would never be called Sh'lesses (get it?!)

Good to the last crumb, then it was some 'campfire stories' which were more funny rather than scary, and then it was off to bed.  Now I remember why kids sleep so good, they're nice and active all day, I guess that's what I need to change so I get better sleep too!

Grandkids Staycation!

 Day One:

We have the fun of having Ruby and Bennett at our house for a mini Staycation.  Yesterday was action packed - these two are always ready to play!  The weather was hot so we started with cooling off on a Dora spray mat, even I got in on that action.

Then it was over to Centennial Park to play some mixed doubles - we made quite the teams!
 

Getting ready for the match

Lots of action and a unique spot to store tennis balls (see behind of her shorts!)  They were also stored in the front of her tank top at times..............

No lack of enthusiasm from this participant!

Finishing with a good natured handshake!

El Paseo

The fancy shops are found at the high end shopping district called El Paseo.  As it was Friday night we figured we would go over there and do some window shopping and take a look.  

It's an outdoor mall with beautiful palms, cacti, and water features.

These palm trees were all immaculately trimmed.

We couldn't believe it but the shops were closed, just some restaurants were open.  We met up with Brianna and Greg at Tommy Bahamas where they were just finishing dinner.  There was a comfy outdoor lounge there with cool misting sprays overhead and it was a great place to relax.

Ken double fisting Mojitos!

Ted double fisting chocolate caramel dessert!

It was our last night here and it was great to spend it together, tomorrow we all head home - the weather forecast shows rain showers for the Fraser Valley so it'll take awhile to adjust our body temperatures after being in the heat down here.

Evening

The day time hours are hot and we've been spending time at the pool to keep cool and in the evening it's still very warm but great for sitting on the patio. Last night was perfect for a stroll.

Views from our patio

Ted and Ken decided to stroll over to the closest green and practice their putting. 

The green is in front of a private residence which has it's own pool.

Later as dusk fell Ted and I walked over to the Cork Tree for a nightcap. It was still so warm we were ready for a cold drink by the time we got there!

The garden lighting there was beautiful - and check out these reptiles!

And on the walk home afterward we saw that bike lanes are also cart lanes

- only in Palm Springs. :)