From YVR to PDX: Our first family bike vacation...Day 4

Our last full day in Portland was quite eventful, but we decided to keep it a transit day and give ourselves and our bikes a rest. The great thing about Portland's transit is that for only $5.00 you can purchase a day pass and ride as much as you like! So after a big breakfast, we hopped on the MAX line and headed to Old Town and the Saturday Market. The market is huge, full of vendors selling everything from pottery, clothing, jewellery, food and whatever else you can think of. So we took a wander through, eventually ending up at the waterfront and another fountain for the kids to splash in. This is clearly a tradition for many Portlanders because there were tons of kids running through having a ball.

The crowded Saturday Market

Etienne splashing around again!

From there, we walked a bit through downtown, and then caught the tram back to our apartment to get ready for the main event. The kids got out of their wet clothes and we all got on our Whitecaps gear, ready to support our team in enemy territory. Chris had actually been wearing his shirt all day, which created a random conversation with a family from Vancouver who happened to be travelling through and was looking for a way to get tickets. We also had a Portland fan give us some post-game transit advise, which was so nice! So there you go, kids can make friends anywhere and a sports jersey can strike up a conversation. Who knew?

Etienne waiting for the train, all set to cheer on the 'Caps

Once back downtown ready for the game, we stopped at what is now my favourite pizza joint, Sizzle Pie. We first ate here on our last visit at their East /Burnside location, and I insisted we go again. With creative names for each of the pies, and a grunge kind of aesthetic, it's just a cool place to go. I recommend The Four Hoursemen pizza, featuring mozza, white cheddar, ricotta and goat's cheese. Delicious!

That is one giant pizza!

From dinner, it was off to Jeld-Wen field with the rest of the fans, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps alike. While making our way to the supporters gate, we managed to time our walk with the arrival of the team bus, and we able to show the WCFC players our support before the game, including the kids getting a high five from our keeper, Joe Cannon! Once in our seats, the cheering began, and to my surprise and pleasure, the kids joined in with every chant they knew, and for the ones they didn't, they clapped their hearts out. We will make football fans out of them yet!

A few hundred of our fellow WCFC supporters

Clap, clap, clap...White Caps!

Sadly, the Whitecaps fell 2-1 to the Timbers, but the game was electric and it was so much fun to be with our fellow fans to support our team on the road. It was a new experience for everyone, and well worth the trip. We hopped on the tram back to our apartment, the kids exhausted after an long and exciting evening. Only one day left before we leave Portland and return to Canadian soil.

From YVR to PDX: Our first family bike vacation...Day 3

Well, today was a much calmer day then yesterday. Well, calmer to us. We started off the same, with breakfast in our rental suite, then it was off to the Pearl District via the Broadway Bridge, where we parked our bikes at Jamison Square. The plan was since it was expected to be a warmer day, we would spend the day at the fountain, splashing around. However, when we arrived around 11am, it was a little cooler than we expected. So we took advantage of the free downtown streetcars and headed into the city centre for some late birthday shopping for Coralie. What a fabulous idea, offering free transit within the downtown area. Not only is it great for visitors like us, but it encourages locals to hop on the tram lines instead of into their cars to get from one side of downtown to another. I can only think that such forward thinking is a great way to move beyond car dependence.

Enjoying our sunny morning ride to the Pearl District

Free transit? Thank you, Portland!

After a bit of shopping, we headed back to the Pearl District for a picnic lunch in the square and lots of splashing around, mainly for Etienne who seems to have no issue with cold water. He also made some friends and ran around with some local boys. It's always so great to watch kids adapt so quickly and meet new people without feeling shy or out of place! And while the kids played in the water, Chris and I relaxed and just enjoyed some quiet time. This is actually something we're trying to force on ourselves. When we travel, we naturally try to be moving constantly, and seeing as much as we can. But since having kids, we've realized this is much more tricky, as kids just don't have the same attention span as adults, and to ask them to continue from one place to the next with no rest or play time just doesn't work. It's a work in progress, but we're accepting it more and more.

Etienne splashing around in the falls at Jamison Square

Chris learning to relax and just take in the
scenery

The kids at the gate to Chinatown

In the late afternoon, we decided to head home for a rest before dinner. We took the route past the gate to Chinatown, stopping for a quick photo opportunity, and then it was back across the Steel Bridge. That's when my worst fear happened. Etienne fell asleep halfway across the bridge while sitting on the trail-a-bike! Those familiar with Portland would know that we were in the middle of what Chris and I would call "no man's land", in that there were no parks, fast food restaurants or coffee shops really close by where we could stop while he had a power nap. So, I improvised. I plopped Etienne into my rear basket, let him sleep as best he could, and we made our way up the ramp from the bridge on foot towards the Rose Garden Arena and hopefully some refuge. Thankfully, once we reached the top Etienne appeared to have had just enough rest, and woke up and pedalled the rest of the way to our apartment. It's a good thing, too, because that little boy has been known for naps that have lasted up to 3 hours, and that's a long time to sit around in a cafe, even for coffee lovers like us!

Coralie enjoying a cool, refreshing drink at an
interesting water feature

Steel Bridge - this was a shot we meant to get yesterday 

An improvised resting place for Etienne. Proof
kids will sleep almost anywhere.

This evening, we went for dinner in the Alberta Arts District, stopping in at the Mash Tun Brew Pub. We've been to Portland three times now, and this was our first brew pub, if you can believe it! The beer was fantastic, and we got to connect with an Instagram friend, who happens to also work for the Portland Timbers. It's always weird when you put a face to a social media friend's name, but it was nice to chat with a local, while also talking "football". It made us all excited for tomorrow, and the main reason why we decided to choose Portland for our vacation destination this summer. Tomorrow we join 750 fellow Southsiders/Whitecaps fans to cheer on our boys as they take on their Cascadia Rivals, the Portland Timbers. It's going to be intense!

The brewing kettles at the Mash Tun...I recommend the
Red Ale

Public Transit to the Rescue!

A couple of days ago, when biking home from the grocery store, our reliable trailer got a flat tire. No problem, we can fix it with a patch, or so we thought, until I tried filling it at a gas station to make the 5 minute trip home, and as fast as the power air filled it, it emptied. So it turned out we needed a replacement tube. Until then, I was stuck without a means to transport Etienne with my bike, and yesterday was forecast to be another roasting, sunny day. So what's a velo Mom to do? Well, knowing we needed to find a place to cool down, Etienne and I resorted to public transit to get us to the splash pad at Granville Island. Suited up and ready to go, we hopped on the B-Line and bussed it out to Granville Street. Etienne was actually really stoked to watch the world go by outside the bus window, shouting "I'm so excited" several times! I wish I had his enthusiasm when on the bus, I'm sure it would help quell some of the motion sickness I get.

Etienne riding at the back on the B-Line

After spending a good hour splashing around and going down the water slide, it was time to head home to get Coralie from daycamp. Now, sometimes I am known for having some forethought. Yesterday was one of those days. I knew Etienne would be exhausted, so I dusted off my baby sling from my earlier mom years, and got Etienne to slip in and have a snooze. I realize I am not an official form of public transit, but Etienne got to relax and sit in the sling as I transported him to the bus home.

Etienne snuggled up in his sling...I'll admit, I kind of miss this

Not wanting to walk all the way up to Broadway from Granville Island, I hopped on a bus downtown that picks up right at the entrance to the Island, but not before picking up that replacement tube. Once downtown, we switched to the Skytrain, which takes us just one block from our front door. We are really lucky to live in the location of Vancouver that we do. We're right by the Commercial/Broadway transportation hub, and numerous local bikeways. While we sometimes dream of moving to other neighbourhoods, the convenience of public transit so close to home makes life so much easier, when taking our bikes are not an option. And Vancouver doesn't disappoint for being as accessible as any other big city when you're a family without a car!

Etienne snoozin' for the Skytrain ride

Off the train and heading home

Free for the weekend

What a beautiful weekend! We here in Vancouver have finally got the sunshine and warm weather we were waiting all of June for, and the family an I made sure we got out and enjoyed it as much as possible. Like most families, we like to find affordable ways to get out and about with our young children. This weekend, the goal was to keep it as free as possible, and I'm very pleased to report that we didn't spend a dime, but still had a fantastic weekend doing a variety of things around Vancouver. Here's a taste of our weekend on the cheap...

Friday night there came an out of the blue request from my husband to go catch a Whitecaps FC PDL game out at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby. For those who love watching our local MLS team but maybe can't afford to take the whole family to a game at BC Place, going out to watch the Reserve or PDL team is free, and you can see some of the up and coming stars of the beautiful game. We headed out to the game with some friends on our bikes, and watched as our team won 4-0, all with the backdrop of the North Shore Mountains and the huge trees in Burnaby Central Park. All in all, it was about a 15kms journey, with Coralie trailing behind her dad on the trail-a-bike for most of the journey, then joining her brother in the trailer behind me for a snooze the rest of the ride home. For an impromptu trip, it was great to ride in the cooler evening and do something new.

Whitecaps FC PDL playing to win against a stunning backdrop

Coralie trails Chris on the night ride home from the stadium

Saturday brought a long awaited meet up with some old friends for a picnic on Kitsilano Beach. I'm sure it's news to no one that a simple picnic on the beach is a great way to get out and not have to spend tons of money on food. But I am definitely thankful that I have so many beaches here to chose from, especially when a beautiful day can be followed by watching the sunset over the mountains. We all had a great time, what with the ride along the seawall, playing and relaxing on the sandy beach, splashing in the ocean, and enjoying a picnic with friends, there was little to complain about. It was another lengthy ride to and from, total 20kms. Coralie took the chance to rest this time, with Etienne trailing Daddy on the way and both sleeping in the trailer behind me on the way home. It's funny, but I hear so often now from our single friends that they wish their parents had a trailer like ours to take them home instead of having strapped them in a car. I guess that makes our kids pretty lucky, and I'm pretty darned proud of our family "station wagon on two wheels".

So happy to be able to ride behind
daddy!

Chris was pretty happy to be able to join us on our sunny adventures,
even if it was only for the weekend 

That's right, we take her to the beach, she reads...I'm not complaining! 

For the first time, Etienne enjoyed the ocean water, waves and all! 

Very happy to spend the day together in the sunshine

Watching the beautiful sunset over the water 

He may be a rascal, but he's still Mama's boy 

And of course, we have Daddy's little girl

So, if you've gotten this far, you know we did a free soccer game on Friday night, a free day at the beach on Saturday, so what do we do on a hot Sunday afternoon? Go to a splash park, and it was back to the slide and splash park at Granville Island. This time Chris and I brought our bathing suits so Etienne could actually go down the slide...although one time in the cold water was enough for him! The splash parks in this city are fantastic, and best of all, they're free! What more do kids want on a hot summer's day than a bunch of spraying water to run through screaming...and that's exactly what our kids did for 2 hours. 

Waiting in line for the first ride down the slide
after the 7.5km ride to Granville Island 

Coralie enjoying one of a dozen slides 

Etienne's only ride...fun, but cold and not to be repeated 

Coralie, after her rest the day before, rode her own bike for the 15km return trip, and she was such a trooper yet again. This past week, she has cycled a total of 46kms on her own, and about 15kms trailing behind Daddy on a trail-a-bike. She has received kudos and applause from strangers, and her tenacity has encouraged people we do know to have their young ones try a longer ride, too. We are incredibly proud of her willingness and strength to do these rides with us. It seems such a small thing sometimes to go for a ride out with her, but we quickly realize with all the comments and smiles she receives that she is pretty awesome. Hopefully she's inspiring other youngsters out there to ride, too!

The family "station wagon"

A well deserved ice cream after a long but exciting weekend!

"Good job on your family"

July 4th, 2012 - Finally! It seems that the chilly spring weather has passed at last, and today I was able to get out with the kids and do exactly what I planned to spend most of the summer doing. We hopped on our bikes after lunch and biked from East Vancouver along the seawall to Granville Island splash pad and playground. With Coralie on her bike and Etienne safely sat in my trailer, we made our way in the sunshine. As always, I am amazed and so proud at how well my little girl can pedal around the city after only riding solo for less than a year. My little trouper travelled a total of almost 15kms today on her bike, and was only notably tired for the last 5kms...even I'm jealous of her energy sometimes!

Riding side by side along the seawall at the Olympic Village

Etienne just relaxing in the trailer behind me...lucky guy!

We spent over four hours of our afternoon running around in the water and climbing around the playground, Coralie taking full advantage of her height to use the water slide repeatedly, much to her brother's pint-sized dismay. Still about three inches too short, poor little guy! But he busied himself with many new friends in the muddy sandpit, so he wasn't sad for long.

Cooling off in the spray

Up to no good with that hose...

One of the benefits of heading out to Granville Island for the day is how close we are to Daddy's work, making it so easy for him to join us for a nice afternoon ride home along the seawall as a family. Etienne fell asleep almost as soon as we started up, but Coralie spent the better part of our trip back telling her dad all about her adventures from the day. I really appreciate the seemingly unique opportunity she has to be right next to us and share her stories instead of being stuck in a back seat of a car keeping quiet so as to not distract us from driving. I hope we never take that for granted while we grow as a family who use our bikes on our journeys around our city. I had a gentleman pass us on our way home who looked at me as he passed and said, "Good job on your family". Hearing things like that from complete strangers re-affirms that we are making the right decisions, even if they seem so unique to many of the families around us. All I can hope is that seeing us do it so easily will inspire people to do one thing...just try.

Pure joy while being pushed on the swing
by his sister...this is what it's all about!