BC Trip (Part 4 - Sea & Sky)

On Wednesday, I did a Sea to Sky tour, with VancouverTours, check them out here! This was my only tour with them, as they had very similar ones with West Coast Sight Seeing. It was a pretty cold day, as our tour guide picked me up from out hotel, and out of all the day tours, it has the smallest amount of people. About 20? Smaller! 10 people? Smaller! There was 6 tourists! Yes, 6. Well 7, including our tour guide. I love small groups, as we were able to bond with each other more and have easy going conversations throughout the day.

First tourist stop was at Horseshoe Bay! It's a favorite spot for Vancouverites to visit on the weekend, and I can see why. I thought BC Ferries only departed from Tsawwassen, but turns out I was wrong. They have ferry departure here too but running at a lesser frequency.

Next, we stopped at Shannon Falls, which wasn't too far from Horseshoe Bay. It is the third largest Waterfall in BC, at about 335 meters high. That is high! When we looked up, the sun was right in our way, so our pictures at this stop weren't the best.

We then spent the next part of the day at Cypress Mountain. As we were part of a tour group, we didn't have to wait in line for our tickets. One of the perks, right?! The gondola to the top only fits 8 people, which was perfect for us. Only taking about 8-9 minutes to the top, the gondola trip was up and down was exquisite. An advantage to this is you get to experience the ride to its fullest. At the top, we grabbed lunch, explored the trails and walked over a wicked suspension bridge. I think this one's called Sky Pilot. Check out my pictures.

 

After finishing our time at Cypress Mountain, which is breathtaking, we ended our day at the Britannia Mine Museum. Located couple minutes from the bottom, we explored the importance of mining and how miners were extremely hard working people. We went on the mine train, and able to see how much physical labor these miners endured. Seriously, it's tough work. 

To finish off this day, I had dinner on the patio, looking out to the Seawall! Loved it!

BC Trip (Part 3 - Whale Watching)

Tuesday, I originally had nothing planned, but someone at work suggested I should go whale watching, and that exactly happened. Truthfully, whale watching was one of the highlights of my trip. It was surreal to be on a small boat, out and about on the west coast of Canada! This is the link of SeaBreeze Whale Watching, and both the tour guide and the captain of the boat exceeded my expectations! They knew so much about whales, helped search for them orca's and humpback's, and also stopped at Poet's Cove (which they rarely do with tourists!). 

I just want to share all my pictures, but they're all the same, so here's the best out of my hundreds! (Kidding).

And of course, the whales! We saw lots, and manage to seem several as they swam in their pods. 

We also spotted some restful sea lions! I'm not sure if I have a picture of them. In the middle of the day, the boat stopped at Poet's Cove, just off of Pender Island. I grabbed a beer with other tourists, and it was as if time stopped. I was extremely glad I went Whale Watching, as the people on this ship of 25 were great to be surrounded. What a great experience.

Fun fact, well I thought it was. Our tour guide said that we couldn't anchor the boat on American soil. We were, at times, on American water, but to be on American land is illegal. She said if that happened, we would all be arrested for criminal trespassing and prison, we would go. Crazy, hey? Especially after watching couple episodes seasons of Orange Is The New Black.

BC Trip (Part 2 - Victoria)

Monday was a long day for me! Shuttle didn't pick me up not until 7 am, and dropped me back off around 9:45 pm. This itinerary was like this because it was a Victoria plus Butchart Gardens tour, visiting the lovely capital city of British Columbia. In a nutshell, we drove to the ferry, to the ferry to Victoria, visited Butchart Gardens, then explored downtown Victoria and took the ferry back. 

BC Ferry, according to our tour guide, is the second largest ship in the world. I think the largest is in Japan. I could be wrong, so don't quote me on that. The ferry could hold more than 400 cars and hundreds of passengers. The weather was very cooperative, as you can tell from my photos!

Unfortunately, due to our tour itinerary, we only could stay at the Gardens for about 80-90 minutes. Not enough time to absorb the wonderful flowers and scenery. We let our tour guide know, but there was nothing we could do about it. I met some awesome people on this trip that we were running around exploring every little piece of Butchart Gardens so that our bus wouldn't leave without us. Check them out!

We were given hours to explore downtown Victoria, and it is just as admirable as downtown Edmonton. The historical component of this city and its importance to the government, I learned lots about! I remember learning about the government when I took my 6's on the Legislature field trip. Here, it was quite similar. We attended walk-in tours of the parliament and just sat along the waterfront. Victoria, please adopt me. 

Lastly, we took a late ferry back, and it was cold at the rear. We managed to stay at the back of the ferry, enjoying the minutes heading home. I felt like I was on the Titanic, hoping not to tip obviously. 

BC Trip (Part 1 - Science & City Tour)

It was just last week when I arrived home in Edmonton. I really do miss BC, it has exquisite scenery, where you can forget about life and get lost in. My first day arriving there I went to the Science World, similar to the Telus World of Science we have here. It was a Saturday, which means it would be ridiculously busy, as expected, and lots of little adults running endlessly. I learned some cool facts about dinosaurs, body works, and other wicked science facts. This is a picture I took! It challenged me to fit into this tiny box. Yeah right. 

 













Their Skytrain was easy to learn, and cheap as well. Also, side note, everybody in BC seems to walk, bike or take public transportation. And, they look FIT. Unlike me, where I enjoy my chocolate and drinks. I'm kinda jealous of British Columbians. Is that the right word? I think they use Vancouverites. Clearly I'm just making up pronouns. 

The next day, Sunday, I had a Vancouver City tour. I booked lots of tours with several companies, where they would pick me up from my indicated hotel, do the itinerary planned and dropped me back at my hotel. This style was preferable for me, as it was convenient and I would meet lots of other tourists! I did a couple of tours with West Coast Sightseeing, where their website can be found here! Their shuttle was a bright green one, and the tour guide was very knowledgeable. Highly recommend it to other tourists! 

I explored lots this Sunday! We stopped at the Totem Poles and Granville Island and looked at other fabulous spots including Chinatown, Gastown, Stanley Park, etc. 

Totem Poles in Stanley Park

Stanley Park

SeaBus in Granville Island

Imagine living in one of those condos/apartments and looking out into the water. I would die for that scenery. I love Alberta and all, but this is just, perfection. After out tour, I walked across the Seawall and explored from there. I also read. 

Seawall Selfie!

Reading by the Seawall

BC Trip (Introduction)

I don't pump up my vacations, well really I don't get vacations. I mean it, the last official one I went on was back in 2013. I travelled to California then. This summer, I felt (and deserved) that one was rightfully needed. I had a week off in August from my summer library job to Orientation that it would be perfect to go on a getaway trip then. 

I researched and researched places that would be beautiful, inexpensive and that I would thoughtfully enjoy. I was debating to go down to the States, but the Canadian dollar is not the greatest right now, so I looked into other places.

I'm not sure how BC or British Columbia came into consideration, but it did. And I am so so SO thankful it did. My flights were at decent times, my hotel was reasonable and within measurable walking distance to a lot of places, and best of all, I was alone.

Yes, alone. Solo. By myself. All by myselfffffff. Though it was for a week, it was nice to escape a city you've fully grown up in and just explore, by myself, a new place. Here are pictures of my first day that I arrived in Vancouver!

Ain't it B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L?! 

ORIENTATION 2015

Right after coming home from BC last week (and yes, I will blog about that!), I had Orientation (OVT) training and Orientation itself immediately the days following. Now, I'm sure you're thinking, why do I volunteer for Orientation? Here's why:

Reason 1 - The people. I have met the most amazing volunteers throughout this program, regardless of the faculty. Especially the team I'm on this year, hashtag Crookie Monsters. Future teachers to be are a fantastic group to surround yourself. 

Reason 2 - The anticipation. Without Orientation, I have nothing to look forward to in September. Wait, that's a lie, I have school to start. Maybe. Over the summer break, you make time for team bonding and anxiously await for Orientation. It's a super great feeling! Did I mention you team bond?! Who doesn't love a little team bonding here and there?

Reason 3 - The timing. Orientation is right before school commences and ever since my second year, I've been excited to get back into the classroom routine and schedule. It's refreshing to see your friends, getting pumped up for Orientation and having a real great time before the "official" first day of school. Our Education cheers are corny rock and relate to Faculty pride that all Orientation volunteers have. 

Take a look at some of the pictures I took! 

 

Overall, Orientation is always going to be a part of my undergraduate experience and when applications are open, you should APPLY. You won't regret it! Here's a buzzfeed link about Orientation in which I died laughing. Enjoy!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/angromano/17-signs-you-were-an-orientation-leader-in-college-ep4l#.in8llDYvPV

I Swear, I'm Not Dead!

June 27 was my LAST post, and right now it's September FIRST. That's basically two full months with no blogging. I highly apologize for that, it's been an insane summer! No lie. That, of course, I'm going to share with you all, and then some. 

Seriously, I feel ridiculously awful that I haven't blogged in so long. I guess working at a library is SOOOOO draining. Hashtag not. I think because working two jobs, planning a BC trip and preparaing for fourth year is lots to juggle. 

I started this blog to reflect and share. The experiences I go through, I want people to listen, to engage and to contribute. With that said, I will, yes WILL, as in commit to actually blogging this time. Topics will include recaps about 

- Summer job at the library

- BC trip 

- Orientation 2015
- Senior Year University
- Other...haha

I'm not sure which I'll start first within this next week. You'll just go with the flow anyways. I'll show pictures (beautiful ones, not blurry) and also share what I've learned. As always, teachers are constantly learning. Today was the "official" first day of University, though, since I don't have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays tomorrow is my first day!

I should go, and start collecting some pens and paper for notes. I promise I won't be MIA! 

via GIPHY