Once again we head north

Not sure if it's the great exchange rate or a foolish sense of spontaneity, but we decided mid-morning to go to Canada.

On our way home to change clothes before we got on the road, we decided to pack some clothes and spend the night up north. Hubby got a great price on a room in the outskirts of Vancouver.

We grabbed some clothes etc, filled up the tank and headed north. Before we knew it we were crossing the border and the hotel was just a bit beyond that.

Our wait at the border

We checked in, threw our bag on the bed and headed back out.... Time to see them fishes! Vancouver Aquarium here we come!

Our cool room

more room pics

Even had a nice water feature outside

Parking was much much easier today than the last time we popped by. We did observe some protesters outside the aquarium. Three to be exact. They had signs and were yelling a bit. Not fans of aquariums apparently.

We were able to catch the tail end (no pun intended) of the beluga talk. Love the belugas! Then caught the talk about the porpoises. Really cute. Speaking of cute we also heard the sea otter talk.... Sooooo cute.

We haven't caught a keeper talk in forever and we all enjoyed the info a lot.

Now for the inside exhibits.

Jellyfish and octopus were highlights for me. No sea turtle today :(

With closing time around the corner and dinner starting to call we headed out.

Since we have room, we ordered spaghetti factory to go. Which allowed us to relax a bit more than dining at the restaurant.

After dinner we had some ipad time and got ready for bed.

Morning brought breakfast downstairs in the Holiday Inn Express breakfast area... they had a reasonable assortment of things, including a very interesting pancake machine... cool.

ipad time

We were hoping to hit the pool before checkout time... so we took a little time for our food to settle, then headed down to the pool. We weren't the only guests to have this idea. But it wasn't too crowded.

After the fun we cleaned up and checked out. We made two stops on our way out.
First to the Real Canadian Superstore....reminded me of a Super Target or the like. But they had some Joe Fresh branded things that I had been curious about, so mission accomplished.
Plus a few cadbury items... that we couldn't pass up.

Last stop before the border.... Tim Horton's, did you guess? It was surprising that I went this long without my beloved Honey Cruller... my willpower must be growing. But Yummm!!! Thank you Mr. Horton, I enjoyed that.

The border crossing was a little longer going than coming, but that isn't too surprising. It was apparently a holiday weekend up in British Columbia. We didn't notice to much in the way of crowds, but the aquarium was open longer, which worked out great for us.

Welcome home

Hot Chocolate 5K

 Chocolate made us do it! 

We made a weekend out of this race and stayed in Seattle close to the race location.
The Maxwell Hotel was our home for the weekend and it was a treat!

tile pineapple in the lobby floor

check in area

Espresso stand for early mornings 

Our room was a great size for our group - two queen beds and a sofa bed... so the kids each got a bed. The room was fun and comfy, and we could see the Needle from the room!

Our view of the Space Needle

Room from the window

room from entry area

fun mirror in entry - Hi! 

Tommy Bahama bath products - smelled great

Kids discovering the mirror has a built in light! 

Once the room was explored it was time to go to Packet Pick-Up! And get our bib numbers and "Goodie Bags". 

Just to note: Hotel has CRAZY good mini pineapple cupcakes in the lobby each afternoon.
Are you sensing a Pineapple theme here? 

Our "Goodie Bags" 

And an extra T-Shirt for good measure :) 

For dinner we had room service pizza and pasta from The Rock, which is connected to the hotel. And while the little lady did some homework our young man used his ipad. 

Bedtime was early as the race start time is EARLY!!!! The 5K starts at 6:45 am! Ugh. 

So the little lady and I got up early - before the sun and headed out with the crowds to get our chocolate. 

We are ready! 

And so is everyone else :) 

staying warm while we wait for our corral to start

Nice view while we inch towards the starting line

We can see it now! Here we go!!

Almost to mile 2... entering the Battery St. Tunnel

Taa Daa! We did it - Time for Chocolate! 

My official taste tester says the marsh-mellows in chocolate fondue is good 

Close up on Finisher's Mug

Yes, I drank the Hot Chocolate first! 

 After the race we returned to the hotel for a real breakfast... 'cause you need real food to go with your chocolate for breakfast!
We rested a bit and got ready for the rest of our day in Seattle.

Next stop: the Science Center. We saw the Imax, Jouney to the South Pacific in 3D.
And had a little time to explore.

Exploring the Well Body exhibit 

After the movie, it was time for lunch, which was just a monorail ride away :)

We took the monorail to Westlake Center and ate at P.F. Chang's. 

Then it was back towards the hotel. 

We hit the small but quiet hotel pool before dinner.

The towels reminded  me of Pineapple :) 

We stayed two nights and it was lots of fun. We all hope to stay at the Maxwell again.
Location is great for Seattle Center based events. 

The Color Run - Take Two!! Spokane!

We are at it again! Painting the town, you might say....
We headed over to Spokane this last weekend so Hubby and our little lady could run and be colorful!

She wished she had joined him earlier this year in the Seattle Color Run, and we saw that Spokane was also having a run on Sunday.... so we signed them up!

Dinner the first night was at Tomato Street, which was lively and fun with yummy food.

Kids adding to the HUGE chalkboard "Imagination Zone"

Roasted Garlic and Cambazola appetizer - Oh my, so very good!

We went to bed early... or tried to, the run was in the morning!

soo excited about the run, wearing headband to bed :)

ready for bed

Our hotel is along the walking path to Riverfront Park, which makes getting around downtown really easy.
So after a quick breakfast at the hotel, we walked over to the start line.

Ready set GO!!!

While they were out running around the town, the train loving boy and I hit the local Starbucks.
Which as luck would have it, was right by the 4K mark, otherwise known as the PINK ZONE!
So we grabbed our drinks.... watched through the window as the first runners came by.
Then we headed outside and waited for them to come by.

Oh, the pink!

Here they come!

stopped for a quick photo op.... colorful!

We let them run on to the finish line and walked back to meet them.  And we caught a great picture of the street where the run started....

A little color for brother... thank you Little Lady

So, let's backtrack a bit... while the kiddo and I were at Starbucks, our train loving boy spotted a poster on the bulletin board - the Amtrak Exhibit Train was in Spokane for the weekend!!! 

So.... we knew what we were going to do this afternoon. 

After a shower for those wearing a little extra color... we were off to see the Amtrak Exhibit Train. 

 After enjoying the Exhibit Train, we had lunch and walked back to the hotel... with a quick stop at the wagon slide.

Our afternoon also included a gondola ride over the falls and a mini train tour through the park.

We had a great time in Spokane and the kids can't wait to go back.
One last picture -

Huh? I thought we were in Spokane.... not San Diego. Funny :)