#GPinCanada: Secondary Investigation at the US-Canada Border

Visiting Seattle in the US was part of our itinerary that week, but Kuya Boy suggested that we do a quick visit to Bellingham on Monday night (the same day we visited Whistler) to get the Secondary Investigation over with so that we would be able to cross the border easily when Ate Evelyn and Salman were with us (they’re Canadian citizens so they don’t have to go through Secondary unless the officer suspects something). So right after dinner, the five of us headed to the US-Canada border at the Aldergrove-Lynden Crossing.

Before our vacation, Hubby and I watched clips and episodes of Border Security: Canada’s Front Line on YouTube, but even though we were “clean and innocent” and had a general idea as to what usually happens, I still felt nervous as we approached the border.

#GPinCanada: Whistler, Mountains, and Lakes

For our third full day in Canada, while Ate Mel went to work and my nieces went off to attend their respective summer classes, my brother took us, along with my cousin Ate Evelyn and her son Salman, to Whistler. The ride was pretty long, and although the views were pretty, the twists and curves of the road made it difficult to enjoy. We were halfway there when the kids suddenly barfed, so we had to stop at a shoulder to clean up the mess, change Sophie’s clothes, and change seating arrangements (the 2 kids with me in the middle, and Ate Evelyn and Salman at the back).

Finally, an hour and a half later (and almost 3 hours after we left Langley), we finally reached Whistler, which is famous for having hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games back in 2010

Making Radisson Blu Memories on Al Mansour Dhow

Back in 2006, Mama and Gabe were in town for a visit when my sister treated all of us to a dhow cruise on the Al Mansour Dhow. It was my first time on a traditional Arabian boat and all I remember was enjoying the experience all throughout. Fast forward 9 years later, I received an invitation to an exciting dinner on board the newly renovated dhow. And since it’s been a long time since Ate Ning and I went out just the two of us, I tagged her along because…well, it just made sense.

Walking along the creekside of Baniyas Street, you can’t miss Radisson Blu’s famous dhow. She was docked right across the hotel, brightly lit to welcome everyone who boarded.

#GPinCanada: Alouette Lake

On the first Sunday of our vacation, we went to Alouette Lake at Golden Ears Provincial Park where Kuya Boy, Ate Mel, and their group of friends from their church had scheduled a get-together there. Since there were 8 of us and we couldn’t all fit in one car without breaking the law, Hubby drove my brother’s new SUV (making use of his international driving licence for the first time) while Kuya drove their sedan.

As we headed towards the Lake, we went through the Golden Ears bridge

#GPinCanada: The Neighborhood

Despite going to bed quite late the night before, since our bodies were still following UAE time, our family woke up early the next morning at around 6:30am. Actually, our jetlag lasted for almost a week so we were always the first ones awake in the house.

Our routine was simple: we would get up, do whatever we needed to do in the bathroom, then walk around the backyard and neighbourhood. And since almost everyone was still asleep, we were able to enjoy our daily walks in peace and quiet. The area had a common playground for kids so you can imagine our girls enjoyed going there each day where they had it all to themselves. Here are a few pictures of some of those precious mornings:

#GPinCanada: From Dubai to Langley

Now that the shock of the unauthorized use of our photo has passed, I can now move on and share with you the details of our vacation in Canada. Let’s start at the very beginning, shall we? No, not the ABC’s (sorry, I just had to put that in ☺), but our flights to the land of maple trees.

It might not have been the best decision, but because of our tight budget, we decided to book ourselves on the cheapest flights available. Considering the fares on all options to the other side of the world were pretty high, the tickets still put a significant dent in our savings…to the amount of Dhs23,000! Aacckk!

When Our Picture Was Used Without Our Permission

I wanted to blog about our Canada vacation as soon as I had transferred the pictures from my camera (which I've already done), but then something happened last week and I knew I had to share it here so that you guys are also aware that this can happen to anyone. So, here goes…

Last Tuesday, I was browsing through the feeds on Facebook when I happened to come across a post from a Filipino community. Normally, I would have just proceeded to the next item on the feed, but what made me click on that particular post was the image because it was the exact same photograph of one of our pre-nup pictures taken in 2007!