I’m writing this while on a flight from Calgary to Montreal with a final destination to Quebec City. This is the part I dislike the most about vacations – the end travel. Once the fun is over I’d like to be beamed home without having to go through all the hassle of dragging around luggage and passing time in airports or on long flights, but this time I’ll count my blessings. This was a perfect vacation and in thirteen days I crossed quite a few items off my bucket list. I also added on a few more.

Steve and I, accompanied by his sister Carolyn and her husband Glen, flew to the far end of Canada to Vancouver, and began our trip with a few days exploring the city accompanied by our daughter Rachel. We threw in a quick side trip to Whistler on the only rainy day of our vacation. Despite the rain we made the most of our time, visiting an old friend, and taking the gondola to a mountain peak in Squamish. With our own personal tour guide we were able to visit a few spots that we may have overlooked if we had been on our own, and since Rachel is a big fan of hiking trails and waterfalls, we saw some of the nicest.

After leaving our home base in Vancouver we spent a night in beautiful Victoria, taking some time to catch up with some relatives, before heading up the coast to Tofino. We enjoyed the beach, the hiking trails, and, of course, the beautiful Pacific sunset. Steve and I had already explored these areas during the winter season, but it was a completely different perspective during the summer in high season. The colours, the lush landscape, and the mountains were constantly grabbing our attention. It helped us better understand the magnetic pull of British Columbia for the citizens of Eastern Canada and many other countries. The province has a variety of landscapes, cultures, ways of life, and mindsets to offer. There’s something for everyone.

We discovered uncharted territory (for us) when we ventured toward Alberta, starting in Jasper and descending through the national parks to Banff and Canmore. It seemed that each corner we turned offered us a view more spectacular than the last. So many times I thought the landscape was so unreal that it resembled a painting by a very talented artist. Between the majestic mountains and the picture-perfect turquoise lakes our heads were constantly swivelling. I even stood on a mountain glacier!

My take-away from this trip? I came away from BC feeling dissatisfied. With the province? Definitely not. I was left with a taste for more. I know there’s a lot more to explore and I didn’t have enough time to do it. Fortunately for us, with a child living on that coast, we have the perfect excuse to return. I would love to spend more time on Vancouver Island, visiting the area around Victoria, and going up the coast to discover other small towns. On the mainland, I’d like to visit the Okanagan region on one visit, and perhaps northern BC on another. Alberta also merits some further exploration.

Any disappointments? Definitely. We never saw a bear sauntering down the main Street of Banff or Canmore despite numerous warnings not to feed them. We also didn’t see any cowboys on horseback venturing through downtown Calgary (I believe we had also been warned about feeding them). But, those are both minor disappointments compared to the abundance of great experiences we had over the course of two weeks.

We certainly have a country to be proud of and a lot to explore and discover. My advice? Take advantage of it.