A Whirlwind Weekend in British Columbia

Last month I took a whirlwind road trip through British Columbia with my partner, Mack, my sister, Rachel, and one of my best girlfriends, Claire. Our reason? Mack was buying a new truck, so instead of shipping it out to Alberta, we thought the money would be better spent on a weekend of adventure! I didn’t get many pictures, which is odd for me, but that’s mainly because we didn’t stop too much as we were strapped for time.

We flew from Edmonton to Vancouver on a Thursday night. It was my first time flying with Flair Air and my first time flying during Covid-19. The airports were eerily quiet but the flight was full. I had a good experience flying with Flair and will again in the future because their prices are awesome. We arrived in Vancouver just after midnight and took the SkyTrain from the airport to downtown. We stayed at Days Inn Downtown Vancouver. Days Inn is a great brand for being reliably low-cost and clean.

This was my first time in Vancouver. Waking up and walking from the hotel to Canada Place with a coffee in hand felt amazing. During this pandemic, I feel such gratitude for every new experience and every new place. Our bus left Canada Place for Squamish at 11:00 am, so unfortunately we had very little time to explore. But as a Newfoundlander living in Alberta, I was happy just to see the salt water. I can’t wait to go back to Vancouver in the Spring or Summer of 2021.

We took a bus from Vancouver to Squamish because Mack was purchasing his truck through a dealership in Squamish. The bus ride along the Sea to Sky Highway was absolutely breathtaking. It made me feel homesick but also right at home.

While we waited for everything to get sorted out at the dealership, we hung out at Backcountry Brewing, a cool brewery and gastropub in the industrial area of town. Squamish is a lovely town surrounded by mountains and the brewery offered a great view and a great vibe. I loved the Asking For A Friend Sour and the Forager pizza. Many laughs were had in that brewery that day. (And don’t worry, Mack didn’t drink!)

Once Mack picked up the new truck and we all had our moment of awe, we hit the road. We headed North past Whistler, Pemberton, and along the winding Duffey Lake Road through the mountains. It was getting late and we needed somewhere to stop for the night. We stopped in the town of Lillooet but this community, at night no less, did not give us a warm and fuzzy feeling so we pushed on. The next community with reliable hotel brands was 100 Mile House over 170 km away. We finally made it and checked in at the Ramada for a good nights sleep.

The next morning, we let ourselves sleep in before making the 6-hour drive further north to the small town where Claire lives and we spent Saturday night at her house. On our way, we stopped in Prince George for a lovely meal with a friend.

Our plan for Sunday morning was to head back to Prince George from Claire’s house to get on Highway 16 West to trek back to Alberta through the Rocky Mountains. Unfortunately, there was a severe highway accident that completely shut down the highway and sent us to backtrack North, past Claire’s community, and into Alberta through Dawson Creek. It wasn’t the Rocky Mountains, but the drive was still spectacular. I was so happy to see so much of British Columbia, a province I had only dreamed of visiting a few months ago. I can’t wait to go back to explore places like Vancouver, Squamish, and Whistler more thoroughly.