Vancouver, BC and Lynden WA, May/June 2025

We did a Trusted Housesitters cat sit in Lynden, WA, which gave us the perfect opportunity to explore Vancouver, BC, and the surrounding region. The home we stayed in was like a museum, filled with fascinating Middle Eastern artifacts—collected during the homeowners’ many years working in Saudi Arabia. With the Canadian border just about five miles away, we were lucky to make a couple of trips north during our stay. Our first outing took us to two lovely wineries near Abbotsford, BC. On our second trip, we ventured into Vancouver to explore the city and enjoyed a wonderful dinner with our friends, Stephanie and Justine, we met on a previous travel trip in the country of Panama.

Check out Stephanie’s incredible artwork!

Welcome to Lynden, WA! The city, located near Bellingham, WA and the Canadian border is heavily influenced by Dutch settlers. Many of the buildings on the main road through town resemble buildings from Dutch hamlets. A brief history of the town is on the display panel below.
A huge mural on Front St in Lynden
Our hosts provided us with heavy warm robes to lounge on the patio in the cooler evenings
Our charges “Moose” and “Charity”
Welcome to Vancouver from the locals!
(Granville Island, BC). Numerous painted bear
One of many little ferries that run around False Creek – we rode it from Downtown Vancouver to Granville Island and then on to Stamp’s Landing where we then caught the metro to Old Gastown
The Gastown steam clock on Water St – and yes it is operated by steam
A view of downtown Vancouver from the harbor near Granville Island
View to the north from the Vancouver Lookout Observation Tower in Gastown. On top of the big building in the background you can see the air traffic control tower for the seaplane and heliport landing areas
Unexpectedly, in the midst of downtown Vancouver, there is a Blue Heron Colony
Or first international trip on this journey. Susan and I had a great time in Vancouver, meeting up with some dear friends, exploring Vancouver and honing our international travel skills.
Susan and I made a day trip to Abbotsford, BC to look at the sights and taste the local wines. The high mountains, but fertile valley produce some excellent (and tasty!) wines.
At Ripples Estate Winery near Abbotsford specializing in Blueberry wines and spirits. The wines utilize the great growing conditions and the ample berries in the region.
One of many beautiful views we saw of Mt Baker, a prominent feature of the landscape in Northern Washington.

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4 Comments

  1. Missed you at the 4th of July block party! We are leaving Monday, July 7 to drive to Langley, B.C., Canada. We’ll visit Joe’s brother, and two sisters. Recognized the sites of Vancouver and surrounding areas you visited. It’s beautiful country, isn’t it? Safe travels.

  2. It is indeed beautiful country. I hope the 4th of July block party was fun. Safe travels to you too.

  3. Yes he does look like a monk! That robe weighed about 20 lbs, it was huge and super comfy to snuggle up in out on the patio in the evening.

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