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Sam 28 Vancouver / LA / palm springs TR Aug 2016

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sam28:
Vancouver / LA /palm springs TR Aug 2016


I was looking for first class tickets for me my wife and 2 kids age 2 and 9 but was only able to find business class tickets. About 1 week before traveling I booked 4 tickets on BA web site with Cathay Pacific. Cost of ticket was 37,500k BA miles and $5.00 for each ticket. 


AUG 21 DAY 1


We arrived to JFK 2 hours before our flight. Check in was fast, there was almost no line by security. We went into the BA lounge; it was not bad at all. Our flight was supposed to leave at 9:45 but it was delayed till 10:30. We finally boarded our Cathay Pacific business class, the service was great Our seats were great too.  We managed to sleep a little but the flight went fast. I did not eat the kosher meal but it looked pretty decent. We landed at 1:10am!


I was supposed to pick up a car by Avis but for some reason it took a while for the airplane to bring our car seat. When I got to the Avis counter it was closed, was told by someone I missed them with 2 minutes.

Pictures of the plane

 

Big one in here seat

 


Food I did not eat







Since we did not have a car we had no choice but to take a cab to our hotel. The way took 25 minutes and they charged $30.00 CAN flat rate.

We arrived at our hotel at 2:30am. Check in was quick. I couldn’t fall asleep since we were still on NYC time but the kids slept and it was a great start for our vacation.
We stayed in Westin Grand Vancouver, since they were the only one available with points. We got upgraded to a one bedroom corner suite with a balcony. The view was very nice but the room was small but it worked out because we had two rooms. They gave us a big refrigerator and they gave great service.   


Hotel cost was 12k spg per night we stayed there for 4 night the total cost was 46k spg .

Aug 22 day 2


We woke up bright and early on NYC time. The weather was absolutely beautiful. I davened and ate a good breakfast that we bought along on our balcony it was so nice. I was searching for a car in the area but none were available or for $120 a day. So I went to the airport by train for $2.75. The way took about 25 minutes. I got my car went back to hotel to pick up my family.


We couldn’t decide what to do cuz we were all tired and wanted to take it easy.

We went to Stanley Park, rented bikes and biked the path. The views were amazing, it’s really stunning there. We spent there about 4 hours. Then the little one got tired so I dropped off my wife and the little one to the hotel and me and my 9 year old went to Canada Place. The view up there is breathtaking.  We did fly over Canada, it’s a must to do, it’s interesting and fun. The whole thing took about 45 minutes and  And we called it a day!

Pictures of Stanley park







U can take this round the park for a 1 hour tour we did not do it .



Pictures of Fly over Canada





At 7 o’clock we went to eat at Maple Grill. It was very very busy but they got us a table in 5 minutes. The food was good but nothing special. The price is ok, it took very long for waiter to take our order and then ages till we got our food. They have a few parking spots behind the restaurant or you have to park on the street and pay a meter.

Pictures of food

Soup for kid





 






 
We made early night, we were all exhausted but wow what a great day.
Since it was out daughter’s birthday they sent us up some stuff it was not kosher but it was nice of them.

Picture of birthday chocolate

 

To be continued

mgoldhammer18:
good start

sam28:
Aug 23 day 3

 We finally got a good night sleep. We went out to buy some breakfast.  So we went to check out Omnitsky Deli. There was nothing there for breakfast. So we went to check out the restaurant at the Chabad center, but nothing looked fresh and the service was really bad. So we went to Sabras, they don’t have much of a selection, but he made for the kids sandwiches for me a falafel. It was very good.

By the time we left the store it was 11:30. We went to Grove Mountains. The views and shows were nice, but its ok if you skip it. It’s not worth the money and it is not the most kid friendly place. The little one definitely didn’t enjoy it.

Picture outside the kosher stores



Stuff they have






Once you’re up there they have a tall windmill. You take an elevator up about 10 floors and there’s a watchtower. You can see views it’s nice but not a must.
Then we went to check out the suspension bridge.  It is best to do it without kids they have some nice hikes.

Picture of Grove mountains



On the way up





Bird show I think it was burning


The windmill



View all the way on top inside the mil.









Watching the bird show






For supper we ordered pizza from Sabras, it was delicious. Then we went to the Supercenter Store on Marine Drive. They have lots of kosher food. We found milk, cheese, and ice cream. They had many more food available there.

Pictures of the kosher section in the store










The pizza for the day it was great



View from our porch

sam28:
Aug 24 day 4

We woke up early because we wanted to go to Whistler for the day. We went with kids so we could not do it too fast. If you have the option you should rather sleep over there and do it in 2 days.

We left at 9am to Whistler. The first stop was the Britannia Mine Museum. We got there at 9:40. The first tour starts at 10 and takes about 45 minutes. By the time we left there was about 11. (it’s  not for babies so my wife stayed with the baby and I went with my daughter.)

Picture of the mine







The view from the mine




Inside








The view on the way to Whistler is amazing, no words can describe how beautiful it is. You can keep on stopping but we didn’t have much time.

The next stop was Shannon Falls. We were there for about 15 minutes took pictures and left.

Picture of Shannon Falls

 
The next stop was supposed to be Sky to Sea Gondola. Its 2 minutes from Shannon Falls. I was afraid I won’t have enough time for Whistler so I skipped it. We will have to come back again to do this attraction.

My GPS kept on giving me a wrong address for Peak to Peak Gondola in Whistler. We spent about 20 minutes looking for the place.

For anyone going to Whistler you should put into GPS Whistler Village. Once you park your car there you walk about 5 minutes and buy tickets there. Or you can buy tickets online 5 days in advance and get a much better price. But I didn’t buy so we waited in line about 10 minutes to buy the tickets.

Once we got our tickets we went up with one gondola to the peak. Till the top takes about 30 minutes and the view is spectacular

Picture on the way up there

When you’re up there you can take hikes, but with the kids we just took some pictures and walked around the area. Over there you can take another gondola called Peak To Peak. It takes you from one top of mountain to another.  There you can take a chairlift down or you can go back to first peak and take a chairlift down.

When you’re on the peak there’s another chairlift that goes up even higher. The view is beautiful. You see snow on the mountains and many hike trails.

Some pictures




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Up on the mountain



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U can take a ride up there



The chair lift with the glass floor so u can spot some bears we did not see any



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On top u see hikers









It was about 4:30 till we came down from the mountains. At 5 we left Whistler heading back to Vancouver. Arriving into Vancouver was heavy traffic so we got there about 8. We went to eat at Maple Grill again and had to wait 30 minutes to be seated.

Pictures of the food

Square:
Thanks, very useful info, I booked the Westin Grand for the beginning of July.

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