Vancouver, BC to Seattle, WA

September flew by and now October has started off with a bang! New season, new experiences, and new plans for the future are taking off! A lot has happened in the past week so I will touch base on a few things. During the week, Dylan had a Creator Class opportunity in Vancouver, Canada. With short notice and quick planning, we drove up to Vancouver Tuesday evening to stay in a classic remodeled hotel called, The Burrard. This quirky hotel was located right in the heart of downtown and featured an eclectic second floor terrace and free bike rentals. Once we arrived, we quickly met up with two correspondences from the Creator Class and went over the game plan for the next day. I quickly found out that we will be hiking the Brandywine trail...which I wrote about how "unique" it is in a previous post. I was not aware of this plan and did not bring the appropriate gear. But after the short brief, Dylan and I ventured out into the town to enjoy the Canadian nightlife. We started at a pub and enjoyed some Molson and poutine. We people watched the energetic streets and enjoyed our small meal. We want to make homemade poutine back in Bellingham, so that is on our to do list. After a trip to the pub, we stopped by our favorite pizza place, Freshslice. This place has the best mystery meat pizza, something we have to get our hands on while we are up north. After our late night dinner, we headed back to the hotel to catch some Zs for the early morning.

We woke up around 5:30am to prepare for the full day event. We didn't really know what to expect for the day, but all we knew was that we were going to be filmed all day. As we met the whole crew in the hotel cafe, we were introduced to the filmers, photographers, sound guy, and other assistants. We felt like movie stars and were scared to do or say anything on camera. The jeep was miked up and so were we. Two camera men squeezed in the backseat and started to film candid moments of our drive up towards Whistler. With the sun just coming up, the golden light lit our way up through the mountains. Once we arrived in Whistler, we stopped at a dock on Green Lake to film some popular moments. We started with popping Dylan's roof top tent and then taking our "foot shot" out of the back of the tent. After a few tent shots, we headed to Brandywine Falls...After the short car ride, we hopped out and forgot all about the filming aspect. We were instructed to walk through trails, over bridges, and down hills. It was so strange having so many people watch us, but it was an experience of a lifetime. The crew was uninformed about the trail, so when we arrived at the rope section, everyone started to doubt their scaling abilities. After 30 minutes of assisting 6 people and $60,000 worth of equipment down the 20 foot cliff, we then were tasked with the next obstacle. Next up was the hundreds of feet of lava rocks. This unmarked trail was a challenge to everyone but the glow of confidence when everyone finished was well worth it. We started shooting at the bottom of the falls which took about an hour to get everything right. I was instructed to hike down towards the falls to get that perfect shot, while Dylan was prompted to give visual instructions about how to get that perfect shot.

After that scene was complete, the crew was eager to hike back up to the top. With a tiring trek, we took a rest before scaling back up the cliff. Another 30 minutes went by and everyone was safely back at the cars. Our next stop was a beach destination, but not before a delicious lunch and brew from Crab Apple in Squamish. I got a grilled chicken club with yam fries and Dylan got a massive burger. It was absolutely refreshing and worth the wait. Once we arrived at the beach, the sun started to set and it was time for Dylan to start his on camera interview. He was asked 50 questions about his life, his tactics, and what he hopes to achieve as a photographer. It was a good time to rest and answer questions. After the interview, it was time to set up our silhouette shots. We walked along the dock into the sunset and that wrapped up the video! It was a long, nervous, and exhausting day filled with new experiences. We can't wait to see what the finished project will look like!

Dylan and I also had a fulfilling day this weekend. We planned to meet in Everett to go to Wallace Falls and then to catch the last Mainer's game. Dylan told me the hike was about a mile each way so I was more than confident about this hike. We arrived at the trailhead and it said it would be 3.4 miles to the upper falls....I was a little shocked but the excitement to capture Dylan in the woods kept me going. This is by far the most beautiful park I have been too. We had the most perfect weather and everything was so picturesque. There were many trees, rivers, bridges, and of course waterfalls-three to be exact. I was seriously in awe how beautiful it was. The trees were the perfect size and density, and the fog made the forest perfect. It was amazing to come across the waterfalls because it marked important milestones for the hike. It took us 3 hours to hike up 3.4 miles. We stopped every 10 minutes and had mini photo shoots for 30 minutes. We were obsessed with the scenes and couldn't stop taking pictures. When we made it to the top, we realized the Mariner's game started in 2 hours....we basically ran down the 3.4 mile trail which only took us one hour. We booked it back to Seattle and called an Uber to the game. Because it was the last game of the season, we wanted to make the experience complete. Dylan got a polish dog from outside and I got some garlic fries to snack on. The game was probably one of the best in the season and we even went into 13 innings. It was a perfect day that we got to hike and take pictures, as well as enjoy the city. The next morning, we joined my family for a tasty Swedish breakfast down the street. This is one of my Dad's favorite events. The popular breakfast is held at the local Swedish Cultural Center on the first Sunday of every month. We were given swedish pancakes topped with fruit and whipped cream, with a slice of ham on the side. Next on our list is to head back to the Olympic Peninsula!