10 Years and Still in Love

In May, Josh and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary. We stayed in Vancouver B.C. for the night and Eli got a vacation with the Mason's. This was the first time we have left Eli for a night and were worried how he would do. Other than vomiting on the porch as we were dropping him off, there were no mishaps and he had a great time. Thanks Dan and Ashley for letting him stay with you!

Our trip was delightful. We stayed in an apartment in downtown that we rented through Airbnb. It wasn't until after we paid for the rental that the owner disclosed that the building didn't allow short term rentals. The owner said if we were confronted by the leasing manager that we should tell him we were friends or relatives visiting from out of town and that he (the owner) was "a 30 year old white male. Make it work." Luckily, we didn't run into anyone as we were coming or going.

Finding parking near the rental was troublesome. Not having GPS and a multitude of one-way streets were problematic for navigating but we eventually found an overnight parking garage and stowed the car. The rest of the day we walked around downtown and did some souvenir shopping. That evening we we ate our anniversary dinner at a place called L'Abattoir. It was excellent, or at least my food was excellent. I had duck breast with a foie gras cream and it was probably the best plate of food I've ever had. Josh's food was good, but not quite as exceptional.

On day two we rented a tandem bike and rode around the Seawall in Stanley Park. Stanley park is in downtown and it's huge, over 1.5 square miles (for reference, Central Park in NYC is 1.3 square miles). We took our time and spent close to two hours pedaling around the exterior of the park.

After Stanley Park we went to Lynn Canyon Park which boasts it's suspension bridge. It was nice, not particularly thrilling, but pretty and it was enjoyable to spend time with just the two of us. We drove home after Lynn Canyon. Getting to the border with traffic and construction, again without GPS, was a little tricky but we managed. While at the border two cars ran into each other trying to cut the line. No one was hurt and the cars were barely damaged but the drivers were quite unhappy with each other. It didn't delay us and added a bit of a spectacle to help pass the time as we waited to cross. So while unfortunate for the two cars involved, it was mildly amusing to us.

View of the harbor and downtown from the bike bath.

Our wheels. 

Lighthouse and North Vancouver in the background.

This guy is fantastic. He was the designated driver for our ride as bikes and I are not always a good idea. Especially not in situations with heavy pedestrian traffic. But being in the back seat meant I got to take pictures and video while pedaling about. It was pretty fun.

At Lynn Canyon

Root stairs

The suspension bridge.

It was a great trip. Not because anything we did was singularly spectacular but because we were able to spend time together, just us. After 10 we still love spending time together and we love each other more than when we wed, a decade ago. That, I think, is worth celebrating.