Susan Sierra

We’re on the ferry, headed home after a long weekend o’ fun. Steve has taken the boys to the arcade and Jayla is settling in for a nap. We’re on one of the older ferries, with chairs you can move so I’ve rigged up quite the bed for Jayla (lucky girl!).

After our quest to find the perfect spot for our mini-vacation, we settled upon the Chateau Victoria. And what a perfect choice it was. Priority #1 while traveling with small kids is to book a one-bedroom suite. That way, the kids can go to bed in the bedroom, and we get to stay up past 9:00! I read lots of reviews about Chateau Victoria, so I knew it would be great…but it was even better than I expected. Extremely friendly staff, sparkly clean rooms and comfy beds…what more could you ask for?

I’m always a tad embarrassed upon arrival when the bellmen unload the mini-van and just barely manage to load all of our stuff onto one cart. This time was no different. Packing lightly isn’t something we’re very good at. We like to have all the comforts of home. And this time we also had to bring along all the supplies for an Easter egg hunt in the hotel room!

One of the highlights of our trip was the visit to Craigdarroch Castle. My oldest son Jacob (8) especially, thought it was “so cool”. Since I brought along my new bff (my lap top) I was able to check dinehere.ca while we were there and found some great restaurants too. Shizen Sushi served up some of the best sushi we’ve had and Café Mexico was fun and casual for the kids.

Well, the idea of a nap for Jayla was a nice one, but who am I kidding? It’s back to the play area we go…

So this year, we wanted to plan another quick getaway after Christmas. We bounced around some ideas with the kids. Victoria, Seattle, Whistler…of course there are lots of options. But the convenience of being able to get to our destination in 15 minutes, combined with the fact that hanging out in downtown Vancouver is a pretty fun way to spend a few nights…brought us right back to the Palisades.

Sometimes it’s tough to recreate the magic of an event the second time around, but this year’s trip did that with flying colors. I think it’s partly because the kids are a little older now and are becoming more fun and less work all the time. We dined out more than last year…Hon’s for Chinese (and I use the word “dine” loosely for that place…but definitely a fun experience for the kids), great sushi down the street and dinner and breakfast at Zin’s (located right in the hotel). Have you ever eaten at Zin’s? The food is outstanding, the presentation is lovely and the staff is wonderful…completely friendly and welcoming to the kids.

During our stay, we went for a long walk down Robson street…in the pouring rain with 5 umbrellas, snuck in a trip to Science World, swam in the hotel, stayed up late and slept in (a little).

Next time you’re stuck as to where to go with limited time, don’t forget about your own city. It could prove to be a great family adventure.

I actually wrote this at this time last year, but we ended up having a similar adventure this year, so I thought I’d post this now…with part 2 coming soon…

We had planned on going to Whistler for a few days over the holidays, but when that fell through, I needed a back-up plan in a hurry. I came up with something that seemed kind of strange at first. I booked us a getaway to…downtown Vancouver! Yep - just a 15-minute drive from home. Not even enough time for fights in the car!

Kids love hotels, so really, you can have a great time in one whether you’re on the other side of town or the other side of the world. If you’ve got elevators, a pool and ice machines, it doesn’t really matter where you are. There are a few must-haves in a hotel when traveling with kids….one for me is definitely a kitchenette. It’s nice to be able to do at least one meal/day at “home”. Another necessity – an extra bedroom! Sitting in the dark after the kids fall asleep isn’t ideal, so if you get a suite, the kids go in the bedroom and you can stay up past 8.

I soon discovered that what I was looking for was not so easy to find in Vancouver. That was until I came across The Pacific Palisades. It had it all…a kitchenette, extra bedroom and a pool – yeah!

To say the staff was outstanding is an understatement. They were friendly and helpful and so nice to the kids…even inviting them to the wine and cheese (and juice) reception. Which is where we received what would become one of the highlights of the weekend…the card for complimentary Haagen Daz…delivered to our door! Yippee!

We ended up having the time of our lives. We shopped Robson Street, ate out in the hotel at Zin (YUMMY), swam lots and rode the elevators. It was a fantastic spur-of-the-moment getaway that my kids are still talking about.

Here’s one of the boys waiting for that tub of Haagen Daz…