We’re just back from a trip to Vancouver and it was perfect in every way!

We had to drive down to Whitehorse to leave Hank in a boarding kennel, so I booked in a dental check-up and cleaning. There, I found out that I do most things wrong for my teeth. Did you know you should only use a whitening toothpaste once a week? It’s just too abrasive. You know what is also terrible for your teeth? My favourite toothpaste, the Arm & Hammer baking soda based toothpastes. Too abrasive! Also, you are supposed to use a super-soft brush and just brush longer. I like a hard one and make it quick. Now I know!

We also dropped off Sally’s body to the nicest, wonderful lady who runs the Quiet Waters pet crematorium. Of course, Jeff did all the arranging because I’m too full of tears. After our vacation we picked up her ashes and she had also made a paw print keepsake and included a lock of Sally’s fur. 😢

The night before we flew out, we had a night in Whitehorse, so we went out for BBQ with our friend Shane.

Followed by a Dairy Queen blizzard! We can’t do that at home.

Our flight didn’t leave until the afternoon of the next day, so that gave us time to do a bit of running around and pick up some things, in person, to save shipping costs.

We arrived in Vancouver the day before our friends, so we picked up our rental car, a brand new Ford Bronco, and did a bit more shopping!

The Bronco was a nice enough car, but it’s really just a car with a tall hood. The backseat doesn’t have much leg room at all. However this particular one had only ~400 km on it so we doubled its odometer during our week-long rental!

We went to Cabela’s, and then we finally found a parking spot at Granville Island! Last time we tried to go there, we couldn’t find a spot, but this time we were lucky! It was the Easter long weekend, so I had a hot cross bun! Jeff found a perogi/sausage lunch and I played it safe with a turkey sandwich. And oh, the fresh fruit!!! We bought a big basket of mixed fresh berries to take with us.

Afterwards, we still had a couple of hours to kill before we were going to pick up our friends at the airport. We drove around Stanley Park and it was crazy busy (long weekend). Then I remembered what I always wanted to do! I wanted to find that long, thin strip of cement that juts out into the water before the airport. When you’re landing from the west, your plane goes right over it, and very rarely, I’ve seen a person walking on it.

And we found it! And it was busy!

At most, from looking at it, you would have thought that it was about a kilometre long.

BUT IT WAS OVER 4km! One way!

No worries, we just hustled and were finished with plenty of time to spare before our friends landed. Here are some pictures from the park before you start out on the strip, and along the way. There were even opportunities with selfies with planes taking off! haha I’m going to guess this is related to the waste water treatment plant nearby? Also because we seemed to be walking on a big pipe.

After we picked up Tim and Liz, we headed north to Squamish where we had reservations for the next couple of nights.

On Sunday, we went north to Whistler to ride the Peak to Peak Gondola!

We went up the Blackcomb Mountain ski lift, then took the gondola over to Whistler Mountain. Lots of people were out for skiing and snowboarding! It was chilly, so I bought a new toque and Jeff bought a couple new jackets. We had lunch up on the Whistler side, and then came back down to shop and stroll through the village.

It was a great day! A bit chilly, and some snow was falling up on top, but the clouds cleared at all the right times! At one point on the Peak to Peak Gondola, we were inside a cloud and couldn’t see anything! But it didn’t last long.

Afterwards, Jeff took us on a tour of Squamish, finding all the fancy expensive neighbourhoods up high on the hillside with a view.

That night we found a brewery with amazing pizza!

I had a quick soak in the hotel’s hot tub that night. There was a big water slide too at the Sandman, but too many kids were enjoying it for me to give it a try!

The next day we got to the Britannia Mine before it opened. Tim had heard it was a really good museum, and we sure lucked out! They were completely booked, partially because of the Easter holiday, but also because they were having Easter Egg hunts for children in the mine! But they squeezed us into the 9:30am tour. YES!

This museum is on the site of the Britannia copper mine. We got to go underground to learn about their mining practices, and then tour Mill No. 3 where they did the refining. It is actually a National Historical Site and has a non-profit organization operating the museum. It is all very well done.

This mine operated for 70 years. There wasn’t a highway here then, so it was a typical mining town where you had a little house in one of the two villages and bought everything at the company store. The view of Howe Sound from the concentrator (Mill No. 3), which is built along the hillside, is so beautiful!

Afterwards, we went to Lynn Canyon to walk over the suspension bridge. There were SO MANY people there though, with no parking spots left, and we were getting hangry, so we basically walked across the suspension bridge and back, and then went to A&W for a burger.

Afterwards we went to Stanley Park for awhile, until The Parker hotel was ready for us to check-in.

That night we went to Las Margaritas for a Mexican supper with my cousin Meaghen! ❤️

The next morning, I had an allergist appointment! After a couple of conflicting blood tests, and after 3 reactions while eating at local restaurants, I wanted to get to the bottom of it, once and for all, am I allergic to shrimp?

The answer is ….. YES!

I am allergic to shrimp (closest to my watch band).

But none of the other fishies! I’m not allergic to salmon, clams, cod, crab, halibut, lobster, oysters, scallops, tuna, or mussels.

On my right arm, my doctor tested me for some common environmental allergies, since I said I always have a runny nose, especially in the morning, my entire life.

Well guess what.

I’m allergic to a bunch of things!

I’m most allergic to dust mites and cats.

And in second place is a tie with dogs (!! I had no idea I was allergic to dogs too!!), molds (aspergillus and helmithosporium), and birch tree pollen! (Finally! I knew I was allergic to a tree but I didn’t know which one).

I’m also allergic to Timothy grass pollen.

My doctor suggested a new treatment. If I take a dissolving pill once a day for 3 years I can cure my dust mite allergy! It isn’t even a drug, it is just some sort of concentrated dust mite exposure to train your immune system. I wasn’t sure at first, but imagine not having pockets of kleenex for my runny nose all the time? He gave me a free sample and a prescription and I’ll see if our health coverage will cover it.

When we got back to the hotel, Tim was buzzing with excitement, and he was already wearing an AC/DC t-shirt!

Oh right! Let me catch you up on the whole point of this trip! Back in December, when I was on a flight home, I heard a guy sitting behind me talking about AC/DC coming to Vancouver in April, and that the tickets were going on sale later that week.

I mentioned it to Jeff and he was interested, and we asked Tim and Liz and they were too! We talked about what kind of seats we’d want, and with that budget in mind, on opening day, I sat in the online Ticketmaster queue.

I wasn’t very optimistic when I saw the size of the queue!

But it only took an hour or so and then it was my turn! You could only buy a maximum of 4 tickets. So I just kept clicking on 4 and then they’d be sold before I could check out. With Jeff and Tim standing by, they were keen on the set of 4 seats I found in ROW NINE!!!!! And I got them! They were not cheap, but this is our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see AC/DC, a band I’ve listened to for 40 years!

So back to concert day in Vancouver, Tim said the Rock Shop up the street was selling official merch, and concert goers were everywhere! He escorted us to the shop and we got a couple of shirts so we could be spotted by other concert goers! Then we headed to a pub for lunch and some drinks. I’m still on the sober wagon, so I had a few too many diet cokes instead.

We went back to the hotel to get Liz and then back to the pub. There were concert goers everywhere and we were all suddenly family! Everyone was high-fiving and Tim even gave a guy who said he was from Whitehorse a big hug. There were other people from Dawson in Vancouver for the same reason, and we ran into a lady in our hotel elevator who drove down from the Northwest Territories for the show!

After some more drinks, we walked over to BC Place stadium for the show.

We waited in line for a bit, then went through security. The crowd was incredible! Maybe because they were all our age, HA! Everyone was in good spirits and friendly.

We got to walk down to the floor level, and then got in line for merch right away so we could pick up some concert shirts and I even got a hoodie (of course). Then we went to find our section at the front! The only section closer to the stage was the Pit area, where it was standing space only.

The opening act was The Pretty Reckless. The lead singer is Taylor Momsen, the woman who played the little girl on The Grinch who Stole Christmas movie with Jim Carrey when she was a kid.

It felt weird that they were performing with all the house lights on? It was kinda killing the mood. But Liz pointed out that there were no lights on, it was just the sun coming in the windows on the roof!

They were pretty good and played for maybe 45 minutes or so?

But all of us were there for something else.

This:

And because I’m old and lame, I popped some ear buds in for the entire show! And I don’t regret it at all!

Our seats were the absolute best! So close to the front, we could see everything. And once the show started, we stood the whole time anyway!

Now on with the show!

I can’t think of the right words to adequately describe this concert. These guys are INCREDIBLE performers. This was a bucket list night. It was AMAZING.

Brian Johnson, the lead singer, is 77. His voice was not always as strong as his younger days, and it didn’t matter a lick.

As the night went on, it is evident that the show is still all about Angus Young. At 70 years old, this guy is a legend. And did not stop! In fact, he just kept ramping it up!

First his cap went, then his jacket. Then, at one point, he took off his tie and was playing the guitar with it! Then the shirt was unbuttoned.

Absolutely amazing. And everyone was having the time of their life! Smiles everywhere!

We have video clips too, if you are a fan!! Crank these!

Here’s the concert start:

And a little taste of Back in Black:

They sold devil horns that flickered at the show. Between songs, when you looked around, this is what you saw!

Here’s a bit of the opening of Thunderstruck, which is probably my most listened to AC/DC song. It can pump me up like no other!

The whole concert was just all the best songs, the ones you’d know every word to and could sing along. And there were no breaks between sets or down moments. They were ON for over two hours and the excitement just kept building!

And then the bell came down.

HELL’S BELLS!

Angus did a super long solo near the end. He was up above on a higher stage, he came way out front on the runway, and he was all the way across the stage from one side to the other. It was jaw-dropping watching and listening to him wail! I put my phone away and just soaked it all in.

Here’s a clip of Angus playing his heart out before that solo, and the confetti bomb that ensued!

And of course, there were CANONS!

Never in my lifetime could I imagine seeing a rock and roll concert better than this. After these guys are gone, I think those days are gone. Who can still rock like this?

Here’s the setlist for the show from setlist.fm.

After the concert, 30,000 new best friends and family left the stadium, with no fights, no violence, just all happy people flowing out into downtown Vancouver.

We hit a 7/11 for some snacks and rehydration and went to bed.

Thankfully, we were incredibly smart and scheduled a down day before flying home! I think I could have stayed in bed for longer though!

But instead, we went to the park again to enjoy the beautiful sunny weather, spring flowers, cherry tree blossoms, and damp coastal air that makes my hair extra “special”.

This was a week to remember – every part of this trip was amazing!