We've always had great luck with weather in the Pacific Northwest -- and our lucky streak continued this past July when we visited the Vancouver area.
When the weather is nice, everything is beautiful here. The city's clean and modern, there are mountains and water everywhere, and the people seem really happy.
We stayed in the city a few days, enjoying the sights and the fantastic restaurants. Every place we went, we were asked where we were from and what we were doing. And restaurant staff practically tripped over themselves giving us recommendations for other places to go.
On the ferry ride to Vancouver Island, we got our first sighting of bald eagles -- more later. Staying in Victoria (the capital of British Columbia) for Canada Day was a trip. Everywhere we looked we saw people in red and white -- and I do mean everywhere. As you can see by the capital building (left), Victoria is particularly pretty at night. 
There are several botanic gardens in the area, but Butchart Gardens on the island is easily the most spectacular. The moderate climate makes for some pretty ideal growing conditions, not only for flowers and trees but for vineyards too. Although the main BC wine region is far inland, there are some wineries on the island and of course we made time to stop and sample the goods.
The north and west parts of the island are a bit less populated, and are really popular with outdoor sports enthusiasts. While we did some short hikes, our main "adventure" time was spent out on the water, looking for whales and seabirds. We weren't disappointed -- the bald eagles, gray whales, sea otters, puffins and other sea birds were amazing. If you look closely at the otter, you'll see she's carrying a pup.
We had such a great time that we went on another boat trip when we returned to the mainland ... and added more bald eagles and orcas to our sightings.
If you're a facebook friend there are a few more pics on my facebook page. Keep an eye out for more adventures (better yet, subscribe to the feed and you'll be notified when new entries appear).