My usual summer vacation with the wife and kids is a long driving trip, say along the California coast, inland to Utah’s five national parks, or from my house in Boston to the Amish Country of Pennsylvania. The kids are no doubt fighting over something in the back, my wife is getting nauseous from the drive, and I’m white-knuckling on I-95, weaving between far too many trucks. The vacation part kicks in only after we arrive at our destination. 

But in the western province of British Columbia, the various modes of travel are not relegated to the “How to Get There” section of the story. On the contrary, it’s often the highlight of the trip.  Last summer, I was downright giddy to learn from my wife that we didn’t need to rent a car at all in British Columbia. One could take a 3-hour train ride on the classic Whistler Mountaineer from Vancouver to Whistler, hop aboard a float plane for an hour-long jaunt to the port of Victoria, and ferry onward to Seattle. It turned into one of our favorite trips.

See the story I wrote on the trip for The Boston Globe.