not so bland girls

Waking up a teenager at 4:30 am is never fun EXCEPT when it is to catch a plane! Julia and I were up early and at the airport by 6 am to catch our flight. Unfortunately the airline ‘gods’ were not on our side and our flight was delayed by an hour. No biggie but that extra hour sleep would have been welcome by all. By 8:00 am we were in the air and on our way. A turbulent flight was announced and felt for the first hour and a bit but then things settled down and smooth air was ours. I loved witnessing Julia’s excitement as the first mountains came into view. Photos from 34 thousand feet were taken and that is when it really hit us that we were actually going to get up ... read more

Following the Gold Rush Trail Oh the things we’ve seen! Our drive from Hope to Quesnel took us through the Fraser Canyon. I cannot begin to find the words to describe how truly magnificent this drive is. Pictures do not do it justice although we took plenty of them. There was rain off and on but that did not in any way detract from the experience. In fact there were times when driving through clouds was the most magnificent and magical adventure. How many times have you looked at the sky and wanted to touch the clouds? We DID! Our first stop along the way was at Hell’s Gate. Over 800 million litres of water per minute pass through a 33 metre wide passage on the Fraser River at this spot. In 1808, Simon Fraser exclaimed ... read more

According to Julia, AC/DC is the best band ever. Prior to our trip, she discovered that they had recorded in a studio on Powell street in Vancouver. Our mission on Day 2 was to find said studio and at least touch the same door handle as her ‘rock gods’. And so with 100 Powell street as one of our objectives, we headed out to explore Vancouver. Our friends Mike and Sandra served as tour guides and we were most grateful to be chauffeured around. Our first stop was The Warehouse recording studio that is located downtown near the waterfront. The only marking on the place is the address and an intercom discretely mounted on the side of the wall. I buzzed and spoke to the faceless voice to see if there was a way to ... read more

This coming Thursday my daughter Julia and I will be headed west to British Columbia to visit family in Quesnel. I've done the trip a number of times but have always flown the entire distance and always alone. (save for a trip 23 years ago with my then 15 month old son). Not this time! This time I have a great travel companion who loves adventure as much as I do. We fly from Ottawa to Vancouver and then it's road trip time! This is Julia's first trip to BC and I am so looking forward to sharing this with her. We have planned a route that will allow us time to visit and also time to explore. Our first few days will be spent in Vancouver where we will immerse ourselves in all the city ... read more