Blogs from Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, North America - page 2

After spending three days in the Lake Cowichan region, we're now in Nanaimo, enjoying some spectacularly sunny weather. Having driven across the mountains from the Pacific Coast, we ended up staying in three different places near Lake Cowichan. We started off at Beaver Lake (no sign of any beaver), a gentle 30 minute route-march from the town of Lake Cowichan. We went there Saturday night and Craig treated himself to the all-you-can-eat Ribmania at the "Cow Cafe" restaurant. The waitress claimed that she was impressed when Craig tucked into his fourth half-rack of ribs... but we suspect that she was just saying that! Sunday we travelled around 10 miles west to Gordon Bay. Another BC Provincial Parks campsite, but this one with free showers that were far too hot to use. We were a little disappointed ... read more

Adam's Blog: We woke up late on our first morning in Nanaimo, to hear later that a pod of killer whales had swum by...... Our view out across the Strait of Georgia, back to the snow peak mountains was easy to take. We settled into our new home and local district - Nanaimo pop'n 80,000 is 90 mins north of Victoria on the East Side of the Island....It was more of an industrial city in the past, but has moved on with other activity. The Woodgrove Mall had a vast variety of shops such as Walmart, Sears and The Bay. That afternoon while driving down our street, we came across 3 deer on the side of the road, they live in the nearby woods but wander from home to home, great for the visitor....not so great ... read more

Hey Everyone! In what’s turning into a very recurring theme with this blog, it’s been a while since I’ve updated it. So it’s time for an update! Since April I’ve been back home in Nanaimo, laying low and taking it easy, while catching up with some family and friends that I hadn’t seen in a while. As well, I had the opportunity to work with the Child Development Center as a support worker for a couple different kids at summer camps throughout the city. Not only was it a unique learning experience, but I got to work with some great kids, amazing co-workers and I got the chance to play tourist in my own town as we did a lot of out trips through a city that I haven’t really lived in for almost 8 years. ... read more

So, I'm heading off for what could be my last contract with Princess today (I'm ready for a new adventure), but before I did I figured I should throw up a few pictures from the end of my previous contract. For my last two weeks on the Dawn Princess, we headed out of Sydney and headed straight for New Zealand, where after a couple days at sea and a scenic cruising day through the Fjordlands of southwestern New Zealand, we did 7 ports in 7 days starting in the south and working our way north. For the majority of our stops I spent time with someone from the San Juan Islands in Washington State and the two of us kept saying how much all of the country reminded us of home. It was so much the ... read more

Wow. The Rocky Mountains are truly incredible. Driving from Calgary, the mountains appeared upon the horizon as we headed to Banff National Park. They looked impossibly big, but continued to grow as we got closer. Once surrounded by mountains we reached the park gates, paying our entry fees, getting advice on road conditions and bears, we headed into the park. Our first stop was the Banff townsite - a picturesque small town nestled in the mountains. We spent some time touring the town, and then decided to go on a couple hikes - up to the Hoodoos and down to the Bow River. It seemed that the town is completely run by travelers - in fact we met mainly Aussies at the hostel pub that night, who were working in Canada, just as we soon will ... read more