It's never over until it's over

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When Dianne retired as Principal in Chemainus in June 2007, we thought we were moving back to Victoria. Dianne took on a couple of part-time projects with her school district to ease into “retirement” and things started to settle down. Then she heard about the opportunity in China and things geared back up. As we approached the end of our three years in China, she learned of an opportunity to go to Williams Lake for a year. Since we had never been to Williams Lake, the Cariboo or the Chilcotin, it seemed like a good idea.

And it was; we have really enjoyed our year here. Another year would have been fun but the contract was for a year so we started to think about packing up.

Then other possibilities started to appear. An opportunity in Kamloops arose but turned out to be a false start. An opportunity in Prince George appeared. We even spent a weekend there checking the place out. But it, too, didn’t pan out (hey, this is Gold Rush country). Then the Kamloops opportunity heated up to the extent that we drove down there for an interview. At the same time, another interesting project appeared in Prince George. Yikes!

But the timing on the Prince George job wasn't right and the timing on the Kamloops job was - so Dianne accepted the job as Vice-Principal of the Elementary division at St. Ann's Academy, a K-12 school in Kamloops. I guess the U-haul trailer will be going there from Williams Lake! They were having trouble finding a vice-principal with the qualifications they wanted (IT and coaching for high school teams). While Dianne's forte isn't either of these areas, she brings a lot to the table that they can draw on (except art) for a year while they continue their search. Yet another adventure for us.

Prince George

This weekend trip was a bit like one of our China weekend adventures except that we got to drive ourselves. Dianne had scoured the internet looking for a nice Bed and Breakfast. I had looked at hotels to see if there was anything like the Dalian Kempinski but, if there was one, it would have been way too expensive. We settled on Ridgeview Gardens which looked pretty nice in the pictures. It looked even more impressive in person. It was a full suite: huge bedroom, kitchenette and a magnificent living/dining room. It was even nicer than the suite we had enjoyed at the Kempinski which up to now had been my favourite place to stay.

I had made a lasagne to enjoy on Friday night after our drive north. Oops. The kitchenette had everything we needed, except an oven! Our hosts cooked it for us in their oven while we went out for a walk around the area. We had planned to go out for dinner on the Saturday but the place was so nice we ate at home the second night. When we returned from our walk, our host mentioned that another couple had dropped in to check out the bed and breakfast but he thought they were more interested in just the breakfast. Huh? See pictures.

We had both been to PG independently on business but this was our first chance to visit just for fun. The walking trails along the river are great and we are told the trails make for good cross country skiing in the winter. Hmmmm. May just have to try that.

Lots of shopping opportunities in this city of nearly 100,000 people. Of course, in China that would be a small town. There are also lots of cultural activities so we thought it would be a great place to spend a year or so.

Likely and Quesnelle Forks

More towns that owe their existence (or former existence) to the Gold Rush in the 1850s and 1860s. We are constantly amazed by the influence of the Chinese in these areas. The museum provided many interesting reminders of our time in China.

What now?

Now that we have an idea what we are doing next year, we can concentrate on the summer. The main event is the gathering of our grandchildren (without their parents) for a week in July. Should be fun (gasp). Then we celebrate out 45^th anniversary which is actually July 8^th but we can’t get everyone together until later in the month. Fun, fun and more fun…..

And next year? It sounds like it is going to be pretty exciting too...

To be continued…

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Photos

Alternate accomodations?
We could have stayed here but thought it might be a bit too seedy.

What's for breakfast?
These two youngsters dropped by to see what was going on. There is quite a bit of green space nearby.

Neighbours were a bit squirelly
A couple of squirrels took up residence in this birdhouse after first expanding the entrance hole.

Relaxing
The suite was really a great place to spend two relaxing evenings. The complementary glass of sherry helped too!

Lots of erosion
High water is causing lots of problems in PG these days. Apparently Spain and Greece aren't the only ones having trouble with their banks.

Signs of beaver
Lots of evidence of Canada's national animal. Apparently this one bit off more than he could chew.

Wheely Big
This reminded me of many of the touristy things we saw in China. This one wasn't quite as old however.

Another memory trigger
In China, this time of year brought out the wedding photographers. Here it was the university and high school graduations.

View from the top
One of our walks in PG took us to the top of Connaught Hill, right in the centre of the city. 360 degree views of the area and a pleasant walk up the hill. Many people drive up but it seems a waste of a nice walk.

Not likely to see this anywhere else
Another quaintly named town in the Cariboo.

No stopping us now
As we were driving over the bridge in Likely, we encountered this interestingly placed sign. Never did discover why it was there.

Likely Museum
A great place to visit. Full of interesting exhibits from the glory days of the gold rush. Of course, to us, this English/Chinese dictionary was most interesting.

Quesnelle Forks
Although this place is now a ghost town, in the 1850s it was thought to be a suitable place for B.C.'s capital.

Interesting markers
We think this chap may have died from effects of a cold.

Final resting place
What better place to find a cemetery than in a ghost town?

Chasm Provincial Park
There are lots of small parks in the area. Some of the valleys are deep and steep making for interesting hiking and viewing.

More chasm
It's not that there isn't anything else to take pictures of but scenery. Well, that is the main attraction of the area. There is no shortage of natural beauty.

Hoodoos
We have driven past these hoodoos on the way south on more than one occasion. We finally decided to stop and take a picture.