We have enjoyed poking around Prince Rupert today. It’s a town of about 15,000, reminds both of us of small towns we have lived in. We were able to find a shoe repair place very quickly, and get my broken belly bag repaired. We were also able, finally, to replace that fresh crab dinner we had been looking forward to in Ucluelet - a nice seafood place in Cow Bay had half crab dinners for $13.95. Also had excellent chowder there! We’re catching up with our email at a nice little internet café called Java Dot Cup, and they charge only [View Full Entry]

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We leave in 2 days but woke up to the sobering news that London was struck by terrorist attacks this morning. What (another) horrible tragedy and one that's shaken John and I into an uncomfortable state of vulnerability. Trying to get any relevant information re London from CNN is like trying to get a dog to meow but we're wading through all the press conferences and updates to keep on top of all developments. We've already had a call from one of John's friends to see if we're ok - he thought we were already there and that drove the reality [View Full Entry]

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We rose at 4:30 to batten down Vanita, shower, and make our ferry connection to Prince Rupert. The day dawned grey and the sun remained hidden for the entire journey. By the middle of the afternoon, the clouds started to give off a steady drizzle, which lasted until the end of the day. It took them over an hour to load the ferry - a far cry from what we are used to on the southern routes. But they pack them in like sardines. The ferry was completely full; we figured it held about 150 vehicles, a few of which were [View Full Entry]

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After breakfasting with Maureen and Marcel, we left Parksville around 10 am, headed northward. We chose to take highway 19A almost as far as Campbell River, and really enjoyed meandering through tourist country along the water. The traffic was light, and we drove leisurely, enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the oceanside communities between Parksville and Campbell River. While this is a prime tourist destination, it hasn’t been developed to the nth degree as so many places have these days. There is room for wildflowers to grow between the well-groomed gardens, and there is a [View Full Entry]

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It all started out with lists and lists of things to do. - Find a job (there's enough involved just in that!) - Research! Research! Research! Once I dedided on China, there were more lists. - Appointments - Immunizations (Hep A, Oral Typhoid, etc.) - Get the anti-malarial drugs - Quit the bakery - Buy all of the shit I need (and that's a lot.) - Apply for Chinese Z Visa. - Book a ticket - Heath Insurance - Millions of other errands. For those of you who know me, you'll know how often I re-wrote and re-thought those lists. I [View Full Entry]

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Well we went on the Gondala ride up to the top of Whistler Mountain and the view from up there was just beautiful!! can't wait to get the next CD burnt so that I can put the photos up for you all to see - there was snow everywhere up there so for the second time in my life I got to touch it and was pretty excited!! It was a bit chilly up there but not as cold as I thought it would be. We went for a bit of a walk and took a few pictures, made some snowballs [View Full Entry]

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La vida in retirement-ville July 4, we arose an at obscenely early hour to bid farewell to Pacific Rim National Park - went to Long Beach and watched it rain for 15 minutes, basically, as the tide began to come back in, then took off for Parksville. Leaving early enabled us to avoid heavy traffic during the snakey bits of Highway 4, always a clever tactic. We arrived in Coombs in time to enjoy second breakfast (as Frodo would say) at Goats on the Roof - delicious chorizo quiche for Kath and teriyaki pork chops for Roberta. Then we went to [View Full Entry]

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Well, we made it! Our incredibly drawn-out and uncomfortable plane ride featured several transfers and an unpleasant ordeal in Hawaii - where U.S. Customs made us get out of the plane in the middle of the night, collect all our baggage, jump through innumerable hoops of bureaucracy, fill out reams of paperwork, have our bags searched (and swabbed for explosives!!) and wait around for several hours before we could get back on the plane again. This is despite the fact we were neither stopping over in Hawaii or going to the US! Our plane was simply refuelling on its way to [View Full Entry]

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Happy Canada Day to everyone. Once again we were lucky enough to spend Canada with Sarah's family at the beautiful Casa Melville nestled in the heart of the Okanagan Valley. Now that Casa Melville is officially finished it was time for George and Sylvia to welcome the world in the warm and inviting way they do. Canada day began with a flurry of decoration and organization. In the afternoon people began to arrive on the beach to partake in hotdogs (served up by the iron chef Mark Melville -- YAY MAIRK!!!) and fun Canada Day games. The waterfront was a swarm [View Full Entry]

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Canada Day, take 2 It’s been overcast much of today, and at 5:00 pm it seems to be turning cold. We are parked again at Long Beach, amongst the surfers, who are here in force. When we first got here, around 8:30, all the best view spots were already taken. We settled for one of the lesser view spots, made and ate our breakfast of oatmeal, Buck grapefruit, and mocha, and then headed for Tofino, where we aspired to use the Internet and take showers. We succeeded at the first, but failed at the second, so I think tonight it’s going [View Full Entry]

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