Blogs from British Columbia, Canada, North America - page 4

Good morning! Woke up this morning in my sister’s apartment in Vancouver. Had a fresh shower and got dressed. She made us some coffee and we’re now getting things ready to go in the car and drive to Horseshoe Bay and the ferry terminal to catch the ferry to Gibsons, BC. The ferry line up was fierce, but we had reservations so that made it better. Lots of traffic getting out of Vancouver over the Lion’s Gate Bridge, put us behind a wee tad, but we made it to Horseshoe Bay in time. We were loaded quickly onto the ferry and left only ten minutes late; not too bad. I was hungry (time change still affecting me) so I opted for some breakfast. It was delicious. We walked around the boat a little bit and snooped ... read more

I am little a obsessed with whale, always have been. On our visit to Vancouver we decided to join a whale watching tour. We choose Sea Breeze Adventuresin Stevenson not far from the city. They had two different boats going out that day. We chose to take the Zodiac, a big blow up boat that seated around 10 people. We were pretty lucky quiet because early on at our tour we spotted three humpback whales. Usually they won’t stick around very long as our tour guide told us, but these guys seemed to enjoy our company and were really curious too. The whales were waving their tales and popped their heads up several times. We even discovered that day that whale poop is pink. And there was a lot of whale poop swimming on the waters ... read more

Two walks in Stanley Park In 1886, the council for the City of Vancouver sent a request to the Canadian government for permission to use the military reserve to the west of the city as a public park. The Canadian government granted the city permission to create such a park in 1887. Stanley Park later opened to the public on 27 September 1888. It was named after Lord Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, a British politician who had recently been appointed Governor General. It was originally known as Coal Peninsula and was set aside for military fortifications to guard the entrance to Vancouver harbour. The 10 km (6.25 mi.) seawall loop around Stanley Park is Vancouver's most popular fresh air attraction, it starts at the Vancouver Convention Centre on the north-east side of the downtown peninsula, ... read more

The gladdest moment in human life, me thinks, is a departure into unknown lands- Sir Richard Burton I've used the above quote before, but it seems particularly appropriate for this trip. We are beyond excited to finally be travelling again! We are flying to Amsterdam tomorrow, where we will spend four nights. Our B&B is located in central Amsterdam, and we expect to walk to pretty much everything. We've got some activities booked, and hope to have some time where we can just wander around and soak up the atmosphere, since we've never been to Amsterdam before. I'm re-reading Anne Frank's "Diary of a Young Girl", since we will be visiting the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. After Amsterdam we fly to Nairobi where we spend a couple of nights before starting our Kenyan safari. We ... read more

Chatterbox Falls; About Time We chartered “About Time”, a Catalina 425, from Cooper Boating on Granville Island, Vancouver to sail up to Catterbox Falls on the Westcoast of Canada. We drove to Vancouver on the wettest day of the year, the day Vancouver was drenched with more rain in a day than they had received all year. A strong low-pressure system in the Pacific delivered 40 knots winds from the NW. Not great for heading up the Sunshine Coast in a north westerly direction. Granville Island has an extensive market where we could gather provisions for our week-long trip. Fresh fish is a specialty. We stowed the provisions in the rain and decided to drink scotch on the boat instead of venturing out into the rain to find a restaurant. We spent a happy Friday night ... read more