“B.C. Wildfires 2018: Feds offer air power, troops to help battle nearly 600 blazes” That is one of the headlines here in BC. 90 of those fires have been started deliberately by humans! The others by lightning strikes. The images on the net show that virtually all of BC is ablaze. Firefighters from Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and other Canadian provinces have arrived to fight the fires. Where we are, smoke has enveloped us all. For people coming to visit ...“Beautiful British Columbia” as it is known, it would be impossible to see; impossible to appreciate, due to the smoke. Our day today has been completely different from yesterday. Apart from a drive into the smoke covered and enclosed small town of Chase for supplies, activity for us didn’t begin until we hit the smoke surrounded ... read more

It was up early to the great news that the West Coast Eagles had ‘stolen’ the valuable 4 points, breakfast and drive courtesy of our wonderful hosts and new friends, Gary and Linda, to Dukes Point, south of Nanaimo, for the “Coastal Inspiration’s” 2 hour ferry to Tsawwassen. Bus to the airport, very quick baggage-drop and a good relaxing break before the 1 hour flight to Kelowna where we were picked up by Lori and Wayne in their ‘new’ vehicle which guaranteed us a very smooth ride onto their place on Shuswap Lake where we had begun our BC visit. It was good to be back in beautiful, familiar territory with close friends. A healthy dinner prepared by L+W was enjoyed by all. Followed by 12 sets of vigorous table tennis between Wayne and myself definitely ... read more

This was a ‘steady-as-she-goes’ day as we took our time over breakfast before making our way to Mt Washington, an alpine skiing resort, 1 590m above sea level, with 82 ski runs, receiving 10.5m of snow each winter season. We took the chairlift up and down admiring the view, whether looking down or up, on each ride. Whilst at the summit we walked 3 of the trails to various viewing points, each giving us a different perspective. We had 360 degree views on all occasions so were able to see across the sea to the various islands and to the BC mainland. The views into the valley and up the opposite side to the snow covered mountains were the ones most enjoyed. Bird wildlife, particularly the Whiskey Jack’s, were in abundance and proved to be, surprisingly, ... read more

After posting yesterday M+D drove us to the Boeing complex. Describing it as huge would not be an apt description. Massive might satisfy. It is an airplane assembly building and is the largest building in the world by volume (0.4sq km) and is where the wide-body Boeing 747, 767, 777 and 787 are assembled. It employs over 30,000 people, including its own fire department, security team, daycare and fitness centre. However, the highlight of last evening was going to Mukilteo Lighthouse area to … buy … an ice-cream … made the most of it! As we enjoyed our ice-creams we walked around the beautiful area taking in the returning ferry from Whidbey Island, situated in Puget Sound. Back home, it was a movie, “Snowman”, before bed. We caught the ferry to Whidbey Island and drove to ... read more

A memorable day in that we reacquainted with long time special friends, Michele and David, who we had not seen since spending Christmas with them in Maui, Hawaii, in ’86. We continued where we left off; laughing. Naturally, we reflected and laughed even louder! We had said goodbye to our wonderful hosts and friends, Al and Robert, early in the morning. D+M drove us into Seattle to watch celebrate “Seafair” on Puget Sound, with the “Blue Angels”, the US Navy’s flight demonstration squadron roaring overhead. The aviators, from the Navy and Marines, flying F/A – 18 Hornets, performed for nearly an hour, doing sensational manoeuvres and formations. At the same time, in between looking skywards, we watched the annual Seattle Tennis Open beside the Seattle Tennis Club. We didn’t waste time in enjoying our new environment. ... read more