France win the World Cup. West Coast Eagles still waiting on definite prognosis of Nic Nat’s right knee. Trump says the Queen is beautiful … inside and out. The sun is still shining strongly on Shuswap Lake. So, from that intro, one can see that we had a totally replenish-the-energy-batteries day. Lori drove us into see the town of Salmon Arm where the longest wooden jetty in North America stands. On the return to the lake Jane and Lori spent hours out on the pontoon talking and sunbaking (not good) while I hung out the washing (very good) and dozed a little. Wayne played in a pre-arranged golf tournament. Compared to many of our previous days, today was a slow day. Tomorrow will be very different!... read more

An absolutely awesome day as we discovered more enchanting nooks and crannies of Shuswap Lake on our 130-140km return boat journey. The aim of today was to hike the Albas Falls Trail (Lori and Wayne had not done this either) which is located in a remote area of the lake nearly at the end of Seymour Arm, a waterway of Shuswap Lake system. (see map photo). The shoreline was scattered with cabins and houseboats. At our destination we moored in the crystal clear waters of Steamboat Bay and began our hike from the beach. We hiked through tall forest alongside the creek to the first set of waterfalls. Many of the trees were covered in moss. We continued up the ‘easy-on-the-feet’ trail, deeper into this remote forest, hearing only the sound of the rushing water of ... read more

I rose very early which has been quite normal throughout our time away. It was a beautiful, still and slightly cloudy and the sun had not yet risen. I made a cuppa, went down to the floatable jetty and in-between stretching and sitting on one of the chairs available, waited for the sun to rise. With no one about I had the silence to myself. I stayed well after the sun rose to face the mountains behind our accommodation so as to watch the mist and cloud that had enveloped them and their cedar tree covering, rise and evaporate. This was a special part of the morning for me. With Wayne at the helm of his bow rider, Lori, Jane and I hit the water for a few hours on the lake, firstly making our way ... read more

Rob and Mary kindly drove us to Manchester Airport, about an hour from Caldy. We had the best time with them. A flight to Heathrow and then onto Vancouver ensured where we were met by our very good friends, Lori and Wayne Henderson. We left Heathrow about 50minutes late due to a ‘technical malfunction’ (it’s how everything with airlines is explained) of disengaging the passenger walkway from the aircraft. The plane landed only 20 minutes later than the scheduled time, however, another ‘technical malfunction’ this time with the baggage carousel saw us exit the building 75 minutes after landing. All that faded into the background when we hit the road as conversation flowed and drizzly rain began. We loved the coolness after England’s ‘heatwave’! We are being treated like royalty in all ways.... read more

It draws so ever closer. Our bodies must have known as they woke very, very early for have us enjoy the view we have woken to every day we have been here at Rob and Mary’s. The tide was in, the boats were standing upright as they floated at their moorings and it was clear right across the River Dee to Wales. Squirrels with their bushy tails held high were scurrying about in the green yard below as they competed with the many birds for their morning breakfast and there was not a breath of wind. A lone, soundless airliner, high in the sky, was leaving its long, white vapour trail stretching behind. It was a morning not to be wasted. With no-one about, a ride was in order. We covered ground not before ridden … ... read more