Blogs from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, North America - page 6

Canada Trip 13 July – 7 September 2016 Pam & Tom Usher with Sheryl Shanahan Victoria 13-16 July 2016 After a 13.5hr flight with Air Canada from Brisbane, we arrived at 7.30am in Vancouver then caught a 12 minute flight across to Victoria. Everything went well and other than being tired we arrived at the Fairmont Empress Hotel on the waterfront. It was a beautiful spot and beautiful hotel. We were upgraded so that we had a harbour view, which was lovely. We looked out, watching the boats and sea-planes come and go. We were close to the Parliamentary buildings which housed the Legislative Assembly and the story of the parliamentary system in British Columbia. Victoria is the capital of the province of British Columbia. It is located near the southern tip of Vancouver Island. It ... read more

Day 3: Leaving Woss after a great breakfast we headed west on winding gnarly gravel forestry roads. Stopping at the first bridge out of town we could see a large school of salmon swimming upstream to spawn - an amazing sight. Even though seemingly deserted ww had to be alert on these roads as there was the occasional huge logging truck coming towards us. 14-16 foot wide & as high as some quarry trucks (30 foot). The weather was intermittent drizzle making some slippery patches on the road in some places. We spotted 3 deer near or on the road & Keith spotted a Black Bear that scampered into the bush and then later another that decided to run alongside him threatening to dive in front of his moving bike at any stage – fortunately it ... read more

One of my favorite destinations is the West Coast of North America – mostly because of the beautiful landscapes and combination of sea, mountains, and forests. Vancouver Island had been on my list of ‘must sees’ for a long time and now that the Canadian dollar is down relative to the US dollar it seemed like the perfect time to go. We took a week on the Island and added on four more nights in Vancouver. What we found was the spectacular scenery and wildlife we were looking for but also some great food and the friendliest people I have encountered on my travels to date. It is a destination in high demand over the summer so you either have to plan accordingly or scratch your way through like we did with AirBnB and the odd ... read more

Jim witing this... Sitting in lounge at hotel on Quadra Isalnd having spent yesterday retracing our outward route. We saw rain for the first time, luckily when it didn't matter. Scenery again was stunning. This hotel is 'green' and we half expected tree huggers and Eco toilets with no flush! Fortunately that is not the case although there is certainly a natural feel to the place. Plastic carrier bags are banned. Staff here are normal, helpful but not a in Basil Fawlty style. Camera is in full use. Directly outsde our room we had deer and a bald eagle ( no comments needed). One of these days I will have right camera with right settings at the right time. But not yet! I really should be getting some great shots. Still don't be too concerned I ... read more

Hi everyone We enjoyed our house sit in Edmonton. The time flew by and although we arrived there in a blizzard, the whole time we spent there the snow was gradually thawing. And then the day before we left it fell again and we had to dig the car out to get going! While we were there we went to watch an ice hockey game, Edmonton Oilers versus Nashville Predators. There was a great atmosphere inside the stadium and lots of entertainment in the intervals which was fun. There was a smooch cam and someone won $47000 which was amazing. We obviously had to do the hot dog and fries thing with a beer and sat and watched a really exciting game. These guys are very fit and there are constant change overs in the teams. ... read more