Blogs from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, North America - page 8

Geo: 48.4644, -123.38It is our last day on the Ibis...this morning we began with a nice breakfast of granola topped with the last of the blackberry goo. Delicious!We have a long way to go to get back to Oak Harbor in Victoria, and we get busy. The dinghy is brought around to the front of the boat, reloaded and tied down, the anchor is hauled in and off we go. John is at the helm and the sun comes out! The sea is calm....there is a nice breeze and it isn't raining! The sails are up but we are still motoring. After a long while of cruising along, Jeff relieves John. They are following the "rum" line. At least that's what I thought they've been saying all week; rum line. Of course, every time they say ... read more

Geo: 48.4644, -123.38Oh, Canada... (August 28, 2015) Here we are in Canada. Funny how a "short" trip like this takes the whole day and is so tiring. We dinked around the house "waiting" for our agreed upon depature time. A nice relaxing morning.When we arrived at the US Airport parking lot and turned off the car, Jeff looked at me and said, "Oh Crap!" Actually he didn't say "crap", but this is a family blog so we'll say "crap." "I forgot my hat!"Well, this is a disaster. Jeff bought this wonderful hat specifically for this trip - it was a Tilley and designed not to blow off, it was expensive, and it was still in our hall closet. Crap is right. Our flight to Seattle was uneventful, though it was a small plane, two seats per ... read more

Kevin lives with his family in a house that he is rebuilding by himself. It is located more or less directly at the beautiful Shawnigan Lake. We are not the only visitors staying with the Kerstens. Nathalie and Nathalie from Germany and Switzerland are also there. They are like us travelling through Canada and met Kevin through the Website Work Away. Kevin makes us feel welcome right away. Natalie from Germany prepares Apple Crumble for dessert and the other Natalie starts preparing dinner. We just join. After some time Karina, Kevins wife, comes home from work and we have great dinner. After dinner we set up our tent next to the pool. The next morning we offer to help Kevin mixing concrete for his pizza oven and the base for a new shower in the basement. ... read more

One part of planning a perfect trip that often doesn’t get enough attention is the arrival. It’s likely that most travelers are so anxious to start their vacation that they probably pick the quickest way to a destination. The fun will be had once you get there, not on the journey. Arrival by air is often a necessity in the fast paced world of exotic destinations and short stays. Perhaps some choose transportation based on cost. Lots of people going? Can they all fit in the minivan? Some destinations lend themselves to a certain type of arrival. While rarely mentioned, I think the popularity of Venice, Italy is due in part to the necessity of taking a boat up the Grand Canal at arrival. Gliding past opulent Palazzo on both sides of the canal you naturally ... read more

It's 9.31 on the 18th July. I haven't got round to writing a blog for a few days now as we've been moving on from Victoria and on to Seattle. We're settled in now here in Seattle however, so I will write about Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of our last week. Monday was a fairly uneventful day, with Donna going back to work and Bob having to go in for a meeting. So in the morning I got up early-ish, wrote my last blog and had some breakfast, by which time everyone else was up. Bob came back at about 12 and was now actually on holiday. Around that time Rosie and I decided to head out to the plaza, grab some frozen yoghurt and throw some ball, while Kate sunbathed and Matt watched a film ... read more