Blogs from North America - page 9555

Feels like we’re time travelers. Even though we are more than 500 km north here in Vancouver than we were at home in Ontario it feels like May. Or June. The white snowdrifts up to the windowsills have been replaced by an almost-as-complete covering of yellow daffodils. This west coast climate is not hard to take. Perversely, we seemed to be magnetically drawn to the only snow in the greater Vancouver area the day before yesterday. We found ourselves on the cable car going up Grouse Mountain. Even at the top there were only patches of snow though. Great view of the “Lower Mainland” (gotta get into the local dialect y’know) and the state of Washington beyond. Should have been the state of Columbia. It was called the territory of Columbia until it became a state ... read more

Kate - All I can think about right now is Italy. I'm reading about it, dreaming about it and obsessing about it. I can't believe that this is really happening. Courtney and I always planned that we would go to Europe together one day; I don't think either one of us expected that it would happen so soon. P.S. Courtney's grumpy with me because I typed everything she was planning on saying. We're acting like sisters already. Courtney - I honestly can't believe that I'm going to Europe. To Italy! I've dreamed about this all my life. I always thought that I would have to wait until college to go. I feel really lucky that I have this opportunity at such a young age. Now if I can just get everything packed. . .... read more

Green Valley, Arizona, has proven to be a retiree's heaven, as so many had told us. No one can be bored here with such a variety of activities. The Sonoran Desert and the many mountain ranges always in view, add to the beauty. The weather has turned warm (in the 80's) and sunny. We are able to bicycle every day if we want and swim in the pool. Our location is in "Villa's West, in the middle of everything. From here we can ride our bikes almost everywhere. There are lanes just for bikes and golf carts along major roads and everyone waits for bicyclists. We found another couple to bicycle with. John and Peggy are not retired, but farmers taking a break from North Dakota's winter weather. Like many who come here, we started looking ... read more

After 17 hours, my overnight trek from DC to Ft. Richardson, Alaska came to an end. It was 3am Thursday morning, and I was climbing out of a van packed so tight that I had another soldier sitting on my lap. During my trip, I had run into some Alaskans; and I must say that I was impressed. They were so nice. One man even gave me his card and told me to call if I needed anything. Unfortunately, my warm welcome to Alaska was about to get chilly. There was a somewhat grumpy sergeant on duty who felt like taking his frustration out on the incoming soldiers (including me). Seventeen of us had been arriving that day, and I was in the last group of nine. He had smoked everybody that day. He started picking ... read more

Made it to Big White. Snow is looking awesome to me who hasn't seen it in years but to the boarders it's pretty tragic. However it did snow this afternoon. I'm in pain with bruises everywhere. All good fun. All extreme. All good.... read more