July 27, 2010
10:30 PM
We woke up late in Medicine Hat. We were packed up and breakfasted by 10:00. We filled up with gas and hit the road for our last leg of the trip. B drove while S and P played XBox games.
We stopped briefly in Regina to take pictures of the Roughrider's stadium and to pick up some subway lunch.
Back on the road by 3:00 PM with D driving and the boys watching a movie..
We stopped again for gas just before the Manitoba boarder.
We stopped in Brandon to pick up a few groceries. Back on the road with P driving the final leg to Winnipeg.
We arrived at our house at 10:30 PM.
Everything was safe and in order at home.
Look for a prospective of the trip later.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Day 17 - July 26, 2010 11:59 PM
July 26, 2010
11:59 PM
Calgary cruising.
We got up around 8:00 packed up and decided to visit the Calgary zoo before moving on. We spent 45 minutes in the car trying to find a drive through breakfast place. This was to save time. It would probably been quicker just to go in and order.
We got to the zoo about 10:30 AM. It is a very large zoo and took around 15 minutes to walk from the parking lot into the zoo proper. We visited most of the key exhibits including the elephants and giraffes.
We left the zoo about 1:30 and stopped to buy some water and moved onward to Drumheller. Every business seems to have adopted the dinosaur theme including a restaurant called "Fred and Barney's". There were many statues of various dinosaurs throughout the town.
We spent about an hour and a half at the Royal Tyrrell museum. The kids found it quite interesting to see what various modern day animals had evolved from.
We then visited the hoodoos. There were much smaller than the hoodoos that D and I had previously visited in Montana. The boys climbed among the hoodoos for pictures and S found a few caves.
Back in the car with the idea of going a few more miles. We finally decided to stop at Medicine Hat about 8:30 PM. Everyone went for a swim until 10:00 PM while I set up the room.
Once again it was difficult to find a place to eat at 10:30 PM so we ended up at a 24-hour restaurant called Humpty's.
Since this was the last night before we plan to arrive home, we held our awards ceremony. Various awards were presented to each other to recognize various aspects of the trip.
Back to the room for the final sleep on the road.
11:59 PM
Calgary cruising.
We got up around 8:00 packed up and decided to visit the Calgary zoo before moving on. We spent 45 minutes in the car trying to find a drive through breakfast place. This was to save time. It would probably been quicker just to go in and order.
We got to the zoo about 10:30 AM. It is a very large zoo and took around 15 minutes to walk from the parking lot into the zoo proper. We visited most of the key exhibits including the elephants and giraffes.
We left the zoo about 1:30 and stopped to buy some water and moved onward to Drumheller. Every business seems to have adopted the dinosaur theme including a restaurant called "Fred and Barney's". There were many statues of various dinosaurs throughout the town.
We spent about an hour and a half at the Royal Tyrrell museum. The kids found it quite interesting to see what various modern day animals had evolved from.
We then visited the hoodoos. There were much smaller than the hoodoos that D and I had previously visited in Montana. The boys climbed among the hoodoos for pictures and S found a few caves.
Back in the car with the idea of going a few more miles. We finally decided to stop at Medicine Hat about 8:30 PM. Everyone went for a swim until 10:00 PM while I set up the room.
Once again it was difficult to find a place to eat at 10:30 PM so we ended up at a 24-hour restaurant called Humpty's.
Since this was the last night before we plan to arrive home, we held our awards ceremony. Various awards were presented to each other to recognize various aspects of the trip.
Back to the room for the final sleep on the road.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Day 16 - July 25, 2010 11:30 PM
July 25, 2010
11:59 PM
Banff and beyond.
We woke up at 7:00 to get breakfasted and packed up before 9:30. Overall today seemed to be a bit lower energy day with people being less interested in the surroundings. At 9:30 we were off for horseback riding. It was a trail ride up and down some hills. It lasted about 1 hour and 45 minutes. I stayed in the car and grabbed a nap and listened to CBC Sunday morning.
After horseback riding lessons we once again toured around the town checking out various points of interest. We stopped for lunch at one of the malls.
We then went to the Banff Springs hotel and spent an hour or so touring around this huge elegant hotel. B, P, S and D once again snuck up and gave themselves an unofficial tour of the rooms.
Then it was off to the Banff Hot Springs. We found these to be less impressive than the Miette Hot Sprints we visited earlier in the vacation. We then stopped for slirpies. J found a good deal on a snowboard and took the guys card in case we decide to order it once we get home.
B took over the driving and we headed out to Calgary. On the way we stopped to see Olympic Park. The boys ran down the bobsleigh run. We then went to find McMahan Stadium and the Saddle Dome. We also passed the Calgary Tower which has been dwarfed by many larger buildings around it.
After supper we relaxed a bit in the hotel pool and headed off to bed.
11:59 PM
Banff and beyond.
We woke up at 7:00 to get breakfasted and packed up before 9:30. Overall today seemed to be a bit lower energy day with people being less interested in the surroundings. At 9:30 we were off for horseback riding. It was a trail ride up and down some hills. It lasted about 1 hour and 45 minutes. I stayed in the car and grabbed a nap and listened to CBC Sunday morning.
After horseback riding lessons we once again toured around the town checking out various points of interest. We stopped for lunch at one of the malls.
We then went to the Banff Springs hotel and spent an hour or so touring around this huge elegant hotel. B, P, S and D once again snuck up and gave themselves an unofficial tour of the rooms.
Then it was off to the Banff Hot Springs. We found these to be less impressive than the Miette Hot Sprints we visited earlier in the vacation. We then stopped for slirpies. J found a good deal on a snowboard and took the guys card in case we decide to order it once we get home.
B took over the driving and we headed out to Calgary. On the way we stopped to see Olympic Park. The boys ran down the bobsleigh run. We then went to find McMahan Stadium and the Saddle Dome. We also passed the Calgary Tower which has been dwarfed by many larger buildings around it.
After supper we relaxed a bit in the hotel pool and headed off to bed.
Day 15 - July 24, 2010 11:59 PM
July 24, 2010
11:59 PM
Arrived in Banff.
Well, the overfilled Revelstoke due to the highway closure began to empty out early in the morning about 6:00 AM. I could tell that by the continuous noises of clomping of people past our room, slamming card doors and engines racing. We roused ourselves at about 8:00. We shook off the cob webs and any other crawly things which may have attached themselves overnight. We decided to avoid the shower and continental breakfast offered by the hotel and repacked the car in a thankful mood that we had made it through the night.
P's suggestion of breakfast from McD's almost got him left in Revelstoke.
We picked up breakfast at Timmy's. We stopped at the bargain shop in attempt to buy J a couple of shirts so that he would stop wanting to do laundry. Unfortunately none of the name brand merchandise offered in Revelstoke suited his discerning taste. He didn't want Baby Gap or John Deer. We headed out onto the highway at 9:45 bound for Banff with B driving. I for one was glad to see Revelstoke in the rear view mirror and will probably avoid the place next time.
There was much construction between Golden and Banff and at one point we clocked about a 10 KM line of cars waiting to head west. We were somewhat delayed but overall made reasonable time arriving in Banff 2:00 PM or so.
Banff has the beauty of Jasper but with a lot more touristy shops and traffic. We checked into our pre-booked hotel, Red Carpet Inn, a major step up from the previous night, and finally decided to give into the requests for laundry. We took over 3 machines in the laundry area and did planning and swimming while the laundry went through. Overall, it wasn't too much of a waste of time.
We then went for supper and the Magpie And Stump, a Tex-Mex place.
After supper we strolled the main tourist area of Banff and noted the following points of interest: a drunken group of cross dressers possibly members of a wedding party, all streets in Banff are named after animals, Various touristy type items repeated many times in the various stores, a fully grown deer including antlers nibbling bushes on a busy street, large number of taxis for a town of this size, and of course the beauty of the surrounding mountains. Someone trying to park actually bumped into our car while a few of us were sitting in it. The bump was soft and no damage was evident.
Tomorrow we have a full day of activities planned before moving on to Calgary around Esuppertime. Looking forward to a less adventurous night.
11:59 PM
Arrived in Banff.
Well, the overfilled Revelstoke due to the highway closure began to empty out early in the morning about 6:00 AM. I could tell that by the continuous noises of clomping of people past our room, slamming card doors and engines racing. We roused ourselves at about 8:00. We shook off the cob webs and any other crawly things which may have attached themselves overnight. We decided to avoid the shower and continental breakfast offered by the hotel and repacked the car in a thankful mood that we had made it through the night.
P's suggestion of breakfast from McD's almost got him left in Revelstoke.
We picked up breakfast at Timmy's. We stopped at the bargain shop in attempt to buy J a couple of shirts so that he would stop wanting to do laundry. Unfortunately none of the name brand merchandise offered in Revelstoke suited his discerning taste. He didn't want Baby Gap or John Deer. We headed out onto the highway at 9:45 bound for Banff with B driving. I for one was glad to see Revelstoke in the rear view mirror and will probably avoid the place next time.
There was much construction between Golden and Banff and at one point we clocked about a 10 KM line of cars waiting to head west. We were somewhat delayed but overall made reasonable time arriving in Banff 2:00 PM or so.
Banff has the beauty of Jasper but with a lot more touristy shops and traffic. We checked into our pre-booked hotel, Red Carpet Inn, a major step up from the previous night, and finally decided to give into the requests for laundry. We took over 3 machines in the laundry area and did planning and swimming while the laundry went through. Overall, it wasn't too much of a waste of time.
We then went for supper and the Magpie And Stump, a Tex-Mex place.
After supper we strolled the main tourist area of Banff and noted the following points of interest: a drunken group of cross dressers possibly members of a wedding party, all streets in Banff are named after animals, Various touristy type items repeated many times in the various stores, a fully grown deer including antlers nibbling bushes on a busy street, large number of taxis for a town of this size, and of course the beauty of the surrounding mountains. Someone trying to park actually bumped into our car while a few of us were sitting in it. The bump was soft and no damage was evident.
Tomorrow we have a full day of activities planned before moving on to Calgary around Esuppertime. Looking forward to a less adventurous night.
Day 14 - July 23, 2010 11:59 PM
July 23, 2010
11:59 PM
Way laid by the highway.
"pass me my food" I said as I sat on the curb in front of the 50's style motel that had obviously been featured in many slasher films from the 80's. B ignored me as he laid on top of a vending machine counting the number of Hell's Angels motorcycles. J didn't hear me as he was too busy ranting into the video camera; something about dying before his time and needing to do laundry. D worried over P who was having major stomach pains and threatening to fertilize the grass beside the parking lot. S handed me my bag of McD's drive through (sadly, the second of the day) and asked if we could just please sleep in the van?
How did we get to this sorry state when the day began with such promise and potential? Read on fearless reader for a story that will both thrill and disgust you.
I sipped my diet coke and remembered how we left the hotel in Vancouver. We started toward Princeton to visit my Auntie D and uncle B. We headed out with B driving. We bmade good time and were about 30 KM past Hope. D noticed a sign saying check your fuel level. About 20 KM further we asked a construction crew where the next gas station was. 75 KM ahead on or 30 KM back. We decided that we needed to turn back.
Having filled up, with gas and grabbed McD's for the troops, we headed off to Princeton, again. We drove through some extremely nice country and arrived at Princeton about 2:30 PM.
We visited for an hour and a half with Auntie D and Uncle B. The filled us in on the history and layout of the Princeton area. Uncle B also gave us prairie folk some tips on how to drive more efficiently down the hills by shifting down instead of using the breaks. Who knew, us prairie folk never had to worry about that. Auntie D and Uncle B helped us map out our next leg to take in some orchards on our way to Kelowna.
We were back in the car at about 4:00 with D driving. We stopped for delicious apricots, peaches, cherries and blueberries. We hit Kelowna by about 6:30 PM stopped for ice-cream at the DQ and decided to drive on as we were all feeling fine.
We listened to a couple of my podcasts during the drive to Revelstoke and arrived about 9:30 PM. That's when things took a nasty turn.
We decided to find a room. Little did we know that there had been an accident to the east near Golden which had closed the highway. Therefore almost all the rooms in Revelstoke had been snapped up. We tried a few hotels. Finally the only hotel left with a room for us was Alpine Inn. The guy at the front desk agreed to rent us a room as long as we didn't use the kitchen. He opened the room. Although the cleanliness was questionable, D checked for bed bugs and pronounced it clear. Against a mixed judgment we decided to rent the room. Into the car to attempt to find supper.
Revelstoke at 10:30 PM does not offer many options. We stopped 1 guy who was carrying a pizza box to ask where pizza was available. He claimed his box contained "nachos" but we think we was delivering some of BC's finest natural plant life.
Finally the only choice was McD's but only the drive through. The person at the window was not used to large orders at that time of night. P, for some reason no longer wearing pants, used his charms and his employee card to get 50 percent off the order.
We returned to the hotel only to find that our key card would not work.
The "Ring for service" was apparently also not working. While we were deciding what to do we ate our supper in the parking lot. P had a disabling gut attack. Everyone was generally tired and miserable. A kind couple from another room let a couple of us use their bathroom while we plotted how we all were going to sleep in the van.
Finally at midnight the desk guy happened to show up and spent 10 to 15 minutes attempting to get into our room. He finally had to leave his card with us so we could use the room.
It was quite a scene to decide who had to use the beds. While there were no bed bugs, cleanliness of the room itself was an issue. The dead bugs in the bathroom and looking in the kitchen did not help either. We left our suitcases in the van to limit contamination. I finally told everyone to go to bed and went to sleep.
It was a peaceful night with the cigarette smoke drifting in from the parking lot and various people peaking in the windows as they passed. Very restful. Tomorrow it’s on to Banff.
11:59 PM
Way laid by the highway.
"pass me my food" I said as I sat on the curb in front of the 50's style motel that had obviously been featured in many slasher films from the 80's. B ignored me as he laid on top of a vending machine counting the number of Hell's Angels motorcycles. J didn't hear me as he was too busy ranting into the video camera; something about dying before his time and needing to do laundry. D worried over P who was having major stomach pains and threatening to fertilize the grass beside the parking lot. S handed me my bag of McD's drive through (sadly, the second of the day) and asked if we could just please sleep in the van?
How did we get to this sorry state when the day began with such promise and potential? Read on fearless reader for a story that will both thrill and disgust you.
I sipped my diet coke and remembered how we left the hotel in Vancouver. We started toward Princeton to visit my Auntie D and uncle B. We headed out with B driving. We bmade good time and were about 30 KM past Hope. D noticed a sign saying check your fuel level. About 20 KM further we asked a construction crew where the next gas station was. 75 KM ahead on or 30 KM back. We decided that we needed to turn back.
Having filled up, with gas and grabbed McD's for the troops, we headed off to Princeton, again. We drove through some extremely nice country and arrived at Princeton about 2:30 PM.
We visited for an hour and a half with Auntie D and Uncle B. The filled us in on the history and layout of the Princeton area. Uncle B also gave us prairie folk some tips on how to drive more efficiently down the hills by shifting down instead of using the breaks. Who knew, us prairie folk never had to worry about that. Auntie D and Uncle B helped us map out our next leg to take in some orchards on our way to Kelowna.
We were back in the car at about 4:00 with D driving. We stopped for delicious apricots, peaches, cherries and blueberries. We hit Kelowna by about 6:30 PM stopped for ice-cream at the DQ and decided to drive on as we were all feeling fine.
We listened to a couple of my podcasts during the drive to Revelstoke and arrived about 9:30 PM. That's when things took a nasty turn.
We decided to find a room. Little did we know that there had been an accident to the east near Golden which had closed the highway. Therefore almost all the rooms in Revelstoke had been snapped up. We tried a few hotels. Finally the only hotel left with a room for us was Alpine Inn. The guy at the front desk agreed to rent us a room as long as we didn't use the kitchen. He opened the room. Although the cleanliness was questionable, D checked for bed bugs and pronounced it clear. Against a mixed judgment we decided to rent the room. Into the car to attempt to find supper.
Revelstoke at 10:30 PM does not offer many options. We stopped 1 guy who was carrying a pizza box to ask where pizza was available. He claimed his box contained "nachos" but we think we was delivering some of BC's finest natural plant life.
Finally the only choice was McD's but only the drive through. The person at the window was not used to large orders at that time of night. P, for some reason no longer wearing pants, used his charms and his employee card to get 50 percent off the order.
We returned to the hotel only to find that our key card would not work.
The "Ring for service" was apparently also not working. While we were deciding what to do we ate our supper in the parking lot. P had a disabling gut attack. Everyone was generally tired and miserable. A kind couple from another room let a couple of us use their bathroom while we plotted how we all were going to sleep in the van.
Finally at midnight the desk guy happened to show up and spent 10 to 15 minutes attempting to get into our room. He finally had to leave his card with us so we could use the room.
It was quite a scene to decide who had to use the beds. While there were no bed bugs, cleanliness of the room itself was an issue. The dead bugs in the bathroom and looking in the kitchen did not help either. We left our suitcases in the van to limit contamination. I finally told everyone to go to bed and went to sleep.
It was a peaceful night with the cigarette smoke drifting in from the parking lot and various people peaking in the windows as they passed. Very restful. Tomorrow it’s on to Banff.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Day 13 - July 22, 2010 11:59 PM
July 22, 2010
11:59 PM
Diving and driving.
The boys were scheduled or a 9:00 AM scuba session. D got them down to the dock while I finished up packing at the hotel.
The guys got suited and sorted and were off on their adventure.
D and I packed up the car. D spent the morning wandering through the various art stores of Tofino while I caught up on my podcasts in the car (shopping is not my thing).
At 1:00 the scheduled time I heard on the radio there were gale warnings for the area with swells up to 2 meters. The diving party did not get back until 2:00 PM. Stories of fish they had seen were mixed in with descriptions of how cold they were. Apparently S could not pressurize his ears properly so was left snorkeling at the surface while the other dove. It sounded like they had a good time, but when pressed all admitted that diving in the Caribbean was more interesting as they saw more fish. They said the guy leading the tour was great and told many interesting stories about diving for the commercial fish farms. They also found out that the barges full of oil tanks we saw in the harbour were pushed out to the fish farms by tug boats.
On the road by 2:45. Along the way I put together sandwiches from the cooler as D drove. This was once again the very windy road with more than one big truck attempting to mate with our van. D was not impressed.
We once again stopped at Taylor River where P and J did some rock diving.
Back into the car in an attempt to get to Vancouver. B took over the driving. When we got to the ferry landing, the boat to Horseshoe bay had a 3 hour wait. If we drove 20 minutes we could catch a different ferry to a port further south. We decided to do that as it would balance out that we would gain an hour.
We had supper on the ferry during the 2 hour crossing. Since this was later in the day, the ferry did not seem as crowded but seemed to have more commercial truckers aboard.
Once across the search for a hotel started in the dark on unfamiliar highways. GPS finally lead us to a Day's Inn near the airport. Nerves a little frazzled from the long day we crashed and were in bed by midnight.
Tomorrow's goal is to visit with my Aunt and Uncle in Princeton on the way to kilona.
11:59 PM
Diving and driving.
The boys were scheduled or a 9:00 AM scuba session. D got them down to the dock while I finished up packing at the hotel.
The guys got suited and sorted and were off on their adventure.
D and I packed up the car. D spent the morning wandering through the various art stores of Tofino while I caught up on my podcasts in the car (shopping is not my thing).
At 1:00 the scheduled time I heard on the radio there were gale warnings for the area with swells up to 2 meters. The diving party did not get back until 2:00 PM. Stories of fish they had seen were mixed in with descriptions of how cold they were. Apparently S could not pressurize his ears properly so was left snorkeling at the surface while the other dove. It sounded like they had a good time, but when pressed all admitted that diving in the Caribbean was more interesting as they saw more fish. They said the guy leading the tour was great and told many interesting stories about diving for the commercial fish farms. They also found out that the barges full of oil tanks we saw in the harbour were pushed out to the fish farms by tug boats.
On the road by 2:45. Along the way I put together sandwiches from the cooler as D drove. This was once again the very windy road with more than one big truck attempting to mate with our van. D was not impressed.
We once again stopped at Taylor River where P and J did some rock diving.
Back into the car in an attempt to get to Vancouver. B took over the driving. When we got to the ferry landing, the boat to Horseshoe bay had a 3 hour wait. If we drove 20 minutes we could catch a different ferry to a port further south. We decided to do that as it would balance out that we would gain an hour.
We had supper on the ferry during the 2 hour crossing. Since this was later in the day, the ferry did not seem as crowded but seemed to have more commercial truckers aboard.
Once across the search for a hotel started in the dark on unfamiliar highways. GPS finally lead us to a Day's Inn near the airport. Nerves a little frazzled from the long day we crashed and were in bed by midnight.
Tomorrow's goal is to visit with my Aunt and Uncle in Princeton on the way to kilona.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Day 12 - July 21, 2010 11:30 PM
July 21, 2010
11:30 PM
The awesome power of nature.
We got up and out by 9:00 in Tofino. We found a breakfast place right along the water and were fascinated by star fish and watching fishers as they brought their catches out. Some of the fish were 4 or 5 feet long.
We then stopped by for info on scuba diving information for the 4 boys. A 9:00 AM session to last about 4 hours has been scheduled. Even though this will make us leave later than we preferred we will be flexible and take advantage of this opportunity. I wonder how much different the boys will find it. Here they will be diving in full wet suits including hoods and boots. This will be quite different from the diving they did in the Caribbean.
Then it was time for whale watching. We got suited up in snowmobile-like suits covered by a rubber jacket. Mine was extra tight and I began to sweat immediately. I couldn't really raise my arms. Everyone found the suits extremely uncomfortable.
We made our way to our 30 foot zodiac boat. This was much bigger than the zodiac J and I rode to see whales in Hudson Bay. There were benches to fit 3 people across the boat. Overall the boat could hold 30 people.
We were off. The boat would ride the waves and slam down. Many times it felt like a roller coaster ride. When not moving, the boat moved up and down with the waves. We made 4 different stops to see various marine animals. Sea sickness took its toll on our group. I felt somewhat sick when the boat was not travelling from place to place. P felt quite ill, and D was as close to losing her lunch that I've seen in quite a while. The boat driver offered around ginger to chew on for those who felt sick. His explanation? It usually helped 90 percent of people; either by making them feel better or making them throw up sooner.
During the 2.5 hour tour we saw: hump backed whales, grey whales, harbour seals, sea lions and harbour porpoises. We also saw a pair of bald eagles and a bald eagle's nest. We were very close to the whales, close enough to hear them blow and jump. We even were able to smell the horrible smell that occurs when a whale blows. These are massive animals and it was amazing to see them out in the powerful ocean. It sure made our little boat feel very small.
When we got back D was feeling so under the weather that instead of walking back, B went to get the van to bring her back to the hotel, about 2 blocks, admittedly all uphill.
After 15 minutes to recover S and I went to do some grocery shopping while D continued to recuperate. We bought enough supplies for a very late lunch and enough for breakfast and lunch tomorrow.
About 5:30 we headed out for a 1 KM hike through the rain forest. We kept finding these large gross looking things called banana slugs. They were the largest slugs we had ever seen, about the size of a finger but 5 inches long.
After the hike we went and checked out South Beach. Here we saw people surfing. The boys fooled around on the beach while the tide came in. They would roll a log which took 3 of them to lift, and the ocean would simply throw it back toward the beach. The roar of the waves was amazing and the force of the tide was relentless.
Seeing the force of the ocean both while being bobbed about in the zodiac today and witnessing the wave and tidal action really gave me pause to think about the BP oil spill. Why are we fighting against such forces to try and drill oil from under the ocean. There is an unlimited supply of kinetic energy in the waves and tides. We should be building more generator stations to harness this energy. It has to be a better way to get energy from the ocean.
For a late supper we went for fish and chips at a stand by the side of the road called Big Daddy's. I got my grease content for the week.
Tomorrow we will pack up while the guys are scuba diving and try and make a quick get away when they are finished. It is unclear whether we will make it to Nanaimo or Vancouver by tomorrow night. It depends on how we can catch the ferry.
Both D and I agree that although Tofino is a beautiful place and the rain forest was very interesting to see, we prefer our ocean experiences to be more tropical in nature.
11:30 PM
The awesome power of nature.
We got up and out by 9:00 in Tofino. We found a breakfast place right along the water and were fascinated by star fish and watching fishers as they brought their catches out. Some of the fish were 4 or 5 feet long.
We then stopped by for info on scuba diving information for the 4 boys. A 9:00 AM session to last about 4 hours has been scheduled. Even though this will make us leave later than we preferred we will be flexible and take advantage of this opportunity. I wonder how much different the boys will find it. Here they will be diving in full wet suits including hoods and boots. This will be quite different from the diving they did in the Caribbean.
Then it was time for whale watching. We got suited up in snowmobile-like suits covered by a rubber jacket. Mine was extra tight and I began to sweat immediately. I couldn't really raise my arms. Everyone found the suits extremely uncomfortable.
We made our way to our 30 foot zodiac boat. This was much bigger than the zodiac J and I rode to see whales in Hudson Bay. There were benches to fit 3 people across the boat. Overall the boat could hold 30 people.
We were off. The boat would ride the waves and slam down. Many times it felt like a roller coaster ride. When not moving, the boat moved up and down with the waves. We made 4 different stops to see various marine animals. Sea sickness took its toll on our group. I felt somewhat sick when the boat was not travelling from place to place. P felt quite ill, and D was as close to losing her lunch that I've seen in quite a while. The boat driver offered around ginger to chew on for those who felt sick. His explanation? It usually helped 90 percent of people; either by making them feel better or making them throw up sooner.
During the 2.5 hour tour we saw: hump backed whales, grey whales, harbour seals, sea lions and harbour porpoises. We also saw a pair of bald eagles and a bald eagle's nest. We were very close to the whales, close enough to hear them blow and jump. We even were able to smell the horrible smell that occurs when a whale blows. These are massive animals and it was amazing to see them out in the powerful ocean. It sure made our little boat feel very small.
When we got back D was feeling so under the weather that instead of walking back, B went to get the van to bring her back to the hotel, about 2 blocks, admittedly all uphill.
After 15 minutes to recover S and I went to do some grocery shopping while D continued to recuperate. We bought enough supplies for a very late lunch and enough for breakfast and lunch tomorrow.
About 5:30 we headed out for a 1 KM hike through the rain forest. We kept finding these large gross looking things called banana slugs. They were the largest slugs we had ever seen, about the size of a finger but 5 inches long.
After the hike we went and checked out South Beach. Here we saw people surfing. The boys fooled around on the beach while the tide came in. They would roll a log which took 3 of them to lift, and the ocean would simply throw it back toward the beach. The roar of the waves was amazing and the force of the tide was relentless.
Seeing the force of the ocean both while being bobbed about in the zodiac today and witnessing the wave and tidal action really gave me pause to think about the BP oil spill. Why are we fighting against such forces to try and drill oil from under the ocean. There is an unlimited supply of kinetic energy in the waves and tides. We should be building more generator stations to harness this energy. It has to be a better way to get energy from the ocean.
For a late supper we went for fish and chips at a stand by the side of the road called Big Daddy's. I got my grease content for the week.
Tomorrow we will pack up while the guys are scuba diving and try and make a quick get away when they are finished. It is unclear whether we will make it to Nanaimo or Vancouver by tomorrow night. It depends on how we can catch the ferry.
Both D and I agree that although Tofino is a beautiful place and the rain forest was very interesting to see, we prefer our ocean experiences to be more tropical in nature.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Day 11 - July 20, 2010 11:59 PM
July 20, 2010
11:59 PM
Traveling to Tofino.
We got up later in Nanaimo and loaded the car up for the final westward push to Tofino. We grabbed breakfast from McD's and did a quick stop to refill the cooler. We were off to Tofino by 11:00 AM.
The drive took us through really nice lake country gradually climbing into smaller mountains. At about 1:30 PM we stopped at a rest stop called Taylor River.
The kids found the clearest water they had ever seen. The water was clear right to the bottom with very little current. There were also diving rocks probably 30 to 35 feet high. We spent an hour as the kids enjoyed the diving into the river. Who knew that an unscheduled rest stop break would be one of the highlights of the trip.
We got back into the car and started the roller coaster ride down from the mountains toward the coast. These were probably some of the most twisty and steep roads we had encountered. As we made our way down we gradually entered the rain forest which in Canada means huge trees some of them larger in diameter than the car.
We arrived in Tofino about 4:30 PM. We found our hotel and went out on foot to explore. Tofino is a harbour town with amazingly steep roads leading up from the port. Most of the businesses consist of outfitters and tour operators. We watched a float plane take off from the harbour and saw all kinds of boats.
We booked a whale watching tour for tomorrow. The boys were interested in surfing, but lessons will take upwards of 4 hours which will be difficult to schedule in. We will be looking at a scuba diving option as this may take less time as they have had experience doing that.
All ocean activities require a wet suit because of the temperature of the water. Wet suit rentals are included in the activity prices.
Next we found a restaurant for supper. Turned out to be an organic, all natural restaurant which translated to expensive for six people. The food was really good and our server reminded us of a valley girl although it turned out she was originally from Winnipeg. Looks like tomorrow we'll be more selective and eat at a crab shack or something. Seafood rules the menus here.
After supper we decided to do one of the hikes in the area. It was a 1 KM hike on a board walk, many stairs up and down, through the massive trees to Schooner cove. The signs promised the possibility of a baby seal encounter on the beach. It was a nice but tiring walk. When we got to the cove, the tide was coming in quite quickly. We explored the beach and then walked back.
So far we note the lack of bugs of any kind during our hike. I also note the lack of birds with the exception of crows.
Tomorrow promises to be an interesting day. I hope the temperature warms a little as today it didn't get above 17 in Tofino.
11:59 PM
Traveling to Tofino.
We got up later in Nanaimo and loaded the car up for the final westward push to Tofino. We grabbed breakfast from McD's and did a quick stop to refill the cooler. We were off to Tofino by 11:00 AM.
The drive took us through really nice lake country gradually climbing into smaller mountains. At about 1:30 PM we stopped at a rest stop called Taylor River.
The kids found the clearest water they had ever seen. The water was clear right to the bottom with very little current. There were also diving rocks probably 30 to 35 feet high. We spent an hour as the kids enjoyed the diving into the river. Who knew that an unscheduled rest stop break would be one of the highlights of the trip.
We got back into the car and started the roller coaster ride down from the mountains toward the coast. These were probably some of the most twisty and steep roads we had encountered. As we made our way down we gradually entered the rain forest which in Canada means huge trees some of them larger in diameter than the car.
We arrived in Tofino about 4:30 PM. We found our hotel and went out on foot to explore. Tofino is a harbour town with amazingly steep roads leading up from the port. Most of the businesses consist of outfitters and tour operators. We watched a float plane take off from the harbour and saw all kinds of boats.
We booked a whale watching tour for tomorrow. The boys were interested in surfing, but lessons will take upwards of 4 hours which will be difficult to schedule in. We will be looking at a scuba diving option as this may take less time as they have had experience doing that.
All ocean activities require a wet suit because of the temperature of the water. Wet suit rentals are included in the activity prices.
Next we found a restaurant for supper. Turned out to be an organic, all natural restaurant which translated to expensive for six people. The food was really good and our server reminded us of a valley girl although it turned out she was originally from Winnipeg. Looks like tomorrow we'll be more selective and eat at a crab shack or something. Seafood rules the menus here.
After supper we decided to do one of the hikes in the area. It was a 1 KM hike on a board walk, many stairs up and down, through the massive trees to Schooner cove. The signs promised the possibility of a baby seal encounter on the beach. It was a nice but tiring walk. When we got to the cove, the tide was coming in quite quickly. We explored the beach and then walked back.
So far we note the lack of bugs of any kind during our hike. I also note the lack of birds with the exception of crows.
Tomorrow promises to be an interesting day. I hope the temperature warms a little as today it didn't get above 17 in Tofino.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Day 10 - July 19, 2010 11
July 19, 2010
11:59 PM
Next stop, Nanaimo.
We woke up and breakfasted again at our Vancouver hotel. Our server was an extremely friendly older lady who remembered us from the day before and treated us incredibly well. We packed up, checked out and went to do a few things we wanted to do before moving on to Nanaimo.
We visited China town. It was extremely authentic looking. In a small perhaps 4 by 4 block area you got the feeling you had been transported to an entirely different city. It included everything including an outdoor market with live fish being quartered while you wait. A movie called Fringe was being filmed in the same area.
We then drove a few more blocks and were in gas town. This was a warehouse looking district reminding us of Old Market Square in Winnipeg.
Next we once again went to Stanley park to check out the aquarium. Due to the length of the line to get in, and our needing to move on, we decided to skip the aquarium on this trip.
Next down to Horseshoe Bay to catch the Ferry to Nanaimo. We arrived at 1:20 and were told we would make the 3:10 ferry. We waited listening to music and generally resting until 3:10.
We got on the ferry and explored the 2 passenger decks during the ride over. The ferry we fully equipped with a couple of restaurants, a video games are for the kids and both a fully enclosed and a sun deck for passengers. I was surprised with the speed that vehicles were load and unloaded from the ferry. The BC government has added a naturalist talk to each of the ferry rides. She was an animated speaker to told about many of the animals in the Georgia Strait. Very interesting.
We arrived in Nanaimo and searched out a hotel since we had not done a pre-booking. We then decided that a swim was in order before supper.
Based on advice from the front desk person we drove 10 minutes or so north to a lake called Westwood. This was an extremely
clear lake which got deep quickly. The water was surprisingly warm and there was a floating dock. We all had great fun swimming and diving until 8:30 or so.
We then got a general feel of Nanaimo by driving around looking for a place to have supper. We were feeling uninspired so B decided to pick the number 21. We would go to the 21st restaurant listed on the GPS for the area. This worked out well as the food was excellent at Little Georges.
We have arranged an extra night's stay in Tafino (our next destination). We will be leaving first thing in the morning to drive to Tafino.
11:59 PM
Next stop, Nanaimo.
We woke up and breakfasted again at our Vancouver hotel. Our server was an extremely friendly older lady who remembered us from the day before and treated us incredibly well. We packed up, checked out and went to do a few things we wanted to do before moving on to Nanaimo.
We visited China town. It was extremely authentic looking. In a small perhaps 4 by 4 block area you got the feeling you had been transported to an entirely different city. It included everything including an outdoor market with live fish being quartered while you wait. A movie called Fringe was being filmed in the same area.
We then drove a few more blocks and were in gas town. This was a warehouse looking district reminding us of Old Market Square in Winnipeg.
Next we once again went to Stanley park to check out the aquarium. Due to the length of the line to get in, and our needing to move on, we decided to skip the aquarium on this trip.
Next down to Horseshoe Bay to catch the Ferry to Nanaimo. We arrived at 1:20 and were told we would make the 3:10 ferry. We waited listening to music and generally resting until 3:10.
We got on the ferry and explored the 2 passenger decks during the ride over. The ferry we fully equipped with a couple of restaurants, a video games are for the kids and both a fully enclosed and a sun deck for passengers. I was surprised with the speed that vehicles were load and unloaded from the ferry. The BC government has added a naturalist talk to each of the ferry rides. She was an animated speaker to told about many of the animals in the Georgia Strait. Very interesting.
We arrived in Nanaimo and searched out a hotel since we had not done a pre-booking. We then decided that a swim was in order before supper.
Based on advice from the front desk person we drove 10 minutes or so north to a lake called Westwood. This was an extremely
clear lake which got deep quickly. The water was surprisingly warm and there was a floating dock. We all had great fun swimming and diving until 8:30 or so.
We then got a general feel of Nanaimo by driving around looking for a place to have supper. We were feeling uninspired so B decided to pick the number 21. We would go to the 21st restaurant listed on the GPS for the area. This worked out well as the food was excellent at Little Georges.
We have arranged an extra night's stay in Tafino (our next destination). We will be leaving first thing in the morning to drive to Tafino.
Day 9 - July 18, 2010 11:59 PM
July 18, 2010
11:59 PM
Vancouver, you bent us, but didn't break us.
We got up early as we had much to see. After a ridiculously large but tasty breakfast in the hotel (kids eat free), we were off.
First stop Lynn Canyon suspension bridge. According to our hosts R and D this bridge has all the attributes of the Capilano with none of the expense. We have been on suspension bridges before, many of them more swingy but without the waterfall view. Many ghosts inhabit Lyn Canyon as there are many memorials to those who died at that place.
Next, off to Capilano salmon hatchery. He you get to see many species of salmon from freshly hatched eggs to 30 pound salmon. The damn is set up so that you can watch the fish jump from pool to pool. This is a breeding program to increase the number of salmon that are being introduced to the rivers.
Off to Stanley Park. Everyone in Vancouver was their biking, jogging or roller blading. We saw people playing tennis, lawn bowling and cricket. We visited the totem poles but missed the aquarium. We spent some time on the beach and S and J rescued a fish from a Seagull.
A quick refreshing drink and we were off to our next stop, the Olympic Caldron. With S directing using a paper map (since this was not in our GPS, we took a long way round including twice around Stanley Park before finding the site. During our stop we saw 3 planes land on the bay directly in front of us.
We then texted R and D and agreed to meet them at their condo (a 10 block distance away) before continuing on to Granville Island. Well, we got a little lost with one way streets etc, so the 10 block distance took 45 minutes via an unplanned yet short visit to West Vancouver. Frazzled and needing a break we After a refreshing fresh fruit break we decided to visit Granville Island before going out to supper.
Things are smaller in Vancouver than they are billed. We arrived on Granville Island and got caught up in some high end car dealerships and immediately drove off the island. We then backtracked and parked and instead of Granville Island ended up at Kitsalano beach. The clothing optional billing of Kitsalano was not apparent in the area we were, but we didn’t make it all the way to the ocean. We decided to try one more time.
Third time lucky, we parked an walked about. The area reminded us of The Forks in Winnipeg which makes sense since The Forks was based on Granville Island.
R and D then took us to one of their favourite local Chinese restaurants, Hons. The food was excellent and R and D were great hosts for our weary troop.
Refreshed from supper, we decided to visit the Night Market in Richmond. This is where you can barter for cheap knock offs of products all in the atmosphere of streets bordered by warehouses and abandoned railway lines. The market was smaller than we thought it would be. S bought a radio controlled helicopter, I bought a patch cord to fit iPods into the car stereo and J bought a samari sword. B, P and D being the smart ones didn’t buy anything.
We left the market and made our way back to the hotel with everyone very tired from the day's activities.
11:59 PM
Vancouver, you bent us, but didn't break us.
We got up early as we had much to see. After a ridiculously large but tasty breakfast in the hotel (kids eat free), we were off.
First stop Lynn Canyon suspension bridge. According to our hosts R and D this bridge has all the attributes of the Capilano with none of the expense. We have been on suspension bridges before, many of them more swingy but without the waterfall view. Many ghosts inhabit Lyn Canyon as there are many memorials to those who died at that place.
Next, off to Capilano salmon hatchery. He you get to see many species of salmon from freshly hatched eggs to 30 pound salmon. The damn is set up so that you can watch the fish jump from pool to pool. This is a breeding program to increase the number of salmon that are being introduced to the rivers.
Off to Stanley Park. Everyone in Vancouver was their biking, jogging or roller blading. We saw people playing tennis, lawn bowling and cricket. We visited the totem poles but missed the aquarium. We spent some time on the beach and S and J rescued a fish from a Seagull.
A quick refreshing drink and we were off to our next stop, the Olympic Caldron. With S directing using a paper map (since this was not in our GPS, we took a long way round including twice around Stanley Park before finding the site. During our stop we saw 3 planes land on the bay directly in front of us.
We then texted R and D and agreed to meet them at their condo (a 10 block distance away) before continuing on to Granville Island. Well, we got a little lost with one way streets etc, so the 10 block distance took 45 minutes via an unplanned yet short visit to West Vancouver. Frazzled and needing a break we After a refreshing fresh fruit break we decided to visit Granville Island before going out to supper.
Things are smaller in Vancouver than they are billed. We arrived on Granville Island and got caught up in some high end car dealerships and immediately drove off the island. We then backtracked and parked and instead of Granville Island ended up at Kitsalano beach. The clothing optional billing of Kitsalano was not apparent in the area we were, but we didn’t make it all the way to the ocean. We decided to try one more time.
Third time lucky, we parked an walked about. The area reminded us of The Forks in Winnipeg which makes sense since The Forks was based on Granville Island.
R and D then took us to one of their favourite local Chinese restaurants, Hons. The food was excellent and R and D were great hosts for our weary troop.
Refreshed from supper, we decided to visit the Night Market in Richmond. This is where you can barter for cheap knock offs of products all in the atmosphere of streets bordered by warehouses and abandoned railway lines. The market was smaller than we thought it would be. S bought a radio controlled helicopter, I bought a patch cord to fit iPods into the car stereo and J bought a samari sword. B, P and D being the smart ones didn’t buy anything.
We left the market and made our way back to the hotel with everyone very tired from the day's activities.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Day 8 - July 17, 2010 11:59 PM
July 17, 2010
11:59 PM
We got up early in Penticton and were on the road by 8:45 AM. We made 1 stop for refreshments, got stuck in a 20 minute traffic jam in Surrey. We made it to downtown Vancouver by 1:30 PM. The boys were put off by the crowds and general look of downtown including Hastings and Main streets. Their opinions did change later in the day.
Unfortunately this is the weekend of the Vancouver Folk Festival so there were very few hotel rooms available in downtown Vancouver. One of the hotel people phone around for us and we found a place in North Vancouver. We were settled in by 3:45 PM.
We then contacted our friend R and D who live in Vancouver and had previously offered their assistance as personalized tour planners. They invited us to their condo for a drink and planning session.
Their condo is on English bay along the beach just next to the Grandville Island ferry. They welcomed us up to their condo, introduced us to their dog Deefer and gave us several suggestions as what to see. They also offered for us to park our car in their underground parking garage as we toured around the area. What a beautiful view from the 25th floor living room. Overall the building and area which they called their "backyard" was very urban and very interesting to see. Thanks to R and D for generously giving up their time to meet and help out our troop.
We set out to walk and experience the happenings around the rectangle bordered by Beach Road, Denman, Robson and how. It was an interesting mix of people on the beach, buskers, restaurants, bars and shops. We spent about 3 hours touring the area on foot, picking up supper along the way. Everyone was interested to see the liveliness of this area of the city.
We made our way back to the hotel and armed with the extra info supplied by R and D planned out the next 1.5 to 2 days.
R and D also mentioned that there was a fireworks competition happening on Wednesday and Saturday. We think that juggling our schedule may be a bit much to try and fit this event in. It sounds like there are a massive amount of people and you would need to invest 5 or 6 hours to ensure a good viewing point along English bay.
We will be meeting up with R and D again tomorrow late in the afternoon for more site seeing and supper.
11:59 PM
We got up early in Penticton and were on the road by 8:45 AM. We made 1 stop for refreshments, got stuck in a 20 minute traffic jam in Surrey. We made it to downtown Vancouver by 1:30 PM. The boys were put off by the crowds and general look of downtown including Hastings and Main streets. Their opinions did change later in the day.
Unfortunately this is the weekend of the Vancouver Folk Festival so there were very few hotel rooms available in downtown Vancouver. One of the hotel people phone around for us and we found a place in North Vancouver. We were settled in by 3:45 PM.
We then contacted our friend R and D who live in Vancouver and had previously offered their assistance as personalized tour planners. They invited us to their condo for a drink and planning session.
Their condo is on English bay along the beach just next to the Grandville Island ferry. They welcomed us up to their condo, introduced us to their dog Deefer and gave us several suggestions as what to see. They also offered for us to park our car in their underground parking garage as we toured around the area. What a beautiful view from the 25th floor living room. Overall the building and area which they called their "backyard" was very urban and very interesting to see. Thanks to R and D for generously giving up their time to meet and help out our troop.
We set out to walk and experience the happenings around the rectangle bordered by Beach Road, Denman, Robson and how. It was an interesting mix of people on the beach, buskers, restaurants, bars and shops. We spent about 3 hours touring the area on foot, picking up supper along the way. Everyone was interested to see the liveliness of this area of the city.
We made our way back to the hotel and armed with the extra info supplied by R and D planned out the next 1.5 to 2 days.
R and D also mentioned that there was a fireworks competition happening on Wednesday and Saturday. We think that juggling our schedule may be a bit much to try and fit this event in. It sounds like there are a massive amount of people and you would need to invest 5 or 6 hours to ensure a good viewing point along English bay.
We will be meeting up with R and D again tomorrow late in the afternoon for more site seeing and supper.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Day 7 - July 16, 2010 11:45 PM
July 16, 2010
11:45 PM
We continued our trip toward our stop at Summerland. Along the way we should have went around Kelowna instead of driving through it. We didn't realize the size of Kelowna. Also on our way out we got stuck in a traffic jam for about 20 minutes because a light was not working.
We arrived at our hotel in Summerland. We immediately dropped our stuff off and went to Powell beach. The lake was warm enough for me to swim but everyone else wimped out and simply splashed near the shore.
We then went back to the hotel and soaked for a bit in the tiny pool until supper time.
We took a trip to Penticton in search of scenery and supper. We found Penticton to be a very nice looking city with a great board walk area along the lake.
After supper we took a very scenic drive up Carmi street which went directly up one of the mountains. Multi-million homes were spread across the mountain side. The higher we got up the mountain the bigger and more majestic the houses were. This neighborhood seemed to also come with its own herd of deer which just seemed to wonder throughout the neighborhood.
We saw many lavish decks on the houses as many times there were no backyards due to the slope of the land. We also saw a few hammocks which were hung off of cliffs with a rope to pull yourself back up to the backyard. Extremely interesting drive through a very ritzy part of Penticton.
We got back to the hotel and prepared for tomorrow. Our goal is Vancouver. GPS says 4 hours, but Google maps say longer. We plan to be on the road early. Another goal for tomorrow is to stop and buy some of the fresh fruit that is offered at many stands along the road.
11:45 PM
We continued our trip toward our stop at Summerland. Along the way we should have went around Kelowna instead of driving through it. We didn't realize the size of Kelowna. Also on our way out we got stuck in a traffic jam for about 20 minutes because a light was not working.
We arrived at our hotel in Summerland. We immediately dropped our stuff off and went to Powell beach. The lake was warm enough for me to swim but everyone else wimped out and simply splashed near the shore.
We then went back to the hotel and soaked for a bit in the tiny pool until supper time.
We took a trip to Penticton in search of scenery and supper. We found Penticton to be a very nice looking city with a great board walk area along the lake.
After supper we took a very scenic drive up Carmi street which went directly up one of the mountains. Multi-million homes were spread across the mountain side. The higher we got up the mountain the bigger and more majestic the houses were. This neighborhood seemed to also come with its own herd of deer which just seemed to wonder throughout the neighborhood.
We saw many lavish decks on the houses as many times there were no backyards due to the slope of the land. We also saw a few hammocks which were hung off of cliffs with a rope to pull yourself back up to the backyard. Extremely interesting drive through a very ritzy part of Penticton.
We got back to the hotel and prepared for tomorrow. Our goal is Vancouver. GPS says 4 hours, but Google maps say longer. We plan to be on the road early. Another goal for tomorrow is to stop and buy some of the fresh fruit that is offered at many stands along the road.
Day 7 - July 16, 2010 1:30 PM
July 16, 2010
1:30 PM
We got up in Revelstoke and got packed up and left the hotel by 10:00 AM.
We decided to eat on the road so we went to a "genuine MacDonald’s". We got there just as they were stopping serving breakfast so had an interesting mix of leftover breakfast food and lunch.
We headed out and stopped at a few tourist traps including helicopter rides to look at the valley and a ghost town. Prices looked a little high so we continued on.
Saw a moose crossing sign and a first, also a cow crossing sign.
At 1:00 PM we had the closest call to a car accident that we have had so far. P was driving and a red truck slammed their breaks on 80 to 0 without any regard for people behind them P was not following too close, but the sudden stop was very unexpected. P's quick reaction time of slamming our breaks and swerving onto the shoulder avoided the accident. We had to pull over and collect ourselves for a few minutes. There were 4 or 5 cars behind us they also had to swerve as well as a couple trucks. That red truck driver could have caused a 5 or 6 car pile up. Pretty scary.
P continued driving until we hit Vernon BC where we stopped for drinks. Temperature is 27 C. We are around 100 KM away from our destination in Summerland.
1:30 PM
We got up in Revelstoke and got packed up and left the hotel by 10:00 AM.
We decided to eat on the road so we went to a "genuine MacDonald’s". We got there just as they were stopping serving breakfast so had an interesting mix of leftover breakfast food and lunch.
We headed out and stopped at a few tourist traps including helicopter rides to look at the valley and a ghost town. Prices looked a little high so we continued on.
Saw a moose crossing sign and a first, also a cow crossing sign.
At 1:00 PM we had the closest call to a car accident that we have had so far. P was driving and a red truck slammed their breaks on 80 to 0 without any regard for people behind them P was not following too close, but the sudden stop was very unexpected. P's quick reaction time of slamming our breaks and swerving onto the shoulder avoided the accident. We had to pull over and collect ourselves for a few minutes. There were 4 or 5 cars behind us they also had to swerve as well as a couple trucks. That red truck driver could have caused a 5 or 6 car pile up. Pretty scary.
P continued driving until we hit Vernon BC where we stopped for drinks. Temperature is 27 C. We are around 100 KM away from our destination in Summerland.
Day 6 - July 16, 2010 11:30 PM
July 15, 2010
11:30 PM
We woke up in Lake Louise and packed the car up for the travel day to Revelstoke by 9:00 AM. We then went in search of breakfast. We have decided that if someone wants to open a business in Lake Louise it could be a breakfast place as the only quick one had a very large line up.
We ended going back to our hotel and eating at the breakfast buffet, kind of pricy like most things in Lake Louise. During breakfast P seemed to attract the attentions of a couple of our overly attentive servers. We are not sure what the female's name was, but Claude seem to be quite intrigued with P's muscle shirt. The fact that Claude is probably in his early 60s made it even more uncomfortable for P. This of course has been cause for teasing for the rest of the day.
Off to book horseback riding activities and tried 2 different stables. All rides were booked up, so we will have to leave this for later in the trip.
Next, we went in search of Lake Louise to verified that it is the most picturesque lake any of us have seen. I for one was surprised by the relative small size of the lake. The lake was framed by 3 mountains with the middle one having the top covered in snow.
We then went through the famous Fairmont hotel on the shores of Lake Louise. D, P B and S snuck up to the 5th floor and gave themselves an unguided and unofficial tour of one of the rooms. J and I chickened out and waited downstairs. Apparently the rooms were huge and the view was of course spectacular.
Off to Moraine Lake, the lake pictured on the back of the 20 dollar bill. The boys did lots of rock climbing while D and I walked along the shore. This lake has amazingly blue water and is framed by 6 or 8 mountains.
Back to Lake Louise for a tank of gas in preparation for the 4 hour trip to Revelstoke BC. We started out about 3:00 PM. B began the driving and about an hour in, D took over. The road was once again a spectacular view. There were many interesting things along the way with the tunnels cut through the mountain, the runaway roads for trucks and the nets to catch falling rocks being just a few. Many pictures of scenery during this portion of the trip were taken.
About 20 or 25 KM from Revelstoke we made a quick stop to see giant cedar trees. The Weather had warmed up to 27 C by this point and the walk through the cedars was extremely humid. The .5 KM walk to see the giant cedars was great. Some of the trees were over 400 years old and more than 6 people with arms out stretched in circumference.
We arrived in Revelstoke and found our hotel, a far cry from the luxury of the day before. It looks like this hotel does most of its business in the winter as there is only 1 other group staying here besides us.
We got set up and used the water park passes which came with the room. This was an indoor pool elsewhere in the town which included a Lazy River type whirlpool, a pool suitable for diving. Everyone had a great time and burned off some energy during the 2 hours we were there.
We stopped at a pharmacy to pick up some stuff for S’’s skin problem. We then went for supper at Bad Paul's a restaurant which had a live band playing. The food was excellent.
Back to the room to organize everyone into bed. Tomorrow we will leave Revelstoke early to make our way to Summerland and see what we can see along the way.
11:30 PM
We woke up in Lake Louise and packed the car up for the travel day to Revelstoke by 9:00 AM. We then went in search of breakfast. We have decided that if someone wants to open a business in Lake Louise it could be a breakfast place as the only quick one had a very large line up.
We ended going back to our hotel and eating at the breakfast buffet, kind of pricy like most things in Lake Louise. During breakfast P seemed to attract the attentions of a couple of our overly attentive servers. We are not sure what the female's name was, but Claude seem to be quite intrigued with P's muscle shirt. The fact that Claude is probably in his early 60s made it even more uncomfortable for P. This of course has been cause for teasing for the rest of the day.
Off to book horseback riding activities and tried 2 different stables. All rides were booked up, so we will have to leave this for later in the trip.
Next, we went in search of Lake Louise to verified that it is the most picturesque lake any of us have seen. I for one was surprised by the relative small size of the lake. The lake was framed by 3 mountains with the middle one having the top covered in snow.
We then went through the famous Fairmont hotel on the shores of Lake Louise. D, P B and S snuck up to the 5th floor and gave themselves an unguided and unofficial tour of one of the rooms. J and I chickened out and waited downstairs. Apparently the rooms were huge and the view was of course spectacular.
Off to Moraine Lake, the lake pictured on the back of the 20 dollar bill. The boys did lots of rock climbing while D and I walked along the shore. This lake has amazingly blue water and is framed by 6 or 8 mountains.
Back to Lake Louise for a tank of gas in preparation for the 4 hour trip to Revelstoke BC. We started out about 3:00 PM. B began the driving and about an hour in, D took over. The road was once again a spectacular view. There were many interesting things along the way with the tunnels cut through the mountain, the runaway roads for trucks and the nets to catch falling rocks being just a few. Many pictures of scenery during this portion of the trip were taken.
About 20 or 25 KM from Revelstoke we made a quick stop to see giant cedar trees. The Weather had warmed up to 27 C by this point and the walk through the cedars was extremely humid. The .5 KM walk to see the giant cedars was great. Some of the trees were over 400 years old and more than 6 people with arms out stretched in circumference.
We arrived in Revelstoke and found our hotel, a far cry from the luxury of the day before. It looks like this hotel does most of its business in the winter as there is only 1 other group staying here besides us.
We got set up and used the water park passes which came with the room. This was an indoor pool elsewhere in the town which included a Lazy River type whirlpool, a pool suitable for diving. Everyone had a great time and burned off some energy during the 2 hours we were there.
We stopped at a pharmacy to pick up some stuff for S’’s skin problem. We then went for supper at Bad Paul's a restaurant which had a live band playing. The food was excellent.
Back to the room to organize everyone into bed. Tomorrow we will leave Revelstoke early to make our way to Summerland and see what we can see along the way.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Day 5 - July 14, 2010 10:30 PM
July 14, 2010
10:30 PM
Today was a day of travel down highway 93 by reputation, the prettiest highway in Canada.
We got up in Jasper and found that although cloudy, the rain had stopped and the cloud looked like it was going to lift. We decided to pack up early and hit the "Early Bird" tour for the Whistler's tram. If you arrived at the top before 10:30 AM breakfast is included with the price of your ticket. We got packed up and left the hotel by 9:00 AM. We caught the 9:45 tram and made it to the top.
The tram ride is 7 minutes long and each tram car holds 20 to 30 people. We couldn't see much until we passed through the lower level of clouds. The elevation from the top to the bottom is about 1,000metres.
We had a reasonable breakfast, except for D, who had extra hair under her pancake.
We then walked around the board walk and everyone but me climbed the snowy, slippery summit.
They encountered several of the Whistler marmots which are gopher looking animals for which the mountain is named.
We took the tram down and were on the road again by 12:00 noon.
Next we again drove up the Miette Lake road. A beautiful drive. We saw the following animals during the 2 hours it took u to drive up and down: 2 elk 3 black bears. Even though signs say don't approach or feed wildlife several people went right up to the elk and 1 child tried to feed 1 a peanut butter sandwich.
Next we stopped at Athabasca falls. An interpreter offered a feel of black and grizzly bear skin. The falls had carved it way into the rocks.
Back in the car and the next stop was a glacier. There were signs showing how far the glacier has shrunk since 1896. There was about a kilometer walk up to the glacier. The boys went further and found some pure blue ice which looked extremely clear.
Back in the car again and onward to Lake Louise. We encountered a baby and mother sheep on the road.
The scenery along the way lived up to the reputation of the highway. We arrived in Lake Louise around 6:45 PM.
We found our hotel Lake Louise Inn which is a high class ski lodge. We have a chalet looking apartment with kitchen, 2 bathrooms, loft bedrooms and enough beds for all. J has immediately said that we wants to come back for a week during the winter to stay here and snowboard.
After supper we hit the pool, and decided to do a few loads of laundry since the laundry was conveniently located. Band P went for a work out at the 24 hour gym facility, J drank a pot of coffee. S is reacting to the large amounts of chlorine he has been exposed to. We will have to get him some type of stuff for his skin.
Internet was having problems so I was unable to post today’s blog.
We are still deciding on the activities for tomorrow. The goal for tomorrow is Revelstoke BC.
10:30 PM
Today was a day of travel down highway 93 by reputation, the prettiest highway in Canada.
We got up in Jasper and found that although cloudy, the rain had stopped and the cloud looked like it was going to lift. We decided to pack up early and hit the "Early Bird" tour for the Whistler's tram. If you arrived at the top before 10:30 AM breakfast is included with the price of your ticket. We got packed up and left the hotel by 9:00 AM. We caught the 9:45 tram and made it to the top.
The tram ride is 7 minutes long and each tram car holds 20 to 30 people. We couldn't see much until we passed through the lower level of clouds. The elevation from the top to the bottom is about 1,000metres.
We had a reasonable breakfast, except for D, who had extra hair under her pancake.
We then walked around the board walk and everyone but me climbed the snowy, slippery summit.
They encountered several of the Whistler marmots which are gopher looking animals for which the mountain is named.
We took the tram down and were on the road again by 12:00 noon.
Next we again drove up the Miette Lake road. A beautiful drive. We saw the following animals during the 2 hours it took u to drive up and down: 2 elk 3 black bears. Even though signs say don't approach or feed wildlife several people went right up to the elk and 1 child tried to feed 1 a peanut butter sandwich.
Next we stopped at Athabasca falls. An interpreter offered a feel of black and grizzly bear skin. The falls had carved it way into the rocks.
Back in the car and the next stop was a glacier. There were signs showing how far the glacier has shrunk since 1896. There was about a kilometer walk up to the glacier. The boys went further and found some pure blue ice which looked extremely clear.
Back in the car again and onward to Lake Louise. We encountered a baby and mother sheep on the road.
The scenery along the way lived up to the reputation of the highway. We arrived in Lake Louise around 6:45 PM.
We found our hotel Lake Louise Inn which is a high class ski lodge. We have a chalet looking apartment with kitchen, 2 bathrooms, loft bedrooms and enough beds for all. J has immediately said that we wants to come back for a week during the winter to stay here and snowboard.
After supper we hit the pool, and decided to do a few loads of laundry since the laundry was conveniently located. Band P went for a work out at the 24 hour gym facility, J drank a pot of coffee. S is reacting to the large amounts of chlorine he has been exposed to. We will have to get him some type of stuff for his skin.
Internet was having problems so I was unable to post today’s blog.
We are still deciding on the activities for tomorrow. The goal for tomorrow is Revelstoke BC.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Day 4 - July 13, 2010 11:30 PM
July 13, 2010
11:30 PM
Well, with the power out and people complaining they were hungry, we broke out the car food from the plug-in cooler to keep the peace until the power was restored. I also had visions of being stranded in Jasper and not being able to hit the next scheduled stop in Lake Louise because we couldn't buy gas for the van.
\The power finally came back on at 9:00 PM. we jumped into the van and filled it up for the morning. We then went for supper at an Italian/Greek place which turned out to be quite good. At supper we changed B's name to Buzz and talked about how Greek music reminds P of Borat movies. Culture is indeed alive and well. We also learned how to make a flame thrower from a water pistol, a lighter, gasoline and a butter knife. The Internet is a very educational place.
Another ongoing theme is how certain people here look like friends at home. Work continues on a theory as to why that is.
I have also contacted my Aunt in Princeton and will be confirming the exact date of our visit later in the week.
The plan now is to attempt to ride the Jasper Tram in the morning before heading out. Of course this will depend on how much the clouds clear out overnight; at least the rain has now stopped.
Jasper is a beautiful place and I am sure would have been a lot better if the weather had cooperated. Oh well, you can’t control such things but rather make the best with the time that you have.
11:30 PM
Well, with the power out and people complaining they were hungry, we broke out the car food from the plug-in cooler to keep the peace until the power was restored. I also had visions of being stranded in Jasper and not being able to hit the next scheduled stop in Lake Louise because we couldn't buy gas for the van.
\The power finally came back on at 9:00 PM. we jumped into the van and filled it up for the morning. We then went for supper at an Italian/Greek place which turned out to be quite good. At supper we changed B's name to Buzz and talked about how Greek music reminds P of Borat movies. Culture is indeed alive and well. We also learned how to make a flame thrower from a water pistol, a lighter, gasoline and a butter knife. The Internet is a very educational place.
Another ongoing theme is how certain people here look like friends at home. Work continues on a theory as to why that is.
I have also contacted my Aunt in Princeton and will be confirming the exact date of our visit later in the week.
The plan now is to attempt to ride the Jasper Tram in the morning before heading out. Of course this will depend on how much the clouds clear out overnight; at least the rain has now stopped.
Jasper is a beautiful place and I am sure would have been a lot better if the weather had cooperated. Oh well, you can’t control such things but rather make the best with the time that you have.
Day 4 - July 13, 2010 7:00 PM
July 13, 2010
7:00 PM
The adventure in Jasper continues.
Rain, rain rain and more rain. Not just rain but pouring rain at 6 degrees Celsius, which of course means snow up the mountains.
We woke up to rain at 8:00 and decided to let everyone sleep as our plans would not work well in rain. We finally got everyone out and about at 12:00 PM.
We went to the "Soft Rock Cafe" for the all-day breakfast then spent an hour or so shopping the many, but much alike tourist shops of Jasper. We loaded up on some baked goods from the Bear Paw bakery and headed out.
Our goal was the town dump. We had heard that's where to go to see bears in action. We drove the 15 minutes or so to the dump to find that it is now a controlled gated dump. We then headed back toward Jasper.
We decided to take a side trip to Malaigne canyon and Malaigne lake road. This is a 44 KM windy road. We almost immediately saw a fox eating some type of large rodent.
As we continued up the road, the snow became more and more think on the edges of the road. At one point we stopped at a viewing point and the boys built a 4 foot snowman. We then continued upward with the snow continuing to get worse and the rain/sleet continuing to fall with an outside temperature of 0 degrees Celsius.
We decided to turn around at about the 20 KM mark as we noticed our gas supply was of a concern to some people in the car.
On the way back, we had an encounter with a 10 point elk. The elk remained about 20 feet from the road quietly stripping a tree of leaves for around 15 minutes. Several cars backed up along the road as we all watched.
We stopped at Malaigne canyon in the pouring rain and walked one of the suspended bridges which cross the canyon in several places. This one was directly over a waterfall.
We made it back to town with enough gas and went back to the hotel. D returned from the front desk with the news that the road we were on was rated as poor winter driving conditions. Poor winter driving conditions on Jul 13?? It's probably a good thing we turned back.
B and P opted to go and find workout facilities at an associated hotel to ours. B and J opted for the hot tub.
At 7:00 the electrical power at the hotel went out. The hallways are extremely dark. Some light comes into the rooms from outside, even though it is a very cloudy day. B and P returned with the news that the work out facilities consisted of 2 broken machines and that the power is off all over town. We now wait to see when the power gets restored.
7:00 PM
The adventure in Jasper continues.
Rain, rain rain and more rain. Not just rain but pouring rain at 6 degrees Celsius, which of course means snow up the mountains.
We woke up to rain at 8:00 and decided to let everyone sleep as our plans would not work well in rain. We finally got everyone out and about at 12:00 PM.
We went to the "Soft Rock Cafe" for the all-day breakfast then spent an hour or so shopping the many, but much alike tourist shops of Jasper. We loaded up on some baked goods from the Bear Paw bakery and headed out.
Our goal was the town dump. We had heard that's where to go to see bears in action. We drove the 15 minutes or so to the dump to find that it is now a controlled gated dump. We then headed back toward Jasper.
We decided to take a side trip to Malaigne canyon and Malaigne lake road. This is a 44 KM windy road. We almost immediately saw a fox eating some type of large rodent.
As we continued up the road, the snow became more and more think on the edges of the road. At one point we stopped at a viewing point and the boys built a 4 foot snowman. We then continued upward with the snow continuing to get worse and the rain/sleet continuing to fall with an outside temperature of 0 degrees Celsius.
We decided to turn around at about the 20 KM mark as we noticed our gas supply was of a concern to some people in the car.
On the way back, we had an encounter with a 10 point elk. The elk remained about 20 feet from the road quietly stripping a tree of leaves for around 15 minutes. Several cars backed up along the road as we all watched.
We stopped at Malaigne canyon in the pouring rain and walked one of the suspended bridges which cross the canyon in several places. This one was directly over a waterfall.
We made it back to town with enough gas and went back to the hotel. D returned from the front desk with the news that the road we were on was rated as poor winter driving conditions. Poor winter driving conditions on Jul 13?? It's probably a good thing we turned back.
B and P opted to go and find workout facilities at an associated hotel to ours. B and J opted for the hot tub.
At 7:00 the electrical power at the hotel went out. The hallways are extremely dark. Some light comes into the rooms from outside, even though it is a very cloudy day. B and P returned with the news that the work out facilities consisted of 2 broken machines and that the power is off all over town. We now wait to see when the power gets restored.
Day 3 - July 12, 2010 11:30 PM
July 12, 2010
11:30 PM
Happy 15th Birthday J!!!
In honour of J's birthday today he got to ride shotgun all day. Therefore, he had a ringside seat for the next excitement.
B was driving just before the foothills in Alberta when he all of a sudden exclaimed "OK they got me" and pulled over. An RCMP officer arrived at his driver's window and asked him why he was in such a hurry driving 141 KM/H in a 110 KM/H zone.
To his credit B did not try and make an excuse as he knew he was speeding. He received a $185.00 ticket. Before we left we warned all drivers that the family was not responsible for any speeding tickets. Looks like B will be flipping many burgers to pay this ticket off. Ironically, we have a picture of B waiting for the RCMP officer with the police lights flashing in the background just below the speed limit sign. Let's hope this is a lesson.
B continued driving, a little more conscious of his speed. We entered the foothills and the rain and very cloudy weather settled in. It was so cloudy that the closeness of the huge mountains seemed to come as quite a surprise to all in the car as we entered Jasper National Park. There were many exclamations of the beauty of the scenery as we continued the 1.5 hour drive to Jasper town site itself. There were many minutes of silence as all in the car took in the site of the mountains. Along the way we saw a mountain goat.
We found our pre-booked hotel, an older hotel but nice enough. We have adjoining rooms. Off for a late lunch at 3:30 or so, then off to get the lay of the land including a drive around several of the resorts and areas of the town.
We then stopped in at an info place and asked what would be best to do on a cloudy/rainy day. Several of the tours were not recommended for the day as it had snowed in the higher mountains. We decided upon the Miette hot springs tour an hour or so back the way we had come earlier that morning.
P took over the driving. The hot springs were up a windy mountain road and were incredibly beautiful. The pool was at the 4,000 foot elevation. Several snow covered mountain peaks were visible and interesting cloud formations almost at the same level as the pools. The site had 2 hot pools and 2 cold pools (freezing actually). The hot water was piped directly from the hot springs and treated with some chlorine to lessen the sulfur smell. The cold pools were piped in directly from mountain streams nearby. It was an interesting experience to jump first into the freezing water than go directly into the hot water. Everyone enjoyed themselves, although J was a little grossed out with sharing a hot pool with so many strangers.
At 7:30 or so we started the drive back with B driving. We made several stops along the road back including a bridge over a waterfall. During one of the stops, B and P climbed to the top of a smaller peak and took some great pictures. We saw a black bear along the road.
On the ride back although we were passing the same mountains as earlier in the day, the prospective was different as now we could see the real size of the mountains as they were not obscured by clouds.
In honour of J's birthday, we decided to name a particular peak after him.
Back at 9:00 or so, and out for a pizza supper.
Our hotel is directly across the street from the train station. I am amazed how many trains are making their way through Jasper. I guess there are a limited number of places where the trains can pass through the mountains. In the lobby of the hotel we overheard of an accident somewhere which had tied traffic up for a day and a storm in Calgary. Luckily we have managed to avoid all of that. The weather in Jasper has been very cool 8 degrees according to the outside temperature on the car. I am surprised by the relatively small size of Jasper. S mentioned that he thought it would be about the size of Brandon but that it was much smaller. He said there seemed to be more hotels than houses in Jasper.
Tomorrows plans are not firmed up. We will be up at a reasonable time to book tours etc. We will spend 1 more night here in Jasper before moving on to Lake Louise.
11:30 PM
Happy 15th Birthday J!!!
In honour of J's birthday today he got to ride shotgun all day. Therefore, he had a ringside seat for the next excitement.
B was driving just before the foothills in Alberta when he all of a sudden exclaimed "OK they got me" and pulled over. An RCMP officer arrived at his driver's window and asked him why he was in such a hurry driving 141 KM/H in a 110 KM/H zone.
To his credit B did not try and make an excuse as he knew he was speeding. He received a $185.00 ticket. Before we left we warned all drivers that the family was not responsible for any speeding tickets. Looks like B will be flipping many burgers to pay this ticket off. Ironically, we have a picture of B waiting for the RCMP officer with the police lights flashing in the background just below the speed limit sign. Let's hope this is a lesson.
B continued driving, a little more conscious of his speed. We entered the foothills and the rain and very cloudy weather settled in. It was so cloudy that the closeness of the huge mountains seemed to come as quite a surprise to all in the car as we entered Jasper National Park. There were many exclamations of the beauty of the scenery as we continued the 1.5 hour drive to Jasper town site itself. There were many minutes of silence as all in the car took in the site of the mountains. Along the way we saw a mountain goat.
We found our pre-booked hotel, an older hotel but nice enough. We have adjoining rooms. Off for a late lunch at 3:30 or so, then off to get the lay of the land including a drive around several of the resorts and areas of the town.
We then stopped in at an info place and asked what would be best to do on a cloudy/rainy day. Several of the tours were not recommended for the day as it had snowed in the higher mountains. We decided upon the Miette hot springs tour an hour or so back the way we had come earlier that morning.
P took over the driving. The hot springs were up a windy mountain road and were incredibly beautiful. The pool was at the 4,000 foot elevation. Several snow covered mountain peaks were visible and interesting cloud formations almost at the same level as the pools. The site had 2 hot pools and 2 cold pools (freezing actually). The hot water was piped directly from the hot springs and treated with some chlorine to lessen the sulfur smell. The cold pools were piped in directly from mountain streams nearby. It was an interesting experience to jump first into the freezing water than go directly into the hot water. Everyone enjoyed themselves, although J was a little grossed out with sharing a hot pool with so many strangers.
At 7:30 or so we started the drive back with B driving. We made several stops along the road back including a bridge over a waterfall. During one of the stops, B and P climbed to the top of a smaller peak and took some great pictures. We saw a black bear along the road.
On the ride back although we were passing the same mountains as earlier in the day, the prospective was different as now we could see the real size of the mountains as they were not obscured by clouds.
In honour of J's birthday, we decided to name a particular peak after him.
Back at 9:00 or so, and out for a pizza supper.
Our hotel is directly across the street from the train station. I am amazed how many trains are making their way through Jasper. I guess there are a limited number of places where the trains can pass through the mountains. In the lobby of the hotel we overheard of an accident somewhere which had tied traffic up for a day and a storm in Calgary. Luckily we have managed to avoid all of that. The weather in Jasper has been very cool 8 degrees according to the outside temperature on the car. I am surprised by the relatively small size of Jasper. S mentioned that he thought it would be about the size of Brandon but that it was much smaller. He said there seemed to be more hotels than houses in Jasper.
Tomorrows plans are not firmed up. We will be up at a reasonable time to book tours etc. We will spend 1 more night here in Jasper before moving on to Lake Louise.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Day 3 - Jul 12, 2010 11 AM
12, 2010
11:00 AM
Happy 15th Birthday J!!!
After a gaseous teenager night reminding all of us of sleeping in a barn, we got up packed and had breakfast in preparation for moving on to Jasper.
We all sang happy birthday to J at breakfast which raised the interest of the people around us.
After loading the van in the rain, D began the drive to Jasper. We stopped at 11:00 AM for gas.
On the road again listening to 94.7 Bounce FM with B driving.
11:00 AM
Happy 15th Birthday J!!!
After a gaseous teenager night reminding all of us of sleeping in a barn, we got up packed and had breakfast in preparation for moving on to Jasper.
We all sang happy birthday to J at breakfast which raised the interest of the people around us.
After loading the van in the rain, D began the drive to Jasper. We stopped at 11:00 AM for gas.
On the road again listening to 94.7 Bounce FM with B driving.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Day 2 - July 11 10:30 PM
July 11, 2010
10:30 PM
Today was a day to be spent in Edmonton.
Up at 9:00 for the included breakfast buffet which turned out to be really good.
Off to West Edmonton Mall for 10:20, even though none of the stores opened until 11:00. This gave us time to walk around and prove that yes, indeed it is a mall with several duplicate stores.
We walked past Galaxy Land but decided not to go on the rides.
At 11:00 AM we focused on the area near the water park.
S chose to ride a Segway. B, P and J all jumped on a trampoline while connected by bungi cords. Everyone seemed to enjoy the chosen activity.
We also saw Sea Lions briefly in the aquarium.
At 1:00 until 5:00 we spent time at the water park. Everyone had a great time in the wave pool and slides. Although the wave pool was fun, it wasn't as much fun as the wave pool in Disney World. The only one who gave this wave pool higher marks was D. Apparently during a particularly wild wave she reached out to grab onto something and found her hand "accidentally" inside the front of a stranger's bathing trunks. She claimed she swam away quickly and embarrassed but did admit he was a pretty good looking guy.
At 5:00 we left to do 1 hours worth of shopping and proved to ourselves that shopping anywhere, including West Edmonton Mall can be stressful and avoided at any cost.
We met at 6:00 at the Ice Palace and made our way back to the hotel had a quick change and off to Kelsey’s for supper. The service and food were great.
We then spent a bit of time driving around Downtown Edmonton checking out the sites including a street festival, City Hall, University of Alberta and Commonwealth Stadium. The game had been over for about 30 minutes when we got there. The general feeling was that Edmonton reminded us a lot of Winnipeg but with more interesting architecture. Edmonton seems to have claimed a lot more of the river front property and made it into parks.
Everyone has commented how much later the sun goes down here since we are further north. Basically it is still full light at 11:00 PM.
On the GPS front, I charged it last night using the adapter for my netbook. It seems to hold a charge well now and we will continue using it that way. It seems it can't be used and charged at the same time, but hopefully this will not be an issue on our shorter drives.
So it is off to bed for the trip tomorrow to Jasper.
10:30 PM
Today was a day to be spent in Edmonton.
Up at 9:00 for the included breakfast buffet which turned out to be really good.
Off to West Edmonton Mall for 10:20, even though none of the stores opened until 11:00. This gave us time to walk around and prove that yes, indeed it is a mall with several duplicate stores.
We walked past Galaxy Land but decided not to go on the rides.
At 11:00 AM we focused on the area near the water park.
S chose to ride a Segway. B, P and J all jumped on a trampoline while connected by bungi cords. Everyone seemed to enjoy the chosen activity.
We also saw Sea Lions briefly in the aquarium.
At 1:00 until 5:00 we spent time at the water park. Everyone had a great time in the wave pool and slides. Although the wave pool was fun, it wasn't as much fun as the wave pool in Disney World. The only one who gave this wave pool higher marks was D. Apparently during a particularly wild wave she reached out to grab onto something and found her hand "accidentally" inside the front of a stranger's bathing trunks. She claimed she swam away quickly and embarrassed but did admit he was a pretty good looking guy.
At 5:00 we left to do 1 hours worth of shopping and proved to ourselves that shopping anywhere, including West Edmonton Mall can be stressful and avoided at any cost.
We met at 6:00 at the Ice Palace and made our way back to the hotel had a quick change and off to Kelsey’s for supper. The service and food were great.
We then spent a bit of time driving around Downtown Edmonton checking out the sites including a street festival, City Hall, University of Alberta and Commonwealth Stadium. The game had been over for about 30 minutes when we got there. The general feeling was that Edmonton reminded us a lot of Winnipeg but with more interesting architecture. Edmonton seems to have claimed a lot more of the river front property and made it into parks.
Everyone has commented how much later the sun goes down here since we are further north. Basically it is still full light at 11:00 PM.
On the GPS front, I charged it last night using the adapter for my netbook. It seems to hold a charge well now and we will continue using it that way. It seems it can't be used and charged at the same time, but hopefully this will not be an issue on our shorter drives.
So it is off to bed for the trip tomorrow to Jasper.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Day 1 - July 10, 2010 9:30 PM
July 10, 2010
9:30 PM
Everyone excluding P who was driving (e hope) had a quick power nap once in Alberta.
Wildlife we encountered was a herd of bison (domesticated) and a pack of coyotes (wild). Also chipmunk hit and 1 duck missed during the trip so far.
Got into Edmonton and found a room at the Holiday Inn, breakfast buffet included. Off to supper at Denny's and to the pool for a swim before sleeping.
Driving today mostly split evenly between D, B and P. J worked by wrestling up food from coolers as required. B's previous long work day (until 4:00 AM today) finally caught up. He was not feeling good at supper and needs to sleep.
Service at supper fast and friendly. S ordered mashed eggs which brought forth much teasing.
Stowed the TV and Xbox in the car (hidden) as we don't think there will much need for that during the drive through the mountains.
GPS has been acting up, not seeming to hold a charge well. Also plugging it into the car does not seem to charge it fully.
May have to consider replacing that before continuing, will do more testing tomorrow.
Tomorrow, to West Edmonton Mall for the water park and we will see what happens.
Also, planning purchase of a patch cord so that iPods can be plugged into car sound system.
9:30 PM
Everyone excluding P who was driving (e hope) had a quick power nap once in Alberta.
Wildlife we encountered was a herd of bison (domesticated) and a pack of coyotes (wild). Also chipmunk hit and 1 duck missed during the trip so far.
Got into Edmonton and found a room at the Holiday Inn, breakfast buffet included. Off to supper at Denny's and to the pool for a swim before sleeping.
Driving today mostly split evenly between D, B and P. J worked by wrestling up food from coolers as required. B's previous long work day (until 4:00 AM today) finally caught up. He was not feeling good at supper and needs to sleep.
Service at supper fast and friendly. S ordered mashed eggs which brought forth much teasing.
Stowed the TV and Xbox in the car (hidden) as we don't think there will much need for that during the drive through the mountains.
GPS has been acting up, not seeming to hold a charge well. Also plugging it into the car does not seem to charge it fully.
May have to consider replacing that before continuing, will do more testing tomorrow.
Tomorrow, to West Edmonton Mall for the water park and we will see what happens.
Also, planning purchase of a patch cord so that iPods can be plugged into car sound system.
Day 1 - July 10, 2010 4:30 PM
July 10, 2010
4:30 PM
Watching a horror movie at 9:00 AM just doesn't do it. "The Orphan" a fail. Pushed onward to Regina skirted via Ring Road and continued down 11 to Saskatoon. Turns out Saskatoon is a nice looking town.
On again, off again game of horse devolved into game of cow, llama and even stone - got a little strange.
P and B playing UFC on Xbox. Bit of a full car melt down 9.5 hours into the trip but back under control. J entertained everyone with his "spread Eagle" toe positions.
Hit Lloydminster by 4:00 PM. Stop for gas and prepared for last push to Edmonton.
Car quiet now, P driving with CD music blaring. Long day starting to catch up to everyone.
I'm surprised we have made it this far so quickly.
Next challenge, find a place to sleep in Edmonton. B wants to drive by Eskimo stadium this evening.
4:30 PM
Watching a horror movie at 9:00 AM just doesn't do it. "The Orphan" a fail. Pushed onward to Regina skirted via Ring Road and continued down 11 to Saskatoon. Turns out Saskatoon is a nice looking town.
On again, off again game of horse devolved into game of cow, llama and even stone - got a little strange.
P and B playing UFC on Xbox. Bit of a full car melt down 9.5 hours into the trip but back under control. J entertained everyone with his "spread Eagle" toe positions.
Hit Lloydminster by 4:00 PM. Stop for gas and prepared for last push to Edmonton.
Car quiet now, P driving with CD music blaring. Long day starting to catch up to everyone.
I'm surprised we have made it this far so quickly.
Next challenge, find a place to sleep in Edmonton. B wants to drive by Eskimo stadium this evening.
Day 1 - Jul 10, 2010 *:30 AM
July 10, 2010
8:30 AM
A quick stop in Brandon for gas. Funny line, P pushing on bathroom door "Hey, let me in, we'll do the "X", B "Seriously?" P "Of course not"
Back in the car J makes sandwiches. P takes over the driving.
Time for a technology inventory for the trip:
1 digital camera (besides the ones on the phones).
4 cell phones.
3 iPods.
2 VR Stream
1 netbook
little LCD TV
Xbox.
(Yes, we travel light)
Before Brandon watched The Tooth Fairy.
Passed through Virden where we saw an oil rig.
Onward to Regina with The Orphan on the TV.
8:30 AM
A quick stop in Brandon for gas. Funny line, P pushing on bathroom door "Hey, let me in, we'll do the "X", B "Seriously?" P "Of course not"
Back in the car J makes sandwiches. P takes over the driving.
Time for a technology inventory for the trip:
1 digital camera (besides the ones on the phones).
4 cell phones.
3 iPods.
2 VR Stream
1 netbook
little LCD TV
Xbox.
(Yes, we travel light)
Before Brandon watched The Tooth Fairy.
Passed through Virden where we saw an oil rig.
Onward to Regina with The Orphan on the TV.
July Day 1 - 10 2010 4:30 AM
July 10, 2010
4:00 AM
The alarm rings and I stagger to the shower. It's day 1 of our western Canada road trip. Our goal is to be on the road by 5:00 AM. Destination? Tofino BC and back, seeing as much as humanly possible during the drive.
Meet the voyagers:
D; my wife of 24 years. A kind patient person who has developed a tolerance for testosterone, this will become evident.
B: My eldest son, 17 a dedicated worker at his part time job, still working dedication on anything involving home life.
P: our chosen 16 year old son. Family circumstances have had P living with us for a couple of years now. He is a good hearted individual who needed shown alternatives.
J: our 15 year old son. A person with a great sense of humour who is going through the 15 year old lazy stage.
S: our 12 year old youngest son. S struggles to keep up with his brothers while still enjoying the simple things in life.
Me: a stressed out software developer, looking forward to some relaxation on vacation. Well, good luck with that.
I am totally blind so will not be doing any of the driving on this vacation. S and P do have their licenses so will spare D off on the simpler legs.
Day 1 goal, Edmonton Alberta. After an hour of last minute packing and coordination of 6 suit cases and 6 "carry on" bags, 2 coolers of food (4 teenagers are hungry ... all the time).
My mood? hopeful and looking forward to the various sites we will see.
5:10 AM left the driveway. .3 KM later S "are we there yet?" General anticipatory mood. D is driving. Chances are most people will be asleep before Portage La Prairie.
4:00 AM
The alarm rings and I stagger to the shower. It's day 1 of our western Canada road trip. Our goal is to be on the road by 5:00 AM. Destination? Tofino BC and back, seeing as much as humanly possible during the drive.
Meet the voyagers:
D; my wife of 24 years. A kind patient person who has developed a tolerance for testosterone, this will become evident.
B: My eldest son, 17 a dedicated worker at his part time job, still working dedication on anything involving home life.
P: our chosen 16 year old son. Family circumstances have had P living with us for a couple of years now. He is a good hearted individual who needed shown alternatives.
J: our 15 year old son. A person with a great sense of humour who is going through the 15 year old lazy stage.
S: our 12 year old youngest son. S struggles to keep up with his brothers while still enjoying the simple things in life.
Me: a stressed out software developer, looking forward to some relaxation on vacation. Well, good luck with that.
I am totally blind so will not be doing any of the driving on this vacation. S and P do have their licenses so will spare D off on the simpler legs.
Day 1 goal, Edmonton Alberta. After an hour of last minute packing and coordination of 6 suit cases and 6 "carry on" bags, 2 coolers of food (4 teenagers are hungry ... all the time).
My mood? hopeful and looking forward to the various sites we will see.
5:10 AM left the driveway. .3 KM later S "are we there yet?" General anticipatory mood. D is driving. Chances are most people will be asleep before Portage La Prairie.
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