Thursday, July 23, Steveston, Vancouver

Greetings!

We were invited to join Peter, Marjorie, and Michelle to dine at Michelle's home in Richmond, Vancouver tonight. She cooked a great meal, consisting of "100 mile" radius food, exquisitely prepared. One of the purposes for the gathering was for the three of them to advance plans for their upcoming bicycle trip from Prague to Vienna. Pat's stay in Prague two years ago helped her contribute what she could to their information of the region.

Prior to the dinner, we rode the Sky train part way into town and met Peter, who drove us out to a walk around the town of Steveston. A historic shipyard and cannery wharf on the south side of Vancouver, we really enjoyed the personal tours of the old buildings by the Britannia Heritage Society (Thanks, Eric!). Their 5th Annual Richmond Maritime Festival is being held August 21-23rd, and I recommend anyone who will be in the area to check it out. More information can be obtained at Britannia Heritage Shipyard

And if you're in the area before the Festival, and take photos like these, be sure to enter their 2009 Photo Competition "Steveston on the Water".

To see the remaining photos taken today, click on: July 23 Photos

Wednesday, July 22nd, Whistler

Greetings!

I never thought I'd see a bear and her cub from a ski lift, but there they were below us on the Blackcomb mountain today. We drove up to Whistler on another beautiful summer day in British Columbia. The town is working hard to prepare for the 2010 Winter Olympics, and you can see lots of improvements from the last time we were here.

Riding the Whistler lift up that mountain, the Peak-to-Peak Gondola across to Blackcomb, and the Blackcomb lift back down, the views were spectacular. Pat had questioned on the drive up what would happen with the Olympics if there were no snow this winter. Our walking tour guide told us the answer. With the snow-making abilities available now, it will be fine. And it's very apparent that summer mountain bike enthusiasts have made summer profits in the area as strong as winter sports. Walking through the town were families decked out in thousands of dollars worth of bikes, clothing, and protective gear.

To see the photos taken today, click on:
July 22nd

Tues, July 21, Granville Island

Greetings!

Spending a beautiful day walking around Granville Island has to be among the most enjoyable experiences. An early experiment in the re-use of historic buildings in an urban setting, it continues to nurture public spirit in spaces which probably would have been destroyed in previous urban development. People-watchers at heart, we were entertained by all we saw, and dazzeled by the environment.

By the way, take direction cities contemplating creating water parks for kids. Vancouver has hit it exactly right by designing fountains which feature available hoses for kids to squirt other kids. That's kid-friendly.

Later in the day, we drove over to Diego's house, met Peter there, and then went to a nearby park for an Argentinian barbecue he had planned with his family. His wife, Victoria, and daughter, Olivia, walked from Olivia's day care to join us. I was having so much fun that I failed to remember to bring my camera out. Trust me, a more darling family would be hard to find. Our friendship with Diego and Peter will no long and deep for many years to come, and we hope to share more adventures together.

Diego is attempting to organize his next year of adventure guiding, and will keep us current on how it turns out over the next few months. The upcoming Canadian Olympics may offer some possibilities to stay in the area, and Adventures Abroad is eager to again utilize his wonderful talents in Argentina and Chile.

To view the remaining photos taken today,click on:
July 21st photos

Monday, July 20th, Vancouver

Greetings!

Today's post catches up on two days of traveling - partly because yesterday we drove all day and took only three photos, and partly because the wifi reception was poor at the campground last night.

Today, we spent all day with Peter Oechsler, our friend from our recent Argentina/Chile tour who lives in Deep Cove, North Vancouver. Peter was our host today, and we ate and drove our way around his favorite haunts in the North Vancouver area. We had lunch at a coveside cafe whose Persian owner served us delicious sandwiches and omlette. Dinner found us at a Korean restaurant which Peter thought was still its Chinese predecessor.

Two photos which barely escaped us were of the bald eagle we saw over the Trans Canadian Highway, and the black bear which crossed in front of our car in a mountain residential neighborhood. Vancouver is a beautiful city, and one in which we could easily live.

To view the rest of the photos for today, click on:
July 20th

Saturday, July 18, Oregon High Desert and Lava

Greetings!

We drove a few miles south of Bend and visited the High Desert Museum and several park locations in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument (Paulina Peak, Big Obsidian Flow, Lava Lands Butte, and Paulina Falls). The drives and walks brought back some ancient memories, as visiting some of them was an early trip together. Thank you Oregon, for making the trails and paths easier to climb, and to the High Desert Museum for being created since we were here.

For dinner, we found a Peruvian restaurant where we started off by devourng the chips in a great cilantro, lime, cerro chile, olive oil and garlic sauce - and then went barely had room to finish two Peruvian specials.

Tomorrow, we're making a beeline for Seattle to prepare to connect with Peter in Vancouver on Monday if he's back from his trip.

To see the remainder of the photos, click on:

July 18th Photos

July 17, Bend, Oregon

Greetngs!

We drove up to Crater Lake today, and then on to Bend, Oregon. The photos we took are of the Lake, and represent a combination of those taken on my and Pat's camera. Her's has a better telephoto, using a digital enhancement. Mine views better (SLR), but has more limited features.

When we got to Bend, we wanted to pick up some food we found missing. There's a Costco in town, so we headed there. Not finding it, we stopped at a Safeway, and then learned the Costco was in the same area. Shopping at both, we found the pesto, bread, lettuce, hamburger meat, bacon, and sausage. Pat was disappointed she left the pesto at home, so we're now ready to have it tomorrow night. Tonight, tacos will fill the bill.

On the way back to the RV camp, we beat the heat by parking downtown and walking along the riverfront. Bend has done an outstanding job of re-vitalizing the area along the Deschutes River, and blending in housing and upscale commercial development. Because it's Friday night, hundreds of residents were floating down the river on surfboards, rafts, inner tubes, and kayaks beside the restaurants and other businesses.

To see the remaining photos, click on:
July 17th Photos

Day One, Thurs, July 16th

Greetings!

Happy birthday, Bro Ken. Yesterday, we've made it to Mt Shasta, and the famous little town of Weed. Mostly a shot straight up Hwy 5, we're glad to be done with that Hwy for a while. Today, we're heading northeast up Hwy 97 through the Cascades. We've going to be stopping at Crater Lake, and expect to be staying tonight and tomorrow night in Bend, Oregon.