Back home

We made it back.
The last day was a bit of an anticlimax. There had been a thunderstorm during the night and it rained all day so we couldn't get out and do a tour of Han's and Kathleen's estate.
We got to the airport without too much difficulty thanks to the excellent instructions from Kathleen, Car drop off was very slick, all done using a wireless handhelp device that printed out the final bill there and then.
We walked into Calgary airport. According to the signs we could have either check-in with Canada Airlines or with a USA airline. We had to ask and then walk a long way to find the 'other' airlines desks tucked away.
We dropped off our bags and and went through security to discover the Duty-free shop was closed. We actually saw the plane we would be flying in arrive while we were in the departure lounge.
We had booked the back pair of seats again. In front of us were three young children, 10ish, 3ish and 18 monthish. The two youngest were crying and screaming. The mother, on her own, was trying her hardest to quieten them down. Luckily by the time we were in the air they were all settled down. Didn't manage to sleep but did watch "Be kind, rewind" which was very funny.
We landed a few minutes ahead of schedule. We were home by half past three.

Well the holiday was over.

But what a holiday. So many memories, so many experiences and so many photos - I have 8,234 of them to check through and discard or catalogue.
Our greatest luck was having a special friend like Kathleen who from the time we told her we were planning the trip has provided us with information, advice and piles of books and pamphlets. We would have missed out on a great deal without her help.
So the last entry of this blog is a special thank you to Kathleen and Hans for their help and making us so welcome in their beautiful home.

Last day

I had started to wonder if we would get to the last day. It seems so long ago we caught the taxi to Heathrow.
Today we again set out without Kathleen and drove round an area name Kananaskis Country which contains the Spray Lake and Peter Loughheed Provincial Parks. It is south of Banff and was forecast to have good weather.
Kathleen's still on dial-up which makes the connection very slow. When I was on dial-up most web sites were designed to be viewed on a slow connection. Kathleen has to contend with web sites designed for broadband. It also means that while on line telephone calls cannot be received. Unfortunately while checking my return flight details the guy who was to repair her fridge called and couldn't get through so he didn't come. I feel so guilty and annoyed. The good news is that Alberta has promised that everyone will have access to broadband by early next year.
When we got back from the trip Kathleen told us that the had been a moose and her young one outside the front of her house. The mother was there for the salt lick.
Tomorrow we are staying around the house and I hope to get some shots of the moose.
We fly out at 21:50 and are expecting to land on Friday at 13:15. If all goes well we should be home by 17:00.

A quick update

Kathleen has been wonderful today chauffeuring us around the Banff and Yoho National Parks.
We did a great deal of travelling, walking and climbing and it is too late to type it all up now.
More tomorrow...

and a few steps more

Today we were off with Kathleen to Drumheller which is to the east of where we are staying. This is the prairie country, a land of few bumps and long straight roads.
Our first stop was Horseshoe Canyon, Canada's answer to the Grand Canyon. It may be smaller but is just as dramatic. The land was originally the sea bed and over millions of years deposits of mud, animal bones and vegetation built up in layers. The sea bed was pushed up at the sand time as the Rocky Mountains and during the last ice age the canyon was formed. The sides of the canyon show the layers as differently coloured rocks and mud.
One of the layers, that formed from the vegetation, was coal and the region was heavily mined. One mine that still exists as a heritage site is the Star Mine. To get to the mine it is necessary to cross the Red Deer river which is wide and very muddy using the 117 metre suspension bridge.
Our third stop was the Hoodoos Recreation Area. Hoodoos are stumps of rock, looking a bit like mushrooms. They are formed when a cap of hard sandstone protects the softer underlying rock from eroding as rapidly as the surrounding rock. Unfortunately these beautiful edifices are being destroyed by thoughtless people climbing all over them.
Our final stop was the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology located just outside Drumheller. It is considered the finest dinosaur museum in the world. The museum is named after Joseph Burr Tyrrell who in 1884 discovers the first dinosaur remains near Drumheller. The find, a skull, was of an undiscovered dinosaur and was given the name Albertosaurus. Many of the exhibits are of fossils found in Alberta. In addition to the extinct exhibits on glass wall opens onto a workshop where you can see technicians working of cleaning and preserving recently received fossils.
We managed to get off on our way home before a major thunderstorm broke over the area.
Only two more full days here before we have to return home.

A step into history

The weather was not looking good for photos at Moraine Lake so we decided to give Kathleen a day off from ferrying us around.
Instead we took a trip out to Heritage Park just south of Calgary. In the park are authentic and reproduction buildings dating from nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. There were houses, shops, a hotel, a blacksmith, school and hospital to name but a few. All were from the Calgary area and each had a history.
It took us all day to get round the park and even then there were things we were not able to do, such as a ride on the steam train, or the horse drawn wagon or the paddle steamer.
Many of the exibits had guides dressed in period costume who were able to answer most questions about the building and the people who lived or worked in them.
The park closed at 5pm and we had eaten only an couple of hours earlier so we missed out eating in Calgary and drove back to Cochrane.
The sky was looking rather stormy as we approached Cochrane so we stopped off at a Boston Pizza and had a drink and read our book before having a meal. By the time we were finished it was raining and we had to dash for the car. It got rather heavy at one point but by the time we were about 3km from the house we were through the worst and the sun was causing the roads to steam.
We await tomorrows weather forecast to see what we will be doing.

Touring round Banff National Park

Was woken early as the weather looked good for trip to Moraine lake - apparently it is best in the morning in the sunshine.
On the journey we spotted a pelican, two cormorants and an osprey.
Just as we got to Banff Kathleen, our friend and guide, realised that the clouds were too thick in the direction of the lake so we took off towards the sunny area.
We did a lot of walking into various valleys and up pathways to view waterfalls. At one point we arrived at a car park where a sign showed us we were on the border between British Columbia and Alberta. So we had our picture taken sitting back to back with Rita in one state and me in the other. Well you have to don't you.
In Banff we went to see the Bow Falls. It was the deepest Kathleen had ever seen the river. Nearby is a golf course and as well as the usual hazards like bunkers and water features this course is known to have elks and bears. We were lucky to find to female elks wandering across the course.
We arrived back at the house a couple of woodpeckers were having a go at the side of the building. On was having a go at the window frame. All we could see was its head as it looked around into the room.

The Stampede Parade

During last evening we had thunder and lightening nearby but the rain passed us by. The morning started overcast.
We were on our way to Calgary by 6:15. After breakfast in Calgary we found our seats, bleachers on 9th street. We were in row 4 so were quite high up and would be level with the heads of the horse riders. The parade started at 9am but it took some 20 minutes for the front of the parade to reach us.
I took a lot of pictures. I used up two 8GB SD cards (500 images per card) and started on a third. I had to change batteries halfway through.
I have never seen so many horses, or horse riders.
Luckily for those in the parade and those watching the weather was bright and overcast for most of the parade. I was told that last year people were fainting because of the heat. The sun only made an appearance in the last 20 minutes of the parade.
I now have a big task in sifting through all the images to find the best.

Stampeding to Calgary

Today we left our cabin and set off along the Trans-Canada Highway from Jasper to Banff.
On the way we stopped off at the Icefields Parkway by the Athabasca Glacier. We bought tickets and we taken, first by bus, and then by a heavy duty truck up part of the glacier. We were able to spend 20 minutes walking around on the ice before we returned to base.
Our journey was constantly interrupted as we saw wildlife or glorious views and had to stop to get a picture. We did see a bear and cub but they were hidden by dense undergrowth and I couldn't get a good picture.
The journey finish when we arrived at our friend's house in Cochane, just outside Calgary.
We will be up early tomorrow to ensure good seats at the opening parade of the Stampede.

Splashing out

Today is our last full day in Jasper National Park. The sky wasn’t as overcast as yesterday and we could see some blue sky as we drove to Jasper. We met up with our guide and driver for the rafting. There were six of us in the bus as we drove off. Our guide, Ron, went through the introductions. There was one Canadian pair, one Australian couple and us two English.
As we left Jasper we were held up by a road closed after an avalanche. When we arrived at the river we unloaded the raft and were issued with our wetsuits and life jackets. Ron demonstrated how to get into the raft and secure yourself. He also told us what to do if we fell overboard.
The river looked wide and fast flowing as we carried the raft to the bank. I was at the front of the raft for the first part of the trip. Off we set. The trip was a 5 miles long and ranked as class 2 so not too difficult.
Ron told us that following the hot weather the river was running higher and faster than normal. He estimated that the river was running at 10 kept. The journey time would be 50 minutes, whereas a couple of weeks earlier it would have taken 75 minutes. During the journey the cloud cover reduced and we were in sunshine for most of the trip.
Off we set. Ron explained that he would ask us to row to that we would move faster than the water so that he could steer the raft. Our first set of rapids were not too big but it did leave our feet rather wet. We didn’t paddle all the time and during the rests Ron told the history of the area and pointed out the flora, fauna and geology we were passing.
The next two sets of rapids were hard and at times the raft shop upwards leaving me with no water to put the paddle in. Waves splashed over us.
Eddie, the driver, had taken the bus further up the river and as we rounded the bend he was there taking a few shots of us struggling against the waves.
Just after this the two of us at the front exchanged places with those in the second seats.
Ron then announced we were about to arrive at the last chance to be swept overboard, and up ahead we saw the tell tale white horses. We paddled like made so that Ron could steer us into the middle of the rapids. We were lifted up and throw down over and over again. Screams of laughter and excitement could be heard.
There was one last rough patch as we went under the bridge and we were told to paddle like made to Ron could steer to the landing area. We failed to make the first inlet and had to settle for the second one. The raft following us up failed even that and ended up about 30 metres further down river.
By the time we had got changed and been driven back to the pick up point the pictures had been burned onto a CD ready for us to take away. We drove back to the cabin had a snack and relaxed. I put the wet underclothes on the back on the car to dry in the sunlight.
After our rest I suggested a trip out along the highway eastwards towards Hinton. So off we set. After about 10 kilometres we passed the entrance gate. The scenery was slowly getting flatter and no t looking too interesting so we turned round. We saw a sign for Wild Horse Lake, 5 km, so we turned off, straight onto a dirt track, a very rocky dirt track. We gave up after 2 km and turned round as the dust was getting too much.
We joined the queue waiting go through the Park Entrance. When we got to the front we were asked how long we are staying and then discovered there is a $20 per day charge for staying in the park. Thanks to the ambulance a couple of days we had saved $40 plus tax.
I wanted to take some photos of the mountains so we droved passed Pocahontas and back towards Jasper. We stopped to take photos of some mountain goats that were climbing on the rocks at the side of the road. As I walked back to the car I noticed that my shirt was hanging from the rear windscreen wipers and suddenly realised that I hadn’t taken the clothes off the back of the car. God knows where they were. Rita made sure she reminded me that I was as bad as my Dad, who had driven off with a cake still on the car roof some 40 years earlier.
We are now back in the cabin packing for our journey to Cochrane tomorrow. We will be stopping off on the Ice Fields on the way.

What's Maligne?

Today is Canada Day. A national holiday so the roads would be busy.
We had read that the Maligne River and Maligne Lake were worth a visit and being only 40 miles away it would be a good day out. The morning had started slightly over cast with occasional burst of sunlight.
There was a small problem. I did something to my right ankle the night before just before bed and it really hurt. It was still painful in the morning and I was hobbling.
We decided to miss out breakfast so we could get away early. At the start of the road going to the lake there were warnings about the wildlife that we may encounter. We hadn’t gone too far when we saw break lights going on future up the road. There was a caribou eating the dandelions on the roadside. We got out and took a few photos.
Our first main stop was Medicine Lake. This is an unusual lake. During the spring the melting snow fills the lake and then as summer starts the lake level drops until it is nearly empty. The problem was that there was no visible outlet. It was only discovered recently that the water drains through dozens of sinkholes in the lake bed. I managed to hobble around and take a few photos.
We drove to Maligne Lake without seeing anymore wildlife. Not long after parking we bumped into an English couple who showed us a photo of a small black bear walking across the road that we had driven down less than 5 minutes earlier. Damn!
The scenery around the lake is beautiful. Unfortunately the sun was still behind complete cloud cover so everything looked washed out. While having some sandwiches we were entertained by a chipmunk that was running around the picnic area and under people’s feet, picking up bits of dropped food.
We booked a tour of the lake. The lake tour was enjoyable but we saw no wildlife except for two mountain sheep a long way away on the mountain side.
Not long after leaving the lake Rita suddenly shouted “It’s a bear, stop, stop!” I pulled over but I was unable to see the bear. Rita grabbed the camera and walked back about 50 feet and took a few photos. I got out and hobbled along. Just I got to her I saw the bear. It was black and looked small, but then it was about 50 yards away. By this time other cars had arrived and stopped. The bear did not seem to notice us but carried on eating. I got a few good photos are the bear appeared between the bushes. A few miles on we came across a family of goats.
We drove into Jasper. We wanted to get some supplies for breakfast. We also, rashly, booked seats on a white-water raft trip. OK it’s not the really serious raft trip. We are not that stupid. We found a very good restaurant, Fiddle River, where I had a Bison rib-eye steak and Rita had Muskox. The Bison steak was like a normal steak but much leaner and with a slight gamey flavour. The Muskox was like beef but sweeter.

Onward to Jasper

We set off early this morning around eight but we failed to avoid the heat. Around 10am we stopped off to fill up with Gas and have some breakfast. There was an announcement on the radio that the forest fire cause by the car fire was still burning.
The traffic on the roads was light and we made good progress. Just after Valemont we were passed by a fire engine with al lights flashing. We started wondering if we would find the road ahead would be blocked. At Mount Robson we decided to stop off and have some coffee and a snack. The views were fantastic. While we were there an ambulance, sirens blaring, went past.
About 2 miles up the road we discovered the problem. An over turned car. It looked pretty battered. I could not see if anyone was injured.
A few miles later we arrived at the entry to Jasper National Park. We were stopped at the gate and the attendant started asking us some questions. Suddenly she stopped as she saw the ambulance we had passed earlier approaching. So that the ambulance could get through she waved us on, questions unasked.
The place we are staying, Pocahontas Cabins, is some 20 miles on the other side of Jasper through some of the most beautiful scenery I have seen ever. We are now settled in the cabin and Rita has disappeared to the laundry room. The cabin is very good, lounge with kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. The only thing missing is air conditioning. Luckily the cabins are under trees and are shaded from the direct sunlight.
Tonight we will eat in the restaurant and take a glass of wine while sitting on the veranda in front of our cabin. We will try to workout what we will do tomorrow which is Canada Day, its 141th birthday.

Hot off the Press

This morning we discovered that we were totally wrong about the temperature while we were waiting in line at Jackass Pass. It wasn’t in the 80s, it was in the 90s. In fact at 2pm it was 95°F, at 3pm it was 99°F and at 4pm it was 102 (39°C). This was a record for the area.

Some like it hot.

We started out early before it got too hot. The night before I had phoned the transport help line at 10pm, yes they were still open, and was given the buses we need to catch to get to the Ferry Terminal. The bus arrived on time. Things were warming up by the time we got to the terminal.
The ferry journey was smooth and relaxing. We bought tickets for the bus to take us back to Vancouver. We arrived at the bus terminal were we had set out to travel to Seattle four days earlier. There we took the Skytrain, something we had not managed to ride on while we were in Vancouver the first time and then walked the 5 blocks to the car rental office. We arrived just after midday and by this time we were tired and very hot.
We were told that the cars were late in being delivered from the airport and we would have to wait. We waited nearly an hour. On the good side we were upgraded at no extra charge to a Chevy Outlander. Before we could start our journey we had to pick up our suitcases from the Ramada.
Driving in a busy city on the other side of the road with strange road signs in a car I had never driven was interesting. Rita’s job was to tell me what side of the road to go on at turns. It worked well.
We finally got out of the City. The aircon was working well and we were both felling comfortable. The raised position in the car was certainly a great benefit. There were two options to get to Kamloops; the scenic Highway 1 or the Highway 5 toll road. We opted for the scenic root. After about 50 miles we saw a huge plume of white smoke rising from the side of the road with black clouds at the base. Then saw the line of stationery traffic. We stopped and got out and withered in the extreme heat. It was at least kin the mid 80s. We discovered that a car had overheated and had burst into flames. It had also set fire to the nearby trees.
After sitting in the queue for about 45 minutes watching planes drop water and powder onto the fire and a helicopter Rita stopped a car going in the other direction. They had been close to the accident and had been told it would be over 2 hours before they would reopen the road. So they had turned round. We decided to do the same and drive the 50 miles back to Hope and then go on Highway 5.
We got as far as Merritt some 60 miles from Hope. We found a motel and a diner. We have an early start tomorrow to make up for lost time. Only 325 miles to go.

Whale of a time

The day started cloudless and sunny and it was like that all day.

We went out this morning on the Prince of Whales Zodiac. Unfortunately the Orca Pods were too far out for us to get to them. We did however come across a humpbacked whale. It was probably a young one and gave us quite a chase and it surfaced very briefly and then disappeared only to surface way away from where it had been previously.
Rita proved to be a natural at whale spotting and she is hoping to find a job on Japanese whaler. We never got really close but I got a few good photographs, although one was a fluke. The boat captain got out his fishing net and brought up some krill that were swarming all around our boat and why the humpback was there.

We also saw a bald eagle, seals and an elephant seal. All in all it was a very good trip out.

Tomorrow we are catching the ferry back to Vancouver to pick up the car.

Flower Beds and Sea Beds

According to the locals today has been the first real day of sunshine. It was glorious.

This is a short post as we have only just got back from a full day. In the morning we took a coach ride out to the Butchart Gardens. The gardens were created by the wife of the owner of a cement factory. The deep hole created by removing the limestone has been turned into a superb sunken garden featuring a rose garden, Japanese garden and an Italian garden as well as many other formal areas and a superb fountain.

After a short walk around downtown Victoria we returned to the hotel to get ready for thr evening's entertainment. The Cannon Battle.

A number of the tall ships were going to sail out from harbour an do battle. We were in the Lynx. It was a superb spectacle with hands-on experience of raising the sails.

More information when I get time.

Return of the Colonies

This morning was a milestone. Both of us slept well and we are over Jetlag. We had breakfast in the Executive Lounge of the Holiday Inn. It may sound special but all they had was a couple of types of cereal, boiled eggs, muffins and very sweet pastries. They didn't have any bread. We didn't eat much. After breakfast we deposited our case at reception.
The weather was overcast with a slight threat of rain as we set to the Space Needle. At our Underground Tour yesterday we heard how the tax on the seamstresses funded the civic improvements in Seattle. It occurred to me that this erection could have been built to celebrate this period of the city's history. Rita yet again surprised me by enjoying the elevator trip. The view was impressive and the multimedia support facilities made the experience even better. Even the telescopes dotted around the platform were free to use.
We took the monorail into the centre and wandered around finally ending up at Pikes Place. Here we had a snack at Lowells before returning via the monorail to the hotel to wait for the taxi to take us to the Victoria Clipper terminal.
At the terminal we checked in and joined the queue for the boat. There was no repetition of the previous 'issue' when Rita went through security checks.
The journey was uneventful. As we arrived in the harbour we were presented with a display of tall ships including the Eagle, a US Coast Guard ship.
After passing thought Canadian security we got a cab to the Howard Johnson hotel. This is a bit farther out than the previous hotels. As the sun set the sky was clearing maybe promising a bright tomorrow.

Sleeping in Seattle

Everything started out well. The weather was looking glorious. We had breakfast, a cab took us to the station and we got on the bus without any problems. The coach set off and the roads were clear. But things were about to change. It was nearly a tale of "Sleeping Elsewhere".
At the boarder the bus pulled into the checking area and we all decamped with our luggage and joined the queue for the customs and security. When our turn came we both went up. I was first and after answering a few questions my passport was stamped. Then the customs officer checked Rita's documents. He was looking at the monitor funnily, and then he called out. Suddenly four other officers appeared and crowded in around us. One officer asked if there was a match. Things were getting tense. 'Nope,' said the first officer and things relaxed. After that Rita had her passport stamped. I'm convinced that it was her reply to one of the questions. When asked 'What is your reason for visiting the United States?' Rita replied 'To get my daughter a Starbucks' Mug.
The rest of the journey was uneventful.' After a short taxi drive we booked into the Holiday Inn at noon.
Seattle is quite small, not much bigger than the City of London. After dropping off our bags we set off from the hotel and walked the 200 mts to the Seattle Centre where the Space Needle is located. There we got on the Central Monorail to Pine Street. We then walked, downhill to Pike Place.
What a wonderful place. Vibrant and full of colours and smells. The display of flowers, fruit and vegetable competed with the smell of the fish shops, chocolate shops and the restaurants. There were plenty free samples on offer and you could have eaten your fill on them. We found Starbucks shop and bought a mug. I bought a pen made from maple and then we had fish and chips at Lowells Restaurant.
Next we walked along 1st Avenue to Pioneer Square, the oldest part of Seattle. Here we bought tickets to the Underground Tour. Basically Seattle is built on itself. Because of flooding and sewage problems the roads were raised by roughly one storey so that today's pavement level is actually the first storey. The tour took us around the spaces below the current pavements and introduced us to the interesting history of Seattle.
By this time we were feeling tired so we caught the free bus back across town and then a short walk to the hotel.

The trip to Whistler

The morning didn't start out too good. As we were walking to the pick up point, Fairmont Waterfront, after breakfast we felt a few spots of rain and the clouds were looking a little menacing. The forecast was for 30% chance of rain. In the coach travelling to the station, Rocky Mountaineers own private station, the rain fell a little heavier. We were welcomed by our carriage attendants, Trena and Louise, with a glass of Buck's Fizz. We then discovered we were to be served breakfast. I thought only Hobbits had a second breakfast.
One of the bits of literature passed our was a map of the route which gave the mile points for the main points of interest so it was easy to know when to dash to the observation car.
One of the points of interest was about up to 3000 bald eagles nesting in the area. I went out and began to scan the sky and trees hoping to see the eagle when I suddenly
one was sitting on a overturned tree route about 100 yards away. I just pointed my camera and fired away. It was just so incredible.
By the time we got to the newly opened Rocky Mountaineer Whistler station the sun was shining and it was getting pretty warm. We transferred to coaches to take us in to Whistler Village and the first thing we saw after disembarking from the coach were not skiers or snowboarders but cyclists coming down the dirt tracks. We then noticed that the ski lift was carrying cycles and cyclists up the slope.
Unless you are a dirt cyclist, a skateboards or a hiker there is very little to do in Whistler other that shop, eat or drink. We whiled the time away with a very slow meal and read our books.
Our return journey was by seaplane, or float-plane as the locals called them. We were picked up late by the coach and the plane was late arriving from the previous trip. That said the flight itself was very enjoyable. There were 12 people returning and we each had a window seat. The views were wonderful as we flew over the snow covered mountains and green forests. We were treated to a view of Downtown Vancouver before arriving at the terminal.
We have now repacked all our gear so we will only have to take one suitcase with us to Seattle and Victoria. The Ramada will store the other two cases for us.
Another early start tomorrow as we travel into the United States to Seattle.

First full day in Vancouver

Because of the unexpected trip to Whistler tomorrow we had to pack as much sightseeing in as we could.
But first we had to work out where we would need to go to pick up the car when we came back to Vancouver, where the Fairmont Waterfront hotel was, and what we could do with our spare cases to reduce what we were carrying around. After breakfast we went down to the front desk and Sean was very helpful and told us we could store the cases in their store room.
The place we pick the car up is only one block along and 4 blocks up and the Fairmont was only 10 minutes walk away.
It was still before 8am so we sat down in front of the Station and worked out what we would do. The best option according to Sean was a 1 day multizone travel ticket, and it proved to be just that.
First visit was to the Lookout in the Harbour Centre. Spectacular views of the whole of Vancouver and the surrounds. Our Guide Miak, told us a great deal of the history of the city as we looked out.
After descending we made our way over to the Seabus terminal and travelled over to Lnsdale Quay in North Vancouver where we caught the bus to Grouse Mountain.
Now Grouse Mountain has a cable car at the bottom but we went anyway. Rita is very nervous of these devices. We waited to watch one go off and Rita pondered and then announced she would go up. We paid and entered the gondola. Maximum capacity was 100+1. The journey up was uneventful and Rita looked relaxed. There was still a large amount of snow at the top. One of the attractions was the Screaming Eagle chair lift. which disappeared down the slope towards Vancouver. Each chair was a four-man bench with the drop down barrier full open the the elements. I looked at it, Rita look at it. The young girl operating it asked if we wanted to ride. Rita said she would think about it. We walked around the area and saw one of the two Grizzly Bears living there. They we both orphans and are now too used to humans to be released.
Rita suddenly announced she was going to go on the chairlift! Where was my wife and who was this impostor? Even more remarkable was that while travelling down we stopped and Rita didn't start to panic. It was however very fresh sitting there. The rest of the journey down and back up was uneventful.
After a bowl of chips we went back down the Cable car and on to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Crossing the bridge was a little like being drunk.
The next stop was Stanley Park where we avoided too much exertion by taking the free suttlebus that travels right round the island. We then caught the bus back to our hotel. After a meal we collapsed, after making sure we had set our alarms for 6am for our trip to Whistler.
After

We have arrived.
The whole thing went pretty smoothly. We arrived at the airport too early to check our bags in so we had to wait for 20 minutes. The terminal is vast but there are very few seats. We were lucky that things were quiet. When all the BA flights are transferred to T5 it is going to be rather bad.
Seats on the other side of the barrier were not too plentiful either.
Our seats were right at the back of the plane as a pair and this provided a bit more space. The downside was that behind us was then toilets and a small area where the attendant sits during take off. We had a large group of school children who kept using the area to have meetings and things got pretty noisy at times. We had to call the attendant a couple of times to clear them away.
Sleeping was also a problem because the whole journey was during our normal waking period and also we were tracking the sun so it was always midday outside.
I took a few photos on the flight from the window, which was a little scratched on the outside.
We passed over Iceland, Greenland and then Canada. For much of the time there was complete cloud cover so little to see.
We arrived at Vancouver a little late but the weather was prefect. I had checked and found that there was a shuttle that visited all the downtown hotels and when I asked ours wasn't included so we had a queue for a taxi. I must say I was impressed by the taxi service. The route from the airport was one big construction site. The driver informed us that they were building an underpass from the airport to downtown which will be ready for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
After we checked in we had a couple of hours nap. At 7pm local time [3:30am body time] we went out for a stroll. We strolled towards Chinatown. The whole area looks run down and there were lots of homeless people standing around in groups. We were asked a couple of times for change.
We finally found an Italian restaurant and had a meal. We got back to the hotel at around 8:30pm and went to bed.
This morning at 4:30am we were both wide awake. Go figure.

It's tomorrow!

I have just checked in on-line and reserved our seats. With the help of the excellent website SeatGuru I selected a pair of seats right at the back. Because of where they are there and because it is just a pair of seats there is a little more space available. Well, that is what I am hoping.
It was when I printed out the boarding passes it really came home to me just how close it was.
Packing was fun and we had to go to three suitcases to stay under the 23kg weight limit. All I have to do know is pack the laptop and remember to pack all the chargers and leads.

Not long to go

It's a bad post, good post, bad post and good post.
Bad post: Riding to work on last Wednesday I was knocked off my bike by a bus. I demolished a wall and it appears my bike will be written off.
Good post: Other than a few grazes and bruises I'm still walking.
Bad post: Our friends cannot meet us in Vancouver due to illness.
Good post: Their trip by train journey from Vancouver to Whistler and a sea-plane trip back has been transferred to us. It will be awesome.
I've now purchased a laptop so I can save images from the SD cards and do some initial pruning and also update this blog while travelling.
I'm working on about 600-700 images each day. My 8GB SD cards will handle 600 NEF RAW images or 1200 Fine JPG images. I have 3 8GB SD cards so I should be covered. My other concern is making sure all the batteries are fully charged each day.
The Picture? Well up until Sunday this is the nearest I could have got to Canada (Geese)

Victoria Talls Ships event

Finally booked our seats on one of the Cannon ships taking part in the mock battle on the evening of Friday 27th June.
The crew will be dressed in authentic uniforms so it should be quite a spectacle.
Check out the Prince of Whales web site for more information.
The following morning we are booked on a 16 seater Zodiac and will hopefully come close to some whales.