2017-06 Joanne and Ann Go West

Morning came late for us today. A little confusing perhaps because my watch was telling me that it was  one time and the sun another. A definite symptom of jet lag, LOL! We finally managed to coordinate getting up about 9:30 am and headed off for brunch with Nicole and Fadi. We went to "The Lieutenants' Pump", a pub style Restauant downtown. We sat out on a covered patio which was good because it had to be 30 C!!  Our  meal was the English Breakfast which is a mix of fruit, tastey potatoes, eggs, GF toast, bacon, ham, baked beans, and more, wow!  After breakfast, Fadi and Nicole dropped us at the Byward Market and headed off to do their own errands. The market was huge, kind of a cross between a flea market and a farmers market. We wandered along the street talking to vendors and other tourists. There are soooo many interesting stories to hear.  After the market, we headed over to Majors Hill Park, checked out the view of the parliament buildings from across the...

The days have flown by and alas, it's time to head for home. We woke just after 6 am with the intent of arriving early, just in case our best laid plans should go astray. LOL You just never know when you might need to look for a gas station or even where to return the rental car. Lots of things to stress about ..... sigh..... traffic jams perhaps!  But mercifully, perhaps because it was Saturday, the drive went smoothly and happily the car return went well.  Poor Ann wasn't stressed when we left our motel, but perhaps after trying to calm "me" down, she may have been been by the time we boarded the plane.  Our flight to Toronto was was great. It was a larger plane and smooth so Ann was glued to the window to enjoy the experience. The flight from Toronto to Ottawa was another story. It was a small propeller plane. You could truly feel the plane banking, climbing and every air pocket for the entire hour we were in the air.  I was just a bit queasy but poor Ann got real...

We started our last full day of vacation sitting around  Ruthie's kitchen table. We enjoyed yet another country breakfast and discussed ideas for things to do in Victoria. It seemed Butchart Gardens was the way to go. After hugs and promises to send pictures, we loaded up our little rental car and headed off to Victoria.  We arrived at Butchart Gardens by 10:30 am thinking we would look around for 2 hours then head off to the waterfront. The sun was out and the weather pleasant, not hot. What a beautiful day and what a beautiful garden! From the roses to the sunken garden (it was once a gravel pit, but now a veritable fairy land of blooms), the Japenese gardens etc, there just aren't words..... It is incredible!!  Soooo our 2 hour planned tour turned into almost 4 hours, but worth it! We have noticed that we have met a lot of people from Ontario who come to visit and then move back to live or just .. never leave. We stopped for tea and ended up talking to a really interes...

We started our day with a fabulous country breakfast and conversation with our host Ruthie. A vintage wood cook stove was used to warm the kichen and cook the food. Ruth managed everything, seemingly without effort! It actually makes me hopeful that I can do the same things when I make it to my mid to late 70's (I am just guessing at her age.... Well, it was raining, but we just decided to make the most of things, plus Ruthie had such great ideas for us, how could we lose? So we set out, maps in hand ( hand written by Ruthie). First stop was a Lavender Winery which, we soon found out was closed! Despite the rain, and since we were there anyway, we checked out their gardens which included lavender, surprised?!?! I wonder if they had surveillance cameras because soon afterward, a youngish man came out.  Rather than shooing us off, he gave us a tour. There were several lavender products as well as Lavender wines and of course after he was so nice to us, we both bought something! S...

This is being written the day after.  Yesterday was a travel day as we retraced our steps from Ucluelet through the mountains, past Cathedral Grove, to Nanaimo and finally to Mill Bay.  The skies were sunny at first which was wonderful in looking out at the incredible mountain views. I drove this time which allowed Ann a chance to take a good look around. But oh my the sharp curves and narrow roads that hug the mountains, there were times that I slowed down to a crawl just to feel safe while some of what we thought were locals zoomed by the first chance they got! We had packed a picnic with the leftovers of our chicken supper from the night before and we passed more than a few gorgeous roadside picnic areas. In the end we stopped in a parking lot back in Nanaimo to eat our sandwiches LOL would like a "do-over" on that one!!! We finally passed the sign for Mill Bay about 5:30 pm, a little road weary and anxious to find our B&B and relax. Our GPS took us to a rock face on a...

This morning was all about getting ready for our grand adventure, however, before we managed to walk out the door, we had some surprise guests for breakfast.  We had heard about the urban deer in the area, and well, two of them walked right past our picture window this morning. They were so tame and close that we could have reached out and touched them! We booked a whale watching cruise for noon and thought we were arriving early only to find everyone waiting for us because a whale had been sighted just out of the harbour.  The waves were not dangerous, but high enough to give us an interesting ride, kind of like a roller coaster with bumps!! We did see lots of sea lions (do they ever get big!!), but it was the whales we wanted to see.  The skipper, Cameron was great, picture an older hippie/surfer who never left the ocean. He gave us lots of info and told fabulous stories! He had us helping to look for spouts which would let us know where the whales are, and we did find ...

Our B&B totally felt like cabin in the woods, the decor was so comfy and anything you could want was right there. So we had a relaxing breakfast, packed up the car and went to say goodbye to our hosts. That was when we discovered that they were Southern Ontario natives and in fact, Bev had lived in a rural community, Donegal, close to one of Ann's relatives. We had a great chat and the longer we spoke, the most connections we found! Under beautiful sunny skies, we headed off toward Ucluelet with plans to stop at a few fun places thanks to the info we got from Sandy.  There was a market with several boutique style buildings in Coombs. All of them had roofs with soil and grass (?thatched) and all were connected. There were a few goats that we saw munching happily as they wandered the roofs and ... likely watching the tourists who were watching them LOL.  And there were lots of tourists from all over. I heard several languages while we checked things out! Besides the usua...

We made a special effort this morning to get up and about in a more timely manner LOL! The ferry we wanted to take was leaving at 10:40 am. and it was recommended that if you didn't want to pay the $17 reservation fee, you should arrive an hour early. Well, best laid plans don't always work out the way you want ..... by the time we were gassed up ($1.34 per litre!!!!) and on the road, the GPS arrival time was 9:58 am, close enough I figured.  Sooooo we were on the highway, same one that goes to Whistler, and Suzie (the GPS) said stay left to go to Horseshoe Bay and next thing we knew, we were "past" the sign on the road, sigh.  Well, happily for us, there was a uturn exit a few miles up the road and we finally pulled into the ferry terminal at 10:15 am. In the end, we were one of the last ones loaded on the ferry for 10:40 sailing! Phew!! We found our B&B really easily when we got to Nanaimo. It is really cute, built at the back of the owners home. It has its own ...

We took our time again this morning, we're on holidays after all!  Our plan was to go to Stanley Park today and wander the park, checking out the sights. We called Teresa and another friend, Connie (a co-worker fromToyota who had moved back to Vancouver) They met us at the motel and set out with us to check out this world class park. We drove the road circling the park checking out the view, then stopped and took a walk along the park sea wall. It was interesting to check out the varieties of trees, shrubs and berry bushes that grew alongside the walkway. There was a type of maple with huge leaves, all manner of berries and oh the rhododendrons! They are huge, with gorgeous flowers, Ann is just thrilled with them!! Since we were walking along an ocean port area, we also saw some really big ships, including a few luxury liners from the Holland America Line. Sigh, would love to hitch a ride on one of those. We found the Aquarium and a horse and buggy tour of the park. Lots of ideas f...

Wow, what a day!  We had a relaxing start by sleeping in until 9:30 am Kitchener time but 6:30 Vancouver time. Perhaps we need to climatise, at least timewise. LOL After breakfast we set the GPS for Whistler and off we went! I spent the first hour of the trip oohing and awwing over the views. Every bend in the road showed another gorgeous mountain vista.  We knew we were in Whistler when we started to see the beautiful chalet style houses and the Porsches, and us in a VW Golf..... The Village of Whistler looked exactly like I imagined it would! Sooo many chalet style wood shops, pubs and restaurants. We wandered around the exact spots I remember seeing on the television broadcasts from Olympic skiing events only today there was no snow. The gondolas were going up the mountain for  sightseers (for $40 each), there was a dirt bike competition happening with bikes and riders going up Buckhorn Mountain on ski lifts and then crashing down on dirt paths. There were trails every...

Nicole dropped us at the airport in Ottawa this morning just before 9, so lots of time to find our way to the right plane, we hoped!  As Nicole waved goodbye to us, I am sure I heard her say that it almost felt like sending her child off to camp!  The first was a smallish plane which only added to Ann's thrill/ terror / fear of heights in her first flight.A bit bumpy going up, but much better on the downside. We changed planes in Toronto and thankfully, the larger jet gave us a smooth flight. (And the circulation was just returning to my fingers Lol!) We saw such incredible views from the plane (and Ann was able to handle the window seat!)  We had great views of the lakes and farmland in the Midwestern states, but the Rockies were hidden in clouds, sigh! Then just before we landed, the pilot took us out over the ocean for a bit and then rounded back to land at the foot of the Rockies .... That was beautiful!! Then of course, there was the adventure of finding suitcases, l...