Weekend guests :)

Shame on me for not posting in so long. It has been hotter than Hades out here in California and I have been trying to lay low and not melt.
My mom and sister were out for the weekend and it was fantastic to see them. Unfortunately it was also very humid and not at all like the beach coolness that we are used to out here. We even had one night of real lightening. Although, hearing people talk about it you would have thought it was the apocolypse. People just did not know what to think of it...there were even several familys flying kits at the beach that did not stop....um, have they ever heard of Ben Franklin?I took my mom and sister to Venice Beach on Saturday for some fun shopping which also happened to be the hottest day of the weekend and then we chilled at the concert on the beach on Sunday evening. It was great to have them out here, I wish they could have stayed longer...especially because it finally feels like it is cooling down around here. I have also decided that my sister should be a personal shopper. I definitely need her help.
This weekend I have no plans, except for that huge pile of laundry I have sitting in the other room. I think I might go down for a walk on the beach...although the clouds outside are looking rather ominous.

B.C. Vacation Part II

The next morning the three of us woke up early and got in the van to drive down to the ferry to visit Vancouver Island. I had heard from a lot of people that I had to go visit the Island and that it was the most magnificent place.
Our reservation on the ferry got us a premier spot on the boat...we were the first to get on and the first to drive off. The only thing that bit about the ferry ride was the wait. Jon and Kim crashed in the van for a while before we could get on the boat.
It was cold & windy on the crossing so I was glad that we all brought jackets. As soon as the ferry landed we drove down to Victoria. The main attraction in Victoria seems to be the Empress Hotel. You cannot enter unless you have reservations it seems so we did not bother with that...we just glanced at it from the sidewalk and said, "How beautiful, but I hope the ivy is not ruining their stonework."
There was a gay pride parade that was going on in Victoria so the city was full of color. We decided to tour the miniature museum that was in the basement of the Empress. It had over 80 displays all laid out in miniture form. We all kept wondering how long it took someone to make these. Here I am in front of the fantasyland miniature display.
They really ought to put me in their brochures...look how happy I am to be in miniature world...plus their brochures have people in 70s garb. After touring miniature world we decided to see what the fuss was about with the supposed castle tour. We drove up into a residential neighborhood to view the castle and when we arrived I could not find this so called castle....all I saw was a manor house. There are houses in my home town that are twice the size of this and not called a castle. It was very beautiful, but we decided not to pay the entry fee to see the manor house. Here is a pic as we are driving away.
We then headed out of Victoria back toward the ferry dock with one detour to the Butchart Gardens. The fee was a bit steep, but the gardens were beautiful.
After the gardens we headed back to the ferry and we are glad we did at that point because we had to wait for an hour and 45 minutes for the next ferry...it was a holiday weekend afterall. We said Goodbye to Kim after the ferry ride as she had a long haul down to Seattle. I hope that I can visit Seattle sometime soon to visit her there.
The next morning, we got up early to drive out to Whistler for the last day. Whistler is beautiful and I recommend it as a place to visit. The air is so clean and the views are spectacular. We checked into our hotel room early and got upgraded twice! Once because they did not have our initial room ready and the second because of the bathroom not working. Our room was enormous and had a great view.Our reservation for the Zip Trek tour was at 2:00 so we had to hustle to get to the check in and get ready. We then met up with our whole group of about ten people and our two guides and then headed up into the wilderness to get to the start of the tour.

Here we are all harnessed up and away we go:

It was great to fly over Fitzsimmons creek.
After the zip trek, we relaxed in the hotel pool. Then we headed out of town to Narin Falls for our dinner picnic. It was very romantic even though I suffered many mosquito bites...they love me. Here are the falls where we ended up and had the perfect end to a romantic evening! :)

British Columbia Vacation Part 1

I have a lot to fit in so I am going to do this in several posts. :) My first full day in Vancouver, we decided to check out the Capilano Suspension Bridge. The bridge did not look all that crazy up close, but when you get a lot of people crossing it at one time....it swings like crazy!!! The original bridge was built a long time ago to help the land owner bring lumber across for his business. I cannot imagine coming across a swinging bridge like that with a ton of lumber. They do say the bridge is strong enough to hold a loaded 747. We also cruised through Stanley Park which is right in Vancouver and I decided to join the totems in the park.

The next day, we explored our surroundings and celebrated Canada Day!!! Whooo Hooo Canada Day! :) We enjoyed free cake that was handed out everywhere, and got maple leaf tattoos ( rub ons). I think it is mandatory to have the tattoos on Canada Day.
In the afternoon, my friend Kim arrived from Seattle to join us and visit. I have not seen Kim in forever and a day and it was great to catch up.We all rode the gondola up to Grouse Mountain to take in the views of the city. They also had a couple of resident bears up at the top of the mountain along with a lumberjack show that was pretty funny.We ended that evening by exploring the gaslamp district and having dinner there. Everywhere we went I ended up ordering the largest beer possible that was on the menu.....not really by choice. I guess their beers are just served in buckets. Here is the gaslamp clock that was originally powered by steam...it is not anymore, but they do still have the steam coming out for historic purposes. :)


Part II to follow.

Returned!

Well, we just got back yesterday from a fantastic trip in British Columbia! I am exhausted and have so much to tell everyone, but I had a full day of work today and it has been stressful. I know that there is one thing that everyone has been wanting to see, so here it is:

It's Official! :) More to follow on the trip!!! Sorry to those who I have not gotten a chance to talk to before you see this....it has been hectic since we have been back.