Back to the mainland

Woken in the very early hours by a text message from our tenant in London because 'all the lights are not working' and after a brief exchange to ascertain that he had checked the breaker panel managed to contact our friendly local electrician who popped round and sorted the problem within about half an hour. Even I was impressed with the speedy resolution of the problem - and £30 for someone to trip the one main breaker switch which the tenant had missed was probably worth it.

While we didn't see an orca on our boat or ferry trips, Linda found these guys just across from our room at the Union Club in Victoria

Taking the ferry from Swartz Bay we had a great view of some of the Gulf Islands

before arriving at Tsawassen and onto the TransCanada for our drive to the Okanagan Valley. It was a longer drive than we had expected but once we left the coastal plain at Hope and started the climb up highway 3 towards Princeton and on to Penticton, the scenery was spectacular - and some of the road building projects were even more surprising.

There was very little traffic and we arrived at Quidni Estate Winery just before the office closed so that they could serve us a glass of cool white wine while they showed us to our room. This is a tiny winery - only 3 acres of vines - and there are only three guest rooms in upper floor of the main building but our room was very comfortable and had all you needed.

Our host had booked us a table for dinner at the Hillside winery just a short walk up the hill on a sunny evening where we had a very good meal with matched wines - the perfect end to a very long day.

Moving on

While our accommodation in Ucluelet was comfortable but a little basic - a comfortable bed and a good shower - it had good fast wifi so we were able to do a bit of planning for the next leg of our trip and  I was also able to get my new tablet restarted.

So after a little net surfing we went for an evening walk along the lighthouse trail and then headed into town for a seafood dinner at the 'best fish restaurant in town' not realising that it was Monday evening - the only night that it was closed.

Thankfully we found 'Hanks untraditional BBQ restaurant' and felt that we had to check it out just because of the name. Turned out to be a good choice with a great selection of local beers and excellent menu.

On the road early, after a quick breakfast at Zoe's Bakery, we arrived back with Andi and Uncle Stan in time for coffee and cake - and the obligatory photo on the front porch:

We had booked a room at the Union Club in Victoria - not realising that they had a fairly strict dress code - but they were quite understanding as we checked in and after dropping off the bags headed off to Fisherman's Wharf for a late lunch at the Sushi Bar.

The water taxi ride on the way back gave us a good view of the inner harbour and we then wandered up Government Street looking for somewhere for dinner.

Having dressed for dinner in accordance with the requirements of the dress code, we stopped into the Club bar for an aperitif, but beat a hasty retreat and ended up at 10 Acres Kitchen across the road where the Brazilian sommelier and Quebecois waiter took very good care of us, Interesting local wine - Unsworth Sauvignette - and a decent meal after which we wandered over to the Irish Times for a quiet nightcap - which proved difficult because of a couple of  new found friends at the bar and the two musicians in the corner - one of those occasions when it would have been good to have Jimmy C with me to teach them some manners.

A Busy Weekend

After our tour of Andi's new property we tried a bit of local sightseeing - including the market at Coombs which is called 'Goats on Roof' because they allow the goats up on the grassed roof to graze down the grass - not tempted by any of the arts and crafts but we did get some great fresh fruit. Good lunch at the pub in Qualicum Beach followed by a leisurely walk around the harbour.
By the time we got home it was time to sit on the deck with a beer or two before dinner and then have another go at the Black Bush.
Church on Sunday morning with Stan while Linda and Andi did some essential shopping (more beer and wine) and then home for a BBQ with my second cousin Ryan - who I was meeting for the first time - his wife Laura and their two little girls.
On Monday we headed south to Ucluelet for a spot of whale-watching - a 2 1/2 hr drive through some amazing scenery - including Cathedral grove with some 400 year old Douglas Firs. Found some accommodation when we got there and just had time for a coffee and snack before we checked in for our boat trip. Just one short shower as we boarded but then the sun came out and kept us warm - and slightly sunburned for the rest of the afternoon.
We saw three Grey Whales up close while they were feeding in the shallows of one of the islands

and had a quick sight of the fin of a passing Humpback alone with some Harbour seals sunning themselves:

and a host of Bald Eagles which have learned to follow the fishing boat in the hope of a free meal.

Catching up

After 4 days without the laptop, there are a few stories to tell and pictures to show. Tried using my phone to keep up to date but my eyesight was challenged and my fingers too big for the keypad.

From Vancouver we picked up a hire car and headed for Horseshoe Bay and the ferry to Nanaimo - fairly uneventful journey - but some great scenery and as we stood on deck in the sunshine, we could see the rain showers on the island. Luckily we missed most of them and managed to find our way to my cousin Andi's place just in time for happy hour and a couple of beers with Uncle Stan followed by dinner in the local pub with a great selection of local beers and then home for a glass or two of Black Bush with Andi.

On Saturday we started with a tour of the 5 acre property where they have lived for about two years. While we visited the chickens, sheep, horses and Bella the highland heifer,

we were accompanied everywhere by her 5 Australian Cattle Dogs.

I think Linda would have been very happy if she could have managed to take one of the three week old puppies home to Moyhill.

A bus ride and other attractions

Apologies but this post was written last week but I was unable to post it because my new tablet died on Friday and it has taken a couple of days to work out how to get it going again

As we left the hotel on Thursday morning - up, breakfasted and out before 9.00am - we discovered that some of the interesting characters from the previous night were still around - nothing threatening but Linda felt it was a little 'edgy' while I felt it was sad to see such a collection of people with little or no hope.That seems to be what you have to expect in almost any city these days particularly one with a mild temperate climate like Vancouver.

Our first stop was the Hastings Urban Farm - which we could see from our hotel window - an interesting project supported by a number of volunteers from the street community where the biggest threat to their vegetable and salad production for a number of local restaurants appeared to be the local rodents. Despite this problem, they had an impressive crop of potatoes, onions, leeks, courgettes, salad leaves and pollinator plants along with a seed bank.

After a stop at the visitor information centre and a walk around the deck of Canada Place, we decided to try out one of the Hop on/Hop off bus services. We got a great introduction to the city, had a walk on the trails in Stanley Park, visited the public market at Granville Island and finished up with a visit to the Sun Yat Sen Gardens in Chinatown before heading home for a late siesta.

We had dinner in the Pourhouse on Water St in Gastown - good food and wines but our server seemed compelled to announce himself and what he was planning to do each time he came to the table. Not a problem when he was describing the food on the plate but a little excessive when he came to fill up the water glasses or remove empty plates or bring new cutlery - if he thought he was enhancing the expected gratuity then he was probably sorely disappointed - annoying little fecker!

Seemed like a long day

As we were checking into our hotel downtown Vancouver last night we noted that it was 9.30pm or 5.30 am at Moyhill so about 19 hours travelling including a 90 min delay at Heathrow because of a severe thunderstorm which disrupted the departures programme.

Managed a glass or two of fizz, a reasonable meal - as airline food goes -  an excellent Californian Chardonnay and equally good Pinot Noir, two movies - the Coen Brothers 'Hail Caesar' and Tarantino's 'Hateful Eight' - which were both excellent and a couple of hours kip - so almost a perfect journey apart from the slight delay.
We are staying at the Skwachays Lodge which is described as an 'Aboriginal Hotel and Gallery'  and in addition to being comfortable and very stylish is also an interesting social enterprise. There's a good chance that at least one piece from their Gallery will be coming home with us.
Because of the delayed arrival, we just managed a quick Thai meal and decided to skip the night club - although there were some interesting characters in the streets as we walked home - maybe tonight we will feel more like sampling the nightlife.

Just for a change - a summer expedition

Since there are a number of places that we would like to visit which are not warm enough in January and February, we thought we would try something different this year and are just about to head off to Canada for a few weeks - mostly in BC and Alberta with a stop off on the way home to see the CC&Coke drinking banker cousin - who tells me he no longer drives a BMW - probably upgraded to something more in keeping with his executive position!

We are flying from Shannon - via Heathrow - to Vancouver with BA on  Airbus 380 - have flown once before en route to Joburg last year and remember it was very comfortable so looking to a glass or two of fizz, a couple of movies and perhaps a few hours kip.
We arrive in Vancouver on Wednesday evening so time to get changed and check out the night life - or perhaps grab a burger and crash - lets see how we feel when we get there.
Sitting at Shannon with the obligatory glass of the black stuff - we are on holiday after all! Already thought of two things we forgot but thankfully nothing of any importance. Watch this space.