The Skies Over Vancouver

Another ultralite flight!

George got me another flight for my birthday which I took on July 25. This time instead of over the mountains, we flew over Vancouver. It was great (not as scenic as over the mountains of course). I got to fly the plane again which was pretty neat.

(....................Thinking of taking lessons..........???.....maybe)..:)

All Trees Have Roots

.......pretty simple (as roots go)............I have roots; I must be a tree.

 

Driving trip to Alberta..........
 

Starting out Tuesday after work (Jul. 9th) we ate on the go (pizza which George had picked up for the trip), drove to Kelowna and spent the night there. It was off in the morning for Grande Prairie where we spent the next night.

 

On the way to Watino on the 11th, we stopped in Spirit River, drove past the hospital where I was born (it has changed considerably from what I remember), took a fews photos then made our way onward. Stopping in at Eaglesham we found the school pretty much as it always has been (no changes there except for enrollment which I am told is way down); again took a few pictures. I tried to locate the convent where I used to take piano lessons but it seems to have been taken down; the catholic church still stood but no convent..........more pictures and on to explore the little village. We found a few landmarks; the butcher shop (which of course is no longer a butcher shop); the general store (still a business of some kind); an old family house - Blomert's (still standing but seemed empty and abandoned); the community hall (pretty much the same); the sports grounds and ball diamond (seemed much smaller than I remember it). After exploring for a short while and seeing no one walking down the street with whom we could converse, we headed on to Watino. The little store on Eaglesham corner was still there though changed somewhat.

 

Passing our old farm along the highway (on Tangent corner) I found that all buildings were gone; even the trees I remember on the property had been removed. It was strictly a field of grain.

 

Coming down the hill and into the little valley where Watino sits was familiar and brought back some memories. We visited the mainstreet where it seems the sidewalk that used to be there had disappeared; mainstreet was just a dirt road running past the houses; there were several holiday trailers parked along the river bank and we were later told that many people parked and lived there for the summer months. The property where I had lived after we moved to town was grown up to trees and bush; the house had been burned down some years previous. There was a new bridge across the river which we got a good view of when we walked a while by the river; let Mocha our for a run.

 

Stopping in at the cemetary we became aware of some deaths I hadn't heard about. We paid respects to my brother who is buried there and quickly left because the mosquitos were big enough to carry us away.........they almost did get away with Mocha...:):)

 

Luckily the Bolsters still lived in the same place which we found eventually as we drove out into the country away from the town. We had a great visit with Don and Donna, Ernie and Cres and Jim who filled in a lot of missing pieces about people and the area. We had lunch with them, saw Cres's beautiful flowers then headed out for Edmonton.

 

Apparently Watino is soon to celebrate their 100th birthday. Hopefully they will have a celebration which we can take part in and perhaps get to see a few more people. That would be good.

 

Arriving in the Edmonton area (and again getting lost following directions to the farm) we got to Tammy and Bob's in time to go to bed which we did; tired and ready for a rest. Friday (12th) we went into the city; got in a visit with Carl and Shirley and then a wee visit also with Joan. Following behind Aaron and Diane we arrived back at the farm in time for dinner (yummy burgers) with Tam, Bob, Benji(e), Shelby, and Brodie, a short visit then off to bed again. Saturday (13th) we took care of burying Carla's ashes, visited, played a few games, had yummy seafood lasagne for dinner, more games, then off to bed once more. Sunday (14th) while Tam, Bob and Benji(e) went to a birthday party the rest of us drove in to Edmonton and had a fun game of mini golf with Aaron coming out on top this time (way to go Aaron). Following our game we went to Boston Pizza for dinner which was very good. After dinner we said goodbye to Aaron and Diane and Shelby and Brodie then headed back to the farm for the night to pack and get ready to leave in the morning.
 

It was a bit of a whirl wind trip..........ate ourselves to the stuffed and overflowing point..........but had a nice time with everyone.

 

Our trip home was more-or-less uneventful. We saw a bear near Jasper (have always wanted to see a bear through the park) but it was so far away. We got some pics but couldn't pull him in close enough to get a real good shot. There were also some goats on the side of the mountain, a few deer by the road; other than that we saw beautiful scenery as always and the highway speeding under us. We arrived home, unpacked, hit the sack and slept. Mocha was very happy to be back home.

This tree was happy to have been able to inspect its roots again.

To London (Not to see the Queen)

Westjet wisked us off to London June 26 at 10:00 am;

Westjet landed us safely in London (without incident) around 7:30 pm to a beautiful sunny warm evening and my sister and niece to welcome us at the airport.

For the next 10 days we were treated royally and thoroughly enjoyed our visit with everyone. George was happy to meet more family and so appreciated being made to feel so welcome.

May's birthday gave us reason to celebrate on June 27th with dinner out (her choice was Swiss Chalet). This was the start of an EATING holiday with more food being consumed by the two of us than would be required by any six people in twice the length of stay. Do you get the message 'we ate a little too much and often?....

Lunch with Brenda and Marcel was scheduled for Friday. After lunch at the Greek restaurant it was back to their place for (you guessed it) dessert, a very yummy ice cream pie, complete with recipe to bring home.

Saturday June 29th was the day chosen to celebrate May and Age's birthday with all the family........where you say?........The Mandarin (a huge Chinese buffet). It was great to get together with all the family...........not so great that again we ATE so much! The food was tasty but really, did we need to consume that amount? I can always ask myself that question after, but at the time I don't seem the have the willpower to STOP.

Richard and Dianne invited us out to their place for dinner on Sunday (30th). It was great to see them again (and for George to meet them); we had a very nice visit and of course more wonderful FOOD. By this time I was beginning to feel like a blimp.........I would, when it came time to return home, actually LOOK like a blimp.

Niagara Falls was graced with our presence on Tuesday July 02nd (May, Dianne, George and I) with a stop in 'Niagara on the Lake' on the way down. Niagara on the Lake is a nice little place with lots of touristy quaint little shops. George spotted 'Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory'............couldn't resist a shopping spree.........of course we refused to help him eat his purchases.....:):). We spotted a little ice cream shop.........(you know we would never partake) then on the see the rest of the town.

Niagara Falls was awsome as I remembered it. George was glad to get to see it close up in the 'Maid of the Mist' boat which takes people right up close and into the mist from the falls.......it was great, blue raincoats 'n all. After the boat ride we stopped at the casino for dinner (yessss it was indeed a buffet) and we certainly did it justice.

So far everything we did on our visit involved FOOOOOD....!!!

On Thursday July 04th my niece Diane brought us over a 'Meals on Wheels' dinner..........vegetarian chile complete with napkins and homemade bread. it was all delicious. Friday we went to Janet's for a game of cards and visit (but guess what...........we had no food, only water; WOW).

Time to leave (Saturday) came soon. We did our laundry and got packed up then played a few games of cards before it was time to catch the plane around 7:30. It was a sad goodbye but hopefully we will be able to visit again before too long.

Arriving home around 11:30 we got a cab from the airport to Karli's (where we had left our vehicle), drove home, (not sure but probably ate something) unpacked, (probably ate some more) and hit the sack.

We were tired; it was good to get home; but we had a good visit and without a doubt we ATE TOO MUCH...!!!!