H is for HOLIDAY

HI everyone!  I'm finally going away on a HOLIDAY this week!  So if I don't get back to you please forgive me.  This summer, I already had a "staycation" with good friend from Wales and we did lots of things around here and then I relaxed while they went off to Vancouver Island.  But now it's my turn - instead of going thousands of miles away, I'm only going about a 2 1/2 drive to Whistler Village, a very popular resort (especially in winter for skiing).  I'll be staying in the center of the village so if I get bored from reading and relaxing, will go out to do some people watching and photography.

As it's extremely expensive to stay in Whistler, this is a real treat.  After tutoring one student for 9 years, her parents gave me 3 nights at their condo as a thank you gift!  Pretty nice, eh?  I'm taking my daughter for a Mom/Daughter bonding time and expect we will really enjoy it.  I'll post photos for another post later in the round.  The one major thing we're going to do is the Peak-to-Peak adventure.  It's the world's highest and longest (4.4 kilometers) lift and I really hope to get some outstanding photos, not only from the gondola, but also from the spot where we land.  Check out this site here to see what else there is to do at Whistler.

See you next week!

Grouse Mountain

Sorry to be late posting, but have just said good-bye to friends who have been visiting from Wales.  The grand finale of their trip was a visit up Grouse Mountain to see the spectacular view of the city of Vancouver in both daylight and at sunset when the lights came on. 

Grouse Mountain is one of the North Shore Mountains of the Pacific Ranges in the District Municipality of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Exceeding 1,200 m in altitude at its peak, it is the site of an alpine ski area, Grouse Mountain Resort, which overlooks Greater Vancouver with four chairlifts servicing 26 runs. In the summer, Grouse Mountain Resort features lumberjack shows, a birds of prey wildlife demonstration, a scenic chairlift ride, and a 2.9 km hiking trail known as the Grouse Grind, as well as helicopter sightseeing. Year-round operations include a 100-seat mountaintop theatre and a wildlife refuge. Public access to the mountain top is by a Swiss Garaventa aerial tramway, or by the Grouse Grind hiking trail.

We took in the lumberjack show, always a comical way of demonstrating what lumberjacks did in the olden days, a scenic chairlift ride to the peak of the mountain where we watched people paraglide (tandem-style with a professional) off the top of the mountain to soar over the treetops, watching the grizzly bears wander around their huge enclosure, and a lovely dinner overlooking the city of Vancouver and the Burrard Inlet flowing into the Georgia Strait.

carvings of lumberjacks

Hope you take advantage of the views from the top of Grouse Mountain if you ever come for a visit.  It is well worth it to spend at least half a day up the mountain.

F is for FARMS

This week we celebrate the letter F as in fun, faith, feeble, fast, fabulous, fashion, fisherman, football, and furniture.  I'm going to show you some photos of the area where I live - only about 30 minutes from the third largest city in Canada - Vancouver.  I bet you wouldn't think there is so much farmland around here, but there is!  It began as a fishing and agricultural area and people have had to fight hard to maintain this aspect of our neighbourhood.

The village of Ladner is growing all the time with families from other areas moving into the new homes being built here. However, once outside the village limits, there are farms everywhere with dairy cattle, horse, goats, chickens, sheep, and other animals.  There is also a bird sanctuary where you can go and walk amongst the ducks, geese, Sandhill cranes, owls, and swans.  In November, the snow geese arrive and people from far and wide come to see them. Here are some of my photos of the farmland in my neighbourhood...hope you enjoy them.

E is for EXPLOSION

Hello and welcome to E week!  Sorry to be late posting but I've had guests from Wales for the past week and we've been on the go every day!  I took them this morning to pick up a rental car and they are off to see Vancouver Island for a week.  Then they'll be back for a night and off for 3 nights at Whistler.

As soon as I arrived home after taking them for their rental car, I sat down to do my post - E is for Explosion.  This comes from our day at Fort Langley where they put on a weapons demonstration.  These weapons are from the early 1800s when the fur trappers were in the area.  The fellow (below)who gave the talk told us all about the history of the gun, the powder used, how to load it and more!  I'll be bringing more about the fort and other places we visited in future weeks.

Preparing to FIRE!

Hope everyone's having a good summer so far.  We actually have too much heat right now and smoke due to those fires, but it'd due to cool off a bit by the end of the week.

D is for DEJA VU VINTAGE MARKET

Welcome to ABC Wednesday and the letter D...as in dentist, daiquiri, diamonds, dungeon, drink, Dracula, and dachshund.  Last week, when I wrote C is for Country, I mentioned that Wellbrook Winery hosted the "Deja Vu Vintage Market" this year.  So I thought I'd bring you some images of the event. 

I had to park way in the back field near the greenhouses and walk past the blueberry bushes in order to get to the grounds where the market was being held.  I passed some antique John Deere tractors, an old, rusty tiller, and an antique thresher as I headed towards the tents.  People were milling around outside the barn and I joined right in, camera in hand.  There were many signs indicating that this was the "Deja Vu Vintage Market" and I came to understand that the people involved in the event (the vendors) seemed to know one another from other events they've held in the past.

There were so many fascinating things to see from antique suitcases, kitchen appliances, bicycles, old stools, pots, tools, and tables and ladders painted and shown in a different light (décor-wise), and in the barn were sterling silver decorations made from cream and sugar bowls, spoons, and small teapots.  One of my favourite displays was the antique doll sitting in an antique carriage. I couldn't believe how life-like she appeared!  Also, up in the hayloft was an antique buggy! 

Outside again, I came upon some antique signs and naturally, my favourite was the one that said, "The influence of a good teacher can never be erased."  And just today, a young lady (now at age 22) who was in one of my Grade 4 classes and now works with my daughter phoned to tell me she's engaged! How precious it is to  have a former student go out of her way to tell me about something special that's happening in her life!

But I digress.  Also outside were wonderful floral displays, an old bus painted aqua blue in which the owner transports her hand-styled and hand-painted T-shirts.  In my mind, I called it the "Aquabus."  I hope you enjoy the photos and the sort of kitschy music that accompanies them. I tried to find something that sounded "vintage."