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The Streets of San Francisco

Took a ride on the famous cable cars, on the running boards hanging off the edge. Woo hoo!

Hello San Francisco

I was lucky enough to visit San Francisco lately for a course. I grabbed the chance to hear their Symphony Orchestra play some Prokoviev, Ligeti and Dvorak which was fantastic. Davies Symphony Hall was actually much more full than the photo suggests which was taken well before the performance.

Fort St James Historical Site and Fur Trading Station

Why was the bearskin sad and lonely? Because he had no body.

Lac Beauvert

On our last day in Jasper, we a took a nice stroll around the lake next to our hotel. We saw squirrells, loons and crested ducks. It took an hour before we hit the road back to PG. We were lucky as the heavens opened on our trip home. We stopped at Mount Robson for lunch but I don't think I have ever seen less of the mountain than I did that day due to the low clouds.

Pyramid Mountain and Lake, Jasper, AB

While K escorted her mother back to the UK, I took the kids for a few days in Jasper.

Tea at The Empress Hotel (again)

How can you visit Victoria without stopping for tea at The Empress Hotel and Tea Rooms?

Cox Bay, Tofino

We recently had a nice vacation in Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island. K's sister and mother joined us for the road trip from Vancouver to Tofino and back via Victoria. We love Tofino. It reminds us a lot of home only with quieter beaches and more starfish.

RCMP Musical Ride comes to PG

Earlier this summer, some friends invited us to the RCMP Musical Ride. Horses, music, mounties and formation riding. Quite the show and a real Canadian institution.

PGYO in Smithers

The boys and girls of the PGYO joined together with local musicians to form the Pacific Northwest String Orchestra. After a heavy schedule of rehearsals, their inaugural concert was a tour de force.

PGYO Tour 2013 - Smithers

This years Youth Orchestra Summer Tour visited the towns of Smithers and Burns Lake. 4 hours to the west of Prince George, Smithers sits on the Bulkley river and between Hudson Bay Mountain and the Babine Mountain range. At the Bugwood Bean cafe you can sit outside and enjoy the scenery as well as a great cup of coffee.

Scouters' Retreat - Camp Friendship

Last month I spent a weekend with other Scout Leaders from across northern British Columbia for training and a little R&R without our cubs for a change. There was lots of fishing, canoeing and a chance to hone our outdoor skills. We slept in relatively luxurious Walden-esque cabins like this one.

Nass Lake, outside Terrace, BC

The weather was gorgeous and I spent a lovely evening in the Nass Valley northwest of Terrace.

Lakelse Lake, Terrace.

I had a great opportunity to locum for a week in Terrace, BC recently. The surrounding area is absolutely stunning.

Guess who?

Guess who is turning 13 this weekend?

There's gold in them there hills

There's a chill in the air today and memories of summer are fading fast. We had a lovely visit from my brother and his family in August. We went to Barkerville for a day, a restored gold rush town now living museum. The cousins panned for gold (with success!) and I bought my own pan from the general store. Now I can sneak out by myself and secretly pan for gold at the local river. Gold fever has struck!

Fishing Stuart Lake

While we were in Fort St James, some friends came over from PG and our hosts took us out for a days fishing. We beached up for a picnic lunch on one of the deserted islands. My fishing buddy M had a ball as he caught more fish than anyone else by far. A nice day was had by all and a nice distraction from the sailing.

Sailing camp

What a great summer it's been here in BC. The first week in August, the family headed up to Fort St James and Stuart Lake for sailing camp. The kids enjoyed a week of sailing Optomists, I had fun in my Laser, the weather was good and there was plenty of wind (most days). Win!

Mighty Haleakala

On our last day we visited the Haleakala National Park and drove up to the crater of  the now dormant volcano. We were fortunate enough to experience a clear day at the 10,000ft summit and the views were amazing. Haleakala and Maui were formed by the active hotspot/volcano that produced the Hawaiian island chain as the Pacific tectonic plate slowly drifted westwards over 28 million years. This hotspot is still active under the ocean 35 miles east of the Big Island and will eventually form a new Hawaiian island many years into the future.

Big Cat Adventure

We took a trip on a large catamaran which took us to a secluded bay and marine reserve. There we snorkeled over the reef with tropical fish, moray eels and (did I already say?) sea turtles. They gave us a delicious lunch and we enjoyed a great days sailing on the tramp.