Summer sun in BC

We've had a great summer here in BC this year. It's been hot and dry. Too hot in fact, as many of you may have heard about the forest fires that have caused so much trouble further down south in the province. The dry weather has produced tinderbox conditions to the forests and lightning strikes have acted as the necessary primers for thousands of fires around the province. We've been lucky in Prince George this year but one can't help thinking that as a city completely surrounded by forest, our number will come up sooner or later.

We had a lovely visit to the UK for two weeks in July. It was a pretty busy couple of weeks trying to get around and see as many folk as possible. It was great to see everyone we did but apologies if we missed you out of our schedule. There was only so much we could squeeze into one fortnight. Unfortuntely it rained almost every day in the UK while we were there (we'd just missed the heatwave).

We were glad to return to PG which is a good sign that we have settled here well. We did feel we needed a more relaxing break after our UK trip so took a week to drive across to Jasper and then down through the Rockies to Banff and Lake Louise. We had a lovely week taking in the scenery and getting in some hiking. Banff is a lovely centre and base for exploring the surrounding lakes and mountains and we were really taken with Moraine lake near Lake Louise. The kids enjoyed climbing the huge boulders (or moraines) deposited by advancing glaciers which after they receded, dammed the river forming the crystal turquoise lake behind it.

We've managed to fill the rest of the summer pretty well too. I spent a lovely day fishing last week. A friend and I hiked out a canoe to a beautiful and remote lake outside PG and once there found the lake almost to ourselves (sharing only with the bears). We had great success too bringing home 8 good sized trout which tasted delicious on the barbeque the next day.

Things will start returning back to normal after the labour day weekend coming up. The schools go back and work will start winding up again. Thoughts will turn towards cooler weather and preparations for the snow expected in October. I have to admit I'm actually looking forward to it.

Summer is here at long last

Despite a short snow shower in early May, things are now warming up nicely. We're enjoying continuous days of sunshine with temps in the mid 20s and so I'm back on my bike to and from work. So far it's going well, although since we moved, there's now an extra hill to climb on my way home. Handily, there's a Starbucks on route and on hotter days, a short frappucino break becomes the perfect antidote for aching legs.

To make the most of the longer evenings at the moment we spent the weekend before last, renting a cabin at Mount Robson Provincial park. Mount Robson is the tallest peak in the Canadian Rockies and we had perfect warm sunny weather with clear views of the mountain peak. We did some walking around the mountain base and took a gentle dingy ride down the Fraser river. The Fraser is the largest and longest river in BC and originates in the Rockies only 150 miles from Mount Robson. The river's shallow, rapid waters are beautifully clear in the North and you can watch the salmon leaping the nearby falls on their long journey to their spawning grounds in September. By the time the Fraser reaches the lower mainland BC however, it's huge, dark and unfortunately somewhat polluted. The Robson river drains into the Fraser at the foot of the mountain, it's own origin lying high above in the mountain glacier. Making it's way down via two beautiful mountain lakes, the water takes on a blueish-white hue and is always freezing cold. The hike to the larger Berg lake takes 5-6 hours and most camp there overnight. The Berg lake trail is one of the most beautiful in BC. Sadly on this occasion, this trail will require a return visit from us but we're definitely coming back, perhaps in the autumn.

Can you believe it's almost a whole year since we moved to BC? Everything that has happened these last 12 months have been new experiences and now that the same calendar events are coming round again, things are beginning to feel strangely familiar. We've survived our first year and it's been a blast!

Where the mountains meet the ocean.

So what's news? Well, as regular followers of this blog may have realised, I've recently got a little behind with my updates. This presumably means one of two things. Either I've been busier than normal or life of late hasn't been interesting enough to blog about. I'll leave you to decide as you read on.

We had a great weekend in Vancouver a few weeks ago. Hot on the tail of Easter in Victoria, Vancouver turns out to be a different kettle of fish being much bigger, busier and feeling altogether more, well, city-like. That's not to say we didn't enjoy the weekend. We had a fab time visiting the park, the aquarium, the markets on Granville Island and taking time to sit watching the seaplanes land at the harbour. We managed to tame the mass transit system (exact change only) and find time for a harbour taxi ride. The vast array of shops gave us a much larger choice than that normally available to us in Prince George. Our hotel in the heart of downtown was perfect in location and the service exemplary. Even the weather was good enabling us to forget the snow we left behind in PG and sun ourselves in Stanley park amongst the racoons, rollerbladers and totem poles. The aquarium particularly was a treat, especially the Beluga whales, one of which was pregnant at the time, but has since delivered successfully amidst a worldwide media frenzy. Vancouver itself is utterly beautiful as snow capped mountains emerge straight out of the ocean to surround the city (we were lucky with the weather because rain is to Vancouver what snow is to Prince George).

It's not all roses down in Vancouver of course. The traffic is appalling, property prices are sky-high and of course every big city comes with big inner city problems of homelessness, drugs and crime. Still, as long as you know which neighbourhoods to avoid, things are fine and we didn't feel unsafe at any time walking around downtown.

Perhaps slightly more surprising were the vast number of English people we came across in Vancouver. The city is the boarding point for the Alaskan cruises and so many folk choose to spend some time in the city before and after.

So would I recommend Vancouver? Definitely two thumbs up. If you can catch an Alaskan cruise at the same time, even better.

Victoria, BC - More English than England?

We have just spent a fabulous Easter weekend in Victoria, our first visit to Vancouver Island. Billed as the provincial capital, the home of the provincial legislative government and the earliest site of white settlers to British Columbia, Victoria has been described as "more English than England". Well, the buildings are certainly grander and older than most we've seen in Canada and the government buildings are pretty impressive. The BC museum is excellent and the city has an English Riveria feel to it with a developed inland harbour, lots of waterfront property, houseboats and lots of greenery, parks and spring flowers. The kids had a great time at Victioria's Bug Zoo. Karenza got to hold a Tarantula (I was far too afraid). The kids enjoyed feeding the harbour seals at Fishermans Wharf, where Houseboat living had never appealed until now. We caught the harbour taxi to and fro and enjoyed High Tea at the Empress Hotel which was very grand, formal and colonial in both style and atmosphere and who served us one of the best cups of tea we've had since we arrived in Canada.

Victoria is a lovely place to visit and most attractions are located centrally so it's easy to walk to everything. It was nice to get away from the snow of the north and browse around some different shops (Victoria has some great bookshops). But was it more English than England? Not really, but I can see why people would say that. Our previous house in Worcestershire was older than the oldest settlers' house in Victoria and the service in the shops and hotels was far too good to be in England but over this last week back in PG I did miss England a little more than I have for a while. Maybe it had more to do with the piles of snow that are still sitting outside our house.

Next up, Vancouver. We're heading down there for a long weekend next week so keep a look out for a blog update after then.

Welcome to the pot hole capital of the world

Well we're finally in the new place and settling down. Although we've only moved across the city, the amount of organizing, the number of people to inform and the stress involved, you'd think we'd moved continents again. Still, the new place is nice, the views fabulous and now we have internet, cable, phone and our washing machine plumbed-in, life is resuming normality. The kids can also walk to school now which is a boon. The house is a bit bigger than our rental place so our furniture is rattling around a bit but that's easily remedied with some shopping.

I've managed to get the full 4 days off work at Easter so we're heading down to Victoria, the provincial capital, for a few days R&R this weekend which will be interesting. They're well into their Spring down there so it'll be nice to see some flowers and get away from the snow which, although melting fast, will still be around here for a bit. Our kids are still sledding down the hill at the back of our garden can you believe. It's warming up though and last night stayed above zero degrees for the the first time since I can't remember when.

The mood is changing too. Everyone wants to see the end of the snow (it was still snowing on the first two days of April) and are now looking forward to the summer. The shops are full of lawnmowers, barbeques and patio furniture. I even saw someone wearing shorts last week. The bad news is that the winter has had it's toll on the city roads and it feels like we have now become the pot-hole capital of BC. The main city routes have become giant slalom courses and drivers everywhere appear be driving enebriated but are simply trying to save their undercarriages as they swerve across the roads avoiding the holes. The same city crews which spent the last 4 months snow-ploughing the roads are now repairing them with a 24 hour pot-hole patrol in effect. Not only that but the melting snow has turned roads into streams and snow blocked drains everywhere result in very large puddles further impeding driving. Pickup trucks and SUVs are handy not only for winter but all year round in PG it would seem.

Snow Shovelling the lawn? (there's something you don't see every day!)

At last we're beginning to see early signs that winter may be on the wane. The air is beginning to warm a little and the snow beginning to melt. We're still getting intermittent snowfall but it's no longer very heavy, just enough to keep the skiers amongst us happy. The large piles of roadside snow are beginning to turn brown and speckled in colour as it gets mixed in with the road grit - "chocolate chip cookie dough" as my children call it. The city's hue is beginning to take on a sepia tone as a result. The skies are blue and people are starting to talk about their plans for the summer.

The season of Spring is short here in Prince George in a "blink-and-you-missed-it" sort of way We plan to head down to Vancouver in April where Spring lasts a little longer and where we might be able to get our "fix" of Spring flowers which we loved when we were in the UK. Some PG residents are trying to hasten the onset of spring by switching from shovelling the snow off their rooves to shovelling it off their lawns. Sounds like a waste of time to me, like it's gonna melt anyways right? (check out my newly acquired Canadian diction there).

Still, while the snow and ice are still here I'm going to try and squeeze the last bit of fun out of it. We're still skiing at the weekends and the snow will hang around longer up in the mountains yet. I'm beginning to enjoy watching the hockey a bit now and even my skating is coming on too. My children are beginning to pick up an accent and my vocabulary has also changed quite a bit. Surviving our first winter here is making me feel Canada is rubbing off on us a little at last.

We're moving again!

Big news this month, we have taken the plunge and finally bought ourselves a house in Prince George. It all happened very quickly, unnervingly quickly in fact. About three weeks ago we instructed a realtor. We gave him our desired locations. He then sent us details of 15 houses which met the spec. We lined up appointments to visit about 10 of them and within a week we'd found the one we wanted. The process of price negotiation, dealing with home inspectors, surveyors, lawyers etc. all went through the realtor who in our case has been excellent, well organised and demonstrated considerable experience. The best bit is that he gets paid by the seller.

The result? We hope to move into our new place in mid-March just before our current lease runs out. We could have moved much earlier as the conveyancing process is quick here in BC but March suits us and hopefully it will be warmer then and the snow melted with a bit of luck.

We fell for a house at the edge of town overlooking the city with fabulous views of the mountains behind. The plot isn't huge but we decided against acreage outside the city pretty shortly after the first major snowfall. The city snowploughs have their advantages after all, as do mains water, sewerage and refuse collection all of which aren't guaranteed outside the city limits. The house is well built (made of wood like all houses here in Prince George) and modern being only a year old. The downside is that its up a pretty steep hill which will make cycling to work fun in the summer and back home not so (but hey, it'll be good for me). Another good thing, due to the difference in house prices between the UK and Prince George, is that we will be mortgage free which will be one less thing to worry about (unless we decide to move back to the UK of course - no signs of that yet - sic).

Look out for more updates on the Canadian house buying experience but dare I say it and tempt fate, it's so far so good.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone following this blog. I hope you managed to get some time off and a bit of a break. We ended up far busier than we expected being invited out for meals and parties. People are so friendly here. Karenza's sister Cheryl came to visit from the UK which was great as she got to experience a white Christmas in all its glory. Apart from a few days at -25 below when it was difficult to get out, we managed to go skating and sledding a few times which was tremendous fun. Now it's all returning back to normal. The kids restart school again today. I'm back at work in ultrasound this week and yes, it's still snowing.

Favourite things about Canada so far?

1. The snow - I love it. You can play in it and sled and ski on it.
2. The people - They're so friendly and welcoming particularly to foreigners
3. Prince George - It's a small city in size but seems to have everything found in a large city yet within a shorter distance. There's no traffic and the cost of living is much cheaper than in the UK or Vancouver.
4. The stunning landscape of BC. - mountains, lakes and rivers all on our doorstep.

Least favourite things?

1. The snow - particularly when you have to shovel a foot of it off the drive in the morning to get the car out.
2. The freezing cold temperatures - When it's -25 degrees outside, outdoor pursuits are off the menu no matter how many layers you put on.
3. The travelling distances to other cities - we're 4 hours drive from the next major city and 10 hours drive from Vancouver. Thankfully there is a local airport.

We're still enjoying it out here though and hoping to visit the UK in the summer. Happy New year again. I hope 2009 is a good one for you.

Christmas greetings from Prince George!

The snow keeps falling and we've had about 40cm in the last 5 days. After arriving late this year it appears to be trying to make up for lost time. I'm getting used to driving on compacted snow and really glad we bought AWD vehicles. The snow ploughs (great huge things) were caught out a little by the volume of snow we had last Thursday night, the result being several stranded people carriers on the school run the next morning. Everyone pitches in here though with a push and a shove to get folk back on the road. Now there are huge 5 ft tall piles of cleared snow at the sides of the road everywhere around town.

We drove to the edge of town at the weekend to choose and cut down our Christmas tree. We parked up, walked through 35cm of virgin snow, found a tree we liked, cleared the snow from around base of the tree and sawed through the trunk before dragging it back to the car and carrying it home. It really looks good decorated in our lounge now, even more so given the effort to obtain it.

We were invited by a friend to the Prince George Festival of Trees two weeks ago. This is a big annual event where local businesses compete against each other by decorating themed Christmas trees, complete with presents, which are displayed to the public who then vote for their favourites. The trees are then auctioned off for charity. The trees are absolutely beautiful and the event raises hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.

It's snow Captain but not as we know it.

Well the snow has arrived. We've had 15cm in the last 3 days and another 5-10cm expected over the next 24 hours. The kids are having a whale of a time and I have to admit so am I. We've made giant snowballs, a family of snowmen and had numerous snowball fights. Temperatures are thankfully still comfortable in the -5 to +2 degrees ballpark. Less exciting is having to regularly clear the driveway of snow. Apparently, if it isn't done regularly it gets compacted, freezes and becomes both hazardous and more difficult to clear thereafter. My neighbours tell me that by the end of winter the piles of cleared snow at the edges of the drive will be as tall as I am. Who needs the gym when you can shovel snow like this? I think I'll probably buckle by the new year and invest in one of those fancy snowblowers. I've also put a winter pack in the boot of my car consisting of a snow brush/ice-scraper, collapsing snow shovel, blanket, torch, drinking water and emergency chocolate rations. If my car gets stuck in the snow I should use my floor mats under the wheels to get traction. How bad can it possibly get? I friend of mine was following another car on his way home out of town though the snow last week. Conditions were slippery and with no street lights out of town the best he could do was stay in the tracks carved by the car in front. He thought he was doing ok until the car in front of him suddenly disappeared into a deep roadside ditch. Thankfully, my friend was able to stop in time and check on the occupant but it was a close call. It all sounds rather frightening but hey, look on the bright side, at least the bears have all gone into hibernation.

Supermarket of the Living Dead

Halloween is pretty big here. Thankfully I could feign ignorance with the "it's not such a big thing in England" argument and hence managed to avoid having to don a costume for work last Friday. "I've come as a grumpy radiologist" I said excusing myself. It's amazing how many ordinary folk, normally well adjusted work colleagues, are willing to transform themselves into their alter ego for the sake of Halloween. It's an opportunity, for one day in the year only, to be someone completely different and a surprising number of people take it! Work carries on regardless, and patients don't flinch a bit which is surprising when you're having your blood taken by a vampire or being nursed by some ugly witch of a sister (no change there some would say). The rest of the community doesn't escape either. The kids and teachers went to school all dressed up and a zombie even rang my groceries through the till at our supermarket checkout.

I had a great time taking the kids out trick or treating on Friday evening with our neighbour and his children. Some people really went to town decorating their homes and gardens with pumpkins etc. Again I was in the minority of parents who hadn't dressed up as well ("it's ok he's from England"). We only went round our area for an hour but we had to curtail the fun early as the children were struggling to carry their haul of sweets from house to house by the end. Some of the other kids, clearly experienced in this matter, had brought their wagons with them. I was unable to see through their costume masks whether these kids still had their own teeth mind you.

Still it was all good fun and the more so for everyone joining in. Maybe next year I'll even brave putting on a costume of my own. Hmmm, better not quote me on that.

There's relocation and then there is relocation

I've just returned from a weekend in Vancouver. Vancouver is great. Great restaurants, culture, shopping, the beautiful backdrop of mountains surrounding the city by the sea and only 50 minutes away by plane. It did rain a little but I had some great seafood at a couple of fantastic restaurants. Sadly my trip was not purely recreational as I was on a mandatory conference for IMGs (International Medical Graduates) where we got to meet each other and together learn how the Canadian and British Columbian Healthcare system works. The lecture content was interesting and I did learn some new things. I was particulary glad that I don't have to do my own billing for payment of my services as this is all handled by the hospital. The most interesting part, however, was hearing all the stories, over coffee and lunch, from other IMGs about their relocation and working circumstances. Some it turns out have had a horrendous settling-in period with hospitals not having completed their paperwork. One hospital denied any knowledge of a new doctor starting and it transpired that the paperwork had been sent to the wrong hospital. Others reported problems with their departments and mentors. Many had trouble with getting credit from Canadian banks to purchase cars and other essentials. Hearing all this just made me feel glad and relieved that our own relocation has gone as smoothly as it has and that my current colleagues have bent over backwards to help ease me and my family into life and work here in Canada. Our banking service has been flawless and we have been surprised again and again with how friendly and helpful people have been. Some of this may be attributable to the local Prince George folk and some may be down to the friendly nature of Canadians in general. In any case I am pleased to be able to say that the process of our own relocation has gone as well as we could possibly haved hoped for and for that we are truly thankful.

I promise to be true to myself...

Well it finally happened. What with the credit crunch, global economic downturn and current atmosphere of gloom and doom so pervasive in the media at the moment, I've decided to make better use of my spare time and take a second job. So what new skill have I turned my hand to? Serving coffee at Starbucks? Burgers at MacDonalds? Well actually, I'm selling cookies. These are no ordinary cookies mind you. These cookies are something of a North American institution, part of the fabric that binds its people, underpins its society and traverses generations. These are Girl Guide cookies. And no, I don't get paid to sell these. My daughter you see has recently joined her local Girl Guide unit and we have recently taken delivery of 2 large cardboard boxes full of the mint chocolate variety. At $4 for a small box, giving to charity never tasted so good. And I am amazed at how these little boxes of goodness sell. Do they really taste that good? What special ingredient in the recipe makes them so moreish? Or could it be that everyone here has a link to the Guides, ex-guiders, ex-leaders, mothers, sisters, daughters etc. The Girl Guides of Canada receive their main source of annual income from cookie sales and people would like to see this institution and what it stands for, continue for generations to come. Whether it reminds people fondly of their own childhood years or encourages the girls of today to strive for a better future for themselves and society, perhaps we can all draw something from the Girl Guides promise which starts, " I promise to be true to myself... ". Hmmm, I wonder what that means exactly.

If you are interested in finding out more please visit: http://www.girlguides.ca/

A Thief in the Night

I was woken up early Sunday by a strange banging noise outside but fell quickly back to sleep. Imagine my surprise when I later discovered our wheelie bin tipped over onto its side and all the rubbish within scattered and strewn across a neighbours front garden. We had had a night-time visitor and a quick glance down the road confirmed that we were not the only ones. Picking up the trail of rubbish into the woods it became clear a black bear had been doing the rounds. September sees a lot of activity from black bears as they try and fatten up prior to hibernation for the winter. It is not uncommon for them to enter suburban areas and raid bins looking for food for this reason. Although slightly disappointed I didn't actually get to see the perpetrator himself (or herself), I was also quite relieved not to have met them face to face. Black bear attacks on humans, although uncommon, are generally best avoided by using common sense and carrying Bear Spray or Bear Mace when out and about in the forest, biking or hiking. Black bears can reach 300lbs in weight and recorded attacks on people usually occur only when they are taken by surprise or encountered in the Spring newly awake and grumpy after waking from hibernation. As for our little night time raid, our visitor seems to have gotten away with it. Hopefully we shall see him or her no more now the bin is safely locked away in the shed. Yet another small difference between living in Worcestershire and BC.