Camping trip - Vancouver Island - July 18-27

Vancouver Island; is a gem of a place to visit. It's quiet, incredibly beautiful & there is so much to see! We visited these places:

• Miracle Beach - a lovely beachside park


• Strathcona - BC's oldest & largest provincial park, a remote & beautiful place


• Rathstrevor - beaches, mountain bike park & incredible sunsets


• Little Qualicum Falls - HUGE Douglas fir trees, beautiful walks & freezing waters to swim in


• Tofino & Ucluelet - the wild Pacific Coastline - stark beauty & sandy beaches


• Gordon Bay - a popular lakeside park where the boys played a game of golf


• Goldtsream - attack of the raccoons! They ripped into our food under the cover of darkness


• Victoria - capital of British Columbia

At the Strathcona Provinical Park entrance

Little Qualicum Falls

Wild Pacific coastline at Tofino

Victoria harbour front

Camping trip - the Sunshine Coast - July 14-17

We spent a lovely four days exploring the peaceful surrounds of the Sunshine Coast - a short ferry ride from Vancouver. We camped at Porpoise Bay, Saltery Bay & Okeover Arm. In our time there we went cross country riding, had a swim in the sea & had lots of time to relax. On our last night on the Sunshine Coast we were fortunate enough to see the Aurora Borealis (the Northern Lights). The colours we saw were green & smoky red - it was so beautiful & very exciting to see them!

Logger sports at Powell River

Relaxing after a refreshing swim

View of Okeover Arm

Morning sunshine after the rain at Saltery Bay

Mountain biking at Cypress Mountain - July 10

Sam and Simon went mountain biking in the new bike park at Cypress Mountain - one of the local ski mountains in Vancouver. They had a blast and when they were on the chairlift, they were lucky enough to see a black bear and 3 cubs - ohh! Here are some of Sam's photos...

View of Howe Sound & Bowen Island
Sam riding a "North Shore" trail
Simon ready for action
There's a bear in there... (click the image for a closer look)

Vancouver Aquarium - July 10

We visited Vancouver Aquarium on the weekend. The Aquarium focuses on Pacific Northwest marine animals so we saw beluga whales, sea lions, a Pacific white-sided dolphin and lots of local fish too.

An Orca statue at the entrance
Beluga whales
A sea lion
Two otters holding hands

Experience Music Project, Seattle June 30

We visited the Experience Music Project in Seattle. It was designed by the famous architect Frank Gehry. Its most popular name is the "Museum of Rock'n Roll" for a very good reason! There are permanent Jimmy Hendrix and Bob Dylan exhibits and lots of interactive areas as well. It's lots of fun!

Sky Needle & EMP

EMP interior

The "self-playing" Guitar exhibit

San Juan Islands June 28 - July 1

We spent a few days camping and mountain biking at the beautiful San Juan Islands in Washington state. We stayed at Deception Pass State Park - famous for beautiful sunsets, douglas fir trees and Pacific Northwest tranquility.

Our campsite
View from the bridge at Deception Pass
An Arbutus tree

Garibaldi Lake Camping Trip June 18-19

Our first back-country camping trip took us to beautiful Garibaldi Lake. It was a beautiful but very cold place to visit!

Yes - it's cold up here!

Panoramic view of Garibaldi Lake

Can we keep him? Chipmunks are so cute!

Yes that's snow outside our tent!

MS Bike Tour June 11-12

We volunteered for the inaugural MS Bike Tour in the 2005 Fraser Valley Grape Escape. The boys were on the road and the girls were at the wineries helping the volunteers at a rest stop (and sampling some wine of course!)

Simon & Sam at Township 7 winery
Caroline & Emily devour some strawberry shortcake at a Berry Farm
Caroline, Pip & Emily at Glenugie Winery rest stop
The girls enjoying a drink at Glenugie Winery
Simon & Caroline at Township 7 winery

Our first blog - June 1st

Our first blog - thanks for the idea Michael!

It's a beautiful sunny day in Vancouver - it's time to go for a bike ride around the harbour foreshore and maybe play some volleyball at beautiful Kitsilano beach...