Back in the USA

Today was the day we traveled back to the US and the reality of cell phone service (yes, my email caught up with me today). We fixed the last of our Coach's Oats for our breakfast this morning and then packed up and headed out. We were on the road by 8:30 AM. We enjoyed our visit to Vancouver, but both agree we won't need to go back. We felt the same way about NYC when we visited there a few years ago. Glad we saw it, but been there, done that.

Bubb wanted a photo of this sign. The security measures on our building in downtown Vancouver were extreme (for instance the bellhop carts were chained to the wall and you needed a key to get one to use). We took this advice very seriously.

I am standing at the car ready to go. Bubb said we would need some photos of today. When we got to the US/Canadian border, they signs said a 50 minute wait was indicated. I saw a short line that said something about "Nexus". I didn't have a clue what that was, but I liked the short line. We got in it, and sure enough 25 minutes later I was apologizing to the Canadian Border Patrol for being in the wrong line. He didn't even chastise me. Just smiled, explained what Nexus means, asked me a few questions, and sent us through. I was smiling for at least the next 50 minutes.

We decided to track down a Triple D spot for our lunch, and we stopped in at Bobby's Hawaiian BBQ in Everett, WA. The menu was about what you would expect at a Hawaiian spot. Bubb had tempura fried shrimp, rice (with sugar of course), and mac salad. I wanted the seared ahi tuna, but had to settle for chicken katsu, rice, and a green salad. It was a fun spot.

We drove down to the docks in Seattle and did some walking around, since we couldn't check in to our motel until after 4:00. We even made it to Pike's Place Market, where for a very uptown price one could by lots of interesting things. None of it tempted us, except at a little stand down on the dock where my old pal Tom Mackie took us a few years ago. Bubb and I shared an early dinner of smoked halibut and a cup of chowder. It was probably the best seafood of the trip. The halibut was to die for.

They had beautiful flowers for sale for $10-$30 a bouquet. Bubb said if she lived nearby, she would have been tempted. We sure saw a lot of people taking them home. Our motel is a real dive, but we only needed a place near the airport, and we fly out at 6:00 AM, so it didn't need to be fancy. We are repacking a getting ready to go. We should be home by 1:00 PM tomorrow, which is good. The guy who scraped, re-textured, and painted our ceilings this week reported via email that all went well, except he "broke" one of my sprinklers in the front yard. I will wonder all night whether it is the sprinkler or the pipes attached to it. I will be digging into that question tomorrow afternoon. Vacation doesn't end until church on Sunday. In the mean time, we will enjoy. Buboppy

Two Days in Vancouver

So we talked with our hosts at the WorldMark, and one suggestion was that we catch the Red Trolley for a tour of the city. It sounded like a reasonable suggestion, and they could provide us a discount, so we signed up. Of course with any kind of transportation except your own automobile, there is some wait time, but we were OK with that. We caught the trolley about a block from our lodging and took both the blue and red loops(see map above). Our first driver had such a low pitched voice, the sound quality of the speaker system was so poor, that Bubby spent most of the time just chuckling at her inability to understand the narrative. When we switched trolleys our new driver was Javier, and although he had a very thick accent, he was far easier to understand, plus he was very pleasant and eager to please us. He took us through Stanley Park, the crown jewel of the City of Vancouver. When we got back to WorldMark, we decided on an adventure, so we consulted again with the concierge. We were bound for Chinatown and a dim sum lunch. A restaurant was recommended, and bus directions given, and off we went. The bus contained an entirely different class of people than the trolley. Suffice it to say, I was getting an education in human behavior when I thought I had pretty much seen it all. The concierge suggested that although Chinatown was near enough to walk, our route would take us through the least desirable part of the city, and it was not recommended. When we found our restaurant, there was no question in our minds that we had an authentic location for our first dim sum adventure. Thank heavens there were pictures, or I would not have known what to order. It was humorous, however. I thought I was ordering two of each item I selected. What I was actually ordered was two orders of each (there a 2, 3, or 4 dim sum in each order). Thank heaven our waiter got me straightened out. We passed on the chicken feet and other offal filled varieties and ended up with a very interesting selection of six different dumplings. At least we can say we did it. The late afternoon involved watching movies in our room and a trip to the Winking Judge Pub for some pub fare. We of course don't venture out much in the evenings. There are more than a few panhandlers on the corners, which makes this country mouse quite uncomfortable. This morning when we rose, we hatched a plan. We were going to catch the trolley again, and head to Stanley Park. Our goal, to rent bicycles and ride the five or so mile bike path around the park. We did our homework on the computer and found a reasonable rental rate, and off we went.

Bubb decided that she wanted to rent a tandem bike, so we did. It took us awhile to get used to stopping and starting together, but we figured it out. Here we are at the totem poles in Stanley Park. There is a helmet law in Vancouver, but I would have rented one anyway. They look really, really cool.

Vancouver sits on a peninsula and this is one of the bridges to the main land. I think it is the Lion's Gate Bridge, but I wouldn't swear to it.

This figurehead is a replica of the one on the SS Empress of Japan, a ship that transported Canadian cargo to the orient from 1891-1922. Pretty cool, I think. How do I know all of this? It's on the plaque under the figurehead, of course.

A view across the harbor looking southeast. A small lighthouse on some point or other at the northeast tip of Stanley Park.

And this lovely lady suns herself on a rock in the bay. I didn't catch her name, but couldn't resist a photo. Once we finished with our bike ride, which included a lunch we packed from our refrigerator, we decided to walk back to our lodging rather than catch the trolley. We stopped in a grocery store for some dessert, and then walked through one of the major shopping districts. I took Bubb into a Roots store and she admired their really cool sweatshirts and the like. She loved the look, but couldn't bring herself to drop $70 Canadian on one. That's my girl. Now that we are getting familiar with the city, we are more brave about striking out on our own. We did a rerun on part of the blue line tour and got off the trolley in the Gaslight district. We then found our way home on foot. It was about 10-12 blocks. Tonight we are having a dinner designed to clear out some of what is in the fridge, and tomorrow, we pack up and head to Seattle. It has surely been nice to get away. Buboppy

Another Travel Day

I have no photos from today, because we spent most of it on the road. We checked out of our Victoria lodgings at 9:30 AM, made a couple of stops and then headed toward Swartz Bay and the ferry to Vancouver. There were ferries scheduled for 11:00 and 1:00 PM departures. We realized that we were going to be very close to an 11:00 AM arrival at the dock, and then we saw a warning that the 11:00 ferry was running late. We thought we just might make it. They were still loading when we arrived, but there wasn't enough space available, so we got to sit, in line, at the dock for two hours until the next departure. We wandered around and played a little cribbage in the restaurant while we waited. By the way, Bubby is killing me. She is up about six games. Our initial thought was to do a temple session at the Vancouver, BC, temple, but unfortunately they don't offer clothing rental, so we had to abandon that plan. Bubby did bring some names, just in case. Anyway, we finally got loaded and headed out in the afternoon. We had retrieved directions to our WorldMark in Vancouver, so when we landed, we headed there. Our place is right downtown, hardly a location I would have picked for a resort. Nevertheless, here we are. We are planning on taking a sightseeing tour tomorrow to get acclimated, and then we will settle on a plan for Thursday. We did have some excellent soup in a Thai restaurant this evening, and found a grocery story to set up our breakfasts. Anyway, we wanted to see what Vancouver was all about, and so far, it is all about a big city. Buboppy

Butchart Gardens

Today's priority was a trip to the famous gardens. We have been there at least four times before, but always in the late summer-fall. Bubby really wanted to see it in the spring. Sure enough, the tulips were on, and we saw it all. What follows is seven out of 87 photos we took this morning. We had our work done by 11:30 AM, when the rest of the world was arriving.

We got to the Sunken Garden before the sun did. It was very impressive.

There were a few orchids in the hothouse, so I took a couple of pictures.

The rest of these images are of tulips, and tulips, and tulips. We saw an amazing array of colors and appearances, but Bubby particularly liked the large, tall-standing varieties.

I kind man offered to snap our photo, so Bubb insisted that I include it. She announced that the cost of admission was worth every penny. She thought the gardens were as beautiful as she has ever seen them. Following our visit, we found lunch at a place recommended to us in church yesterday, visited a store that resembled Tai Pan Trading on steroids (also a recommendation), sought out fabric stores and even found some pieces of Coronation silver for $5 each (Bubb was very excited). We are BBQing at home tonight. It's bangers and a salad. Buboppy

Mother's Day 2012

Happy Mother's Day to all of you! We have had a wonderful day, to this point. We had a chance to attend the Victoria 1st Ward this morning. What a treat. In a random conversation, we met a couple that knew Dick and Helen Williams when they were in Edmundton, Alberta. We will pass that along. In an even more bizarre turn, they have a son who is a dean at the Abu Dahbi Women's College, where my current boss used to be the President.

These two photos fall under the "do as I say, not as I do" category. Since the White Heather Tea Room in Oak Harbor is closed on Monday and Tuesday, today was our only chance to go. They were having a lovely Mother's Day tea, and Bubb wanted to go. So here we are with the resplendent three tiered tray of yummies. They were impressive and Bubby will take notes so she can duplicate them for all of you. Here is a link to the menu.

Bubb wanted one picture that showed the two of us together. To implicate me as an accomplice and so she can brag to her girlfriends that her husband knows how to enjoy a proper tea.

Following the tea party we drove to the nearby Abkhazi Gardens where we wandered for a couple of hours. Of course everything is in bloom, and at the risk of boring our readers to tears, we include several images of what we saw. The rhododendrons are out in full force and the gardens were lovely. They are small and intimate, but very impressive anyway. We loved our visit. I won't try to explain every photo, just enjoy the color. The camera didn't do it all justice.

Shrimp Photos

Bubb wanted me to post these photos of our dinner in Anacortes. We found a roadside stand selling fresh steamed local shrimp. We bought a salad and some Cross and Blackwells (cocktail sauce), and the feast was on. They were pretty small, but very fresh.

These are heads on shrimp, so you get the full effect. Couldn't make ourselves eat on the head portions.

You should have see the pile of shells when we were done. Buboppy

Travel Day

I don't think we took any photos today. We rose early, bathed and packed up, and then had the breakfast provided by Ships Harbor Inn. Great raisin bran, is about all I can say. We were in line to catch the ferry from Anacortes to Sydney, BC at 7:40. We loaded up by 8:30 and were on our way. There was a little chop on the water, so our crew opted for a more protected route. The result was a little longer travel time. We stopped in Friday Harbor to let some folks off (that was most of the boat), and then we went on to Sydney. As soon as we cleared customs we tracked down Fish on 5th, a seafood restaurant. Bubby and grilled cod and sweet potato fries, and I had a grilled calamari salad. The cod was awesome, as were the fries, the calamari was a daily special and I think I know why. We wandered the downtown of Sydney for a few hours looking in the shops and grocery stores. After discovering that my phone will be on roaming up here, we had a bit of excitement trying to find our lodging, but we made it. The WorldMark here in Victoria is lovely, great view of the harbor, and they have all of the amenities. We have a two bedroom unit that sleeps six. There is a nice, but small, pool and spa, and we have access to the harbor boardwalk right outside our door. $15 for ten days of internet, and here we are. Don't know what the plan is for the rest of the day, but I am certain it will be fun. Weather continues to be absolutely breathtaking. What a nice vacation from the phone! Buboppy

Vacation in May

We have been planning this one since January. We flew out of Cedar City at 6:00 this morning, and were in Seattle by 9:30 local time. After a little adventure at the car rental operation, we drove north toward Anacortes, where we catch the ferry through the San Juan islands tomorrow and move on to Victoria for a few days. After months without photos, we are going to overwhelm with this post.

Almost as soon as we touched down, Bubb announced that she wanted some fish. I talked her out of eating at Pike's Place Market, so we settled for Ivar's, a Seattle standard, in Everett. It was on the way, and the grilled halibut was fresh and delicious.

The year that Booty and Laur moved to Texas, we took a vacation with them to Canada, and that is the inspiration for this trip. The adventure began with a night's lodging at the Ship's Harbor Inn, then, so that is where we are staying on this trip.

Not much has changed. We even ended up in a room near where we stayed with Booty and Laur on our previous trip. It is an absolutely glorious day here, and we have been loving being out in the weather.

It is seriously spring in the PNW, and we have seen a ton of lovely flowers and trees. Bubby kept seeing these in everybody's yards and wanted to get a closer look.

Our host recommended that we take a hike in Washington Park, so off we went. There was a lovely little walk that we took, and of course the vegetation was amazing. The ferns were particularly impressive.

There were little flowers on one plant that Bubby thought were "bleeding hearts" which isn't anything I could confirm or deny.

We were able to get some amazing views of the ocean and the San Juans on our walk, and we even talked some girls into taking a photo for us.

More beautiful flowers. I even got some photos of bee-butts for Larry Davis, the master of such images.

After Washington Park we drove to Mount Erie, and got some great looks at Mt. Baker, northernmost of the Cascade chain. Mount Erie topped out at 1,278 feet above sea level, enough to get a view, but nothing like Brian Head peak. Lots of adventure ahead. We are even driving a grey Toyota Carolla, in Booty and Laur's honor. Buboppy

Birthday Girl

Before we headed out on our vacation, and between trips to the basement as we prepared the house for the guys who will be stripping the cottage cheese off of our ceilings while we are gone, we dropped in on Evelyn to wish her happy birthday. Bubby had made a skirt for her with a matching shirt, and dropped it off in the AM so that Mevy could wear it to pre-school. We enjoyed a dinner of pizza and antipasta salad and began to open presents.

Mevy and Drewfy love to ham it up for the camera. This was the best shot of the birthday girl.

As long as we had the camera out, we forced Dan and Rosalyn to pose for us, too.

Mev got a bike from her Mom and Dad and she showed us how well she can ride it. It looks like she won't the training wheels on too long.

Among other things, Bubb got Mev a new, pink, razor scooter for her birthday. I am sure she will master that too, and very soon. Buboppy

After too long an absence

I am embarrassed to realize that I have been so busy that I have been ignoring the blog. Proof of that fact is the change in the interface that makes this post seem like something I have never done before. I wish things were different, but they just aren't. We survived commencement weekend which included a big ceremony with tours and gifts for our donor's family and a hoopla for the naming of the College. We are now the Walter Maxwell Gibson College of Science and Engineering. It was a great occasion, but I hate having to perform at these events. On Friday we had a big campus-wide commencement event and then we were the first college convocation, starting at 3:00 PM on Friday. By the time I got through and made it home, all Bubb could say was, you look tired!. We celebrated by running to St. George for a night in the condo. Daniel's family was visiting in Provo, so he went with us. We did the Ichiban oriental/sushi buffet and had a relaxing evening and morning. We were back in Cedar City working on yard chores by 12:30 PM, so it was a short respite. I did sneak away during finals week for one outing. Here is the photo. It was a fun time on the water with my 78 year-old neighbor, Ray.

Buboppy