Best Western Sands Vancouver

... represent some of the major tribal groups in British Columbia.

On Sunday I took a bus up to the University to visit the British Columbia Museum of Anthropology which was amazing. There were lots of really old totem poles, canoes and other First Nations artifacts. Again though I was disappointed not to see more weaving etc. I think the reason may be that a lot of First Nations culture was discouraged by white men and the art of weaving almost died out. Younger ...

I arrived in Vancouver yesterday in good time, and met my Mum. After much jumping up and down, hugging, squealing and near crying on my part, we hopped on the next bus out to the ferry terminal and arrived back in Victoria in the afternoon. Everything seems so weird, which may be due in part to the fact that I still feel like I'm moving and I'm absolutely exhausted, having not slept more than a few interrupted hours each night since Thursday.

So. Here I sit ...

... drivers?!?!? I think not! Why oh WHY do slow drivers insist on driving in the left lane, and why oh why do people not attempt to pass them? It seems that Vancouverites are more than happy to follow at snail's pace behind the slowpoke in the front! Then when you attempt to pass the slow guy, someone in the neighbouring lane choses to slow down right next you at that very moment, boxing you in from passing. ARRRRGH. Not that I'm a crazy fast driver. Far from ...

... and have a plate with a slab of steak and 5eggs brought out to me. We headed down to the Harbour where the annual Dragonboat festival was being held, and boy was it packed, it's a real party atmosphere with a huge dash or corporate sponsorship tossed in there for good measure, almost like the Easter Show kind of setup. Got loaded with a few free things which is always good, as I ...

... with another hot chocolate, egg sandwich and sugary doughnut :) We did get screens at the back of our seats (yay!) but mine broke part way through the 7 hour flight (boo). I chose to change seats to see the end of my movie - I ended up seeing all of Juno and all but the last 8 minutes of the second Elizabeth movie (mmmm Cate Blanchett). I got to talking with my fellow passenger and learnt he works for Air Canada - he and his friends were flying on standby after having ...

One Sunday in October Nath and I went for a bike ride out towards the university, which is west of where we live at Kitsilano. There's a bike/pedestrian path right along the waterfront so we rode past Jericho and Spanish Banks beaches along the way, and were able to see the city and North Vancouver for most of the way. It was beautiful with all the leaves changing and we took some photos of the tree-lined streets around where we live.

... from someone walking to the toilets in the dark and seeing a big scary 3 legged cow or something like that, no names. May 24th 2007 Headed further south into florida and to the town of St. Augustine. claimed to be the first place settled in the USA back in the mid 1600's. Also home to 'The Castillo de San Marcos' a fort built by the spanish in the late 1700's to protect the town. this was about 100 years after it was first attacked by the english. A good town ...

... the slopes to explore the village and do some shopping and rest our legs for a final full day on Friday, St. Patrick?s Day. J Friday shaped up to be a great day for photos as well so I at least had some clear shots of the summit and trails. The pictures do not completely show the texture and volume of the snow, but they do show the empty trails and gorgeous views I experienced from the gondolas and on runs from the summit. Sadly left Whistler ...