Hilton Richmond

... other flowers, weeping Japanese maples, and a dancing fountain. The Japanese garden is also delightful. In every direction there are magnificent flowers of all colours, beautifully laid out.

We also had a look at Victoria, which is the capital of British Columbia. It is all low-rise and historic around the waterfront, with the Empress hotel (complete with ivy growing up the walls ...

... across the water. It's a massive park and so I didn't see it all, but what did see was mighty purty.



Funny how quick time flies and I found myself running late when i got on the cus to go meet yet another CS friend. Chris A was one of the 5 folks that put on a special performance at my brithday party in Christchurch a couple of years ago, and he's ridiculously smart for someone in their early 20s. We met at the Naam (www ...

We just finished eating at the Shanghai House. We didn't eat a lot since we are going to eat more at different places later. The food was pretty nice though. Pretty funny too having to deal with foreign currency after a long time. I used to deal with foreign currency almost once a year before coming to the US. Now we are going to go to a mall to buy some stuff.

... of it!! I stayed with my friends in their cabin just outside of Point Reyes Station, and took it fairly easy - there isn't a great deal to do...but it's so pretty!! I was blown away at the Inauguration Ceremony - it is surreal or any non-American to be thrown into the midst like that...locals all gathered around a projector screen, hissing and booing at the old administration and cheering and dancing for the new ...

Yet again I got up late and spent the day relaxing in the hostel reading. I was missing the moose guys. I had arranged to meet Steve as he was back in Vancouver for the day to go out for his mates birthday. I met him in the Beaver and met a few of his mates who apparently I had met on the moose bus the day I only stayed on for 2 hours -I didnt remember them!!! They got ready and we met again at 8pm. We had a few drinks in the Beaver (cocktails for me as ...

... another said it is the second largest city park in NA. It is very beautiful with some absolutely gorgeous tall trees. Vancouver also has a population that is 30% Asian, so we had a drive through an interesting Chinatown. Also visited a market place, the name escapes me right now, where we ate lunch and strolled through several artisan shops--quite different from your usual junk gift ...

... friends with the 2 ladies from Florida we had eaten with at breakfast. What a coincidence! They told us how their friends said how nice we were! Aw! The next lecture we attended (and wish we hadn't) was "Furs, Fins and Feathers: Amazing Animals of the West Coast" It was rather boring as the man talked about bugs, insects, spiders, and slugs for half an hour before moving to the main animals of Alaska, saying the moose was the ugliest animal and showed 2 pictures of ...

... and conversation, once again appreciating the simpler warm things of life. We set off in the morning on our last leg of our journey. We also stopped and visited or friend Caitlin in Seattle. We chatted with her at her workplace, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Caitlin has been a loyal and hardworking supporter of the Vancouver Folk Festival for many years. Perhaps one day soon we will apply for funding to ...

... him in the backpack, where he spent the rest of the night without sushi or even sake. Sorry John. Next time don't bring in your own beer. The next morning we (along with Michael) packed up and took the ferry to Mayne Island, which is located in the Georgia Strait, between Vancouver Island and Vancouver. When we arrived on the island, we set up camp at the Mayne Island eco-campground ...

... possibly get run over. Here, you barely have to look both ways, and if you drive through a crosswalk when someone is waiting to cross you get some ugly looks. Another traffic related difference that almost got me in some trouble was that when a light is green it flashes. In T.O. of course a flashing green is an advanced light and it means you can turn ahead of the other traffic. Here it just means you can go, so luckily I was not in a left hand turn lane when I ...