Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel Vancouver

... in little caches in the hope of retrieving them in lean times. The rodents seemed to delight in dancing through the dappled sunshine and pausing in just the wrong place for me to take a photo. We cycled on to Beaver Lake, a tranquil spot in the centre of the park. True to its name, there are beavers there, though the only signs we saw were well-gnawed trees. Dragonflies and wood ducks also made the lake their home. <br><br>We rode past the vast span of Lion ...

Had a slow start to the day, but by the afternoon was ready to get out. Chris drove Hastings (big mistake, as they were repaving and we inched along at a snail's pace) up to the Gourmet Warehouse, where he dropped me off while I looked around. I ended up with only a couple of things: his favorite chocolate chips and a tin of chicken tikka spices for me. We picked up halibut on the way back home, which Chris grilled for our dinner, while I cooked up the last of ...

... we had an illegal immigrant on board trying to cross the border without a passport! Good work. Arrested him, then customs said they might seize the bus and arrest the driver! Another 2 hours later they let us go, so we got home many hours later than we were supposed too! Oh well, makes for a good story I guess.<br><br>Back at work now and having a quiet time until the next payday. However another housemate is leaving next week so we're having a ...

... Saturday after all!! <br><br>Nicky we hope you had a fantastic birthday, we were thinking of you. <br><br>Jenny Rae - Hope the Jaegers are flowing, I'm sure they are. <br><br>Morag - we hope you have had plenty drinks spilled in your new house! Can't wait to spill some more!<br><br>I wonder how we would have split ourselves if we had been at home! <br><br>Kel n June xx<br><br>

... also got to see the Gastown Steam Clock. For a little more about the steam clock check out this link. After we had our fill of Gastown we headed back to the hotel for some relaxation. The week had finally started to catch up with us and we needed to chill out for a bit. We spent most of the evening just enjoying each others company and watching some Canadian TV; which is really mostly ...

... we have done throughout our holiday in each country) - I ordered a Moosehead Lager (from Eastern Canada) and Andrew got a Phillips Longboat Double Chocolate Porter (a mouthful of a beer from Victoria, B.C. which I thought tasted quite ghastly, but just as well Andrew liked it as he got a whole pint). Our beer was accompanied with a Canuck (as in the Vancouver ice-hockey team) Burger for Andrew and a BLT for me, both with fries.<br><br>Our big trip is coming to a close. We ...

... and jump back on the bus the next day. The tour includes whale watching, hot springs and a 2 night stay on a beach resort that I can't remember the name of but that has been highly recommended to us by a Swiss bloke. Mind you, he probably wouldn't have slagged it off regardless, in case it got him into some sort of conflict. When we get back, we are then going on a 7 day tour of Whistler, Banff, Jasper and the Rockies, all beautiful ski ...

... Stanley Park to view all the totem poles.  I remember making totem poles in elementary school and these were the first 'real' totem poles I had ever seen.Later Saturday evening, I hopped on my first Amtrak experience to travel to Seattle.  It was strange not to have your luggage scanned prior to stepping on the train, continuing to use the cell phone while traveling and also ordering food at the bar.  I fly to much!

Well, we have made it to Edmonton and then Calgary and now Vancouver with no incidents to report. The worst situation so far is that Cathy, from Toronto, who is joining us in Auckland, had her flight cancelled from Toronto because of the bad weather there.. We're hoping the weather and airline gods shine on her and she will be able to join ASAP. Oh yeah, the other bad thing - on the flight from Regina to Calgary, the water in the plane froze overnight so we had no coffee!

... upon our arrival on Friday evening was to pick up Barbara at Vancouver International Airport. She flew in from the Queen Charlotte Islands after completing her week of work in this beautiful place. The following week she was working on Bowen Island, near Vancouver. So this weekend was our last hurrah together so to speak with everyone heading in seperate ...