Friends picking me up from the ferry, lunches, enjoying the flowers, the delightful walks often in the rain and near the harbour fronts in Nanaimo and Grandville Island in Vancouver, good conversation, laughter over misplaced things and wandering through the stores.

Able to get some swimming with Amelia at UBC following by a massage at her work ( much needed last week ) and some good meals and movies together, although she has a busy schedule with school, work etc. Doing lots of bussing as she does not have a vehicle...weather has been rainy but was sunny on Sunday

Enjoyed the house I was on Saturday night....like a B and B but something called couch surfing....

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Lynne is a retired single lady school teacher but she created a home away from home for her guests with the animals, a cat and golden retreiver, boyfriend Hans and extra company and excellant meals. What was good in that I didn't feel rushed and yet very much a part of activities. Saturday night dinner was very vivacous in both German and English. Enjoyed the walking with the dog, Bruno on Sunday and yes, good idea to give me a written list of street because I succeeded in getting lost somewhat..whole thing was rather funny.

With my sibs, Don and Maureen found the church at first and then went briefly to the harbour front in Nanaimo with all of its Sunday activities, alive with a market and other activities due to good weather. Wedding went well and have a good sense of my sister Kathleen's community, and was able to get the 5 PM ferry, an brief overnight with my cousin on Bowen island and back to Vancouver and Amelia, surprising her with a 7 AM arrival Monday.

for an afternoon in downtown Victoria in the inner harbour ( Undersea gardens, dinner at the Bengali lounge in the Empress hotel, IMAX of lastest Batman movie ) and made it safely to Vancouver yesterday....good ferry ride and plan to take bus right through from downtown bus depots in both cities. Met my girlfriend, lunch and walk around Granville island, enjoyed some of the little shops here but the weather has changed from sunshine to more rain!

Hope the weather is still good in Alberta and those chilly mornings  hoping that no frost as my plants on outdoor porches, even though I put close to house, are not going to get hit.

Well just abit on an update on my trip and prep for it... I did get paniky and do last minute packing but I made it with probably much more than I need and even 5 hours of sleep! But I am not alone... my Italian neighbour says when she travels as to Italy last summer, she stays up all night because the house has to be clean before departure. My distraction was dealing with my needing to clean the fridge and deal with the left over apples and tomatoes. Both can be simply stored in the fridge or cold room but NO yours truly decided to can and preserve...making tomato sauce, spicy apple/tomatoe compote, apple cucumber pickles and apricot butter, the last of which was completed about about 10 PM Sat night. At midnight, I decided
to go to bed and got up early enough to pack, move everything out of bathroom for plumber and tiler, leave notes and be ready for pick up by a lady from church who took me too theVarscona Hotel by 10:15 AM. Caught the sky shuttle bus there using some coupons from a few years ago which were honoured ( no expiry date )but with comments did I get them from the last century!

West Jet flight was wonderful with clear skies, views of the pathwork quilt like golden prairies in harvest, snow topped Rockies including Bow Glacier, Kamloops city and simmering BC lakes but also with evidence of areas of clear cut lumbering and finally the Gulf Islands and Mt. Baker....all in 90 minutes not a 15 hr drive.

Hit some great weather in Victoria as well..with up to 24oC. Everything very lush and full of flowers compared to Edmonton...saw in one of my walks crocuses... OK informed later they are FALL crocuses. 

Trips travelling I find each have different purposes:  some just escape see no one or the work conference, others doing alot of sight seeing and others playing catch up with friends and family...well this is the latter....

Picked up by my aunt and uncle have retired to Sydney, from being a physican in Calgary in mid-70s but attitudes abouy 20 years younger. Did lunch and a walk around Rithets bog, a conservation area with blackberries, Garry Oaks and many other bird and frog species, of which my uncle knows all the names of the latter and my aunt photographs. Am staying at a girlfriend's place here ..we have known each other since age 5 and the other night went out to the pub with her husband, a local doc and  her mom who is 89! Well catching up on neighbourhood gossip and high school stuff of over 40 years ago ..a little bit of a time warp!

Reading the morning Victoria Times is interesting because only in BC would there be articles on: the growth  weather conditions on Vancouver Island for the pot growing season; not 4 candidates in each riding for the federal election but often up to seven and comments on the three main leaders who removed ties for sweaters or open necks during their stops here. 

My days are my own as except for the cat, everyone  in the household at work. Some beach walks, picking blackberries, a 5 km run yesterday ( amazing as I have not run in eons...and advised not to do so due to knees but we will see ) and abit of reading in which observed many gulls, comorants and shore birds either on the outlying rocks or feeding on the shore,on this little beach close to my friends place, one crow was curious and chattering coming closer to my spot, perhaps hoping for a handout. the low throaty call reminded of northern ravens.. 

Heading over to Vancouver on Thursday to see the daughter at university and wedding next Sunday so time will go quickly.

Hope all my readers have a wonderful week even if fall above the arctic circle ismore snow!