Loading...
Start a new Travel Blog! Blogabond Home Maps People Photos My Stuff

Clambashing?

Sechelt, Canada


Ok, this wasn't really in Sechelt, it was on an Island called "Nelson Island" which is off the West Coast of Vancouver, and between Vancouver Island and Vancouver! Unfortunately Sechelt was the closest that we could get our little Blogabond map! And it's not surprising really, considering that Nelson Island has a full-time population of 0! The thing is this Island has a bunch of holiday homes on it and we were lucky enough to be whisked away by Shannon and John. Hilarity does not ensure, but it was a SWEET trip anyways!

==> Taking a step back for a moment, unfortunately it was a fairly un-eventful week. The highlight was possibly when I got to fill envelopes with bits of paper for the BC Education something or other. The lucky bit was that I was in an office with another temp who was ok with my constant blabbing on about general rubbish and life. So, thanks Heather, I needed to be a motor mouth, just like most days!

Now, back to the most awesome weekend ever. Our preparation was mostly done on Friday night. By most, I mean all of our alcohol shopping. We decided that one bottle of Bacardi and one bottle of J&B was going to be enough for us to get through the 2.5 days away. We were right. But anyways, we packed our bags and watched Teev until really late so that we would sleep. This turned out to be the less wise idea as we were absolutely shattered in the morning when Shannon and John picked us up at 6am. Still, we were so pumped about going to a private island (I was having visions of Skaramanga's lair, but that might just be cause I saw a man with three nipples), and generally having a lot of time off. The drive was nice, the scenery was pretty sweet and I kept on getting into giggle-loops because Shannon and John are pretty hilarious at the best of times. They were telling us all of the Canadian slang for various things, not all of which are blog friendly! So we arrived at the marina and got on Shannon's Dad's boat and headed over the rolling ocean to Skaramanga's lair (for anyone scratching their head right not, that is a James Bond reference: The man with the golden gun. You know, the one with "Nik Nak" the psychotic midget servant). So, we land the boat at Shannon's private jetty

and we're looking straight at the cabin! SWEET! Incidently, the boat that we got there in is parked in the photo, the photo was from when we were out in the dingy, cheating death>>> But more on that later. We were greated by Trudy, and sat sraight down for lunch. I must admit that I was looking for Nik Nak for a good portion of the time. I was however disapppointed as he did not appear. SO, we had plenty of time for doing outdoorsy type things as there is no teev in the cabin. I was a little surprised that I managed alright without it. After about 2 hours I didn't even notice there wasn't one! I have learned a few new card games. Actually, I learned them, but now I forget. Already. God damn you teev.

On this Island, there are a number of lakes for us to visit. We only got around to hiking to one of them, but it was pretty amazing. Just as in previous Canadian forrests, this one also had no smell. So weird. We did find a metal tap in it's natural habitat of the Canadian wilderness.

Arriving at the lake we weren't disappointed with the view. This picture simply doesn't explain how pretty it was, but hopefully you get the idea. On the hike back from the lake Sarah cried out in pain, for no apparent reason! Then we discovered she had fallen victim to a Tick! Not the kind that you want on your homework in grade 2, with a big red pen, no the kind that give you LIME DISEASE! We didn't know about the lime disease at first, Shannon's Dad filled us in later. It was a pretty gross insect that was sucking the blood from Sarah's belly region. It was Alright because Dale removed the tick without incident. Apparently the mortality rate for tick victims is quite low. Still, we were pretty impressed. So after that excitement we decided to go boating!

This was when were in the dingy. I'm not a huge dingy fan to be honest, but I'm prepared to give most things a go. So out we headed around the little bays that the Island had. It was amazing, some of the houses that have been built on this Island are just stunning. On cliffs, next to the forest

whatever. It was sweet. Just a few moments before this shot was taken a man went past in a sea kyak/canoe thing. He nodded, although he didn't wave as I think he was too busy holding the rowing sticks. Still, it was nice. Life's better boating as they say here! So while enjoying the scenery and waving to other like minded "boaters" we were unawere of the danger lurking in the water. No, not a shark, not a croc. I'll give you a hint "It's big, it's heavy, it's wood!"... That's right you guessed it. A log. We hit this one despite me shouting "LOG". I was later informed that the most appropriate thing to have said would have been "LOG!!!" followed by the direction that the log was in. Thanks to pretty quick thinking on Shannon's behalf and some damn good log spotting by me, we only hit it at a crawl. Sarah's face was rather amusing. Sadly I dind't get a picture of it. Not to worry.

Our next major expedition was prawn hunting the following day. We managed to score a couple of shrimp and one rather large prawn that Sarah and I got to eat. Dale and Shannon told us that some Summers all you can eat is prawns cause you catch so many. Not this time, but not to worry! They were awesome. Tasty little buggers. Kinda cute and innocent looking, while they still had their heads attached anyways.

The next morning we pretty much cleaned up and went home. We were absolutely shattered from all of the activities and no teev. Thanks you so much to Dale, Shannon, Trudy and John. We had an absolutely sensational time! Seeing something off the tourist track was fantastic! We hope to return the favour to Shannon and John in Aus!



permalink written by  haveyouseenmypassport on May 23, 2007 from Sechelt, Canada
from the travel blog: To infinity!.. and... beyond... uh.....
tagged Canada, Vancouver and Prawns

Send a Compliment

Canada!?!? Hell, yeah!!!

Niagara Falls, Canada


Well, there you go... after 2 days travelling, we've finally reached Canada.

It was an adventure, including walk on the frozen surface of Lake Huron. Yeah! Frozen! It was one of the funniest things I've ever did... my feet was freezing, but we couldn't help it but going on. The ice was beautiful, each piece of ice was different, different colors and textures!
After dozens of pictures and after I got my feet wet finally, we went trought. We drove for hours, and finally reached Michigan. And we stopped at a very cheap motel, that kind that you see on the movies, where people ged murdered... cheap, kinda dirty, but enough. And guess what?? We also ate at a diner, a classic one, and I loved it! The kind of experience I'll never forget.

Now we finally reached Niagara Falls, the Canadian side. We drove throught Canada (wich was just ok) and finally got here. The city is like a mini Vegas, with a lot of children stuff.

And yesterday, we went to a casino. It was my first time in a place like that, and it was nice. But people spend a lot of money on those places... I don't know if I can do that. Anyway, we're going there today again.

The falls are awesome. It's weird that they are in the middle of the city. I was imagining a park or something like that. They are illuminated by night, colorful lights. And yes, they are really huge... but I think it's better to visit on summertime.

Today is too cold and wet! But we enjoyed the city a little bit. Tomorrow we'll be back to the USA.

permalink written by  me on January 10, 2008 from Niagara Falls, Canada
from the travel blog: USA here I go!
tagged Nature, Canada and Niagara

Send a Compliment

Travel to Canada

Toronto, Canada


My trip to Canada

permalink written by  pkutzner on October 18, 2007 from Toronto, Canada
from the travel blog: pkutzner's Travel Blog
tagged Canada

Send a Compliment

Niagara, here we come!

Niagara Falls, Canada


We got a bit of a later start than we had intended after going to breakfast with my family. We went to the All American, because I wanted to get my favorite breakfast meal one more time before we left. Ironically, the name of it is "California Eggs". After some last minute stuff at the house and tearful goodbyes, we were on our way at 9:47am.

Since Marissa wasn't around, our first destination was Niagara Falls, the Canadian side. The drive through NY wasn't too bad. We stopped once to get gas. While we were there, a soldier in the US Army came up to us and asked us for some money. He and his wife were from Maryland and had been in Buffalo for his mother-in-law's funeral, and apparently had lost his wallet. So we gave him some money for gas to help him out.

The Niagara Falls area on the US side seemed really cute, with lots of shops and places to walk around, but we didn't stop. We went through customs ok, although the customs man didn't seem too thrilled that we were bringing all this stuff into the country. He seemed suspicious that we were only staying for one night and claimed that nothing would be staying in Canada, but he let us by anyways. From there, we went straight to the falls.

Finding parking was hard, and there was a lot of traffic in a stretch probably only a mile long. But we finally were able to get out of the car at about 6:30/6:45pm. The Falls were beautiful! The weather was perfect- it was still light out but it wasn't too sunny or too hot, and at certain points you could feel the mist coming off the water, even though we were probably 2,000 feet from it. It felt really good! It was crazy how the mist billowed above the water and covered tons of area that you couldn't even see through it at all. I wanted to go swimming, but Mike wouldn't let me.

We found it a bit strange that there were so many Muslims and Indians visiting the area. We're going to have to look it up and see if there is some reason why they are attracted to this particular location. And the crazy amounts of children kind of takes away from the romantic aspect of it that everyone always talks about. But we were glad that we decided to go to the Canadian side, because it was beautiful, and seemed to be a better view than the American side. The falls themselves are on the American side, but I can imagine you really wouldn't be able to see them because you could only look down on them, whereas we could look directly at them.

After walking around for a little bit, we decided to eat dinner there, despite the fact that we knew it would be expensive. Other than breakfast and a few snacks (like Tricia's zucchini bread, which was delicious!) we hadn't eaten all day. The place was on the upper level of an almost mini-mall type thing- "Elements". The part facing the falls was made up of glass windows so you could see out. We wanted to sit by the window but the wait was too long, so we just decided to take wherever they could give us. It ended up working out really nicely, as we still had a wonderful view. We thought it was even better than the window seats because it was elevated a bit more.

Dinner was really good. We got a few things and shared them, as we are wont to do. We had toasted garlic cheese bread (with bruschetta) for an appetizer, and then we split a cup of onion soup and a 12 oz. prime rib for dinner. Everything was really very good and enjoyable.

When we left it was a bit darker, but not too dark. We walked around a bit more before leaving. We were both tired after a long day of driving/being in the car. As we left and it got darker (since we had to sit in traffic again to exit), lights were turned on that lit up the falls- very cool! If we had known, we would have stayed a little bit longer to see it.

We found the hotel with no problem. We worried that it would be sketchy, but it actually looked ok. We checked in and went to the room. At which point, we discovered that it was indeed sketchy. We had booked a non-smoking room, but when we approached the door, the first thing that I noticed was that there was no sign on the door stating it. We opened the door and I almost choked on the smell of smoke. Clearly, this was a problem. There was no way I was going to be able to sleep like this. Mike called the front desk and asked the woman if there was anything we could do. She was a bitch. She said that there was no other rooms available and that it was a non-smoking room. She came up to spray deodorizer and continued being a bitch. "Well this IS a non-smoking room and we just can't control what people do" ... Grrrr. I had gone for a walk to see the other rooms, and almost every other door in that strip had the no smoking sign before the room number on that plaque and then another plaque underneath it stating in large letters "No Smoking" or another no smoking sign (both were about the size of my hand). So clearly there was nothing to inform other patrons that this was a non-smoking room, which explains why people smoked in the room. Which is clearly the fault of the hotel.

So we started making phone calls. Thanks to Chloe, we were able to find tons of other hotels close by. Unfortunately, this weekend was the Civic holiday in Canada, meaning that everything was booked. We finally found one place with an open room, but we went to check it out before we decided to do it, just incase. The woman was extremely nice, and very concerned that the tv remote didn't work! (I guess she was worried we'd be like sterotypical Americans!) It was more expensive, didn't have internet (which is why there was no update!) or a continental breakfast, and although the whole place was non-smoking, the room still smelled a bit like smoke, but nothing like the other room. So we got a refund and went over there. And just in time, too. We saw three other people go in looking for rooms right after we had booked it. We got a bit of a discount- it was still more expensive than the other place- but we decided that it was more important to get a good night's sleep than to save the money.

And we did. =)

permalink written by  prettyblueroses on August 3, 2008 from Niagara Falls, Canada
from the travel blog: Mike & Heather's Cross-Country Adventure
tagged Canada, Driving and NiagaraFalls

Send a Compliment

Fish, Customs, and Waffles- Aug 4, Part 1

Lawrence, United States


This morning, we woke up at 7:34am, since we planned on leaving at 8am. We got going, but wanted to find a pharmacy before we left. Most things were closed (because of the holiday), but we managed to find one not too far. Unfortunately, Chloe misled us and we ended up lost, so we called the place, and then found it ok. Got what we needed and we were on our way. =)

We set up Chloe to get us to Chicago and started the drive. It was a 9 hour drive. We didn't do breakfast, but just had a granola bar instead. As we drove, there were moments on the highway where you could smell the unique perfume of rotting fish. Turns out, Canadians use fish pulp as a fertilizer. Thank God for my husband who knows everything. So that was fun. =\

On to the drive. The toll on the highway didn't actually have a toll booth, it was automated and sends a bill to your address. Strange. The four lane highways were in good condition, probably because they aren't used very often! I "slept" most of the time, in an attempt to get rid of my headache. We were making ok time even after the pharmacy setback when we reached the tolls/customs. The traffic to pay the toll was ridiculous, and so was the traffic to get through customs. We spent about an hour waiting for both. We were worried that the customs man was going to be an ass because of how long our line was taking; turns out he just is incompetent at using a computer. He barely asked us any questions at all, which was good.

After that, it was about 1/1:30, so we figured we'd stop for lunch. We found a Cracker Barrel right off the highway so we went there. I got a Reuben (with onion rings) and Mike got an open-faced roast beef sandwich. It was all very good. Probably one of the best Reuben's I've ever had. The corned beef was tender and almost melted in your mouth. Mike's was really good too. We wandered the store for a minute after we finished eating and found checkers! So we played, but called a truce (even though I think Mike would have won) so we could continue on our way.

As we continued on the road, Mike saw a truck with his name on it. So of course, there is a picture!

We stopped for lunch at around 6:30. Mike saw a place called "The Waffle House of America" and decided that was where we were going. It was kinda a dive. Small, barely anyone was in there, two or three people working the place... but ok, we'll eat anyways. Mike got a waffle with cherries and whipped cream and I got one with pecans. They were both very good. The hostess came over and had a conversation with us... which we found strange. But she was nice enough.

So before we left, I went to the bathroom. It was like stepping into another world. The bathroom was huge, and gorgeous! Yeah, that sounds ridiculous, I know. But there were hand-painted flowers everywhere and it looked like it belonged in the house of some wealthy woman who loved flowers.

So of course, I had to take pictures of it =) Turns out, their bathroom won 5th place in 2004 for "best bathroom in America"!

After dinner, we continued on our way towards Chicago. And this is when things got interesting. So I'm passing this on to Mike for a chronicle of this adventure.

permalink written by  prettyblueroses on August 4, 2008 from Lawrence, United States
from the travel blog: Mike & Heather's Cross-Country Adventure
tagged Canada, Driving, Customs and CrazyBathroom

Send a Compliment

Introduction to Myself

Alta Lake, Canada


Hello!
My name is Theo and I'm a travelling bear. I started out life in Whistler,near Vancouver in Canada. It was cold and snowy and I was woken up out of my hibernation by a feeling of wanting to go travelling, that there was more to life than just sleeping underneath the roots of the trees. I'd definitely like to go back to Whistler sometime. It's the venue for the Winter Olympics next year, maybe, just maybe I'll be able to go back! I hope to visit lots and lots of places, so watch this space!
:))
Theo


permalink written by  Theo on February 23, 2009 from Alta Lake, Canada
from the travel blog: My Big World Wide Travels
tagged Canada and TravellingTeddy

Send a Compliment

Two Months To Go

Maple Creek, Canada


I'm still at home!Just signed up for SWAP and getting ready to start filling out my working holiday visa papers.

permalink written by  wanderer_ on July 3, 2010 from Maple Creek, Canada
from the travel blog: SWAP Ireland 2010
tagged Canada, Ireland, Teen, SWAP, Katie, Wanderer, Maple, Creek and Eighteen

Send a Compliment

New contract

Toronto, Canada


I just started a new project a few weeks ago. I'm still getting used to all of the new people and new environment. Even though I'm in Canada, not everyone's says "eh?" all of the time.

permalink written by  GanttGuru on October 10, 2011 from Toronto, Canada
from the travel blog: Work Travel
tagged Canada

Send a Compliment

Viewing 1 - 8 of 8 Entries
first | previous | next | last



Heading South?

Online Spanish lessons with a live personal tutor FairTutor can hook you up with Online Spanish lessons with a live personal tutor. It's pretty sweet! Online Spanish lessons with a live personal tutor www.fairtutor.com
Navigate
Login

go
create a new account



   

Blogabond v2.40.58.80 © 2024 Expat Software Consulting Services about : press : rss : privacy