Victoria

Arr on Vancouver Is. and motored down to Victoria on Thurs. early afternoon. Caught a cab to the Albion Manor B&B, unique place very close to Victoria Harbor. Wandered around most of the rest of the day. Nice breakfast this morning cooked by Don, three couples from Calif. on other rooms and a family from the UK. Bus tour to Buchart Gardens, very beautiful place. Early arrival back in Victoria, toured parliament bldg and the Fairmont Empress, another old stately hotel. Taking a siesta for awhile this afternoon and will spend last evening in Victoria roaming around the harbor. 9:45AM ferry tomorrow to Port Angeles and Ben's place in Seabeck. Bye.

Last night in Vancouver

Spent the better part of today exploring Granville Island which wasn't too much of a walk from the hotel, did have to take a busboat across the harbor to get to it. Covered with shops and markets, very interesting place. Tonight the United Kingdom is having a major fireworks display along the harbor, plan to walk back down for that around 10PM (stays very light up here fairly late). Early rise tomorrow with a bus, then ferry, over to Victoria on Vancouver Island. Take care, j&s

Arrived in Vancouver 7/27

Well the Rocky Mountaineer was quite a trainride. Left Banff on Sunday morning and traveled the Kicking Horse trail to Kamloops where we spent the night. Left this morning and traveled around the very arid area of Kamloops Lake and the Thompson River, eventually merging with the Fraser River in Confluence, following this all the way into Vancouver, traveling mainly thru the Fraser Canyon (very scenic). Arr Vancouver around 6:45 Monday evening. Spent most of Tues. at the Capilano Suspension Bridge in N. Vancouver. Main bridge was neat, about 200ft above the gorge and about that long. Also a treetop complex where you walked from one tree to another via shorter suspensions. After leaving here went to Stanley Park to the aquarium which was ok. Had a 4D film which was a BBC Planet Earth segment called Shallow Seas. Very interactive with water sprays, bubbles, vibrations along with the 3D effects. Bye and take care, j&s

Back in Banff

Traveled up to the Icefields near Jasper and rode a "glaciermobile" up on a large glacier. Visited many scenic spots on the way up there, spent the night at a little spot in the middle of nowhere, drove back down to Banff this morning. The Rocky Mountaineer RR leaves tomorrow morning at 8:15 for Kamloops where we'll spend the night. So far, beautiful weather. Sheila's birthday today!!

Lake Louise - Chateau Fairmont

Traveled from Banff via Lake Moraine to the Chateau Fairmont on Lake Louise. Hard to put into words how beautiful this place is. It sits on Lake Louise which is an aqua color from the mineral runoffs from the mts. Have a 5:30AM wakeup call to see the sunrise over Lake Louise. Tomorrow headed to the Columbia Icefields for a ride on a Glaciermobile, then overnight south of the Jasper National Park.

Touring Banff on 7/22

Spent our 2nd beautiful day in Banff touring Johnston Canyon, Bow Falls, Banff Springs Hotel, walked about 7 miles so far today. Might have to have another Canadian Lager for dinner to help me sleep! Yeah, like I'll need any help after today.

Where We're Going

Everyone at one time or another should have a roadtrip t-shirt made so this is an appropriate time for me to try my first. Here's our trip!

Getting Ready to Leave 7/20

Well, our grand excursion begins in a little over a week. Flying out of Harrisburg on 7/21 to Calgary, Alberta, CAN where we pick up a rental car and explore the areas of Calgary, Banff, and Jasper for about four days. Will keep you posted as to our travels. tx for taking a look, jim and sheila.