A Whale Of A Time

Well we're all back at school and the holiday is already starting to feel like a dim and distant memory, so time to commit a few memories to print before they are lost forever.

We set off on our mega drive across the Rockies. Not a challenge I relished, given that 4 of my passengers do not generally feel the need to respect each others personal space and were unlikely to be enamoured of the view. Thankfully, a peaceful journey was enjoyed . . . all hail the god of nintendo!!!

For 3 hours west of Banff we saw the most spectacular scenery ever . . . it has to be seen to be appreciated. Suffice it to say that one quarter of all the world's forests are in Canada, and it felt like we must have seen most of those trees. Wow.

Victoria Island had narrow roads, double decker buses, English style houses and drizzle . . . we thought we'd taken a wrong turn and ended up in the UK!

We headed for the harbour to see the sea-planes, street theatre and the cute little water taxis . . . and book our whale watching trip. Whales are not guaranteed, but the preparations are pretty hilarious as you get bundled up in your bright yellow float suits.

We set off with 7 or 8 other boats - all searching in different areas, all in radio contact. The kids thought the boat ride beat anything Disney had to offer! It was obvious there had been a sighting when all the boats changed course and raced in the same direction, slamming over the water - squeals of delight from the kids, me and Bert hanging on to Jack and Hannah - very exciting stuff. Then engines were turned off, all was quiet . . and whales appeared from all directions!!! It was fantastic (click on the pic at the top to enlarge it). The guide told us we were incredibly lucky - the 3 resident pods had stayed west of the Island for most of the summer (200 miles away) and this was the first time they had seen 'Superpod' (all 3 pods in at once) all year. Right time , right place at last - hurray! Then to add to the drama a 'transient' whale appeared - transients and residents don't mix so they were expecting a showdown, but they gave each other a wide berth (phew - 'whales 1 / blow-up boat nil' was not the experience we signed up for!).

We had been told that if we did nothing else in Canada, to make sure we saw the Orcas. It was the best bit of advice ever . . . thanks Mr Jones !!!! We wouldn't have missed it for the world.

We had a great time on the Island, loved karting (so much for Penelope Pitstop - I was lapped 3 times by Jack!!), tried the baseball nets (how hard are those balls??? It is like being pelted with rocks!), and finished off with 'Tree-Go' . . . a tree top obstacle course with zip wires, like 'Go-Ape' in the UK but with a lower version that Eleanor, Jack and Hannah could do. Fab.

Then we got the ferry to Vancouver.

Vancouver is a beautiful city. The boats in the harbour were something else . . . one had a helicopter and landing pad. We bounced bravely across the Capilano suspension bridge, hired bikes to go round Stanley Park, and even managed to meet up with Bert's friend Marc . . . still with a scouse accent after 29 years away, and still reading The Echo on-line!! Thanks for making us so welcome Marc and Heather, and for the fantastic meal . . . Jack has very happy memories of the garlic bread!

We stopped at Lake Louise on the way home, which is just beautiful - turquoise blue because of the way the glacier grinds the rock to powder, and it freezes to about 70 feet over the winter, so we'll be taking the ice-skates next time.

So that was our 'vacation'. It will be winter before we know it . . . the geese have started gathering on the lake, ready to exit stage left at the first sign of frost. Mind you, it's t-shirt weather just now so we are holding out as long as we can.

On to birthdays. Bert had a new fishing rod for his so he has been off catching tiddlers in the pond. Hannah and Jack have told me about the birthday tradition at their school - the Principle and Vice-Principle appear in your classroom wearing big hats with bells on, sing 'Happy Birthday' in a dramatic style, and let you have a dip in the candy jar. . . a tradition I think should be adopted by all UK schools! (I'm sure Mrs Davies and Miss Cronin would be game for a laugh, but I can think of a few heads who might be forced to retire!!).

That's 3 down and one to go this month - Eleanor is having a 'trail ride' in the Rockies, complete with cowboy hats. And it doesn't even seem odd. How Canadian are we ?!?

That's all folks. Hope you are all happy and thriving and planning to email us soon ?!? Victoria is definately top of the premiership for blog comments . . . while some of you are still languishing in the conference league (has there been a communication black-out on Wirral???)

Bye for now.

Lots and lots of big Canadian bear hugs,

Nicki and the gang xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Holiday pics can be viewed here:

http://www.photobox.co.uk/slideshow?album_id=27481855