Paula and Nola headed off for Vancouver Island on Tuesday. They caught a ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo, and stopped at Chemainus on their way down to Victoria. Tara, the downstairs tenant, works for Fairmont Hotels, and booked them in to The Empress Hotel. The next day the weather was kind to them. and they went to Butchart Gardens. On Thursday they caught a ferry back from Schwarz Bay to Tsawwassan. They called back at home to book another Fairmont Hotel in Seattle and headed south. I am not supposed to know that they had to come back to get Nola's passport as well. They went down and stayed in Mount Vernon, and went to La Conner and Anacortes while they were there. They spent Friday night in Seattle, ent to the Pike Place Market on Saturday, and returned to Vancouver via Chuckanut Drive, and Taylor's shellfish farm.

Handsworth had a Pro-D Day on Friday, so Bridget and Daniel had no school. I was contemplating taking Friday off and suggesting that we all head down to Seattle. I shouldn't have worried about whether to take the day off, or not, because my problem was solved. When I got home after the staff meeting I was told, "They've gone!" They had already left for Seattle. No problem now!

Friday after school the weather was nice so I decided to walk home. I knew that there was a track under power lines and if I followed them I would end up near home at the base of Grouse Mountain. The power lines cross the Mountain Highway just near school, so I started there and followed the trail. I hung my keys and whistle from my backpack so that they rattled as I walked. Apparently this is one of the most active times for bears as they are trying to find food to build up their fat reserves in preparation for hibernation. There were still blackberries on the bushes, so I picked some as I walked. I wasn't sure where the trail went from Lynn Valley Road, so I walked a couple of blocks on the road and picked it up again on 29th Street. A bit of a way up the mountain the trail hit a creek. I walked up the creek a bit and found a park. The trail seemed to continue on the other side of the park. I came to a road and the power lines continued up the mountain. The path seemed a bit narrow and overgrown, so I decided to walk along the road. This turned out to be the Braemar Connector. This took me to the top of Lonsdale, and then I decided to stick to the roads till home. It took me about an hour and a half, and it was probably about 7 - 8 km.

Saturday was great weather as well. The temperature was in the high teens and it was beautiful and sunny. Not having a car, I was trying to decide what to do. I decided that I would go for a walk to Grouse Mountain. I had talked with the kids about doing the Grouse Grind again, but neither of them were interested in going. They just wanted to stay at home. Bridget did have a bit of a cold. I have a 12 month pass for the Skyride, so I thought I would walk to the lower station, catch the cable car up, and walk some of the trails up on top. Well, I walked up to the power lines near home and followed them to Grouse. It is much quicker than going by road. I don't know what made me do it, but, when I got to the start of the Grind, I decided to do it again. I think I was regretting it after about 10 minutes. I had started the timer on my watch as I stepped through the gate. I reached the 1/4 way mark in 30 minutes, 1/2 way in 50 minutes, 3/4 in 1 hr and 15, and finally got to the top in 1 hr and 36 minutes. That was about 15 minutes better than the last time I did it.

I walked around to get the views, and then went to see the bears again. I took the chair lift to the peak and got a closer look at the huge windmill that they have constructed as a power generator, which will provide abour half the power needed on the mountain. It also has a viewing capsule at the top of the tower. I caught the cable car down and then had to walk back along the power lines to get home. Quite a bit of walking so far this weekend.

On Sunday we had to take Nola to the airport for her flight home. We dropped her at the departure area at 11:15 and then being such a nice day we decided to drive to Steveston. We walked around the shops and along the riverside wharves. We had fish and chips while watching the boats come and go, and the seagulls and other birds looking for a feed. The view back up this arm of the Fraser River looked straight at Mount Baker. It was very clear and the snow capped mountain looked great. We have a 12 month pass to the Canadian National Parks and Historic Sites, so we decided to go to the Gulf of Georgia Cannery. Paula and I had been before when the kids were away during the summer, but we thought that they would enjoy the tour and we didn't have to pay anything extra. As we were walking into the Cannery a voicecalled out from behind us. We turned around to find some of our friends who had just come down for an afternoon walk, and icecream.

We watched a movie about the fishing industry in this area, and then took the guided tour of the canning line. When that finished the guide took us through another part of the building where they produced fish meal and oil mainly from herring. We had more time this time to explore the exhibits, and to get a feel for what it was like working in the cannery.