10th July 2013
5 months and 14 days after we left snow bound Britain we arrived back in glorious sunshine. Everyone at home has been asking us to bring sunshine with us and we seem to have done so. Et Voila!
Difficult to sum up the trip. Lots of "f" words come to mind. Fantastic, fascinating, fabulous, fun filled, fortunate, family orientated. Certainly a time that we'll never forget. We've seen some magical scenery, got close to a range of unusual animals, driven thousands of miles, survived nearly 7 weeks in a camper van, avoided the excesses of global warning such as floods that have threatened our itinerary from time to time, explored Hobbiton, eaten some wonderful food and drunk some very acceptable wines, met some extraordinary people. All wonderful.
However amongst the most memorable are the times spent with family and friends around the globe. Amazing that we have rellies and friends in North and South Island in New Zealand, Australia, USA and East and West Canada. Thanks to all of them who made us feel so welcome even when it was the first meeting. Hopefully we'll get the opportunity to return the hospitality before too long.
Thanks to all our readers around the world. We hope that you've enjoyed the blog and that we've managed to share some of the magic of our trip.
And so on to the start of our next adventures. The immediate task is to re landscape the back garden to make it maintenance free. Other plans include a party for Mike's birthday in August, trips to Cyprus and Barcelona and who knows what other excitements!
Bye for now, Mike and Maggie.
Saturday, 13 July 2013
Friday, 12 July 2013
Murray feaver, the Blue Jays and those Falls!
July 3rd to 9th 2013
Unbelievably our five plus month trip is nearly over. Spent much of our last week at Sue and Peter's home in Ontario relaxing, swimming, playing golf and watching Wimbledon. We have promised never to visit during Wimbledon again as the trauma of urging on Andy Murray, the best British hope for decades, can be overwhelming even for a couple who understand the English! Ironically (and probably helpfully from Mr M's viewpoint) we missed the final where Andy played so well and became the first British Wimbledon Champion for yonks. However we got the result on a smart Phone while we were on the Go Train in Toronto on our way to a baseball match. The other passengers did seem a little surprised when we let out a scream of joy on hearing the final score!
The Canadian Turtons thoughtfully arranged for us to get a taste of local sport and took us to see the Toronto Blue Jays at the iconic Sky Dome as it's known locally or its official title, the Rogers stadium. A large stadium with probably 15,000 or so in it on the day we went. Sensibly the stadium is reached easily by public transport so it's possible to avoid the long queue's that characterise travel to so many UK sporting events.
Baseball is big in Canada and the States and it was immediately evident that this is a family sport. The crowd ranged in age from a few months to pretty ancient. Joy of joys there was even a "stroller valet" to take care of the large numbers of children's buggies. This is not a serious sport in the sense that the crowd are quiet and restrained! As well as the actual play (which wasn't fast and furious on this occasion), there's lots of music and audience participation through hand clapping, making silly faces on the big screens etc Great fun! Fast food is the order of the day and so once seated, expect to spend a fair amount of time getting up to let others go past to get food or drinks. We'd never seen such large pots for popcorn and if you buy the official Jays bucket, it's refillable at no charge! Not an event for slimmers!
Sport over, we went back to more traditional site seeing on our last full day and no visit to the Toronto area would be complete without visiting the "small" waterfall at Niagara. Spent some time at the delightful Niagara on the Lake on the way down. This is a very well presented town with a collection of interesting and individual shops, restaurants and cafes and some of the most beautifully kept gardens and street planters we've seen on our trip. The weather was hot and steamy and we spent a happy couple of hours looking around and will, no doubt, return on our next visit.
From largest to smallest, the three waterfalls are the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls The Horseshoe Falls lie on the Canadian side and the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls on the American side. Located on the Niagara River which drains Lake into Erie into Lake Ontario, the combined falls form the highest flow rate of any waterfall in the world, with a vertical drop of more than 165 feet (50 m). Horseshoe Falls is the most powerful waterfall, as measured by vertical height and also by flow rate.
Whatever the vital statistics, the falls are magnificent! The viewing is made all the more real by the shower that you get even from the road. Those who really want to bathe can get even closer to the falls by boat or on one of the platforms.
Being so close to the US, it would have been rude not to pay a visit so we drove over the border and did a little shopping. On the way home, we drove through a brief spell of heavy rain but thought nothing of it until later in the evening we heard the news that central Toronto was flooded after a downpour equivalent to a month's rain in one hour! 1400 passengers were rescued from a commuter train, load of homes were without power and lots of flights were cancelled. Good job we weren't booked to leave that evening!
Unbelievably our five plus month trip is nearly over. Spent much of our last week at Sue and Peter's home in Ontario relaxing, swimming, playing golf and watching Wimbledon. We have promised never to visit during Wimbledon again as the trauma of urging on Andy Murray, the best British hope for decades, can be overwhelming even for a couple who understand the English! Ironically (and probably helpfully from Mr M's viewpoint) we missed the final where Andy played so well and became the first British Wimbledon Champion for yonks. However we got the result on a smart Phone while we were on the Go Train in Toronto on our way to a baseball match. The other passengers did seem a little surprised when we let out a scream of joy on hearing the final score!
The Canadian Turtons thoughtfully arranged for us to get a taste of local sport and took us to see the Toronto Blue Jays at the iconic Sky Dome as it's known locally or its official title, the Rogers stadium. A large stadium with probably 15,000 or so in it on the day we went. Sensibly the stadium is reached easily by public transport so it's possible to avoid the long queue's that characterise travel to so many UK sporting events.
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| Toronto Blue Jays |
Baseball is big in Canada and the States and it was immediately evident that this is a family sport. The crowd ranged in age from a few months to pretty ancient. Joy of joys there was even a "stroller valet" to take care of the large numbers of children's buggies. This is not a serious sport in the sense that the crowd are quiet and restrained! As well as the actual play (which wasn't fast and furious on this occasion), there's lots of music and audience participation through hand clapping, making silly faces on the big screens etc Great fun! Fast food is the order of the day and so once seated, expect to spend a fair amount of time getting up to let others go past to get food or drinks. We'd never seen such large pots for popcorn and if you buy the official Jays bucket, it's refillable at no charge! Not an event for slimmers!
Sport over, we went back to more traditional site seeing on our last full day and no visit to the Toronto area would be complete without visiting the "small" waterfall at Niagara. Spent some time at the delightful Niagara on the Lake on the way down. This is a very well presented town with a collection of interesting and individual shops, restaurants and cafes and some of the most beautifully kept gardens and street planters we've seen on our trip. The weather was hot and steamy and we spent a happy couple of hours looking around and will, no doubt, return on our next visit.
From largest to smallest, the three waterfalls are the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls The Horseshoe Falls lie on the Canadian side and the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls on the American side. Located on the Niagara River which drains Lake into Erie into Lake Ontario, the combined falls form the highest flow rate of any waterfall in the world, with a vertical drop of more than 165 feet (50 m). Horseshoe Falls is the most powerful waterfall, as measured by vertical height and also by flow rate.
Whatever the vital statistics, the falls are magnificent! The viewing is made all the more real by the shower that you get even from the road. Those who really want to bathe can get even closer to the falls by boat or on one of the platforms.
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| Maid in the Mist boat gets pretty close to Niagara Falls |
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| The spray is amazing! |
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| The American Falls |
Wednesday, 3 July 2013
The perils of thinking your way is best! A bit of Indian history
July 2nd
Today we visited Sainte Marie amongst the Hurons in Midland, Ontario. This is a fascinating recreation of the mission founded in 1639 by French Jesuits in the land of the Wendat later known as Hurons.
The Jesuits created the mission as a retreat for missionaries and a refuge for Christian Hurons in this isolated area of New France.
The original mission buildings have been rebuilt and show all too clearly the basic conditions that both the Jesuits and the Wendats lived in. Some materials such as metal that could be fashioned into tools were brought over from France but most food and supplies had to be foraged from the local area. Luckily there was plenty of timber for houses and animals such as beavers and rabbits for furs. A staple food was corn which was ground into a crude flour and made into a bread (but not as we know it). Winters are pretty cold in this area with lots of snow so fires were all important for warmth, cooking and light. The fires have been recreated in the display homes and illustrate how smoky the atmosphere must have been! About 40 people shared this space!
The Wendats were a peaceful tribe with an interesting culture who believed that everyone and everything had a soul. Fighting was part of life as they were often challenged by other Huron tribes but unlike many other tribes and indeed the French, they didn't believe in capital punishment, preferring to make amends by giving gifts. The Wendats shared their local knowledge with the Jesuits which undoubtedly helped them to survive. The Jesuits in turn brought knowledge of new techniques such as those used by the Blacksmith to make nails and tools. Whilst the Wendats thought that this was black magic, they recognised its usefulness and assumed that the King of France must be a Blacksmith!
Sadly though the Jesuits didn't add any lasting value to the Wendats way of life and the mission only lasted 10 years before some leaders were killed in attacks by other tribes. The Jesuits burnt the community to the ground before escaping to a nearby island. That proved to be too desolate and in 1650 the Jesuits and a few hundred Christian Wendats returned to Quebec.
Sainte Marie among the Hurons is well worth a visit. They've got the mix of education (through displays and videos) about right and the buildings are very interesting. A lesson for us all though. It's dangerous to assume that your beliefs and way of life is better and should be imposed on the established one.
Today we visited Sainte Marie amongst the Hurons in Midland, Ontario. This is a fascinating recreation of the mission founded in 1639 by French Jesuits in the land of the Wendat later known as Hurons.
The Jesuits created the mission as a retreat for missionaries and a refuge for Christian Hurons in this isolated area of New France.
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| The recreation of the Jesuit village at Sainte Marie |
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| A typical Wendat "teepee" |
The original mission buildings have been rebuilt and show all too clearly the basic conditions that both the Jesuits and the Wendats lived in. Some materials such as metal that could be fashioned into tools were brought over from France but most food and supplies had to be foraged from the local area. Luckily there was plenty of timber for houses and animals such as beavers and rabbits for furs. A staple food was corn which was ground into a crude flour and made into a bread (but not as we know it). Winters are pretty cold in this area with lots of snow so fires were all important for warmth, cooking and light. The fires have been recreated in the display homes and illustrate how smoky the atmosphere must have been! About 40 people shared this space!
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| A Wendat house for 40 people. Very smoky! |
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| Exterior of a Wendat house |
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| Mike and Peter try out the Jesuit hand drills |
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| A boat made of timber |
Sadly though the Jesuits didn't add any lasting value to the Wendats way of life and the mission only lasted 10 years before some leaders were killed in attacks by other tribes. The Jesuits burnt the community to the ground before escaping to a nearby island. That proved to be too desolate and in 1650 the Jesuits and a few hundred Christian Wendats returned to Quebec.
Sainte Marie among the Hurons is well worth a visit. They've got the mix of education (through displays and videos) about right and the buildings are very interesting. A lesson for us all though. It's dangerous to assume that your beliefs and way of life is better and should be imposed on the established one.
Celebrating in Canada
1st July Canada Day!
Staying with Mike's brother and his family in their beautiful home in Oregon. Near a huge lake where most water sports are available, next to a golf course for summer sport and close to ski slopes for the winter, what more could you want?
1st July is Canada Day. A celebration of the Act in 1867 which united three colonies into a single country called Canada within the British Empire. Flags were flying, most people were dressed in the red and white of the Canadian flag and there was a real feeling that this was a special day. Pity that St. George's day doesn't have quite the same feel.
The local towns around here had a joint parade featuring local public services and businesses, a number of farming related floats, sheep with Maple Leaf tattoos and classic cars many of which were English. Fallen slightly behind the rest of the classic pack came a rather snazzy red Morgan"driven" by Mike's brother, Peter. Strictly speaking by the time the car appeared in Thornbury, it was being pushed by Peter's wife, Sue, rather than driven having broken down en route! Since Sue's efforts were witnessed by many of their friends it seems very likely that there will be a fair amount of leg pulling in the next few days, not to mention special features on Facebook!
Had a lovely family day with Sue and Peter and their daughters, Katie and Emily, granddaughter Emma, future son in law Nik and Sue's brother Barry and sister in law Marjorie.
Lots of fun in the pool with grandma on duty!
The day ended with firework on the practice ground. Not the best display ever but fun nevertheless!
Staying with Mike's brother and his family in their beautiful home in Oregon. Near a huge lake where most water sports are available, next to a golf course for summer sport and close to ski slopes for the winter, what more could you want?
1st July is Canada Day. A celebration of the Act in 1867 which united three colonies into a single country called Canada within the British Empire. Flags were flying, most people were dressed in the red and white of the Canadian flag and there was a real feeling that this was a special day. Pity that St. George's day doesn't have quite the same feel.
The local towns around here had a joint parade featuring local public services and businesses, a number of farming related floats, sheep with Maple Leaf tattoos and classic cars many of which were English. Fallen slightly behind the rest of the classic pack came a rather snazzy red Morgan"driven" by Mike's brother, Peter. Strictly speaking by the time the car appeared in Thornbury, it was being pushed by Peter's wife, Sue, rather than driven having broken down en route! Since Sue's efforts were witnessed by many of their friends it seems very likely that there will be a fair amount of leg pulling in the next few days, not to mention special features on Facebook!
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| Canada Day Parade in Thornbury, Ontario |
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| My bike is bigger than yours! |
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| Oh for those eyelashes! |
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| Familiar faces in the crowd. Emily, Emma and Katie |
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| Sue pushing Peter in his Morgan! |
Lots of fun in the pool with grandma on duty!
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| Emma, armed and dangerous! |
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| Nik and Katie |
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| Emma acting as Sue's hair stylist! |
The day ended with firework on the practice ground. Not the best display ever but fun nevertheless!
Saturday, 29 June 2013
Seriously big bumps! (Adventures in the Rocky Mountains).
June 24 to 29
Our next adventure was the drive up to the wondrous Rocky Mountains. Pretty straight forward actually as drives go but about 900 kilometers from Vancouver so we took a couple of days to reach the biggest bumps.
Picture the scene. Big (average about 3,500 metres high) mountains, many still with snow on their tops and some glaciers that are testament to their volcanic origins, thousands of green and very tall pine trees and lots of water in the form of rivers, waterfalls and lakes.
Unfortunately bad flooding in Alberta meant that we had to change our original plans and we couldn't get to Canmore or Calgary. However the drive up from Banff to Golden more than made up for this as you get to see the Rockies at their best.
As well as pretty impressive mountains the Rockies have some gorgeous lakes. Lake Louise tends to get most press but nearby Lake Moraine and the Emerald Lake are also wonderful and the latter two are a particularly wonderful shade of turquoise blue.
The recent heavy rainfall in the area also meant that the waterfalls are pretty spectacular.
Wild life is abundant around here with elk, grisly bears, white mountain goats and deer. Hiking beyond the immediate tourist trails has to be in groups of at least 4 people and the warning signs on the roads are frequent and varied! Sadly (possibly) we only saw deer and a variety of hawks, eagles and the like at close hand.
As our accommodation plans had to be changed at the last minute because of the flooding around Canmore, we booked several bed and breakfasts on the hoof as we travelled. They were all very good quality and a far superior option to most hotels. The real difference between the b&b's and most hotels is the quality of welcome from the hosts and the personal service they offer. This was consistently warm and helpful. Our final night was particularly sociable as the hosts, Anne and Mike, put themselves out to spend time with us and their other two guests who happened to be from Essex in the UK and who live close to where Mike was born.
Sometimes called the "Nappa" of the North, the Okanagan region is full of good wineries. Our beautiful b & b was within walking distance of The Mission Winery so it would have been rude not to try some of their delicious wines. So good we went back for dinner!
After all these fantastic views we came across The Log House. A crazy place with domestic animals such as horses and goats, dinosaurs in the garden and sales of everything from ginormous pastries to specialist sausages!
Our next adventure was the drive up to the wondrous Rocky Mountains. Pretty straight forward actually as drives go but about 900 kilometers from Vancouver so we took a couple of days to reach the biggest bumps.
Picture the scene. Big (average about 3,500 metres high) mountains, many still with snow on their tops and some glaciers that are testament to their volcanic origins, thousands of green and very tall pine trees and lots of water in the form of rivers, waterfalls and lakes.
Unfortunately bad flooding in Alberta meant that we had to change our original plans and we couldn't get to Canmore or Calgary. However the drive up from Banff to Golden more than made up for this as you get to see the Rockies at their best.
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| Emerald Lake |
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| Mike at the Emerald Lake |
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| Mags and Mike at a rather rainy Lake Moraine |
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| Lake Louise |
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| Mags at Lake Louise |
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| Arty farty shot over Lake Louise! |
The recent heavy rainfall in the area also meant that the waterfalls are pretty spectacular.
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| Takakkaw Waterfall. The second largest in Canada |
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| Watch out for the Elks! |
As our accommodation plans had to be changed at the last minute because of the flooding around Canmore, we booked several bed and breakfasts on the hoof as we travelled. They were all very good quality and a far superior option to most hotels. The real difference between the b&b's and most hotels is the quality of welcome from the hosts and the personal service they offer. This was consistently warm and helpful. Our final night was particularly sociable as the hosts, Anne and Mike, put themselves out to spend time with us and their other two guests who happened to be from Essex in the UK and who live close to where Mike was born.
Sometimes called the "Nappa" of the North, the Okanagan region is full of good wineries. Our beautiful b & b was within walking distance of The Mission Winery so it would have been rude not to try some of their delicious wines. So good we went back for dinner!
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| Our self catering cottage at Solitude b&b, Sorrento |
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| Solitude b&b. The main house |
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| Le Beausoleil b&b in Golden |
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| View from Lakeview Heights b&b Kelowna |
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| Sunset at The Mission Winery Kelowna |
After all these fantastic views we came across The Log House. A crazy place with domestic animals such as horses and goats, dinosaurs in the garden and sales of everything from ginormous pastries to specialist sausages!
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| The goat turns the wheel so get food! |
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| The Log House, a good place for a quick stop. It will make you smile! |
Double Take Vancouver
June 19 to 23rd
And so on to our sixth and final country, Canada. The lovely City of Vancouver was our first stop and whilst it lived up to it's rain forest reputation with a mixture of rain, cloud and sun it is a place that should be on everyone's bucket list. Mountains form an impressive backdrop with the sea in the foreground. Vancouver makes the most of its waterfront with a seawall walk around much of the frontage. We stayed downtown, close enough to walk into town and around the seawall.This is a City with lots going on. Jazz festival, dragon boat racing, lots of live music and drama to name a few. Also has a sense of humour with some interesting pieces of public art.
Our first full day was very wet but was considerably brightened by a visit from Maggie's cousin (yes another relative) who name is Maggie Sherlock!! Is the world ready for two we ask ourselves? Luckily the coming together of two such great forces didn't cause an earthquake and we all had a good natter.
The next day brought glorious sunshine and we were able to take the ferry to Granville Island. The ferry boats are really dinky, just like the ones you get for the bath tub! Very frequent and efficient though.
Granville Island is a lovely little place with a fabulous market full of tempting cheeses, sea food, meats, breads, cakes and fruit and vegetables. Don't visit when you're hungry! In the streets around the market are some interesting little specialist shops where you can buy everything from fine wines to handmade hats!
Met up with Maggie and her partner Nora and some of their friends in the evening. As it as the solstice we had to celebrate and enjoyed several bottles of bubbles!
Spurred on by one favourable ferry experience, we boarded a rather larger boat to go to Vancouver Island.
This is quite a trek as the ferry port is about a 40 minute drive from central Vancouver and the ferry crossing takes an hour and a half. Well worth it though as the Island is beautiful with lots to see and do. We hadn't appreciated how large the island is. England would fit into it with space left over!
Our guides for the weekend were more Sherlock cousins, June and Ian and they were generous with both their hospitality and their time. Spookily we met them exactly a year ago when they came to the UK.
Their lovely home overlooks a pretty marina so there is always lots of activity to watch.
We visited the hundred plus year old Butchart gardens. These beautiful gardens are a must see. Full of fantastic trees, flowers and shrubs many of which we grow in England as the climates are quite similar. However Butchart must have special fertilizer as most of the plants are much larger than their English counterparts.
Lots of things are reminiscent of Britain on Vancouver Island. The BC Parliament building, red double decker buses and old style British red phone boxes to name a few. Mind you they do drive on the right!
But like the City, the island has a sense of humour. On Sunday mornings the little ferry boats (they look like the Granville Island boats) do a "dance" in the main harbour to music. Great fun and it brought a smile to everyone's lips. Apparently in warmer weather the boat drivers have been known to dress up in tutus!
Vancouver island has a nice shopping centre so although it's a hike to the mainland, you wouldn't need to do the trek very often. The following picture taken at Butchart gardens summed up the Island for us.
And so on to our sixth and final country, Canada. The lovely City of Vancouver was our first stop and whilst it lived up to it's rain forest reputation with a mixture of rain, cloud and sun it is a place that should be on everyone's bucket list. Mountains form an impressive backdrop with the sea in the foreground. Vancouver makes the most of its waterfront with a seawall walk around much of the frontage. We stayed downtown, close enough to walk into town and around the seawall.This is a City with lots going on. Jazz festival, dragon boat racing, lots of live music and drama to name a few. Also has a sense of humour with some interesting pieces of public art.
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| Laughing statues (in midst of a building site) |
Our first full day was very wet but was considerably brightened by a visit from Maggie's cousin (yes another relative) who name is Maggie Sherlock!! Is the world ready for two we ask ourselves? Luckily the coming together of two such great forces didn't cause an earthquake and we all had a good natter.
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| The "other" Maggie Sherlock! |
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| The dinky Granville Island ferry |
Met up with Maggie and her partner Nora and some of their friends in the evening. As it as the solstice we had to celebrate and enjoyed several bottles of bubbles!
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| Derek, Beverley, Maggie and Nora |
Spurred on by one favourable ferry experience, we boarded a rather larger boat to go to Vancouver Island.
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| The BC Ferry from Vancouver City to Vancouver Island. |
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| View from the ferry |
This is quite a trek as the ferry port is about a 40 minute drive from central Vancouver and the ferry crossing takes an hour and a half. Well worth it though as the Island is beautiful with lots to see and do. We hadn't appreciated how large the island is. England would fit into it with space left over!
Our guides for the weekend were more Sherlock cousins, June and Ian and they were generous with both their hospitality and their time. Spookily we met them exactly a year ago when they came to the UK.
Their lovely home overlooks a pretty marina so there is always lots of activity to watch.
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| View from Ian and June's balcony by day |
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| And by night |
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| View over the gardens |
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| A small water feature! |
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| Mags, Ian and June |
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| Parliament Building with horse and carriage in front |
Vancouver island has a nice shopping centre so although it's a hike to the mainland, you wouldn't need to do the trek very often. The following picture taken at Butchart gardens summed up the Island for us.
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| A glimpse of paradise. The boat moorings at Butchart gardens |
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