Thursday, June 30, 2011

Oh Canada!


Roger returned to Medellin to coordinate the sale and transfer of the drilling equipment to a company that bought everything once it was decided PetroTiger would not move forward with the drilling division.  It's disappointing as we hoped to stay in Colombia, but if the last four years have taught me anything -- things always work out for the best.

While Roger was away, I decided to drive out to see Brad and Anette, and then continue to Vancouver Island to visit friends.

I had forgotten just how jaw-dropping beautiful Western Canada really is.
Going through Banff National Park was fabulous
I stopped in Kamloops, B.C. and had breakfast with Roger's Aunt Louise, and cousin Lyndon
I love spending time with Brad and Anette and it was great to see them in their new apartment in Port Moody, B.C.  They miss San Francisco, but are enjoying the west coast. 

I brought out some keepsakes from Brad's childhood.  One of the mementos was a School Days scrapbook where I documented who his friends were, activities, major moments and ambitions.  In grade 10, his goal was to work at Industrial Light & Magic.  He saw his goal reached when his name was in the credits for Transformers 3 movie.  What a great accomplishment!

A lot of work went into this movie and it's been getting great reviews
Anette and Brad have a terrific 9 month old Boston Terrier called Obi.  She is really well trained, and so sweet.


Obi modeling her "boat coat" in preparation for her trip to Idaho in July.

I bought Obi a monkey chew toy which she pretty well destroyed, with gusto, within 24 hours.

View from Brad and Anette's apartment

Andre (Anette's brother) was also visiting and I always enjoy spending time with him too.
A week before I came to Vancouver, rioters wreaked havoc on the city following the Stanley Cup playoffs.  In response to the riots, many citizens came downtown to help with the clean up and several boards had supportive messages written on them.

Andre is a jazz musician and will be going to McGill University in Montreal this year as he pursues his Masters degree. The four of us attended Jaga Jazz -- a Norwegian jazz band who were one of the groups playing in the Vancouver Jazz Festival.  Watching the audience enjoy the music was as much fun as just listening.
I've never attended a concert where you stand -- I lasted about an hour and then found a bench where other "geriatrics" were sitting!


After saying goodbye to Brad and Anette, I headed to the ferry terminal and took a ferry to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.  The scenery was spectacular.



 

On the island I spent two days with good friends, Barb and Rob Perry.  As an added bonus, their daughter, Jennifer and her baby Jayden, were also visiting.  Barb and Rob invited past neighbours from Calgary who are also living on the island for dinner, and we all had a great time catching up.  The sign of good friends is the ability to continue like we've never been apart.
Clockwise from the left:  Jennifer, Barb, Jodi and Paul Ikert, Rob
I've never driven so much on my own, but really loved it.  It has been years since I've driven the TransCanada highway to the coast, and I was mesmerized by how beautiful it was, and how great the roads were.
While it was a great trip and I loved seeing everyone, it's always good to be back in Idaho. I look forward to celebrating Canada Day as well as seeing the July 4th fireworks on the river.

No matter where our travels take us, we are always proud to hold our Canadian passports.  Sometimes it takes an opportunity like I had to travel its roads and waterways to remind myself just how lucky I am.

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