Vancouver Island
August 11-19, 2012
Our trip to Vancouver Island this year was split into three legs:Yellow Point/Nanaimo, Sproat Lake, and Victoria.
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Morgan on the ferry to Vancouver Island.
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Yellow Point / Nanaimo
First, we visited with the McCuish side of the family in Yellow Point, just south of Nanaimo.
Our scheduling wasn't perfect. We missed out on seeing Lynne and Paul.
However, it wasn't bad either, we were able to hang out with Katy, Paul, Wendy, Nicole, Shawn, Lilliana, and Sebastian.
We spent some quality time at Paul and Wendy's place, and on the nearby beaches.
I also got to share some good beers with Shawn. Shawn and I stayed up late one night by the fire chatting about geology, amongst other things.
Beer, geology, and bass guitar; my cousin found herself a good guy, I tell ya.
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This was the first stop on the trip. Morgan was in great spirits the whole time (except for bedtime,as usual).
She loved running around Paul and Wendy's beautiful property and the weather was warm and sunny the whole time.
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Morgan and Wendy.
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After we left, Morgan said that what she missed most from this leg of the journey was Wendy.
Those two really hit it off.
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Sebastian with Paul and Wendy's Lego stash.
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All three kids in the bathtub.
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Katy got the two little girls these super-cute ballerina/fairy dresses.
They are a little over-the-top-cutesy, but Morgan loves fairies and ballerinas, and the dress makes a great addition to the dress-up box at home.
Both girls pranced around in them for an afternoon looking adorable.
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Lilliana, Nicole, and Katy.
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Lilliana and Morgan with thier great-grandma Katy.
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Morgan relaxing on Katy's deck near the top of the Beacon Tower.
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The view!
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A group photo in the orchard.
We had a great time. Thank you for hosting us all, Paul, Wendy, and Katy!
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Sproat Lake
After bidding a fond farewell to the family in Nanaimo, we travelled north up to Sproat Lake.
The company up there was warm and friendly and the water in the lake was perfect. Ahhhh.
The highlights included: Sharing a bike ride and a Stone Brewery Russian Imperial Stout with Arne, a fun game of chess with Scott (a draw!), amazing dinners, dock time, and good conversation.
As a bonus, we got to visit with a few folks that we don't see too often: Pat and Alastair, as well as Ryan and Eva.
I wasn't really taking photos this time, so there are only a few from this year's Sproat visit.
Fortunately, Eva was taking a lot of photos, and she shared a few of hers with me.
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A few good people photos taken right before we left.
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The following five photos are from Eva.
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I did manage to get everyone together for a group photo before we left.
Unfortunately, I totally screwed up and bumped the camera.
None of those group photos turned out, as the camera was pointed off to the side and too low. Darn it!
I was really slacking on taking pictures during those days at Sproat. Oh well, I remember it all fondly.
Thank you Ann and Arne for hosting yet another great big family event at the Lake!
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Victoria
Lastly, we traveled down to Victoria to celebrate Cynthia's birthday and to visit the town where I spent a couple of years as a kid.
We were also able to spend a few days with Chloe, who was in town for a conference.
Chloe was kind enough to share her hotel with us, and got to witness what it's like having a three year old who is running out of steam at the end of a road trip!
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Chloe and I lived in this house for a couple of years back in the early eighties.
It was a trip seeing it again.
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Across the street is a park where I used to play with my friend, Reid. I had to go back and check it out.
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A playground was built in this park sometime after we moved away to San Francisco.
Morgan enjoyed playing in the park, but was kind of grumpy the whole time.
She got really upset with me when I tossed that stick back into the woods before we left. Oops.
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I love this photo.
Morgan actually climbed this wall herself, but she had both parents there to spot her.
I was so proud!
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We spent some time in Beacon Hill Park one day.
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There were lots of non-human animals at the park, both wild and in a little petting zoo.
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Chloe took us to this cool castle near the park.
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Speaking af castles, this is the parliament building.
Morgan and I took a tourist trip through downtown on our last morning in Victoria while Chloe and Cynthia went to a spa.
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A Smithsonian dinosaur exhibit was at the Natural History Museum, so naturally we had to go check it out.
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I bought Morgan a couple of stuffed dinosaur toys.
She now recognizes and can pronounce "Tyrannosaurus" and "Triceratops".
However, she often pronounces "Tyrannosaurus" as "Dinosaurus", which is pretty cute.
Pretty good for a three year old!
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I remember seeing this Mammoth when I was a little boy at the museum with Cydney.
I had to show Morgan.
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Sea Lions!
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We went to several restaurants while in Victoria. Morgan learned to twirl spaghetti while we were there.
She was excited about her breakthrough in noodle handling.
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Victoria to Port Angeles - Heading home
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Cynthia opened up a birthday present (from me) on the ferry ride home. Matching dresses for her and Morgan!
I also managed to summon a pod of Orca for her.
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I want to thank everyone again for hosting us and making the time to visit with us.
We had a great time and enjoyed catching up with everyone.
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Morgan on the ferry to Vancouver Island.
This was the first stop on the trip. Morgan was in great spirits the whole time (except for bedtime,as usual).
She loved running around Paul and Wendy's beautiful property and the weather was warm and sunny the whole time.
Morgan and Wendy.
After we left, Morgan said that what she missed most from this leg of the journey was Wendy.
Those two really hit it off.
Sebastian with Paul and Wendy's Lego stash.
All three kids in the bathtub.
Katy got the two little girls these super-cute ballerina/fairy dresses.
They are a little over-the-top-cutesy, but Morgan loves fairies and ballerinas, and the dress makes a great addition to the dress-up box at home.
Both girls pranced around in them for an afternoon looking adorable.
Lilliana, Nicole, and Katy.
Lilliana and Morgan with thier great-grandma Katy.
Morgan relaxing on Katy's deck near the top of the Beacon Tower.
The view!
A group photo in the orchard.
We had a great time. Thank you for hosting us all, Paul, Wendy, and Katy!
A few good people photos taken right before we left.
Chloe and I lived in this house for a couple of years back in the early eighties.
It was a trip seeing it again.
Across the street is a park where I used to play with my friend, Reid. I had to go back and check it out.
A playground was built in this park sometime after we moved away to San Francisco.
Morgan enjoyed playing in the park, but was kind of grumpy the whole time.
She got really upset with me when I tossed that stick back into the woods before we left. Oops.
I love this photo.
Morgan actually climbed this wall herself, but she had both parents there to spot her.
I was so proud!
We spent some time in Beacon Hill Park one day.
There were lots of non-human animals at the park, both wild and in a little petting zoo.
Chloe took us to this cool castle near the park.
Speaking af castles, this is the parliament building.
Morgan and I took a tourist trip through downtown on our last morning in Victoria while Chloe and Cynthia went to a spa.
A Smithsonian dinosaur exhibit was at the Natural History Museum, so naturally we had to go check it out.
I bought Morgan a couple of stuffed dinosaur toys.
She now recognizes and can pronounce "Tyrannosaurus" and "Triceratops".
However, she often pronounces "Tyrannosaurus" as "Dinosaurus", which is pretty cute.
Pretty good for a three year old!
I remember seeing this Mammoth when I was a little boy at the museum with Cydney.
I had to show Morgan.
Sea Lions!
We went to several restaurants while in Victoria. Morgan learned to twirl spaghetti while we were there.
She was excited about her breakthrough in noodle handling.
Cynthia opened up a birthday present (from me) on the ferry ride home. Matching dresses for her and Morgan!
I also managed to summon a pod of Orca for her.
I want to thank everyone again for hosting us and making the time to visit with us.
We had a great time and enjoyed catching up with everyone.