Road Tripping to Trinidad

Today is the day that my Spanish really got put to the test. I have not really used it in 22 years, so now we'll find out how good my memory is! We booked a taxi to take us to Trinidad, so we had to get up at 630 so we could get breakfast, before meeting in the lobby. Had a great driver named Sergio, which was good since the drive was 4 hours each way! I got to sit in the back in the middle the whole way.

Our first stop was a cigar shop, then we had lunch where Sergio recommended, which had really good fish & I had spaghetti.

After lunch we wandered around looking at souvenirs in the market, but I didn't find anything. One very pregnant lady said she loved my dress, & wanted to trade, but I told her she'd have to keep the baby, which she thought was funny. Then another lady offered to trade my dress for a t-shirt, but I said, "then I'd have no bottoms!" Which they also thought was funny.

The church in the town square

Bananas are in season, but there are no apples to be found in Cuba!

Went to the old doctor's house which is a museum now & climbed the tower to get a nice view of the city.

Setting up for a proper photo was taking too long!

Tara & were talking about the treasures we were finding in the cobblestones.  Unfortunately, no coins were found!

We stopped to have some ice cream, & it was super cheap, only ₱.80!

Tara bought a table runner while I translated for the lady. It was quite comical! At one point Tara asked how you say "blue" in Spanish, & the lady said "Blue" while I said, "Azul". The lady laughed & said, "For you, Azul, for your friend, Blue!"

We met up with Sergio again, & he brought us to a pottery place where we saw the guy make a few cups & things.

Before we left, we had a traditional Cuban drink called 'Canchanchara'

Then we began the long drive back to our resort, with a stop at the Pina Colada place!

Once we got back Luke went to bed, & we quickly went for supper since it was almost closed. Then Chad went to bed while Tara & I went to the lobby for drinks & a chat. It was a good day, but I'm ready to relax!

  Found this little guy hanging out by our room

Back to Canada!

We drove up from the Grand Coulee Dam to British Columbia.

We opted to drive the Princeton-Hope highway, which was pretty, but very twisty.

Now we can say we've done it, but unless I'm on a motorcycle, I wouldn't have to drive it again.

We struggled through a few bouts of car sickness, & got stuck behind a slow moving RV in a line 35 vehicles long!

Grandpa had talked about donuts quite a bit on the trip, but they never actually materialized.  At Hope I had had enough, so I directed Grandpa to Tim Horton's so we could stop talking about donuts that didn't exist!

We had a great 3 weeks with my parents & the trip was a lot of fun!  Maybe we'll have to do it again next year!

Paris At Night (Kind of)

One of Chad's classmates offered to drive us around Paris at night so we could see the monuments lit up.  Unfortunately when they picked us up at 9, we discovered that we were going to see the city at dusk rather than full darkness, but we carried on anyway & got some nice photos.

The Institute de France 

The Eiffel Tower with a football hung in the centre because of the Euro Cup which is happening now.

Here we are!

The Arc de Triomphe.  We drove around it in the crazy round-about!

The Louvre

We drove past the Eiffel Tower the night after Chad's graduation & I got this stellar picture.  The lights also twinkle every hour for a few minutes.

The traffic was a little lighter at night than it usually is during the day, but it was still pretty crazy.  The drivers seem to be pretty aggressive, but they also let other cars merge quite regularly, & they don't honk their horns much.  It was interesting to experience.

Total Distance walked: 9 km

Final Day in the Van

Our last day of driving took us right into smoke & clouds. It was wierdly dark at 11 in the morning. I told Asher at one point to look for forest fires (he was claiming to be bored), after an hour he asked, "Is it ok if I stop looking for fires now?" There was plenty of smoke, but no fires spotted!

I think Digby was getting bored of all the driving as well.  This is how he chose to sit for quite awhile, & if we moved him, he'd just readjust back to this position!

We made it to BC after 3 weeks of travel, & were welcomed by a giant wind storm which knocked the power out for 2 or more days.  Church was cancelled due to no electricity, but we have gotten power back, & have settled into the place we are staying.  PChad started his new job, the kids start school next week, & then it's time to look for a new house!

Up Through the Rockies

When PChad & I lived in Alberta, we often drove the Crowsnest Pass to get to my parents, or go on holidays in the States.  We decided to take the Kootenay Highway up into the Rockies this time since we had only done that once before.

We saw the giant truck in Sparwood

(as we drove by!  No time to stop!)

 PChad & I had stopped at Fort Steele the one other time we had taken this road, & it was fun, but the weather Friday did not make for a great day to do the fort.  We stopped for fuel & snapped this crazy photo & called it good!

We decided it was perfect weather to swim at Fairmont hot springs!  All throughout Yellowstone, the kids kept asking to feel the water in the hot springs, & imagining how warm the water would be, & how fun it would be to swim in it, so we took them to a hot springs you are allowed to swim in, on a cool day.

 The kids had a great time, & I thoroughly enjoyed the warm water!

The Ranch

Sunday after church we headed to my cousins' ranch.  I always loved coming here during the summers as a kid.  There were so many fun things to do, & it's probably what lead me to look for a farmer to marry (not that he ended up being one in the end, but that's another story)!

My cousin has enough quads for us all, so we went for a ride up to what we call "The Bench".  It's a flat piece of land where my Grandma grew up, & the house is still there.

Chancery was very excited for her first quad ride!

And I was also excited, they are so fun to drive, & it was time to share that with the kids!

My parents took the Razr instead, & were thankful for the windshield which deflected a lot of the dust.

Up on the Bench we discussed the crops, & the old license plates used to patch the grain bins while the kids explored...

They climbed up in the old wooden grain bin

And we found the old International truck!

This is the old house where my great Grandfather & my Grandmother lived.  We even got to go inside & kill some mice we found (which the kids found super exciting!)

 Then Justin let the kids try out the combines

 And while PChad & Justin talked about the mechanics of it all, the kids played with the grasshoppers

It was a really fun ride, even if we did get a bit dusty!

The Deal at Yellowstone

The kids really wanted to eat breakfast at the campground on the second morning, but since it was so cold, we had to do something to keep warm.  I came up with a deal...  We went out to dinner, & I told them if they behaved well, we'd go look at some shops afterward & see if we could find some sweatshirts for a good price.

 They kissed a fish for good luck, & we were off to shop!

I told the kids they had to find a nice sweatshirt, which fit them well, for under $20.  They had a great time looking in the giant outlet store we found & both ended up finding good deals.  Then it was my turn, since I had to stay warm too!

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After breakfast at the campground in our new sweatshirts, we were off for more hiking & hot springs!

We took a little hike through the woods & found a nice waterfall

 Then we wandered around the Artist paint pots, but we kept losing Chancery!

This wolf kept following us around, & we were not sure if we should be worried, but it seemed friendly.

Chad & Asher, watch out for the wolf!

 Asher wanted to stay by this geyser until it erupted, but it looked like it might take awhile, so we convinced him to move on.

I guess Asher had nothing to worry about, the wolf ended up to be quite tame!

The kids & I are quite pleased with our new sweatshirts, we even did the unthinkable & wore our new Yellowstone sweaters to Yellowstone!  But it was cold, so we decided it would be ok.