The holiday saga begins...

Hi there, long time no see.

As you may know we went off to Canada to see our son and family.  Our granddaughter was graduating from High School, so the trip was planned a little earlier in the month than we would normally travel, but Canada was kind to us and the sun shone.  Our trip began with friends taking us to the station and we caught the train down to Gatwick.  We have never taken the train before, but have to say it was so much less stressful than the journey by road.  Our flight was early in the morning so we splashed out and spent the night in a hotel at the airport and in the morning just walked across to the check in....what a pleasure!  I had taken the pills, and the journey was uneventful... Hoo Ray!!!

We arrived in Vancouver to some beautiful sunshine and just wonderful to see the family.  Our first few days were quite lazy really, but we did  take a trip into Vancouver with 'A' and she took us to the ' 'Flight across Canada' It was a bit like an 'IMAX' theatre, but a bit more surround screen and sound and we were strapped into our seats which vibrated and gave the effect you would get if you were actually flying.  It was quite an experience and one I would highly recommend.

We also spent a few hours in the garden watching the humming birds.  You cannot believe just how much noise the birds make as they beat their wings, I now know why they are called 'humming' birds.

One of the main reasons we came to Canada at this time of year was to see our granddaughter graduate from high school, but first we had the 'Night of recognition' which recognises all the students that have made some sort of achievement through the school year, and both our grandchildren gained awards, which was great to see and made us feel very proud of them both.

'C' receiving his awards

'A' receiving her awards

The main event was 'A's' graduation, and we were given clear instruction as to the best seating, so we made sure we were early in the queue and low and behold I think we had the best seating in the whole hall,  ( it did get a bit hard on the bum after a few hours!) but was it worth it .........oh yes!  Miss A gained 9 awards/ scholarships and the most coveted  'Academic award of Excellence 2010 - 2015' which was awarded to her and the top boy ....she was thrilled and we again were very proud of her achievements.

'A' with the headmaster of the school

Both awarded the 'Academic award of Excellence 2010- 2015'

The golf course called Mr. D along with 'M' and a couple of her friends.  I walked the course  with them, giving them tips along the way ( I have never held a golf club so not so sure they appreciated my advice). It was a beautiful evening to walk the course and gave me a chance to admire the scenery and the weird things you find on the golf course which happens to be quite a few miles from the sea.

Wonderful evening 

Yep! a Star Fish, don't think he walked here

'M's' friend offered Mr. D and I the loan of her kayaks and we made very good use of them, spending quite a few hours each week on the water.  It is so peaceful out in the cove, just us and a few seals, and not too many motor boats, just wonderful!

Ready for the off.

Stanley Park was another 'must' for us.  M dropped us at the Sea bus and we made our way through to Coal Harbour for breakfast.  We hired bikes and set off around the sea wall.  Most of the trip is in shade and that was needed as the temperature was in the mid to high 20's C.

Vancouver sky line in the distance

I just love the way that tree has grown on the rock

Some wonderful sculptures just outside the Park

After returning the bikes we headed into town as we had never walked around the main City centre. The shopping area is very nice, but you need plenty of money for the designer shops so we just window shopped, and this is where we waited for the bus to take us back to the cove.

There are lots of water features around the city