Ending our westcoast adventure

Again we can't believe that we have been here in Qualicum Beach for a month. We are getting ready to catch an early ferry tomorrow morning and as usual we are scrambling to get things done. We put lots of miles on the minivan travelling from Victoria to Courtney/Comox but there is so much we didn't see.

Meg came from Vancouver for a weekend. We picked up Kelly and had her for a sleep over before she had to get back to Shawnigan Lake to study for finals. Patty took the train up from Sooke and we had a great time just wandering around QB and Parksville for a couple of days. We travelled down to Victoria so Darcy could play golf with Bruce at Bear Mountain. We spent a few days with him and got a chance to see Katie and Blair and we took the ferry to Pender Island to visit with Jen and John. On our way back up the island, we stopped for lunch in Sooke with Gus and Patty. Cousin Andrea had a blessing ceremony for her new house in Crofton. We also have clients/friends in QB and Bowser who we have been lucky enough to see.

In between the visiting with friends and family we were able to get in lots of hiking and touring. I have included some pictures of the highlights: the giant hockey stick in Duncan, Rathtrevor Beach, Parksville with a beautiful long beach; Cathedral Grove where there are some of the oldest trees on the island; cascading falls at Englishman River; the quaint railway station at Qualicum Beach.

Our Westcoast Adventure Continues

It is almost the end of our month in Kelowna. We can't believe how fast these weeks have flown by. I have attached a picture of the cute house we are renting. We have come full circle. We are back in a 900 square foot house with no dishwasher and every week we have to go around the corner to the laundromat.

Most of the hiking we have done here has been of the urban variety which includes lots of stopping for coffee and reading. We have managed to get out a couple of times. We drove to Kettle Valley and saw the 14 trestles built during the early 1900's for the silver mines, burned down in the 2003 fire and finally rebuilt. From the top there is a beautiful view of Kelowna and the Valley. We also hiked in Mission Creek Park, a beautiful park in the heart of the city. Look closely at the picture I took at Turtle Pond. The log on the right is covered with about 40 sunbathing turtles.

One of our favorite things to do in Kelowna is eat and we will spend the last week here visiting some restaurants that have been voted "The Best in the Valley".

Tuesday we head to Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island where we hope to see lots of friends and family and do lots of beachcombing.

We are still alive and well

WOW!!! Has it really been two months since my lasy blog? After a week in Palm Springs with Bruce, the three of us left for Napa. We had three wonderful days there. Because Bruce had been therebefore, he acted as our tour guide. (Many thanks to Darcy for being our D.D.) There are hundreds of wineries in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys so we just scratched the surface. We visited Darioush, a beautiful winery done in a Persian style with every piece designed and built in Iran and brought to Napa. It was there that I had my first taste direct from the cask. Fantastic! Sterling was one of the other wineries we visited. A tram took us up to the winery which has a mission style design and the view of the valley from their veranda was oustanding. One of the highlights was our visit to Rafanelli, a small estate winery in Sonoma. We got to see where the casks are stored and the owner brings in opera singers to entertain his special guests. Their wine was probably the best we tasted. If you get a chance, call ahead for an appointment to see this beautiful spot. I almost forgot to mention the wonderful food. If you visit the area, you have to go to Mustard, one of the restaurants owned by the very talented Napa chef, Cindy Pawlcyn. Aftger eating there, you will be inspired to buy one of her cookbooks.

We left Sonoma about the 15th of March and we made our way back to Calgary through Oregon, Washington, Oliver and Vancouver. Darcy spent the month of April doing tax returns and I kept his mom company. After a very busy month we were glad to get back on the road. We have rented a tiny house in Kelowna where we will stay for the month of May. Right now Darcy is in Palm Springs on his annual Dewey Dinkman golf trip. I have had three wonderful days cardmaking with my friend, Jan, who was visiting from Calgary.

Once Darcy is back from P.S. we will start exploring the hiking trails in the Okanagan Valley.

As we are about to leave Arizona after 3 months, it is only fitting that we post our best sunset photo. We were thinking about our time here, all the things we were able to do and are glad that we could share that with family and friends.

We hiked in the beautiful desert mountain parks every chance we could (how many pictures of cactus can one person take?), saw 3 NHL games and 2 NBA games, my trip to Anaheim for the Craft and Hobby Association trade show, the Frank Lloyd Wright home and school, the Arboreteum in Surprise, and, of course, golf. Darcy is especially happy he could golf at TPC Scottsdale with Dan. We were also able to put a dent in the pile of books we brought with us.

We spent our last 3 days in Arizona hiking in the red mountains of Sedona. I'm not sure we had a life changing experience when we stood in a vortex area but there is definitely something special about that place. How can you not be moved by this view of the mountains we had from our hotel room. I have included a picture of the red and blue rocks we saw all along the hike around Courthouse Rock just for my artist friends. Now you can see where the inspiration for the colors we use in our southwestern art projects comes from.

After a few days in Las Vegas and Palm Springs, visiting and playing golf with Bruce, the 3 of us are off the Napa for a little wine tasting.

Sorry again, fellow bloggers, I can't believe that it has been over a month since our last post. We didn't realize that retirement would keep us this busy. After the kids left Phoenix we had a few days to get organized before my friend, Jan, arrived. The day she left my brother, Dan, and his wife Terri arrived. This gave Darcy the chance to golf at TPC Scottsdale. All the stands were ready for the Phoenix Open so Dan and Darcy had fun pretending they were on the Tour and imagining fans screaming for them after every shot. A couple days after they left I flew to Anaheim to join my friend, Sharon, at the Craft and Hobby Association trade show. All of you can guess that this was a dream come true for me. I had a chance to see all of my crafting heroes as well as all the new products that will be in the stores this spring. I can't thank Sharon enough for inviting me. After I arrived back in Phoenix my sister Kathy arrived. We had lots of fun showing her our favorite sites in Phoenix. Our brother-in-law Bruce was kind enough to offer us his house in Palm Springs for a week and we jumped at the chance. This is the view I had every day by his pool. It was amazing. We are looking forward to seeing Liz together with her boyfriend and his son this weekend.

Sorry Fellow Bloggers but we got busy with the holidays and my camera had to go into the shop for repairs. Now we are back on track. Before the kids started to arrive, we spent some time at the Usery Mountain State Park. I took this picture after we hiked to the Wind Cave. Are you getting tired to desert pictures yet? There are lots more to come. Then we started to get ready for the holidays. What do you think of our improvised tree that we made with wreaths we got at Michaels? I made Darcy spend a couple of nights helping me cut out decorations. I think it turned out great. This is a picture of the whole gang taking a break from playing games and enjoying a beverage at the golf course. This was probably the best holiday ever. On December 30 we put the last one on the plane for home. After lots of tears and 8 trips to the airport, we are ready to get going on the next decade. Our love and best wishes to all of you.

We left La Quinta November 25 after 2 1/2 sunny weeks. Because it was the US Thanksgiving we decided to avoid the interstate and take the secondary highway to Las Vegas. We turned north from Blythe and followed the Colorado River. It was beautiful and lush near the river surrounded by desert and mountains. We spent 5 days at Treasure Island and saw Mystere and The Jersey Boys. Both shows were great but The Jersey Boys was really special. We hope you get a chance to see it. Frank Valli had more hits than we remembered. On December 1 we left Las Vegas tired and lighter in the wallet but with lots of memories. It took us about 6 hours to drive to the rental house in Queen Creek, AZ (about 45 minutes south east of downtown Phoenix). The drive here included a quick trip over the Hoover Dam. We will spend more time there on our next trip. We stayed off the interstate again and took the Joshua Tree Parkway through Wickenburg. It was more mountainous and a combination of barren and brush covered terrain with many different kinds of cacti. We are settled in the house and have already seen the Flames play the Coyotes (where every second fan was wearing the flaming "C") and have gone for a 2 1/2 hour hike in the San Tan Mountains. It is raining today and only about 60 but nicer than our northern neighbours.