We are heading out for a grand tour of Europe. This trip will be three months. When we tell people we are travelling for three months, we often get blank stares. Some of the questions we get are:

Q: How can you go for that long? 

A: It’s easy. You line up a number of places in a specific region/country you want to see and plan from there.

Q: Is it more expensive?

A: It’s actually cheaper. You only fly out once, so your airfare is amortized over a number of countries/places versus one.

Q: Do you miss home? 

A: At times yes, but we are usually so busy exploring, we don’t have time. We miss family. Video calls are great but they can’t replace in person gatherings.

There are obviously a lot more questions we’re asked but you get the idea. If you have any questions about our travel planning, just ask.  We would be happy to share our experiences.

The genesis for this trip started a year ago, in March 2025, when we were cruising in the Caribbean Sea on an MSC cruise. Looking at what offerings they had in future cruise sales, we started thinking of a Scandinavian / Baltic cruise. This is one area of the world we have never actually visited, unless you count trips to our local IKEA.

Booking a future cruise – you normally get extras thrown in.

We settled on a 11-day cruise at the end of May/beginning of June. The weather would, hopefully, have turned warmer. Given the high latitude, the days would certainly be long. One thing we really liked about this cruise was that it visited many ‘safe’ countries on the Baltic Sea. It was very port intensive, 9 ports in 11 days. Considering the amount of time we would be in port, we opted for an inside cabin since we really were not going to be on the ship very much, other than to sleep and eat. 

During the summer of 2025, I started looking at things we could do before and after the cruise. The highest tourist influx is during the June – August time period. Naturally, that also sees the highest prices. Considering that, I started looking at things to do in that part of the world before the Baltic cruise. 

When is West Bromwich playing?

One of the first things I did was check the West Bromwich Albion football schedule. When you are from Canada, Birmingham seems close to Sweden. Armed with the dates the Baggies were playing, I looked more closely at the map of Europe. Then, one of my regular travel providers offered a great deal on a cruise around the Iberian Peninsula. Starting in Lisbon and travelling to numerous Spanish ports as well as Gibraltar, it was marketed as a ‘Holy Week’ cruise. Easter was right in the middle of cruise and Spain is a very Catholic country. 

The cruise line was one we had not yet tried but have wanted to, Azamara. The price is a bit more than most mainstream lines but almost everything is included. Crew gratuities, drinks and other things, although not internet. It leaves at the end of March, so at the end of the cruise, we would have two months in Europe before our Baltic cruise. Given West Brom was playing various matches at home during that time, I felt fairly confident I could fill our time with new places and adventures. 

Europe is a lot bigger than we think

In Canada, 100 years of history is a long time but 100 miles is not really a long distance. In Europe, 100 years of history is not really a long time but 100 miles is a really long distance. The bookends of our trip were the end of the first cruise in Barcelona, and the start of the second cruise out of Copenhagen, seven weeks later.

Around this time, I noticed a 10-day trip that covered off European capitals. It went from Budapest to Vienna and ended in Prague. That sounded very interesting. The trip started in Canada and included airfare, so it wasn’t an option but it was an idea builder. I looked at travel in the region, both flight and train combinations from various cities. From Barcelona, it made the most sense both price-wise and timing-wise to head to England first. Then we could go to Budapest and start our tour of the European capitals. 

England’s history and sites.

Starting in Birmingham, home of the Peaky Blinders, we will explore for a few days and hopefully see West Brom take on Millwall. Then off to Liverpool where the Fab Four started. Manchester is next, the Industrial Revolution figures large here. Our English phase will end in York, likely the most haunted city in England. A Sunday pub roast dinner is on the menu, complete with a Yorkshire Pudding, or a ‘Yorkie’ as the locals call it. Naturally there is also a York ghost walk after sunset. 

Plans are living ideas and the only constant is change

I was just about to start booking airfares when I met up with some friends at an ale house. The topic turned to travel and someone mentioned Albania and how wonderful it was. I looked up where it was and what was there. All the reviews were fabulous, although many did say you should have gone there five years ago. I decided to add it into the equation and redid my travel plan. A week in Albania and then visit the capitals. It sounds very civilized. 

Then I had another idea. My Mom was born in what is now Poland during WWII. It was occupied and, by birth rite, she is a German citizen. I thought, why not go visit Poland and see what is there and take in some of the history? The town where she was born was cleaned off the map during the destruction of the war, so visiting it was not an option. All of my kin folk have immigrated to Canada after the war. No one is left in the old country other than very distant relatives whom I’ve never interacted with.

I looked at various tours of Poland and settled on a self-guided three-city tour. One area I chose to skip was the concentration camps. I visited Dachau post-university during a European tour. I also visited the Westerbork transit camp in the Netherlands in 2025. That is the place where Anne Frank was boarded on a train to Auschwitz-Birkenau. For me, that is enough for one of history’s darkest moments.

Almost there!

While this was all going on, summer 2025, we were looking for a new home and finalizing our fall trip to the Far-East. Japan, Australia and the Philippines were all calling. Juggling the two trips in my head was becoming a chore and I decided to finalize the agenda, as much as I could, for the spring of 2026. 

Another change

About this time, the cruise line we are travelling with for our Baltic cruise, sent an email saying the dates of the cruise had changed. I was literally about to purchase airline tickets from Warsaw to Copenhagen to arrive in time for the start of that cruise. We normally book non-refundable flights and this would have been the case if we had received their email a day later. Instead of starting in Copenhagen, the cruise would start in Warnemünde, a 2 ½ our train ride from Berlin. The cruise was also being shortened by two days and we would receive a prorated discount.

In the end, the change did not work out so badly. We are now able to visit Berlin for a couple of days before the cruise. We also do not need to fly to Copenhagen, but can take a train from Berlin to Warnemünde. Our planned time in Copenhagen before the cruise will now be a few days after the cruise. We will still return to Canada from Copenhagen.

Where and how we will travel

Our trip will start with us leaving home and travelling to Vancouver to spend a few nights with my mom. Then we will fly to Porto, Portugal. We wanted lie-flat pods for the long-haul intercontinental flight so we booked the upgrade. Yes, it was more expensive, but YOLO. 

A cruise will take us from Lisbon to Barcelona, where we will board a flight to Birmingham. Numerous trains and a car rental will be how we get around England. We timed our departure from the UK based on when we could get a direct flight to Albania. I have since learned that many people actually fly to Corfu and take the short ferry over to Albania. There are many more flights to Corfu with better times. 

When our self-drive trip of Albania comes to an end, we will fly to Hungary and then it is train travel throughout Europe. In total, there will be eight trains, taking us to some of Europe’s grandest capitals. Given the length of time we are on the continent, a Eurail pass would not be cost effective. Our last train ride on this trip will take us from Berlin to Warnemünde. Here we will board another cruise ship, which will take us to Copenhagen.

Returning to Canada

Upon ending the cruise and Copenhagen, we will fly to New Brunswick and spend some time with Callum and Anne who are expecting their first child. Then, some 12 weeks after we left home, we will return to British Columbia. It will be great to get home as the summer weather will be kicking in. Yes, we will have missed some of the familiarity that makes us so comfortable but we will have seen and learned so much. For us travel is not so much a vacation as it is a way to see and explore new things.

Thanks for reading.

Feel free to leave comments or contact us by the link above.

Cam and Meg

In the fall of 2025, we saw a really good offer for a cruise at the end of January 2026. The cruise is one we had done before, LA to Mexico and back to LA. There are three ports of call: Cabo St Lucas, Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta. Seeing as we were going to be in Victoria for over three months during the long dark winter, we decided it sounded like a good idea.

Once we booked it, we reached out to a number of friends and family to see if anybody would be interested in joining us. My sister jumped on it and booked the same class of cabin that we had booked. Our cabins were ‘guaranteed balconies with obstructed view’. For the extra price, an unobstructed balcony was simply not worth it, at least in our opinion. The cruise was paid for and time marched on until just a week before the cruise.

Guaranteed cabins… You never know what you will get.

One week before the cruise we still had not been assigned a cabin. We called the cruise line and were told cabins can be assigned at any time up to an including boarding. With that in mind, we just waited. Two days before the cruise was due to depart, we received an email from the cruise line offering us a “downgrade” offer. Normally cruise lines, airlines, car dealers et al are interested in ‘up-selling’ you. It stands to reason if you pay a higher amount, they will make more money.

This time, it appears they ran out of obstructed balconies. Maybe they were out of all types of balconies? A quick check online showed the cruise was sold out. The deal they were offering us was giving up our guaranteed obstructed balcony for an inside cabin. In exchange for this, we would receive a full refund of the fare in the form of refundable travel credits. We could use these travel credits on board the ship during the cruise to purchase things, services and anything else we wanted. Any value that we did not use would be mailed back to us in the form of a cheque. The only thing we still needed to pay for was the port fees and taxes. 

How much is a balcony and an ocean view worth?

There is no denying it. A balcony is a lot nicer than an inside cabin. We talked about it for a bit and called my sister who received the same offer. It seemed an easy decision and we both decided to take the cruise line up on their downgrade offer. We were quickly switched over and assigned an inside cabin. Our onboard account now showed refundable travel credits for the full value of our fare. The cruise now cost us less than $200. Whoot whoot. 

Travelling to the cruise ship.

We flew from Victoria to Calgary and then to Los Angeles. Funny thing was my sister, who lives in Calgary, flew from Calgary to Vancouver and then on to LA. You never know what you’ll get with seat sales, points redemption et al. Once in LA, we took the metro to our hotel and met up. Dinner was a Thai restaurant we had been to before and was just as good as last time. On Saturday morning, we woke up to brilliant sunshine and pleasant temperatures. As we were going to be on a cruise ship for a week, we decided to go for a walk along the water. We have always enjoyed walking the Long Beach boardwalk and today’s hour and a half walk in the sunshine was no exception.

Boarding cruise ship

We made our way to the cruise ship and got in line for embarkation. The only way to describe it is like being herded onto a cattle car. This is one area that Princess Cruises fails miserably at compared to other cruise lines. Although it did seem tedious, from the time we arrived at the cruise ship terminal it only took us 30 minutes to get on board the ship. We explored a bit and then had a quiet civilized lunch in the main dining room. This was followed by getting access to our state rooms where we unpacked. Fully exploring the ship came next and then the 3 PM sail away. 

That evening, I decided to try one of the fancy drinks. I’ve never seen or tried butterfly tea before. Princess has made a martini out of it. They bring you a highball glass with the drink in it and a shooter glass with lemon juice, which you add yourself. It changes colours from purple to blueish when you pour the lemon juice in. As I added the lemon juice there was a slight colour change. It was, however really good and extremely potent so one was enough for me.

That evening, after a good dinner in the main dining room, we went and watched the show which was a musical trio that did cover songs from the 60s to 90s. Then, on our way back to our cabin, we popped in and did the ABBA trivia. It was a good decision to stop there because we ended up winning. The prizes you get for winning are mostly symbolic and certainly not life-changing. We each got a little blue notebook to go along with the bragging rights.

Our first Sea Day 

Our ship sailed south into Mexican territorial waters as we headed to Cabo St Lucas. The ship had the typical events for a day at sea including trivia, exercise classes, and various other events. We moved around the ship meeting up my sister and her husband and going our own separate ways throughout the day. One of the events we did was attend the veterans social. Princess cruises normally hosts a veterans get together where they toast veterans.

There were about 30 or so veterans there, we all took turns standing up, stating our names and what roles we had in the military. The majority of the individuals were from the United States and surprising number for Vietnam veterans. It was nice to meet some of them, share some stories and realize how much we all had in common serving in the military.

Not all shows are created equally.

Our first night at sea was the formal night. It turns out this is the only formal night during the seven-day cruise. We were decked out in our spiffy outfits and attended the Captain’s champagne waterfall. It was good for people watching. The champagne they provided, which truly wasn’t champagne, was pretty dismal. We ended heading back to our cabin to get some of Prosecco we had brought on board. We had our dinner and headed to the show.

Tonight’s show was “Encore”. We thought we had seen the show before and as soon as it started, we realized we had. It was a series of songs with no real plot. On the positive site, the costumes and outfits were beautiful. The music and songs were not ones we really cared for. We’ll have to remember if we ever see this show again to find something else to do during that time.

Our first port of call Cabo San Lucas

The ship arrived at Cabo Saint Lucas at 12:30 and came to anchor. This was a tender port and as we were only here for 6 ½ hours was a bit of a gong show. It takes 2+ hours to get everybody assure and obviously 2+ hours to get everybody back on board. There’s really not a lot of time ashore.

To manage the tenders in the most efficient way possible, tickets are distributed on our first come first serve basis. It started at 11 AM. The previous evening, it was suggested to us by our Matre-d, to lineup for tender tickets no later than 10:15. Craig lined up at 10:15 and was about the 50^th person in line. That was obviously a good place to start because he got tender ticket number eight. That worked out well for us as we were able to eat lunch in the main dining room and then board our tender. We were exiting our tender and ashore in Cabo at 1 PM, 30-minutes after the ship came to anchor.

We wandered for a bit and then grabbed a drink at a convenience store. We carried on to the beach. Walking along the beach we noted that the water was not all that warm. As there didn’t seem to be a lot to do, we started to head back to the ship. En route, we came across a little market and tried some homemade tamales. I’m not sure I would eat them again, but it was a great experience.

Street food – one of our favourites!

The tamales were made by a husband-and-wife team. They were served on a plate and you ate them with your hands (they had hand sanitizer you could use – yes I used it). There were a number of sauces in front of their stand, and I pointed to them and asked questioningly “picante?”. The husband looked at the sauces and said “mucho picante!”. I thought to myself ‘how hot can this be?’ Well… it can be very hot.  As my face turned red and sweat started running down my forehead, my travel companions showed absolutely no compassion or mercy. They were all howling in laughter at my predicament. However, with most things in life, this too did pass. Once finished, we returned to the ship and spent the afternoon playing cards.

Mazatlán, our second port of call

Arriving in Mazatlán, we headed on foot towards ‘El Faro’ – the lighthouse. It was about a 15-minute walk to the base of the lighthouse from the ship and then another 15-minutes as we trekked up to the top. There are 336 steps to the top. This is in addition to the 10 to 15 minutes of hiking up switchbacks. It was +26C and humid so by the time we reached the top, we deserved a rest. The views are the best in Mazatlán.

It was a lot easier coming down than going up. Once at the bottom, we tried to get a taxi to take us downtown. 200 to 250 pesos for the amount of the taxi drivers were asking for. Uber showed it would only be about 70 pesos. Unfortunately, no Uber driver would accept the ride. After five minutes of waiting, we started walking towards downtown but before we got off the isthmus, a taxi pulled up to us and offered to take us downtown for $5 USD.

Once downtown, we wandered through the old cathedral and then found a taco stand where we had lunch. Tapping into the GPS my-city app, we embarked on a walking tour of Mazatlán. I cannot recommend this app enough. The details they provide and the consistent accurate routing from site to site and or place you drop a pin is simply amazing. It has saved us more than one argument when travelling in new locations.

New (to us) areas of Mazatlán

We were excited to see new areas of Mazatlán. As we explored, we drifted back to the ship and just before we headed through security, the cruise ship terminal has a few bars. We took advantage of their liberal pours and reasonable prices to have margaritas and piña coladas. Unfortunately, the piña coladas did not live up to our expectations. The margaritas on the other hand were wonderful.

On our next trip to Mazatlán, I would certainly head back to their malacon area and the other parts of town which we only got to see on a cursory level. There is much more to Mazatlán than we had seen in our previous two visits.

Puerto Vallarta, our last cruise port of call

Arriving early in the morning at PV, we headed to shore at 8:30 AM local time. Our plan has been to head up to San Sebastian, a colonial mining town. We could not arrange a trip before we got there, as no guide was willing to take the chance of us missing our ship. Once ashore, we met a tout who is willing to take us for US$320 (half the price of a cruise ship excursion). The guide was very forthright and said while he was willing to do it, it was not a great idea. Simply put we would spend 4+ hours driving to spend two hours in the town. 

We then decided to head into town on a local bus and see what we could find. While riding the bus we overheard people in front of us talking about their planed hike. They were planning to go to Boca de Tomatlan and, from there, hike to Playa Las Animas. We were told that the first part of the hike was over a number of boulders but then it flattened out. It would be about a two-hour hike and then you could have lunch in Las Animas. 

This sounded interesting to all of us so we tagged along with our new found friends. We had been cautioned the tides were extremely high and our hike started with the first sandbar we needed to cross being completely underwater.

We pushed on…but…

Walking a few hundred metres further we found a makeshift bridge that took us from one side of the river to the other. The first 15 or 20 minutes of the hike was lovely. Great views, wonderful vegetation, and gentle grades. Then the ‘fun’ began. It ended up being what I could only describe as a forced route march in the army. We were faced with going up and down cliffs and boulders – in the end our apps said it was the equivalent of 56 flights of stairs. There were scrambles over boulders, as well as clinging onto vines and ropes to shimmy up and down trails. Everyone at broken a sweat and regular breaks were needed to catch our breaths. 

Up and down and up and down and across the waves and up…

At times the ups and downs took us back to sea level and should have been able to walk across lovely, almost deserted beachs. Here is where the high tides again played havoc on our plans. There were no beaches. Waves kept crashing in covering up what should have been the beach. We had the time the waves so we could run across the small bit of beach and jump onto rocks on the other side to prevent getting our shoes soaked. The trail itself was overall well maintained. I am not sure who keeps the trail up, likely locals who are committed to helping. The one sketchy area was two makeshift bridges that left a lot to be desired.

In the end, after two very long hours, tired, and a bit worse for wear, we arrived at the beach of Los Animas. The high tides had most of the beach covered but we were still able to walk on what was not under water. We took advantage of the local beach front restaurants and then hopped on a water taxi to take us back to Boca. None of us question the 100-peso fee to take us back to the starting point of our hike where we caught a bus back to Puerto Vallarta.

An amazing lunch in PV.

Once back in PV, we decided to find another taco stand and enjoy the local street food. Grabbing some adult beverages at the local OXXO, Google maps recommend a small Mexican restaurant across the road. At times, Google reviews can be questionable, this one totally hit the mark and it will be a place we visit upon our return. La Weltita, a small independent restaurant, serving exceptionally good ceviche, quesadillas, and tacos. Should you find yourself in Puerto Vallarta, I cannot recommend enough to eat at this place. The owner is a lovely Ex-Pat who employes locals and pays them fair wages. 

From there, it was back to the ship, with a quick stop to buy some vanilla at a local store. Unfortunately, the local store did not stock vanilla and pointed us to tourist stores. In the end, we visited Walmart and bought some clear vanilla as it is difficult to find at home. We very much having enjoyed our day in Puerto Vallarta.

Two Sea Days en route to Los Angeles

Travelling back to north to Los Angeles from Mexico the ship provided numerous activities and diversion. You could eat as much as you wanted, play trivia, watch shows, watch movies in your cabin, wander the decks. The bars were always open for any sort of beverage you desired. We took advantage of a wine tasting event, the Captain’s, welcome cocktail party, and lounged around in the sun.  

Having done this cruise a few times before, there is nothing wowing or earth-shattering about it. It is a great break from the cool dark weather of Victoria. Anytime someone will prepare all your meals, clean your room and take care of you for a week, makes for a good relaxing vacation. We have booked a future cruise credit although, at this time, we have not decided when or where we will go. There are other upcoming cruises that are booked on other cruise lines, but we are sure we will travel Princess again at some point in time.

Thanks for reading.

Feel free to leave comments or contact us by the link above.

Cam and Meg

Most people tend to focus on ‘events’ that are highlights to them. In reality, there is something that happens between the weddings, funerals, feature vacations, concerts and other ‘cool’ things. It is called ‘the rest of your life’.

This July we’ve done things that, while not spectacular on their own, are still amazing. Each event showcases just how special Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia and Canada are. 

The Yukon!

We spent a week up north, exploring the wilds of Canada. Big spaces and big places. There’s a full write up on our trip in a previous post. 

Oak Bay Farmers Market

A lot of people will gravitate towards a farmers’ market. We are squarely in that group. During the summer months, the City of Oak Bay shuts down Oak Bay Ave for about four blocks on the second Wednesday of each month. A farmers’ market is held, but it is really a ‘local vendors’ market. Many of those selling are the same merchants at other local markets, but there are some who are unique to this one. 

The usual selection of offerings is available. Bakery goods, fresh veggies, arts and crafts as well as food and drinks. A number of restaurants set up ‘meals to go’ as well as small samples of their specialties. There are also food trucks which, for some reason unknown to me, have huge lines of people waiting to get their ‘not so fast-food’ – fast-food fix. Then there are drinks.

Along with some coffee and tea merchants, there are multiple distilleries, cideries, breweries and liquor stores offering samples of adult drinks. On our first visit to the market, about half way through, we both cut ourselves off due to the number of samples we had. Our next visit we were much more strategic. 

We were glad to sample the breweries wares. All were local and, despite both of us being so passionate about craft beer, we were left underwhelmed by most of the selections. That’s not to say they were not good; they were just not to our likings. In the end, the tried-and-true winner was Spinnakers, one of Canada’s oldest craft breweries. I’ve been going there since 1983 and the ESB, which is an original from the day it opened, is still my favourite. 

Baseball

The boys of summer and the crack of the bat. Victoria has an “A” level ball team, the Harbour Cats. We decided to take in an evening game on a sunny night. The play, while obviously not at the major league level, was a good diversion from everyday life. One added bonus of the game we went to, the Snowbirds were doing a mini show over Victoria and we could see them as they flew by. Watching their precision flying, with the wings as close as 2 meters to each other, never gets old. The ball game was a bit of a downer, the ’Cats lost 13 – 4, although we saw a couple of home runs, a double play and some diving catches.   

Owls in the park

The park close to our house has many old trees. In the park, in spring and early summer, there are families of owls. We’ve seen two parents and this year, there were three owlets. On most nights we headed over to the park, with many other people to watch the owlets. As they quickly grew, from fluff balls to little owls, they gained confidence. However there was learning and supervision taking place.

One evening, a Coopers Hawk swooped in and took a run at an owlet. In the wild, it’s every bird for themselves. The owlet took off and out of nowhere an adult owl dove down towards the Coopers Hawk. The hawk immediately broke off the attack and took off. The parents, whom we had not seen, were obviously watching.

As the owlets grew, they were also learning to hunt. One night, we saw an owlet dive down and attack a pine cone. He missed on his swoop down and landed on the ground about one foot away from the pine cone. Being “cool”, he hopped on over to the pine cone and jumped on it. He was so cute as he looked proudly at the non moving pine cone he had caught.

The Lieutenant Governors House

Government House is the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia and the ceremonial home of all British Columbians. The Lieutenant Governor, or ‘LG’ for short, is the King’s representative in British Columbia. They are appointed by the Government of the day, normally for a five-year term. I met the last LG, Janet Austin, when she attended HMCS MALAHAT for my change of Command. 

We took a tour of Government House this summer. It is an impressive building, steeped in history. There are many pictures of those who have stayed here. Queen Elizabeth and other members of the Royal Family have visited and stayed. 

There is a lot of art, with an emphasis on Indigenous artwork. The stained-glass window, as you head up to the second floor is amazing.

Concerts on the lawn

Courtesy of the LG. Every summer, at Government House, they host a few free concerts on the lawn. There is a permanent bandstand there and two groups will play. The night we went, The Ravens opened up for the Sutcliffs. The Ravens were a folk-y type group who had one song in particular that resonated with me. I have not been able to find the lyrics online, however the theme mentioned our heroes. The hero’s they referenced were Canadian heroes. In particular they noted 

‘we found our heroes on the Plains of Abraham, 

marching in as we freed the Netherlands 

and in the deserts of Afghanistan” 

They then mentioned the ‘Patricia’s’, which referenced Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry or the PPCLI. That is the Regiment our youngest serves in. To me, it was a moving song.

The Arts

When we relocated to Victoria, one of reasons was to take advantage of the arts. There are so many small theater companies in town, it is hard to keep track. In July we saw two plays.

The first was by the Victoria Shakespeare company. Each summer they do one of the Bard’s plays at an open-air venue. This year it was on the lawn of Craigdarroch Castle and the play was Romeo and Juliett. I can’t say I am all that keen on tweaking his plays. They’ve survived for centuries. The number of quotes Western society uses in everyday language that come from him is likely only second to the Bible. So why mess with something that works so well?

This summer’s version featured an almost all female cast, even Romeo was a female. She was by far the best actor among the Troope. While we were not enamoured with the Director’s version, it was only a 15-minute walk from our home. Spoiler alert – they both die at the end of the play.

A new take on Jane Austen

The second play we saw was Yes and Yesteryear. This was not actually a play but an improv on Jane Austin. As improv goes, no one knows what will happen when they start and every performance is different. 

This play was held at Carr house, the home that Emily Carr grew up in. It is located in James Bay, a district in Victoria, about a 10-minute drive from our home. On the front lawn of Carr house, were about 50 chairs. We were treated to a cucumber sandwich, naturally the crusts were cut off. A glass of refreshing lemonade was provided to wash it down. The Troope was hilarious. They were dressed in period costume from Ms. Austin’s day. Prim and proper were their manners. Societal class was important. 

To kick it off, the Front of House asked the audience for a letter, any letter. “F” was tossed out. Then two words were sought out which started with “F” that would have been used in Jane Austin’s day. Fidelity and Flirtatious were the words. The Troope then worked out a Fidelity club to avoid being Flirtatious. At times, some of the actors “set-up” others, much to the delight of the audience. We were howling at times.  

Observatory

The Dominion Observatory is located in Saanich, the community next to Victoria and about 25 minutes from our home. Every so often they open the observatory up to the public and you can see what the big telescope sees. There are also members of the Victoria Astronomical Society there with their own personal telescopes pointed at the moon, Mars and other celestial objects. 

To provide even more insight to the cosmos, there is a mini planetarium and the volunteers put on shows about the heavens. We headed up there one evening to see great city views (the observatory is obviously up high) and learn about the stars. As it was early July, we were limited in what we could see as sunset was almost 9:30 PM. We hope to go back in the fall or winter when the nights are longer.

Painting

Some rooms in our home, well, all the rooms actually, need to be painted. We had the outside done last year and it was time for the inside. Focusing on the kitchen and bathroom, two coats of primer and two coats of paint turned both rooms into bright and airy.

Yoga in the park

The ocean is your studio! The City of Oak Bay puts on free yoga in the park weekly during the summer. The event is packed, likely 250+ people, all on mats following a fairly easy hatha themed yoga class. Willows beach park overlooks Cadboro Bay and you can see all sorts of marine activity. Just remember to get there a bit early and place your mat out of the sun, or wear sunscreen.

British Columbia is blessed with so much nature and beauty. Vancouver Island is one of the gems in BC. It’s been a few years since we were camping, but we decided it was time to get back to nature. 

Camping

A few days before we headed out, we assembled the various things we needed to take to be successful campers. We headed out to Englishman River Falls Provincial Park. We had camped here once before, in 1993 with a one-year-old in our old tent trailer. 

The drive took a lot longer than we thought it would. Leaving at 11:00, with a short lunch stop at the top of the Malahat drive and a quick dash into Costco, we arrived at 3PM. It took 45 minutes to set up our campground. Pitching the tent, making the beds and squaring things off. After a quick break to re-group, we explored the area, scouting out hikes for the next few days.

During our time at Englishman River Falls, we hiked both the upper and lower falls at Englishman River. We headed over to the Errington Market on Saturday morning for the weekly farmer’s market. The baked goods that were being offered were no match to our will power. Or maybe that was ‘won’t’ power 😉 I caved in and bought some s’mores cookies. They were awesome. I did show enough will power to only eat one and save one for desert that night. Meg bought a delicious scone.

More markets

Venturing into Coombs, we spent some time at the Goats on the Roof market. Getting some of the fresh veggies for the next few days as well as some artesian cheeses to go with the breads we had.

On another day we headed to Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park and walked around the trails there. The campground at this park seemed much more inviting than Englishman River Falls. The services were the same, but the feel was a lot nicer.

Camping turns into Glamping!

After three days camping, we headed out for our reward. Breaking camp, we headed to Parksville where we checked into an ocean front resort for a day. We really had not slept well during the previous three nights. There was a lot of noise from other campers as well as cold evenings. The resort was welcomed for a warm night, clean showers and comfortable bed.

Walking the low tide beach at Parksville is always a treat. On our way back to the resort, we managed to find some ripe blackberries and filled a small container. They made an outstanding breakfast treat!

We headed over to Rathtrevor Provincial Park for our next three nights of camping. This campground was more in line with what we expected from a Provincial Park. It also helped that the weather was warmer. We learned from our last time setting up camp and were able to be fully set up in under 40 minutes. It was a short walk to the beach and, over the next three days, we spent a lot of time at the beach.

Desert at the beach

One special treat we found was maple cream liquor. Meg noticed it at the liquor store and we asked about it. The staff told us it was very good. They described it as a Canadian version of the famous Irish cream liquor that so many people know. Sipping on this at the beach, at sunset, left us wondering what else could make life better?

During our time at the beach, there were sunrises, sunsets and simply sitting in a chair watching the tide come in or go out. It is a great place to read a book (or type your blog!). 

July came to an end with us spending our last night camping at Rathtrevor Provincial Park. Some great meals, and being with nature our some of our happy places.

And, the rest of our lives…

All of the above were what we feel were our highlights from July. We haven’t mentioned our day-to-day living. Regular walks along the Victoria breakwater. Multiple gym classes. Trip planning – a lot of time is going into planning for the fall adventure. House hunting: we’ve been to more than 30 open houses. Our Realtor has shown us another 10 or so. Pouring over listing is time consuming. 

July has been a good month.

August is shaping up to be another good month. While there are no big trips planned yet, there will be day trips, bike adventures, paddle boarding and other activities to keep us amused, young and engaged. 

Thanks for reading, feel free to share any things you did in July to make your time special. We’d love to hear about what you did and get some ideas for future activities. 

Cam and Meg

June 30^th – we head to the Yukon

This summer, we headed to the Yukon for the first time. Our cousin, Arthur, had visited us twice when we made a cruise ship stop in Skagway. Each time he drove for 1 ½ hours each way and showed us the sights on both sides of the border. It was time we visited him.

After deciding to head up to the Yukon, our next decision was how to get there. It’s not exactly close. It would be about 30 hours driving time including the ferry. A flight would take about 2 ½ hours. As we were looking at our options, Air North, the flag carrier of the Yukon, had a special. We could fly directly from Victoria to Whitehorse for a great price – sold! 

A bit of a hiccup with our rental car…

When we arrived at Whitehorse airport and picked up our rental car it turned out to cost a lot more than we were expecting. There was VERY SMALL print that said the quoted rate was in US dollars. How is that possible? This is a Canadian company, operating in a Canadian airport. There weren’t really many options at 7:30 PM the night before the July 1^st stat holiday so we took it. The other fine print also had us getting only 200km/day (note:Canadian kilometers, not US miles); 1,200 km in total. Ouch.

It was a short drive to Arthur’s – the town is not very big by our standards.  He was expecting us with Traeger wings and cold beverages.

July 1^st – Canada Day 

The next morning, July 1^st, we were treated to a scrumptious breakfast of eggs, fresh rye bread and the most delicious back bacon I have ever had. It was homemade on his smoker, and I am hopeful to get the recipe. Once we were done eating, we headed out to explore the sites. 

Starting with Miles Canyon, a geological wonder where the Yukon River flows through high basalt walls. The river flows so fast in the canyon, it does not freeze in winter, even at -30C! The suspension bridge that joins the two sides is similar to the ones you would see in the movies. It “swings” a bit and is a bit rickety, making the experience all the more enjoyable. The trails are well groomed and we travelled up and down a few of them. 

Heading into town, we saw many more sites and learned about the history of the town. Arthur’s been there since 1988, long before tourism et al, and has seen a lot of changes. There was an air of festivity in the town and families were taking advantage of the Canada Day activities. After lunch we headed back to his place and explored his 3 ½ acre property. That evening we had a great steak barbeque with all the fixings. Meeting two of his four children was great, they were keen to help out with dinner. 

July 2^nd – Off to Dawson City

Dawson City – gateway to the gold fields. Gold was discovered in 1896. It was actually discovered well before then by the Indigenous people, but they had no use for it. 

The drive to Dawson City was 535 km on a paved road – other than a few sections that were under construction. It took just over six hours and had amazing scenery. Making a few stops for snacks and to admire the views, while reading historical markers, broke up the long drive. Our hotel was the Holland America Dawson City Hotel, and it was a great hotel. The front façade was done up in the gold rush style. There were wooden boardwalks in front of it, and all buildings. Our room, on the second floor, was quite nice with a mini fridge and kettle. 

Once we were settled in, we went out to explore and learn about the gold rush. In 1896, Skookum Joe and his partners found gold and they gathered up a lot of it. They had struck it rich. The gold was taken down to San Francisco. Of course, word of ‘gold’ sparked a stampede and by 1898 the population of Dawson City grew from 250 to 40,000. It was the largest town north of San Francisco. The newspapers of the day reported you could just walk down the street and pick up gold nuggets, no mining was needed. There’s a sucker born every minute.

Some of the challenges of the Yukon

Panning for gold was hard work that could only be done with one hand. The other hand was busy swatting mosquitos. Tents were pitched all through the city and up the hill. Dysentery, typhoid and other nasty things were prevalent. It wasn’t all sunshine.

Then you had the weather. The town was isolated for eight months of the year.  The river froze up, the snow came and it was dark for 24 hours. Of course it was light for 24 hours in the summer. Very few people made it rich. While the first shipment of gold was heading down to San Francisco, the locals were staking claims to the rivers around the initial find. By the time the outside hopefuls arrived, there were no more claims to be had. Those who came up ended up working for merchants. The entrepreneurial opened up shops with the vocational skills they brought with them such as blacksmithing, baking, etc. 

At the end of the gold rush, it is estimated only about 20 people actually made it rich. Some of the most successful, other than the few who had good claims, were those who mined miner’s pockets. Every miner needed supplies. If you could get the goods to Dawson City, you could sell them for whatever you wanted. Wages were $10/day for general labourers but it cost $10/day to live up there. General stores loaded up goods in the short season from May – August and then sold them for the next eight months. The North West Mounted Police, forerunner to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, kept law and order. It is said there was not a single robbery during the gold rush. 

July 3^rd – Dawson City

Having learned a bit about the gold rush, we wanted to learn more. The Parks Canada office ran a number of tours and we decided to visit Dredge #4 on the Bonanza River, 15 km out of town. Driving to the Dredge, we stopped at ‘Discovery Claim’ to read about some of the history of mining and the early explorers, including Skookum Jim. He was a real person. 

At the end of the walking loop, it was certainly time to go to the Dredge as the mosquitos were terrible. Although we had bug spray, the fact we left it in our hotel room meant it would still be available for next time .   At the Dredge, we spent just over an hour learning how this barge, and others like it, travelled up the rivers. It was electrically powered and designed to get the gold that was buried in the river. Sadly, it was not done in a way that left the land unscathed nor workers in good health.  Huge barges would scoop out tons of dirt that would be put through a sieve. Rocks were discarded and the sand was filtered. Gold, being heavy, fell to the bottom. It was this process, known as ‘placer mining’, that extracted the gold.

Gold mining on a commercial scale

The rocks and other debris were left behind in a trail that altered the rivers, choking out fish and animals. Today you can still see the tailings left behind. While they were not chemically treated, the topography was altered. As the gold production fell, it of course, became economically unviable and the barges were abandoned, right where they did their last shift. All over the Yukon, machinery is left to rust in place. It is simply not worth it to haul it out of the backcountry. 

Having learned about the process of mining gold, we decided to give panning for gold a try. The visitor centre lends out gold pans and there is a claim, on the river, that is owned by the Territory. They allow anyone who wants to try their hand at gold mining a chance to try it. A local mine regularly dumps fresh tailings that might have some gold in it. After an hour, Meg had found three gold flecks. I found three less than she did. Fortunately, we have other jobs. 

Our picnic lunch had a great view, and while we were eating, we could not believe what we saw. A cow moose with two calves. Moose are almost mythical beings – very few people have actually seen them. We stared at them and then thought to get pictures and videos. While we are hopeful for the cute calves, odds are not on their side. Bears, foxes and others find them delicious – and we did see a wolf nearby! It’s a tough world out there. That’s why cows have two calves, normally every second year. 

Touring the town and restored buildings

Back in town, we took a Parks Canada walking tour that provided access to a number of historical buildings otherwise inaccessible. The bank, the saloon, the brothel, newspaper office and post office have all been done up in period or are being restored. 

For a tourist town, there were a number of eateries and dinner at the Triple J was great. This was followed by a drive up to the midnight dome. Back in 1900-something, a group of locals decided to see the 24-hour sun from the highest point, Dome Mountain. One thing they did not factor in: they are south of the Arctic Circle. You have to be north of 66 to see the sun “not” go down on Jun 21^st. In Dawson City, the sun drops for a short time. When we were there, sunset was 00:45 and sunrise was 03:30. It never got dark, but blackout curtains in the hotel made it seem like night.  

July 4^th – back to Whitehorse.

Heading back to Whitehorse, we retraced our drive, hitting a few different historical sites, one of which was Montague Roadhouse. Back in the day, you could travel by sternwheeler on the Yukon River between Whitehorse and Dawson City. During the winter, travel had to be over land by horse and sled. It took 7 – 8 days and was cold. Roadhouses were about every 25 miles and there you either bunked down for the night, or changed horses. If it was below -35C, they would not travel. Each Roadhouse had a large potbelly stove where one could warm up, mittens could be dried out and gossip exchanged. Once we were back in Whitehorse, we were treated to Arthur’s ribs, basted in his homemade sauce. Another magnificent feast. 

July 5^th – exploring the outdoors and Whitehorse

Living in the Yukon is not for the faint of heart. Those who stick it out are outdoorsy and nature loving. Many are hunters who explore the sites in various ways, including on quad vehicles. We headed out with Arthur to explore above the tree line on his quads. Ummmmm…what? Passing through abandoned mine fields, old claims, dried up creeks and river beds, we climbed and climbed. There were times I struggled controlling the quad and Meg, as the passenger, hung on for dear life. Eventually arriving at the tree line, we realized the bouncy ride up was worth it. We saw Whitehorse, Lake Labarge and countless mountain tops from where we were. The view was great and we were the only ones up there. Riding down was a lot easier than riding up.

July 6^th – heading home

Our time in the Yukon was coming to an end. Another hike, and farewells took us to the airport where we boarded our Air North flight back to Victoria. This was our first trip to the Yukon, we both hope it will not be our last. The great vastness of the land, the warmth of the people, the history and the culture make it unique. It is an exceptional part of Canada, one that every Canadian should visit. 

Thanks for reading.

Feel free to leave comments or contact us by the link above.

Cam and Meg

Arriving In Ireland

Monday October 7 and 8, 2024

Arriving in Dublin, we picked up our rental car and headed for Kilkenny. The route we followed and the sites we saw for the first 7 days is captured in this Google map.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1ygm2k0DnVa4OuRByNi_vDApEaxojXVk&usp=sharing

We had an amazing BnB for two nights with a wonderful and engaging hostess.  During our first full day there, we headed south and visited some ruins, small towns and did a short hike. The historic significance of the different ruins is amazing.

To fully capture the history of Kilkenny, we did a walking tour and learned the history of the community and how things came to be. Restaurants were plentiful in town and we dined at Kytelers. This is a pub that goes back to the 1300’s. The original owner was married four times, each time her husband died shortly after they were married. Not surprisingly, she became richer after each husband passed. Her fourth husband was a widower and his children were none too pleased he left everything to her.

Through influence, the children from her last husband arranged to have her tried for witchcraft. After the evidence was presented to local noblemen, the sentence was for her to be burned at the stake. Being wealthy, she managed to escape to England and was never heard from again. Of course, as we were visiting near Halloween, the place was decked out with witches’ garb and we took a photo in the requisite hats.

Wednesday October 9, 2024 – Heading to Killarney

Moving on south, we headed to Killarney. Here we stayed in our first Manor, the charming Cahernane House Hotel. We had a beautiful room with a small patio on the ground floor that overlooked pastures and cattle. The Manor is set back from the road by 500 meters, which limits road noise. We were encouraged to book dinner reservations at the manor, however, being tired, we politely declined.

Our first afternoon we headed into town and wandered around. The town is 100% a tourist town. There was no shortage of businesses that would sell you sweaters, hats, beer and anything else. It was very quaint. When we had seen enough, we returned to the hotel to rest and then walked to a nearby brew-pub. Both the beer and pizza were great.

Thursday October 10, 2024 – The Ring of Kerry

We were up early and had a great breakfast in the dining room. Our plan was to drive the Ring of Kerry. Leaving at 08:30, there were a few stops along the way. In the end, we drove 22km of the 175 km as we simply spent too much time at each of our stops!

We started at Ross castle. It was not yet open for the day, however we saw the spectacular early morning sun on the building. Carrying on, we explored the Muckross Friary – a beautiful, unrestored but abandoned stone building. Like so many other Friary’s in Ireland and England, it fell into disrepair after King Henry VIII shut them down. As it was still early, I managed to capture a stunning shot of the sun coming through a small window. I reflected on how many times in the past 1,000 years the sun come had come in that window.

Finding stops on the Ring of Kerry

Our next stops were at a waterfall, followed by a stone circle. We ended up in Kensame for lunch and then headed out to see a sheep dog demonstration. Both the sheep and dog know the rules. The dog runs like the mad hatter and sheep head in the direction they are told. At times the dog will nip at the sheep’s hind legs, so there is respect. A few years back, some farmers tried to get rid of the dogs and use drones. 

This worked well the first time, however sheep are not as stupid as one may think. After a few times, the sheep figured out that drone would not nip at their heels. Then, the sheep ignored the drone and went where they wanted. The dogs were brought back in and everything returned to normal.

We considered our options after the sheep dogs. Seeing as the next site of interest was over an hour away and it was 2:30, we decided to return to our Manor. It was a good call. A group who were staying at the Manor had arranged for a falconry demonstration. We watched as falcons, hawks and owls were brought out.

We dined in town at a local restaurant. 

Friday October 11, 2024 Bunratty Castle

With a bit of a later start, due to the Manor grounds being so charming to walk around, we headed off to Bunratty. Arriving at a standard B&B, we ditched our bags and headed over to the castle. It was a 1KM walk down a very country road. There we took part in the Medieval feast and celebration. It was a very enjoyable experience and well worth the money. Interestingly, some guide books say to skip it as it is too touristy. It was a bit of history of the castle, a show, a four-course meal with unlimited wine or mead and a musical presentation. We very much enjoyed ourselves and sat next to some locals.

Saturday October 12, 2024 Galway via the Cliffs of Moher

It was onto Galway via the Cliffs of Moher.  On this day the Cliffs were WINDY! Arriving around 10 AM, there were very few tourists and we wandered around. As the morning progressed, coaches continued to arrive and it was time for us to leave. Galway was next and after checking into our accommodations, we took the bus into town and wandered about, walking back to the hostel. Based on our level of activity the last few nights, it was an early night. 

Sunday October 13, 2024 – Galway

We headed into Galway to find a laundromat and caught up on laundry. Then, returning to the hostel, we returned to town for a walking tour. Normally walking tours are great and they provide a lot of history. We both agreed this one was a let down. The guide, during our 1 ½ hours together, provided only a bit of history. He focused more on pointing out his favourite bars.

There was a microwave at our Hostel and we took advantage of it to have a lighter meal from the supermarket. Then we headed out to a local pub but were not able to find any music. One pint later we returned home.

Monday October 14^th, 2024

We did another look at Galway and bought an Aran Island sweater. We had planned to go over to the Aran Islands, however the timing was too tight. The wind was supposed to pick up, which could cancel the return ferry. Not wanting to get stranded on the Aran Islands, we passed. 

We will publish Part II of our Irish tour soon.

Thanks for reading, please feel free to leave any comments below. You can contact us on the form below.

Cam and Meg

Why visit the West Midlands to see Football?

In 2017, I was selected to attend a course on crowd control in England. The course was held in the West Midlands and as part of our training, we oversaw a West Bromwich football game. I’ve wanted to go back ever since, to be a fan. They were relegated to the Championship league a few years back, however I still follow the Baggies. 

As I was putting our fall 2024 trip together, there were many moving parts. Travel switched around as new ideas were discussed. In the end, the cruise through the Panama Canal would get us to Miami and from there we would travel to Ireland. The issue became Miami to Dublin airfare – ouch! Some diligent searching found Miami to London was waaaaayyyyy cheaper. Then I got the idea to see if the Baggies would be playing around the time we would be there. 

Scheduling works in our favour!

As luck would have it, they were playing at home on the Saturday. In the end, we decided to travel to London, then on to West Bromwich. We would see a football match on one day and a tour of the country side the next, before heading to the Emerald Isle.

Then the hard part started. How to get Baggies tickets? In Canada, you just go online and reserve. The Baggies don’t usually sell out, so it should be pretty easy, right? Not so fast. Remember, the West Midlands Police do crowd control at the football matches for a reason. English football hooligans are well known throughout the world. To keep a check on fans and in order to buy tickets, West Bromwich Albion requires you to have an account. All your personal details are required.

Can Baggies fans buy tickets?

I duly opened an account and then I installed the app. Single game tickets for our match did not go on sale until September 23^rd. We were at sea at that time, on our cruise and I didn’t have wifi. When I did get wifi, I found there were no tickets available. I tried the re-seller board and other areas, but no luck.

When our cruise ended in Florida on October 4^th, I had not yet secured tickets and was getting worried. One thing did concern me. A new friend we met on the cruise grew up in the Midlands. He told us when Millwall played West Brom, it was typically a rough game, with shenanigans and fighting in the stands. Had Millwall fans bought all the tickets? Was there going to be a dust up?

Overnight travel to England

We flew Miami to London overnight, landing at 7am Saturday October 5. We then took a 3 ½ hour bus ride to Birmingham. While the train is faster, it would require two transfers (Gatwick to the Victoria tube Station then to Euston Station). After an overnight transatlantic flight, sleeping on a bus sounded better than schlepping luggage through the London Underground. 

We arrived at our West Bromwich hotel around 1:30 PM and then walked the 30 minutes to the ‘Hawthornes’ – the home stadium of the Baggies. We found the ticket sales office and I noted people were buying tickets. I went to the counter and asked to buy two tickets and was told “there were no general sales”. This seemed a bit confusing as others were getting tickets.

You have not bought tickets, you can’t buy tickets

Off to the side was a desk marked ‘ticket enquiries’. I headed over there and enquired why I could not buy tickets. I had an account, so what was the issue? The clerk told me games against Millwall were ‘restricted’ and only account holders who had purchased tickets previously could buy tickets. I tried to explain we had just flown in from North America, we were Canadians and didn’t even know who Millwall was. She just smiled, but did offer a suggestion. If we could find someone with an account, they could possibly buy tickets for us.

We need to find a fan who can buy tickets

We looked at each other and talked about finding someone to buy us tickets. Heading outside, right in front of us were two dads, each with a 10-year-old boy. I wasted no time in approaching them to tell them our storey. When they confirmed they had accounts, we asked if they would get us tickets. They could tell we were not locals, our Canadian accent stood out, and they agreed to help us. A few minutes later, under another account, I bought two tickets to the match. As we were parting ways, they suggested, if we wanted to the full experience, after the game we should go to Vines for some curry and to re-hash the game.

We then headed into the stadium. It’s a bit different than going to a game in Canada. At West Brom, you queue up at a gate. About ¼ of the fans are searched by a full “pat-down”. Then you go past the turnstile, which is truly barely wide enough if you squeeze it all in. Once inside the stadium, we must have looked like a deer in the headlights. Someone came up to us and asked “is this your first footie match?”

Locals help out first time fans

Having blank stares, he asked for our tickets and then pointed which way to go. As we were walking, another person came up and said “do you know where you are going?”. We said no and, looking at our tickets, he walked us into the stands and took us to our seats. They could not have been more helpful or polite.

The pre-game warm up was on, then there were the typical young players on the field as the teams came out. I wasn’t really paying attention, but all of a sudden, the game was on. There was no anthem. The scoreboard flashed “COYB”, as did the signs all along field level. This I learned, stands for “Come On You Baggies”. Everyone was chanting and, unless you knew what they were saying, you could not understand. 

The first 45 minutes were dominated by West Brom, with 90% ball possession, however the score sheet showed 0 – 0 at the half. The second half only had 70% possession for the Baggies, but the score sheet remained 0 – 0. The game was a draw, despite West Brom leading in all categories. Our first English League game was a scoreless affair, but was still enjoyable.

Post match pub visit

Exiting the stadium, Vines was our destination. Once inside, we learned it was a Mecca to the Baggies. We ordered drinks and dinner, listening to the locals chat about what was wrong with the game, team and how they could fix it. As we were finishing, a gent, with his grandson, asked if we were from Zimbabwe? We told him we were from Canada and he told us why he liked Canada. His Son-in-Law joined him and we talked for about 45 minutes. 

It was a great to get such insights on West Brom, its history, the back story why Millwall is a difficult team, etc. He could have easily been a tour guide with all the information he passed on. Birmingham is the UK’s second largest city and was created out of the Industrial revolution. Coal and iron were plentiful in the region, so it was natural that factories were set up there. Each community was known for an item. West Brom made springs. All shapes and sizes.

Heading back to our hotel in the dark, we were very pleased with how the day turned out. We traversed the ocean, carried on to the Midlands, saw a football match and tried a new pub. A great start to our English trip.

September 4, 2024 – Victoria, BC

The Daily Musings have ceased since we returned to Victoria back in March. My logic was that we weren’t doing anything overly interesting or different.  I have been asked however what it is that we do now that we aren’t travelling.  So, since you asked, I will tell.

Of course we needed some time to decompress after travelling for six months – and remember, we had moved into our house in Victoria shortly before we left the country last September.  Once we returned, there were many hours spent trying to locate various items we expected to have – not knowing for sure whether we had even kept them through the downsizing.  Over these past few months those moments have lessened, but they still have not disappeared.  Just this morning I was trying to locate a stress ball…didn’t find one. Our lifejackets are AWOL; shot glasses, MIA.

Besides the everyday existing, we have scraped and painted the exterior trim, replaced siding, had the kitchen and bathroom cupboards repainted, and built garden beds.  The house is 75 years old – some projects need doing, but are kind of terrifying.  I’ve watched enough home renovation shows to know that there are always issues when big projects are started in these older homes.  For now, painting is about as much work as we want to take on. We will tackle the interior painting at some point in the not-too-distant future. This is not our long-term home, but for now it is a great landing pad for our inter-travel time. 

Around all this work, we have spent a lot of time exploring and experiencing our new city.  We have hiked, biked and walked a lot.  Attended festivals, concerts, parades and markets.  Supported local theatre and galleries.  Explored parks and historic buildings.  Tried rowing, explored the intertidal zone, taken a few dance classes (many more needed!), I even won an e-bike at “Go by Bike Week”.

On July 31, I managed to break two bones in my right hand.  Five weeks in a splint ended today.  Thankfully, two of those weeks were on a cruise ship with someone else doing the cooking and cleaning.  I did find that more passengers talk to and remember you when you are wearing a huge splint – and most wanted to know whether I had injured myself on the boat.  I guess they were worried that it could happen to them. 

I have been amazed at how many mundane tasks require the use of two hands.  Many I managed to find work arounds for (like putting toothpaste onto the brush), some I just decided not to do (like type posts for this website) but some proved impossible to ignore or adapt.  Cam has had to tie my shoes and zip up my jackets for the past month.  

Despite all this activity, we have found time to plan another lengthy trip.  Not six months, but almost three.  We will be home for Christmas.  Stay tuned for Musings starting mid-September – Meg

A continuation of my (Cam’s) time in Pearl Harbour

July 4th – the United States Holiday

July 4^th fell on the harbour phase and that was a “day-off” for most people. We were told to enjoy the local area because when the exercise started we would be 24/7 with very little time off. Hawaii is a special place, however they have many of the similar issues every other community has. As we were shy of things to do on July 4^th, we reached out to a number of local organizations and asked if they had any need for a large work party. In the end we spent ½ a day at Maunawila, which is a traditional Hawaiian place that had fallen into disrepair.

About 25 of us drove an hour north to the small village of Maunawila. We were given a tour of the ancient grounds, then learned some of the traditions and cultural beliefs. After doing this, we pitched in and spent 2 to 3 hours, moving a load of gravel and rebuilding a wall in a traditional house. It was a lot of physical work but an truly amazing experience and extremely rewarding. The head of this organization told us it would’ve taken them two months or more to complete what we did and they were most grateful for our efforts. The picture is of me sitting on the wall we built from scratch that morning. I did ask and it was perfectly fine to sit on the wall. 

Stopping to enjoy the ocean

On the way back to the base, we stopped on the North Shore and went swimming in the ocean. We were back on the Base in the evening, and of course, the fireworks on the military base were exceptional. It was a great way to spend the Fourth of July as a guest in America. 

RIMPAC goes “Live”

The operational tempo picked up after July 4^th, and did so daily work load. We went through a “crawl, walk, run” program that allowed us to develop the skill set needed to accomplish our mission. On July 8^th the ships started to sail, it took three days for all 39 military vessels to leave Pearl Harbour, including the aircraft carrier with its 60+ combat aircraft.

I managed to get a few days off during my time in Hawaii. Snorkelling, hiking and wandering were the ways I found to pass my days. There is usually someone around who will also be looking for something to do, so finding a friend to tag along with is pretty easy. I was able to tour the Battleship USS Missouri, which is docked along Battleship row. The Missouri is docked in front of the USS Arizona memorial. The Arizona was the only Battleship not raised after the Japanese surprise attack of December 7^th, 1941. 

It wasn’t always fun and games…

Now, before you judge and think “wow, that’s a paid vacation”, I should point out some of the not so glamours things that took place. My normal start time was 06:00, however that got changed after a few days when things were adjusted. My new starting time was 05:30 which means a pretty early start to the day. I would usually be done by 1 PM, however sometimes I was there as late as 4PM. During the day I was working on Ford Island, the focal point of the December 7^th, 1941 attack. 

The Pacific Warfare Centre was my workplace and I was inside a large building with no windows. Cellular phones and other similar devices such as smart watches, iPads, cameras, etc. were not allowed inside due to security. I would sneak outside once in a while to see the sunshine and the water around Pearl Harbour. Our location provided a first-class view of ships entering and leaving harbour when we could get outside. 

Evening relaxation

In the early evening, I would often go for a swim at the outdoor pool or the beach on Hickman side of the base. The beach may not have had the views of Waikiki, but it lacked the throngs that were on Waikiki and was safer than being on a military base. 

Having a sunset dinner on the beach at Pearl Harbour

In less than a week, my time in Hawaii will come to a close for this trip. I can’t believe I’ve been here for over five weeks already! I’ve learned a lot but I’ve also missed a lot. Summer is the best time to be on Vancouver Island. Missing the festivals, concerts and outdoor activities was not ideal, but necessary to be on this deployment. 

Thanks for reading and stay tuned. Our fall trip is coming up where we’ll be heading to some fantastic international destinations!

Feel free to reach out by the contact form or leave a comment.

For those who know us, it is no secret that the Navy is pretty important to us, more so to me than Meg. It’s where we met some 40 years ago. No, that 40 was not a type-o. 

Cam is going to Hawaii!

When we returned from our six-month “Grand-Adventure”, in March of 2024, there was a message waiting for me from the Navy. In short, they were asking if I would be willing to go to Hawaii, for RIMPAC, the largest naval exercise in the world. It would be for about six weeks, from late June to early August. It sounded too good to be true, but it was in fact true.

When I reached out to confirm I was available the staffing person laughed and told me I was already going. So much for volunteering. In the Navy, we call it being “volun-told”. The timings and date of travel changed a few times and eventually I headed to the land where palm trees sway on June 24^th. Myself and about 200 of my newest closest friends were flown on the Air Force’s new (to Canada) Airbus. It was a pleasant flight with in-service meals and in seat entertainment. In case you were wondering, there was no bar-cart. Once we landed and cleared our in-routines, we were driven to our accommodations. I was billeted on the base at Pearl Harbour.

My Accommodation while in Hawaii

The US Navy, who run the base, have a number of hotels on the base for use by in-transit personnel. I have a large bed with a fridge, microwave oven, dresser, wardrobe and desk. It is functional. 

The building is called Hale Alli and it is a Hawaiian word meaning “House of Chiefs”. There is a large Bar B Q area at the building with a number of picnic tables. We often gathered in the evening to have a joint Bar B Q and some adult beverages. Many team building functions were held here and the best part is most of us live in this complex so no one has to drive. 

The building I’m located in is near Pearl Harbour’s “Destroyer Row”, where frigates, destroyers and light cruisers berth. Within a five-minute walk there is a McDonalds, a Navy Exchange store where you can buy various items such as clothes, snacks and alcohol. A 30-minute walk, or 10-minute drive is a large grocery store and various restaurants such as Panda Express, Subway, a poké place and others. All of the above is located on the base. To counter the effects of the above noted restaurants, there are a few gyms, with excellent facilities, a 50-yard outdoor pool, tennis courts and other fitness activities.

Starting Our Work

Our first day was an “adjustment” day. We settled in and explored the surroundings getting sorted for the exercise. The next day we had an “all-hands” meeting where we learned the objectives of the exercise and our expectations. Then we started to get ready with computer account creation, access passes, etc. Somewhere along the line we were issued a number rental cars for the group. There were various work sites, mine was about 3 km from the accommodation and was on Ford Island, requiring exiting and entering at another gate.

RIMPAC involves 29 nations and over 40 ships with 180+ aircraft. In total there are around 25,000 people who are participating. Canada sent three ships as well as aircraft and about 600 people, 300 on ships and 300 ashore. I am in the latter group.

To coordinate something this large, there is a formal Sequence of Events or SOE. This overarching document was developed through numerous meetings over two years and details where and when things happen. My colleagues and I reviewed the SOE and noted there was a reception every night, held on board a ship and hosted by a different country each night.

July 1st – Canada hosts RIMPAC nations on our newest ship

Not surprisingly, Canada’s reception was on July 1^st. I was invited to that reception, which was held on the newly Commissioned HMCS Max Bernays. In all there were likely 600+ people at the reception and a delightful assortment of food and beverages were put out for guests to enjoy. For myself, it was the first time I had been on this class of ship and, similar to a new car, it had a new ship smell. In reality, the diesel fuel simply has not had the time to seep into every crevice. 

I was fortunate enough to attend receptions held on Chilean, Indonesian, German, French and Japanese ships. Each country put on a good spread and had libations to encourage discussions. Naturally the German beer was very good and the Chilean wine was delightful. The Indonesian food was great and Japanese had set up tempura stations where they made fresh tempura for guests. The highlight, for me, other than making the connections I did, were the French deserts. There were out of this world. 

The Exercise in Pieces

The exercise, which is the reason why we are here, has three phases, 

1. Harbour, 
2. Build up and 
3. Live.

When the harbour phase finished, the ships sailed to their respective operational areas, joining Task Groups. This is when the exercise started in earnest. From the landside, where injects and scenarios are created and implemented, events were simulated that require taskings. My team and I would make recommendations to direct a ship to carry out tasks. For security reasons, I’m not going into details. My role was within current operations and I supervised staff that focused on events from “now” until 48 hours out. Beyond 48 hours was future operations. 

I’ll post more shortly.

Thanks for reading!

Feel free to ask any questions or leave feedback.