Who are we

We are a family of 3 who took a break from our routine. All born in England, we have lived in Scotland since 2002 but from February to the end of July 2011 we were on the road in North America for 6 months. We are Mark (also known as Dad), Rachel (also known as Mum... and a whole bunch of other names... my usual at-home blog is here) and Heather (10/11 years of age during the trip).

Thursday 7 July 2011

Beautiful British Columbia - part 4 (Chinese Garden and leaving B.C.)


Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, Vancouver

And here is a very quick last post about our time in British Columbia (were in Regina, Saskatchewan already  were getting too behind ourselves now!).

On Saturday 25th June we headed into Vancouver city with relatives to visit the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. It was something I really wanted to see and it was very beautiful, tranquil, exquisite really (their site is here). Then on the Sunday, our last day with the Vancouver branch of the family, we spent some time with some of them on one of the citys beaches (Second Beach). And then it was time to say good-bye and thank-you for all the hospitality that had been shown to us by the family over this way. It was as good a place as any to say good-bye to the Pacific Ocean too (for now anyway). It was hard to believe it had been about a month since we first saw the Pacific this trip (back in Venice Beach, California). Our photos from our last Vancouver weekend are here:

Chinese Garden plus

Then on Monday 27th June we set off along Highway 1 (east). Luckily we were 48 hours ahead of the mudslide that hit the same stretch of highway (near Hope, B.C.) on the Wednesday! We stayed the night with more B.C. relatives in Kelowna (a short but very sweet visit - especially for h who made a new friend). Kelowna is alongside (and in fact all around) the huge Lake Okanagan (a lake, like Loch Ness, that is so huge it has a monster, the Ogopogo). Then on Tuesday 28th we drove north past many more lakes and then east back onto highway 1 (the Trans-Canada Highway) until we got to near Revelstoke. There we stayed the night in a lovely lodge kind of a place with beautiful mountain views and total peace and quiet. Then on the Thursday we drove east and east again until we hit the Rockies and, finally, the next province, Alberta.

Our last photos of British Columbia are here:

Leaving BC

So, 20 days in British Columbia and 4 blog posts. Next time  the Rockies.

6 comments:

The Bug said...

Another set of lovely pictures :) I really like the ones of the lake & the mountains...

Rachel Fox said...

Then I suspect you will like the Alberta posts to come too... whenever we get round to them!
x

Sandra Leigh said...

You've reminded me again of all the lovely things there are to see here in B.C., a lot of which we just take for granted. I've never been to the Chinese Garden. It's just made the top of my list.

I hope the canola and flax are blooming for you. I loved that view when we drove through Saskatchewan -- brilliant yellow in one direction, rich, deep blue in the other. Magical.

Rachel Fox said...

The Chinese Garden is lovely - and you get an optional guided tour as part of the ticket price.

We've definitely seen canola (we grow it a lot in the UK and call it oilseed rape - I hate that name!) but we've not seen flax blooming yet I don't think.

x

swiss said...

t was just asking me whereabouts you were. looking forward to you (finally!) getting back for the full report! lol

and tell wee girl i am profoundly jealous of the orca sightings!

Rachel Fox said...

Full report... and 24 hour slideshow (not, really). Come visit us later in the summer!
x