My life the last few months has gone through some radical changes..  I won’t go into the details, but those of you who know me…  well..   you already know..

That being said, this past weekend, I went to Victoria to get away and do some sightseeing..  I had a great time!  One of the things I got to do was go on a whale watching tour.  I have never done this before and was not disappointed!   Here is a clip of the whale watching!

Other than that, I went on a ghost walk, went to the museum, went into the BC Provincial Legislature buildings, and found 7 geocaches in the two days that I was there..

All in all, it wasn’t a bad trip!

Once we arrived in Seattle, we checked into our hotel (The Grand Hyatt), and figured out where to go, with the wonderful help of the concierge, Paul.  He directed us to Chandler’s Crabhouse, covered the cost of our taxi ride there, and surprised us by ordering (and paying for) an appetizer.  We had a great meal.  I had steak and seafood (and it probably was one of the best steaks that I’ve ever had), and my wife had Alaskan Crab Legs..   Unfortunately, we were in a hurry to get to the concert, so after dinner, we called a cab and headed over to Key Arena.

As I said, the concert was incredible.  They sang all the songs that I remember growing up as a kid.  At first, it didn’t look like there was much of a set or lighting, but we quickly discovered that the pianos and other instruments were raised and lowered through the floor when they were needed..

The concert lasted 3 1/2 hours with no intermission! We were impressed with how long it was.

Afterwards, we headed over to the Cheesecake Factory for some coffee and dessert..

The next morning, we went shopping and headed back home.. When crossing the border, we discovered that you needed to spend at least 48 hours before you could have an allowance for duty-free items.. Whoops! We got pulled off to the side, had to show all our receipts, then pay the duties on part of our purchases..

All in all, it was a very good trip!

I’m looking forward to seeing my brothers and parents. I last saw my youngest brother, Andrew, about 18 months ago. But I haven’t seen my other brother and mother for over 5 years, and my father since 2001.

There are a couple of friends I’m looking forward to catching up with too. Also, it’ll be nice to do a little geocaching on my trip.

I’m ready for a short break from work, the kids, and life… Even for only a few days. Hopefully, I’ll feel a little refreshed and able to focus on my goals for 2010…

Happy New Year, everyone…

After some research online, I came across this place called Fraser River Fishing Lodge and Resort (http://www.fraserriverlodge.com/). They have a variety of packages available, including one called the Romance package. This was the package that I selected, with an upgrade to a honeymoon suite that included a jacuzzi tub.

Overall, we were very happy with our experience. The dinner was good, and because it was family style seating, we met some very interesting people. The room was cozy (the fireplace helped!) and it was quiet too. We were about an hour away from home, but a world away.

I highly recommend this place for a getaway!

It was only when we arrived that we discovered that eagles can be found there during the winter, and usually leave the area in February. We walked along the trail on the dike until we saw a bear about 300 feet ahead of us. Fortunately, there was a fence between it and us, and we started to walk the other way, but it seems that the bear knew the way around the fence, crossed the street (in front of a pedestrian), and went into the wooded area by the Easter Seals Camp. Now, the Squamish area has plenty of signs and information warning you that you are in bear country and to be aware, but we expected to see them in the campground or provincial park that we were staying in— not a busy street!

So, after bearly containing our excitement/nervousness about running into a bear (yes, I couldn’t resist the pun), we decided to go looking for an estuary that we read about. Well, either we took a wrong turn, or didn’t go far enough, we never found it. At this point, it was getting close to lunch time, so it was back to camp.

After lunch, my youngest daughter, Ainsley, and my wife wanted to have a nap, so me and two other daughters went for a walk along the Four Lakes Trail to find the other two geocaches in the park. Three hours, we completed our 7.5 kilometre walk, including going up and down a hill of about 300 feet in height. My 7-year old and 4-year old were real troopers, not complaining at all. I was truly amazed at how well they did!

The rest of the evening went well. A family had arrived at the campsite across from ours who had a couple young kids, so Megan was happy to have “friends” to play with. It was unfortunate that they arrived the night before we left, especially since they seemed nice and the kids all played well together. After we got our kids to bed, my wife and I sat by the campfire talking well into the evening.

That pretty much sums up our trip. Today was spent packing everything up this morning, heading home, and then the fantastic job of unpacking, putting things away, and 78 loads of laundry!

For once, our kids let us sleep in until 7:30! After getting up and making coffee, we made something that my daughter learned in Brownies… Barf-in-a-Bag! As gross as it sounds, it’s just eggs and mushrooms, peppers and onions in a ziploc bag. You seal the bag up (with no sir), smoosh it up, and cook it in boiling water. Very good! Afterwards, Megan and Elisabeth did the dishes. It’s nice that they are old enough to help!

After breakfast, we decided to go for a walk and search for one of the three geocaches in the park. After a short walk, we found it and I finally was able to leave a Las Vegas geocoin that I had picked up in Manning Park a couple weeks ago. We then went to have a quick look at the beach at Alice Lake (which barely qualifies as a lake — more like a big pond), and then it was time to head back to our campsite for lunch.

Within a minute of arriving at the site, one of the park operators notified us that the campfire ban that head been in place since we had arrived was now lifted. As we cheered, we prepared to make our lunch: hot dogs cooked over a fire.

After lunch, we drove into town to Walmart to pick up a couple supplies, and then drove down to Shannon Falls. We spent about an hour there taking everything in, including some ice cream, then took a drive to Brackendale.

Brackendale is the location where the annual bald eagle count is done, so we found where a viewing area is, and plan to check it out tomorrow.

Following our drive, we came back to make a spaghetti dinner, then had a campfire and made delicious, hot smores.

It was the perfect way to end the day..

We haven’t done much today. We got here around 2pm, and by the time we were set up, it was 4pm.. After a quick trip into Squamish to pick up a few things we needed, we came back, cooked dinner, and then the kids (and my wife) were pretty much ready for bed. Of course, shortly after going to bed, Megan decided that she wanted up, and then Lizzy wanted to go to bed.

Hopefully, the weather improves a little for tomorrow and we’ll get a chance to do a little more exploring!

In the last month, my wife, kids and I and really gotten into geocaching.  With 13 finds now, we are enjoying the time out.  To me, it’s great to spend time out with the family exploring the area, and I get to play with an electronic toy..  It’s win-win!

We’ve booked our campsite for a camping trip this summer.  This year, we’ll be going up to Alice Lake near Squamish.  We have never really ventured up into Sea to Sky country, so it’ll be nice to get away!  Now, I just have to wait for July now..

That’s about it.. 

With only having a couple days to go away, we decided to drive down to Seattle for the weekend.  It had been a few years since we had been there and we figured that we’d do the tourist thing for a couple days. 

Despite how close it is to Vancouver, I’ve been to Seattle twice and my wife once.  We haven’t done a lot of sightseeing there, so this time, we were really going to try. 

We stayed at the Springhill Suites by Marriott (I’ll leave our issues with them out of this!) which is in the downtown area.  After checking in, we had promised the kids that we would take them on a double decker bus tour.  My wife and I went on one in San Francisco back in March and found it interesting to see the city and some of the sights that we may want to check out.  But in Seattle, the 45 minute tour was lack-lustre.  Okay..  it was boring.  Their were a few interesting things, but I wasn’t “wowed” with Seattle.

Throughout the weekend, we briefly went to Pike Place Market, walked along the piers, took the kids to Woodland Park Zoo, and even went up the Space Needle.  The zoo was amazing as always and the Space Needle was expensive (as expected), but the rest of the city doesn’t seem to have a lot to offer.  And in the city where Starbucks started, try finding one open on a Sunday morning!   And one of our kids started getting a fever (and subsequently sick), what is with the drug store that was open, but with no children’s Tylenol.  YOU’RE A FREAKIN’ DRUG STORE!

All in all, the kids seemed to have fun, for the most part.  But Seattle left my wife and I with the same impression.

It’s just not a tourist-friendly place.

After checking into our hotel, we walked up to Fisherman’s Wharf, ate at Boudin’s Sourdough Bread shop (clam chowder in a sourdough bowl), and then looked around the wharf.  We checked out a lot of tourist shops, the sea lions, and took in the good weather.  Then it was off to a double decker bus tour..

I could go on and on about the trip, but I’ll just keep it to the highlights..

• We went to Alcatraz and took the garden tour, which takes you to some closed parts of the island and did the cell block tour as well.  It was an amazing experience..
• Napa Valley Wine Tour – There was nothing like taking a bus tour to three different wineries, trying and buying wine.  Lunch in Sonoma, California was at this mexican restaurant..  The bext mexican food that we’ve ever had!
• Lombard Street, Alamo Square with the Painted Ladies, and Coit Tower – all must-see sites!
• The Golden Gate Bridge – we walked part-way across, then turned back!  Amazing views!
• Shopping in Union square!
• The Cable Cars – we didn’t get on one until the fourth day that we were there, but then after finding that they go near pretty much everything that we wanted to see, we used them a lot after that!
• Visit with friends – we know a couple that live in San Jose.  They came out for an evening of dinner and drinks!  It was great to see you David and Kim!
• Cable Car Museum – even though it takes 10 minutes to see the whole thing (five of which is spent staring at the cable wheels going around and around, it was interesting nonetheless!
• Restuarants – We went to Sam’s Seafood & Grill (don’t recommend it!), Bubba Gump’s, the Fog City Diner, Mel’s Diner…  the list goes on and on!  Most mornings, we went across the street to the Starbucks for a coffee and a muffin..  By the sixth day, they pretty much knew what we were going to order!
• Hyde Street Pier – We walked up and down it..  Not much to say about it, but it was nice..  We could have paid to take a tour of a couple ships there, but it was our last day..

A couple things did put us off on our trip.  Within 3 hours of being there, we were lost and someone at a kiosk offered to help… but not before spending 15 minutes trying to convince us to do a 2 hour presentation about timeshares..  We declined! 

Also, while people weren’t rude there, they weren’t overly friendly…

All in all, it was a great trip..

Next stop…  Las Vegas in the fall!