The Matrix Gypsies

The Last Leg of Our Journey

2007-10-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

'We're coming home ma', Ron & I would chorus throughout the day as we travelled rather quickly the rest of the way home. We gassed up in Sheridan, Wyoming

& again in Billings, Montana. The scenery was ever changing and we past this heritage site where General Custer's Last Stand was without stopping.....

....every town we passed was filled with County Fairs and rodeos with 'No Vacancy' signs so we started hunting for a room and found one in Bozeman.....

Passed through the Rockies in Idaho

Made it to Spokane in time to do a bit of shopping and stayed in a nice Hotel as Ron had been dealing with the virus/cold I had earlier. It finally caught up with him.

The next day we travelled non-stop to B.C. & crossed at Grand Forks.....in Kelowna we were welcomed by torrential rains that started flooding the roads.

Took pics of a double rainbow in Enderby

We made it ma......happy times, hugs, kisses, & many stories to tell each other......

Dad had a lovely meal for us the next day.

After 18000 kilometers or more X-Canada & back X-U.S., was it ever nice to be home and in our own bed. We did it in 3 months less a week.

Dave in the canoe out at the lake

Our first welcome home picnic with the clan......

The view from our deck at our site by the lake that I never tire of....our happy place.....

Enjoying a day fishing on the lake in George & Colleen's new boat......

Captain George......

Colleen protecting me from all the bees buzzing around..........

Mom doing a crossword in the cabin where she can relax and keep out of the hot sun......

Dad enjoying the sun and happy he caught his first fish of the year......

So good to be safely home with family & friends...

West, South Dakota

2007-10-28T11:25:00.000-07:00

We rushed onward to Mt. Rushmore where we couldn't help but be awed by the magnificence of this famous monument.......

The entrance has flags of every state and when they became a part of the union of the states....

Ron cooling off in a water spray tent on the climb up........

A list of the names of all the Rushmore workers that took from 1927-1941

Our first unimpeded view of the Presidents

A shot with me in it......

A shot with Ron in it....

One last lingering look as we leave.....

The trail heading back down.....

Stopping for a quaint family of wild turkeys......

Our next stop in the Black Hills - Crazy Horse - we were really impressed with this newer monument as it is all being done without government assistance by a family who has dedicated their lives to complete. The monument is a symbol for the Native Americans who owned this land and Crazy Horse was the Chieftan who led his people into war against General Custer.

Here is a profile of Crazy Horse...........

Posing by the sculpture of what the finished product will look like....

Korczak Ziolkowski accepted Chief Standing Bear's invitation to the Black Hills and started work on the mt. in 1949 at the age of 40. He knew Crazy Horse was much larger than any one person's lifetime so he, and his wife, Ruth, prepared 3 books of detailed plans......he died in 1982 and his wife & children continue the work. They have kept with his wishes making the monument a nonprofit educational, cultural, humanitarian project built by the interested public (thru admission & donations) and not the taxpayers. Twice he turned down 10 million in federal funding.

I wanted to stay for the laser-light show in the evening but Ron wanted to press on to our next destination......

Leaving the Black Hills and S. Dakota.......

Some of the local scenery.......

I came face to face with a young buck on a rocky curve in the road just like this one that gave me and him a good scare...........came across 5 live deer and 1 dead as we wound our way out of the Black Hills National Forest......

We ate supper in Gillette, Wyoming in an old mill building called the Old Mills Restaurant where we could see a lot of locals eating and the food was very good.....

Some of the ol' west countryside.....

After a whirlwind day of sighseeing we settled for the night and after enjoying this beautiful sunset (can you see the horse in this pic) the downpour started bringing with it a spectacular lightening storm........

BADLANDS & The Famous WALL DRUGS

2007-10-23T15:49:00.000-07:00

Mid South Dakota is flat prairie land and then you turn off the main road to enter........

'The Badlands'

......as far as the eye can see......

These signs were on all the hiking trails so I think they were seriously warning people to be on the look-out for these nasty critters.

My knees went weak with Ron testing his balance in this precarious position as it was a long way down there......

We ran into a sweet couple who exchanged taking our pic for us taking theirs....

A shot of the terrain in the distance with deep valleys and dropoffs.

Cool mountain formations in the distance that when you get close form very unique shapes...

....Ron hurry up & take the picture - a good place for a rattler to hide.......

My sweetie hiking on yet another long trail......

Brave families in the distance testing their climbing skills and daring themselves to not make one false step................

Can you see the 'Cat' laying in the middle of this formation?

Ron taking a break eating his apple as I jump out every few miles to take pics.

.....a cool peekhole in the mountains.....

......more unique landscape.......

Layers of brilliant coloring threaded through these croppings in the brilliant sunlight........

As the sun moved in the sky, so too did the coloring in the hills.

The decent down out of the Badlands.......

The city of Wall just appears when you leave the Badlands and this drug store became famous for offering travellers free ice water and .5 cent coffee....

So the site has grown to the size of a city block with a unique mall type stucture inside with museums, specialty shops, restaurants, and entertainments...............

Ron posing with his new found friend.....

A scary creature that comes alive every 10 minutes to scare the passerbys......

Me acting up and trying out the ol' saddle......

Ron sure did go for the lovely ladies......

Waiting for the horses to be hitched up......

This building had so many unique nooks and crannies but these twists of driftwood holding up the roof all the way down the street caught my attention.....

Ron enjoying some of his free water on this very hot day.......

East Side of South Dakota

2007-10-22T17:35:00.000-07:00

We're back and although it is over 2 months since our last post we are determined to finish this trip and then start on our next when we plan one. After exploring Rockport, Missouri and area for a full day we left for Iowa and found Omaha too big so spent the night in Blair, Nebraska. At this point we still didn't know where Mt. Rushmore was and neither did the Americans we asked. However, the next tourist info we happened upon informed us it was in
S. Dakota.

Ron showing his profile beside the presidents, which doesn't show up that great here

We stopped at a Homestead rest stop here in S. Dakota & found there is lots to see and do in S.D.

This was a great place to have our picnic lunch in Sioux Falls. This is Big Sioux River.

Some fun pics in Mitchell where we stopped to see the 'Corn Palace'. This city has been creating these masterpieces of art out of 3 shades of red, 2 shades of brown, white, black, blue, calico, & yellow corn that are all grown & native of S. Dakota, since 1892. They started because the locals wanted to prove travellers Lewis & Clark wrong when they journalled their area as a Great American Desert suitable only for buffalo.
Each year the Corn Palace is redecorated sporting a new theme.

So were we ever surprised when we went inside and found that not only is the outside totally decorated in a corn mural but there are hundreds of murals inside as well. They have a musuem section that displays all the past art, a huge gift shop, a movie to watch on all the history and lots of delicious 'corn' treats with the best popcorn I've ever tasted.

Still in Mitchell flirting with the locals............

Ron just had to buy a take-out ice-cream cone from this lovely lady.............

Stopped at the famous Al's Oasis for our dinner of Buffalo Burgers and .05 cent coffee............

Stopped in Murdo for the night. This is a pretty large car Ron couldn't resist investigating at the Diner where we had breakfast.

The land is very flat in this part of S. Dakota with winds so strong that if you leave your car door open it will slam shut on you. Lots of cute roadside critters to take pics of.

These kind of pictures are what have inspired me to take up some new hobbies like photography, sketching, and painting. I can hardly wait.

The local stage-coach..................

.............with the local native Indians chasing the white skins..........

Some pictures of homesteads that I just had to get Ron to stop the car so I could capture a taste of the area on film.

Last bit of civilization before the Badlands, so we gassed up the car and headed to the gateway to..............stay tuned and check it out.......

Atchison County

2007-08-08T13:10:00.000-07:00

This is just a few pics of the Granite Hills north of Branson as we travelled along the I-65

Such a variety of scenery every turn in the road - it was no wonder I couldn't quit taking pics...

More flooding on the Missouri River.

We got lost in Kansas City as they were doing road construction/detours at some of the major exits....which wasn't on the map.

At least when I guessed to take a 'right' we found ourselves in the 'ritzy' part of Kansas. We got directions to a shopping mall and took a break before finding our way out of Dodge. We cruised along State Line Drive which was so unique as on one side of the road was Kansas City, Kansas and on the other side was Kansas City, Missouri.....which if you follow all the way to the 'rough' end of town gets you to this bridge........

.....which then gets you out of the state of Kansas and back into Missouri

We made it to our destination - Atchison County- one of the main points of interest for us on this trip - to explore the land where my mom's ancestors hailed from. A trip to the most northwesterly point of Missouri that my mom always wanted to make but never got the chance. So these pics are for you mom......and I didn't post the 1000's of others I took, but you can come over and view them anytime.....

We spent the night in Rockport - pop. 1,395- a very quaint, country town that is the biggest city closest to our ancestors. I got a slip of paper from dad that had a few names of the pioneers and the old farm was supposed to be 4 miles west of Westboro.........

The next day we went into town-amazed at the farm equipment passing by on the main drag in a steady stream......

Ron had the brilliant idea to start in the library. Well was that ever a fun experience. These nice town ladies took us into a back research room, showed us all their carefully documented micro films, files, and laminated copies of ancient volumes on the history of Atchison County, their farms, cemeteries, and people. We spent the entire morning with the help of a nice assistant named Diane, photocopying, researching old newspapers from the period between 1840's - 1907, and taking down directions to the old farm, and cemetery. We found my great, great grandfather was a wealthy farmer with 160 acres that was gifted to him by President Lincoln who stipulated that the land had to be farmed for 5 years. This was what they did in the early days.....my great grandfather along with his family and brother left Atchison County in 1904 to start fresh in Bassano, Alberta.....Ron and I still can't figure that one out as the farmland down here is so rich, fertile, and gorgeous.....then g.g. grandpa Sam got a telegram in 1905 that Thomas, my g.grandpa's brother drowned-later I learned it was while working on the Dam in Bassano...g.g.grandpa died two years later in 1907.

By this time Ron and I were getting pretty hungry so the nice librarians recommended this local diner where you couldn't get better homemade chicken and pies for dessert. But we had to hurry or they might run out of chicken. ALL the locals eat there. One was so friendly she even hit Ron on the shoulder in greeting. He's just so irresistible that ladies can't help but smack him no matter where he is......oh and the chicken was the best....and both our meals was under 10.00 with pie and coffee.....

We took a few more pics of the town before heading toward the land my ancestors farmed. We drove through miles and miles of the most gorgeous farmland I've ever been in. Each section is pretty square and all roads are straight and when you get deep into the fields they are just named from A-Z....easier to find than names as you know if you're looking for 'M' and come upon 'R' or 'T' you've gone too far.

These pics are just a few I took of my great, great, grandfather's 160 acres of farmland...

This sign actually says Westboro 4, so I knew we had found the right spot.....

Now when we were at the library the ladies gave Ron directions to the cemetery where G.G. Grandpa and his family were buried which was called the 'London Cemetery'. They said they had never been there and we soon found out why. There is absolutely no signs, or any indication that there is a cemetery here and the only reason we found it is because we saw two white posts sticking up on the hill from the road and stopped to explore. We drove into this old corn field and climbed the slight incline.

.....at the top we found this and started our search.....

Unfortunately this cemetery has not been kept up and was in the middle of nowhere which through time, and extreme weather had tombstones toppled over from tornado's possibly, and the grass had grown over many graves, so we could not find our ancestors.....
the ones we could read were dated as far back as the mid 1800's.

After a full day of research, pictures, and driving back into the past, we left feeling awed by the passage of time and how people come and go but the history, and land is always with us.

Branson, Missouri

2007-07-22T23:28:00.001-07:00

We're back....sorry for the long absence, we are okay and like we've been telling everyone, had the trip of a lifetime. After Memphis we covered 10 states in less than 9 days and that is why I didn't get a chance to blog on the last leg of our journey. Once home we discovered a storm had taken out our router and after replacing and reinstalling we can now finish our 'story'. As soon as we left Memphis we crossed this bridge into Arkansas....many states are crossed on bridges making it hard to get a good shot...

This is the only shot I got of the mighty muddy Mississippi and I missed the good shot of Memphis in the background....oh hum....
You can see the trees covered in water here from flooding.

This picture is for "Ma" all those times Ron said 'TexasArkansaw' this sign is the closest we could come to the real deal.........

Stopped for lunch at our Southern most point in Little Rock, Arkansas at Cracker Barrel which we first heard of when it was advertised on the live radio program at Grand Ole Opry. These restaurant/stores quickly became one of our favorite stops, with good ol' down home southern grits so delicious, shopping while you wait for your table, and we rented a CD book
to listen to while travelling....

We finally got off the interstate 40 and turned
north through beautiful country and small towns. On one side would be beautiful mountains with unique rock formations and on the other farmlands and pretty valleys.

A shot of the Ozarks that go from Arkansas
to Missouri.

Ma - we finally made it to 'The show-me state'

Arrived in Branson at 6:00 after many hours on the road and this was our last 3 day stop....we were lucky to find a hotel as there was some kind of truck convention. We stayed at Branson's Best which had free internet, 24 hr. coffees-hot chocolate, breakfast, and late night snacks of peach/cherry cobbler, soft ice-cream, and homemade cookies. Nice touch.....

Ron at one of the look-outs of the city

This is a 'DAM' pic for Uncle Ernie - we stopped at the park nearby for a look at the musuem and a film on the building of this dam and history of Branson.

Tabletop lake was formed by the dam and was very warm, lots of boats, swimming, and summer fun there.....

We went to 'Old Branson' on this trolley and they have quaint boardwalks, fountains to music-fire-lights where there is a free concert every Sat. night, shops, restaurants, and lots of entertainment.

We enjoyed a scrumptous dinner at a restaurant called Garfield's and did some shopping along the strip.

A pose at the landing on the White River......

We saw two late night shows in Branson, the first was Bart Rockett's comedy/magic show which was pretty impressive and good for some laughs.

Somehow we managed free tickets for this Loretta Lynn show which we totally enjoyed. This is a shot of her twin daughters doing the preshow entertainment and the one on the right looks just like her when she was younger and her voice is much the same......

Some pics of a very classy lady and her talented band and back-up singers/travelling group.....

Her youngest grand-daughter came out to perform a song.....starting them young.....

And her oldest grand-daughter doing several songs which were excellent.......

Loretta had to sit through most of the concert as she just had back surgery a few months ago. She has a very quick wit and great sense of humor.....

We enjoyed a great concert by the 'Coal Miner's Daughter' and you knew by the end that you enjoyed a little piece of history from a tough, hard working gal that gives everything her all......stay tuned for many more exciting adventures....

Memphis - Graceland

2007-07-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

The city of Memphis is in the south western most point of Tennessee. There is lots to do
but we are becoming travel weary and had
to miss enjoying many other attractions like my

steamboat ride down the muddy Mississippi and a tour at Sun Studios, the "Birthplace of Rock'n'Roll where Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee
Lewis, B.B.King, Carl Perkins, and many more were launched. They also have Beale Street Entertainment District that is much like our experience on George St. in St. Johns Nfld.

Ron and I were wowed by all there was to see and

experience at Graceland.

Elvis had 2 planes, his favorite the "Lisa Marie", named after his only child.
He had it all redone inside and used it while on tour with a makeup/wardrobe room and a huge king size bed in his room.

The TCB with a thunderbolt symbol on the tail of the planes was his "Taking Care of Business"
trademark.

Elvis loved his cars, Harley's, golf carts, go carts, and all kinds of motorized vehicles. The museum on the site has them all.

One of his favorites was the pink Cadillac that he had given to his mother. She loved this car.

Can't remember the name of this car but it was something like Studez? an Italian make. He had two of these.

This Rolls Royce was supposed to go to Michael Landon but Elvis sweet talked the salesman and purchased it.

Graceland, Elvis's mansion was spectacular. We weren't allowed to take any pics with a flash so snuck those few shots of the cars and one in the mansion and they got a little upset with us. Elvis bought this home in 1957 when he was only 22 for the huge price of $100,000. He had it redecorated several times, and I loved how it was done the last time. Nothing has been changed except the racquetball court which was converted to a museum of all his awards, trophy's, and floor to ceiling gold, platinum, records, plaques with over 1 million sold, on the top of the charts, Grammies, international awards from all over the world, movie awards, and his favorite was one that he was voted in as one of the top 10 most world renowned people award. There was too much to absorb in our short visit.

We were not allowed to go upstairs they have kept that private from the public but they brought his heart shaped white fur bed in one room

along with his desk and books, records, etc, that
he listened to. You really felt his presence there and got to see the personal side of Elvis. A must see for anyone that gets a chance. The original t.v.'s, furniture, kitchen, family rooms, his parents bedroom on the main floor, dining room, living room, music room, jungle room, games room, were all decorated and left as Elvis had last done them. They had the wedding outfits of his and Priscella on display and all his sports outfits and equipment, he was a black belt in Karate, played football, racquetball, boxing, had a section in the garage made for target shooting, and his guns were on display and on and on it goes.

This was the pic we took that got us in trouble.....I absolutely loved this room and begged Ron to take the shot and didn't care if we got scolded. Those are stained glass peacocks and this room, the living room was all done in white and blue. He loved blue the same as me.
Notice the old fashioned t.v. beyond the piano......

Here was another no...no pic of Elvis's costumes and these were only a few - this room was lined with hundreds of his clothes. We saw the remakes of them for sell in the gift shops across the street for over $4000.

I liked his blue sequined one and silver sequined one. He had black ones, and many different colours but leaned toward these white ones with eagles and different designs.

This is out back of the mansion where there are many areas such as a house that his dad, Vernon, used for his office and various other outbuildings....

The horse corrals - Elvis's favorite - a golden Palomino......

The pool area.....

This area was Elvis's meditation garden where he loved to go to think and unwind that has statues, and fountains....Elvis and his mother were buried in the town cemetery but Vernon moved them here when vandalism became an issue. He put a headstone there of Elvis's twin brother who died at birth and his grandmother and Vernon are now buried there as well.

The flowers that are on the graves are from all his fans, and they come daily. The estate replaces them with fresh artificial ones regularly and they keep the fresh ones in the mansion somewhere I can't remember and replace them as they wilt. Lisa Marie has kept this estate that she inherited open for the public everyday of the year and is only closed 2 days at Christmas. There is a tape with headphones that you get at the beginning of the tour of Graceland that gives you all the details of everything you see that you can control yourself so that you can hear and understand better than any other tour I've ever been on. Ron and I enjoyed it immensely and were impressed on how they shuttle an average of over a million people a year from venue to venue on the property. Stay tuned for our next stop, Branson, Missouri....

Pigeon Forge - Nashville

2007-07-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

Nice shot of a ranch entering Pigeon Forge

We took in the local entertainment at the Dick Clark American Bandstand.

Fiddler from Jack Daniels Band

We really enjoyed this concert by Wynonna Judd. She is very good with the audience and has a beautiful voice.

Even though we aren't country music fans we really enjoyed the heart and soul put into the songs and had a great time.
After our marathon drive thru 8 states we settled in Pigeon Forge, about an hour before Nashville, for a couple days, while I regained some stamina from the crud. I wasn't up to
going to Dollywood, an amusement park with long line-ups

and lots of good down
home Southern food....so passed on that.

We spent 3 nights in Nashville. Loved every minute and will come back someday if the opportunity comes. This is a shot of a aqua restaurant in Opry Mills that feels like you're in an aquarium full of sharks, stingrays, and colorful fish.....this mall is a bit like W. Edmonton but not as big or elaborate.

We had fun in a few
of the stores and they
were so different than

the ones back home...
This cowboy was just
standing around so I gave
him a squeeze.....

Ron found one of his
heros......

Our night at the Grand Ole Opry......

This is one of the best shots I have of Little Jimmy Dickens. He is one of the oldest members of the G.Ole O. at 86 and was our favorite act. His guitar was almost as big as him. Not only could he sing a good ol tune but his jokes kept us in stitches. I never realized the G.O.O. was a radio show and still is as they were tapping live with us as the audience and they had live radio commercials just like they used to with actors coming out to do the spot. They have tours of backstage where the old Hee Haw was
tapped which we didn't get a chance to take......

Some nice employee took our pic
by the stage after the show......

Off to Memphis for our next update......stayed tuned.

Marathon Drive To Tennessee

2007-07-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

We landed in St. John N.B. and drove to Freeport Maine the 1st day in the states.

Maine was much like N.S. with beautiful coastline. We drove to Hampton New Hampshire the second night, July 4th. No fireworks, it was raining.....

From there we drove through 5 states, Boston was wild, we went under the city through tunnels that if you didn't
have your head on a swivel you would get lost. While travelling at a fast clip you'd have to merge, take exits, and avoid exiting with several lanes of different tunnels all around you. Ron likened it to a very fast video game.
We congratulated each other when we made it out
on the right turnpike.....lots of tolls till you got thru Mass......

So we made it through New York state, but we must have hit rush hour cause the interstate was bumper to bumper traffic, not very fast moving... We stopped in Scranton, Penn. the 3rd night.

An accident along the way. The cop pictured here came out of the side road just as Ron was passing him and he almost hit us. Our adrenaline was high when we pulled over to the other lane and we breathed a sigh of relief when he passed us. Luckily no one was hurt at this accident.

Most of the scenery I took from the window as it passed by quickly did not take or the good shots were gone by the time I got the camera out. This was a gas stop so the best I could come up
with.
We went quickly through Maryland, West Virginia and spent the 4th night in Christiansburg, Virginia. By this time I knew why I wasn't feeling the greatest, it wasn't the rich food, but the flu back again. We had planned on stopping by to see some friends we met in Nfld. at their home in Roanoke, Va. but I was pretty ill. That is also why we scrapped going to New York City, and Washington, D.C. Virginia is
very pretty with rolling hills, farms, ranches, and
very rural.

We made it to Tennessee where we planned to spend about a week or more and finally rest from all the constant driving.

Will keep you posted.......

Peggy's Cove - Lunenburg - Pier 21 - Digby Nova Scotia

2007-07-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

Here our some pics of the beautiful sites we saw in this province during our last week here......I think I have developed a love of photography

during this trip and both Ron and I want to dabble in painting some of these spectaular scenes we've seen.....

Peggy's Cove

This ice-cream was the best I've tasted...

Swiss Air 111 came down here just past Peggy's Cove in 1998 and 229 perished.

These lupins grow wild absolutely everywhere.

Ships in Lun-en-burg.....Like Ham-bur-ger.....

Harbor at Pier 21 which is a museum/monument of approx. 1 mill. immigrants who landed here since 1928-1971 and where 48,000 war brides landed accompanied with 22,000 children to join their husbands in the service. I tried checking out the records for Aunt Hazel but they wanted to know the ship she arrived on.......

A sunken fishing vessel that was abandoned at the habor in Digby...

A beautiful day we spent in Digby before catching the ferry to New Brunswick.

Concert On the Hill - Halifax - July 1st

2007-07-04T20:41:00.000-07:00

Ron and I found out about this concert at a tourist info center where all the girls started helping us secure advance tickets and a hotel. So after packing up at our 4 day campout we drove an hour to our hotel, checked in, and rushed to the concert. The line-up to get in was so long that they had to start opening new gates

We missed the first band while in line - State of Shock

This was Default and the furthest away from the stage we were. For some reason Ron and I felt like challenging ourselves to stay on the ground and get as close as we could.....we knew we wouldn't be doing it again so this was it.........I must say I give all the young people a thumbs up for the stamina, and determination it takes to make it up there for a whole concert. People were collapsing, fainting, & being lifted to security at the front. There were strick rules as to no drinks, food, water, or chairs to be brought in...I really disagree with this, as it is so hot, dangerous, as people were offering 10.00 or more to get your water. Once you were in the front there was no way anyone would let someone else come in front of them. A few times tempers flared and people almost started a riot....When we first arrived Ron got us a water and Pop, but that was the last time we could leave, otherwise you wouldn't get back in. This couple we were moving ahead with were desparate so I gave them my last two gums. Then we decided that the girl had the best chance of getting out to get water and getting back......well she made it, but barely, several times she was just about jumped on for trying to move forward through the crowd to where we were. We really thank her for all her effort otherwise I don't think we would have made it. There were seven bands and we were on our feet for 11 hours and people were having it hard...

Headly-from Vancouver
Very entertaining-got the crowd going..........

The crowd behind us.........

Finger 11-Excellent band, really enjoyed the crowd and being there....good music

A shot of the growing crowd on the hill........

Daughtry-American Idol-his first time in Canada

Over 30,000 attended

Staind - one of Ron's favorite - not much of a talker but really got into his music.......

Even though we were suffering great discomfort, dehydration, and lack of sustenance (breakfast-an english muffin-being our last meal), we were still having the time of our lives and enjoying the music of each band....what a great line-up of talent.

......and the band everyone was waiting for.....Nickelback

By this time we were only about 8-10 rows back and they really put on a good show, fire, explosions, beer for the crowd, and fireworks....oh yeah....the drummer did a solo, threw his drumstick which landed on my temple and as the crowd turned to grab it they dove on Ron and I.....this nice kid beside us helped Ron up and made sure he was okay and said the stick is probably still down there, but a girl just in front turned to inform us she got it. The same thing happened earlier when a giatar pick came at me but I deflected it with my arm, not knowing what it was.....they all dove again...this happened several times....not too much moshing as they were sent to the front where the security guards were and escorted off the grounds....no one had any energy to keep them up....

Michael, a friend of Nickelback's......Ron did a very good job with the camera...many more shots but can't post them all....

Camping 4 Days On Hubbard Beach

2007-07-04T19:39:00.000-07:00

This is how the tent zips up when we drive away.

Ron cooking the best scallops I've ever tasted.

This is Mark and Dana, Laura and Mike playing washers, like many people in the campsite. Ron was pretty good at this game, I needed some practise.

This beach was spectacular.

The best lobster you can get. We learned some tips on how to extract the meat easily......such as the tenderest, tastiest pieces are behind the eyes.....

Canada Day fun at the campsite....
This is my new friend Maria

Reby and Billy on the far right were the campers right beside us and they welcomed us into their family weekend with open arms......thank-you you two, for making our stay in your neck of the woods so much fun.....we hope we meet again.....

Reby's sister, Kim and her husband Bill. Maria is their oldest, 13 and Justin is 7.

Billy burying Justin in the sand up to his neck.

The Shore Club, which is in our resort, is one of the oldest dance halls still operating east of Montreal, and of course there was a sell-out dance on Saturday night, which we all enjoyed. This is Mark and Mike our new buds from Halifax. They are a couple of funny, crazy, guys, who keep you laughing.......

The gang at the club, enjoying good music and dancing to the tunes......

Bread&Cheese Inn at Bay Bulls

2007-07-02T20:50:00.000-07:00

We travelled south of St. John's along the east coast of Nfld. to this delightful Inn where we were spoiled with very good food, excellent lodgings, the most picturesque scenery I've seen, and good, kind friendly people that made you feel like you were at home away from home.

Our host Rita and Ron got to chat with her husband Des.....
Diane trying a local dessert, called Figgy Duff, simply delish

The Bread & Cheese Inn built in 2006

We went on a boat tour with O'Briens and met up with some buddies, Gwen and Bruce from Virgina, who were staying at the B&C Inn as well.
Beautiful harbors, fishing villages, cliffs, &

shoreline.

This is Joe who is singing to us as we journey out into the bay towards Gull Island where we would be about 30 feet away from 300,000 Puffins.

The Puffins come as the food is plentiful, there are few

predators, and they nest in the cliffs...one egg a year....they are so cute and are similar to penguins, with bright orange beaks and web feet. In the winter they fly out to the open Ocean, floating, and can dive very deep.

The ocean became violent, rocking us so hard that noone could stand without hanging onto something. Then out of the fog we came upon an iceburg....how cool is that? This particular iceburg has been in the bay for 3 days and has
started breaking up. It is 11 fathoms deep under the ocean, 1 fathom is 6 feet and it anchored itself in this spot but will eventually break loose and the bubbles going through it will cause it to explode........

The largest this area has had was 6 years ago and they haven't had one in this bay for 3 years so we were lucky to see one. The farthest south that an iceburg has travelled once was Bermuda, and they have made it to New York.

I could see a face on one side of it and after we
circled it Joe scooped up a big hunk of iceburg
that was floating by the boat in a net and served it to us with some Screech.....the ice was full of
bubbles, and was fresh water, not seawater.....

Amazing that the ferries and fishing boats in this area don't hit these things as there can be a lot of fog but they have good instrumentation....

Diane posing with the iceburg behind....

Ron doing a safe pose with iceburg
behind.....

We had a great trip and made some new friends

This is Pat's dog, Danny Boy...........

Afterwards, Ron and I worked up a real appetite
and had a picnic lunch by the water back at our
Inn......

Ron enjoying the sun like a lizard on the rocks.

Some beautiful spray on the rocks as the tide
came in......meanwhile I was finding absolutely
beautiful rocks to weigh down the car with &
bring home.......Gwen found some mighty pertie
ones too, much to Bruces chagrin, (they were
flying and had to fit them in their overnight case)

We ran into Sheryl and Casey (the couple we got screeched in with back on George St. in St. John's) at O'Brien's, they were going on the next boat tour, so we arranged to have dinner with them at the Captain's Table in Witless Bay. Lots of good food, friends, and giggles....

The next day, June 24th, we travelled around the Irish Loop, very pretty and made it to Argentia where we had to catch the ferry early so found an open laundry facility in this tiny town and got caught up. The ferry doesn't leave until 12:30 a.m. and only makes the trip 3 times a week.......

....by the way the posting of the ferry ride did not format in it's proper place when I published it so please excuse this as I have no idea why it went three postings down from where it should have. This blog format I am using has quite a few areas to improve on.....sigh....oh well do forgive me.....

Farewell St. John's

2007-07-02T20:04:00.000-07:00

The day after George street looks desserted.

We couldn't quite leave the city without trying Ches's which came highly recommended and ran into buddies from the party at the Brewery which we now know is called a Ceilidh pronounced "Kaylee", which means a kitchen partay, gathering of 2 or more people playing instruments and drinking a few toasts....The light was bad but this is Sandy beside me and Maureen beside Ron, who are with a group of 12 city employees from Ontario. They love George Street, and O'Reilly's as well.......

Another very friendly Newfie who allowed us to park in his lot on George St. which would normally cost us 150.00 towing charge....but as he took to Ron so well he said we could keep our car there all day if we like and have a few beers and come get it tomorrow if ye like.......

Guy tying fishing flies & music guys

Ron and I did some shopping and everything we wanted was only 2 doors down from each shop

This music shop was the best....it was the oldest shop on the oldest street in the oldest city according to the sign.....

Ferry Ride from Nfld. to Nova Scotia

2007-07-02T19:43:00.000-07:00

We decided to rent a berth on the 15 hour ferry ride as the loungers just weren't comfortable enough.
Ron and I got up after an awesome 8 hour sleep in our berths and watched the movie, Astronaut Farmer in the theatre....

Diane and Ron enjoying some fresh air.

Our berth that we had to ourselves, and there was no other people in our area.

This is Gil and Myrna, a really cool couple from Edmonton who we met on the boat tour at O'Briens.....they winter in Yuma so if we are ever in the area then we can look them up. They will also be going to the same area in Missouri we're going to so wouldn't that be something if we ran into them...Small world heh? This is Ron by our car on the car deck....look how empty it is....

G'Day From Newfieland

2007-06-23T16:19:00.000-07:00

Ye thinks the post of Nova Scotia was long well sit a wee bit and sees what ye think of Nfld.

Getting on the ferry at North Sydney where we sat for an extra 3 hours while they repaired a broken hose or something like that.

North Sydney Harbour

This ferry was at least double the size of B.C's with elevators, escalators, sleeping berths cabins, lounging chairs, bigger tables-booth style to sit in and slot machines-arcades, restaurants etc...
The seas were definitely rougher...some people were seasick.

The ships entertainment in the lounge, where we enjoyed a beverage and as the Newfie's would say some "shits and giggles".

Harbour in Port aux Basques,Nfld.

Things are

very different in Nfld.....no welcome signs so this was the best I could find...

The scenery was breathtaking and felt so untouched and unpopulated, where one could go back in time and feel the wonder of nature in all it's glorious colours and tranquillity.

This entrepreneur struck me as a very enterprising fellow with his hand in many different pies. He even came out to pose for me

Some of the absolutely breathtaking scenery along the west coast, in Gros Morne National Park. We kept running into acquaintances from the ferry along the way, each of us doing much of the same thing.....stopping at pullouts for pics, visiting the info centers, and stocking up on supplies. One gentleman said if he kept this up (stopping every few minutes for pics, it'd take him a year to get around the island. I felt the same.

Some beautiful beach shots at Lobster Cove just past Rocky Harbour, that we had all to ourselves.

Newfie mid-day break

A rockie-newfie

whale

Fjord along the Viking Trail at Western Brook, formed by a crack in the earth's crust and the plate's shifted over 1250million years ago......some say these are better than the ones found in Scandinavia.

Along the way we found that most of the coast had funky names that end with brook, pond, harbour, cove, bay, cape, arm, or point........

Eating Mussels at Cow Head
and Cod Fish and Chips.......
everything in Newfie is Cod..

We had a great time in this
town, taking in their local
talent at a live theatre show
titled "Double Axe Murder"
based on an actual true event
in the 1800's.

These local trees just blew us away......literally....they are bent over from the wind and harsh winters and are called Tuckamore trees.

Happened upon a shipwreck just past St. Paul's that happened in 1919 to the S.S. Ethie, and everyone survived including a baby they sent to shore in a mailbag.

This is Sally's Cove, a very quaint fishing village where I couldn't resist stopping to take a 1000 pictures of the local fishermen bringing in their daily catch......this one's for you George and Reggie......let's hope you can be as successful as these fellers......

Herring they
use for bait in their
lobster traps.

This is a unique pulley system they use to bring their boats up out of the water along this ramp......

Some of their Halibut catch......yummy

Love this lighthouse at Lobster Cove Head.

Ron enjoying a rest in the sunshine while I climb the rocks for my lighthouse shot.

Norris Point well worth the extra few minutes drive to see this lovely view.......

Lunch at this beautiful spot on the beach at Bonne Bay.

I can now understand why the Japanese can't help taking so many pictures. I felt just like them and couldn't get over the pure, pristine beauty of this province.

Then we arrived in St. John's Nfld. This is where you can really get the flavor of the people and learn their ways, and lingo.....totally priceless......
Street after street was lined with the most colorful rows of houses and this was the flattest, straightest street we could find. The hills and curves, yields, etc. are very reminiscent of San Francisco.

One of the many ships docked down by the pier.

We packed a lot into one day starting at the pier, downtown streets, onto here at Signal Hill, where the fog rolled in pretty thick. This fort is where the flags would signal which ships coming into port were either friendly or hostile. This historical site played a large part in fortifying the port throughout the centuries.

Site of Marconi's first Trans Atlantic wireless communication from Newfoundland to England in 1902.....

Cape Spear was next, which was our final destination, being the most easterly point in North America......we made it......we have now gone 7500 kilometers, spent 900 dollars in gas and reached the end of Canada........this spot was very dangerous, with currents and cliffs that were very slippery

Ron going as far as he dares.....

I was not going to test my footing any further either.

The final dipping in the Atlantic Ocean.....first my right foot-

Then my left foot-very
chilly-

Ron's dipping after some complaining......

Newfoundland Dogs that Ron was romping with.

Mile O where Terry Fox monument marks the spot where he dipped his leg.....

You haven't lived until you've asked a Newfie for directions. I met Paul, who didn't talk to strangers, but gave me his name, Maurice who warned us about a 150.00 towing bill we'd get if we parked where we were but since he owned the lot assured us he wouldn't have us towed away and we could go for beers and leave the car there all night if we wanted, and then there is this gent, Bill, pictured here chatting with Ron...
We had just finished our dipping and asked Bill where to find the T. Fox site. Who should show up a few minutes later, Bill.....and he led us in his car to this spot on Quidi Vidi Lake.

Most tourists don't know about this lovely little village and the locals have been racing here for over 160 years as well as enjoy a big Regatta on the 1st of Aug.

This lovely girl is demonstrating the straps her feet are in.

They were practising for their races that were to begin at 8:00 a.m. the next morning.

Then Bill advised us to go further down the road to the fishing village where we discovered this brewery which had just closed for tours. This building used to be a packing house for the village, and we were invited in to partake of the villages weekly Friday night Celtic jam.

A view of the 'gut' - a passage that leads out into the open ocean.

Ron chatting it up with Eileen, and her husband Barry, and her brother David, part owners of the establishment......very hospitable, lovely people with a wonderful accent, that I adore....Eileen tells us that when the movie makers are looking for authentic Irish accents they come to Nfld. as this island has not lost their culture and style.

With beer flowing freely, the fun, laughter, music, and friends we enjoyed an unforgettable experience at the Quidi Vidi Brewery.

As the evening wore on more musicians arrived with their guaitars, harmonica's and absolutely
fabulous voices and personalities.......

This couple are soon to be getting married at the brewery and I'm sure it'll be a party to remember.

Other part owner,/brother Charlie showed me the technique of how to use this instrument called the "Ugly Stick" that David had made in our home province of B. C.

THE GEORGE STREET EXPERIENCE..........

After freshening up at our Inn with the tail end of Happy Hour and complimentary Appies, we taxied to the most happenin' place in St. John's - where young and old gather every evening when the street is shut down to automobiles and the beer, laughter, fun, n' party is just beginnin'.

Yes, Carlo, another pic of
Ron eating again......

Had to include a shot of this authentic Newfie fare of Cod(of course) tongue and schrunchens an absolute must for all who can handle the texture of tongue.....

We started at Bridie Malloy's for dinner and finally got to sample another Newfie favorite, Jiggs Dinner, (at one truck stop they ran out by the time we got there).

Steve the 'Silver Bullet' who entertained us with his incredible talent for dance, showed up at many a place we were frequenting.

And here at O'Reilly's one of our favorite.....

My fairy dance

Another establishment we visited-as the night wore on they started to blur together-

This bongo musician took a likin' to Ron and I - he gave us some tamborines to groove with -

All kinds of talent everywhere you went indoors, outdoors, on balconies, and in the alleys........

We were pretty good at it too!!!!!

Ron on the dance floor surrounded by only women.....soon the men started to join him...........

Our bar where we did our swearing in as 'Honourary Newfie's'

This process is quite involved and you receive a diploma at the end if you are successful. You need an authentic, genuine, homegrown Newfie to swear you in-ours is standing beside me-then there is a long tongue twister to repeat after them which I believe I was the only one who said it correctly ha ha-which they accepted-and then you'll be needin to down the Schreech, and kissing the arse of a Puffin.........

We did it!!!!!!!!!!!

Some of our new Newfie friends we won't be forgettin' that we met in the wee hours of the morn.......

Our Schreech partners from Calgary,
Casey and Cheryl..........

What an unbelievable day, night, and adventure we have had in our 'New Found Land' We just love it here......and we are still goin' strong......

Nova Scotia - Part 1

2007-06-19T12:21:00.001-07:00

We have a whole lot of sites, friends, and gorgeous scenery to post and this was only a small
portion of what we saw and did. This is a long one so grab a

coffee, snack, comfy chair, sit a while and browse through the pics. When we disembarked from the P.E.I. ferry it was late, and dark so had to go back to get this pic. Luckily it wasn't far.
This historical ship, The Hector sailed from Scotland to N.S. in 1773 marking the start of many Scottish immigrants to Nova Scotia and the town of Pictou.

We were allowed t o roam around the ship, play

in the hold, & browse around the museum with no one paying any attention to us. By that I
mean in this

part of the
country they
don't have as many rules and roped off areas. You can really experience the effect of the displays.

Ron was really impressed with the old tools used to build the ships.

And the BIG knife...........

My dad's neighbour Carlos told us of his boy-

hood town of Pictou, so these pics are for him and this beach he told us about called Melmerby. Also ran into a local who might
have grown up with Carlos, but we couldn't remember his last name.

With much backtracking and back roads we finally made it out of Pictou (each road seemed to lead us back there) and we finally found the perfect spot to camp for a few days beside a babbling brook in Antigonish, (a quaint, Gaelic town that takes a day of practise to pronounce properly, otherwise the locals laugh at you).

We managed to fit in an absolutely breathtaking course for a round of golf the next day that a farmer had converted into a golf course. Quite challenging but very scenic and enjoyable.

Made it to Cape Breton and started seeing lobster everywhere.

Lobster so plentiful when in season you can get it anywhere, even at McD's. Ron tried one but thought they should use a better bun than a hot dog. Lobster was good though.

Stopped at Rita MacNeil's teahouse, a famous singer who was born and raised in the Sydney area and still lives there today. The locals will see her out and about and she mingles with them at the annual picnic benefit concert she puts on every year.

This pic of her with Anne Murray is for you dad. Anne Murray is from this area as well but she lives in Toronto and does not mingle with the locals.

Now this caught our eye the minute we got into Sydney and is one of their newer landmarks down by the pier that marks their tradition of music and song.......the fiddle actually plays music continually and is a site to behold.

We arrived at our good longtime friends house Rose, a day early, much to her surprise, but she gave us a warm welcome, a warm bed, warm meals, and many happy memories.

That evening we visited the first of Rose's 8 other siblings, Dale, and his daughter, Selah, 22. She is a wiz with the computer and found this site to show the family and will follow our journey. Dale's wife Joan is coming home Wednesday from the hospital as she has been ill, and everyone is excited to see her. Dale also has another beautiful daughter, Mary Jeannie, 26, who lives in Toronto and models, and his son Dale Jr. 24. We did get to meet their very friendly dogs, Chloe, and Zion was out back guarding the premises.

While Rose had to go to work, she's a City Homemaker Health Care assistant, we played at the various tourist attractions. This day we went to the Fort of Louisbourg and went back in time to the 18th century where we witnessed cannons, and muskets being fired, townspeople turning out for the public punishment of a boy who stole a bottle of wine and ate in the inn with

the food and utensils of that era. Very good and put you in that mindset. We weren't served our food until we put those napkins around our necks

This pic is for you dad, it is of the ice houses they used back in that century..........

The locals who work here love their jobs and actually have

to take a week course on the history of the people, times, and character's they are portraying and then they are placed with an experienced veteran. They really do an excellent job and will not step out of character. When I asked the bar wench to take our picture she was afraid to touch the camera as she had never seen such a fancy thing and made us get another tourist to take the picture.

This pic is for you Ainslie, this woman is spinning wool and she had a huge basket of it.

Rose's only sister, Sissy, (Mary), came over while Rose was still at work to greet us as we came home. This is a pic of Rose's quaint country home which she has been fixing up and restoring.

You give these two a glass of wine and they are gone after one sip.........we were laughing and carrying on as they prepared a delicious meal of pork chops, P.E.I. mashed potatos and all the trimmings.

Pic of bunny is for Grant, Lola, and Peppermint Patti and Scott..............

Then we went to brother Dennis's (the oldest) house and met Caley,11, going into grade 6 and her adorable bunny....sorry forget the bunny's name maybe send me a comment with her name and if I spelled your name wrong......Caley also has her red or brown belt in TykWonDo(spelling is all off today) and is an excellent piano player after only 2 years of lessons......playing by ear not the notes.

Caley giving Sissy a few pointers on the piano.......she didn't do too bad either.

Picture of Dennis's wife, Sheryl and Rose and me cozy on the couch being entertained by the performers.

Sissy, Dennis and Sheryl's son Clayton who is studying for exams soon, Ron, and Dennis.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY.........after an ethnic experience at Rose's church we all joined the Best family table at the Legion for a delicious breakfast. I'm sitting beside John, a 92 year old father of Rose's good friend Stephanie, who we met at church and joined us.

Here is Donnie, the second oldest brother, with his oldest daughter Jennifer who is expecting their first child, which is the first great grandchild for Mama Best and of course first grandchild for Donnie.......and Jennifer's husband Darren, Donnie's younger daughter, Alita, 22, beside Ron. Donnie also has a 27 year old son, Cory.

Here is a picture of the two who were working at the legion helping us receive our breakfast. Donnie and his buddy Avery,13, who was absolutely thrilled when he glanced at our table and said, "Oh great, the Best Family". He patiently sat beside this huge table of adults who were talking a mile a minute, wrote down every one of our orders and he actually got all of it right. Hats off to you Avery, job well done.........

Afterwards, Sissy and her husband Blair, who just got home that morning from a long haul on the road, trucking, took us to many of their local sites, and views. The day was sunny and beautiful and after we toured their lovely home that was Blair's grandparents, that they've remodelled, we started our tour.

We saw the site of the Old Steel Plant that is completely gone, Whitney Pier area that is where they all grew up, Polar Bear Beach, where an elderly gentleman had just come up the trail from a swim, and where Blair swims and enjoys the fresh sea air, surf beating on the rocks and peaceful serenity of the beach.

Fort Petrie, a historical military site which was used during WW2 and a big part of protecting the largest port of the time in Sydney Nova Scotia

The most beautiful lighthouse we've seen, Low Point Lighthouse.

Then Blair dropped us off at Mama Best's while he went home for a much needed rest that I don't think he took because he was determined to get his good neighbour fence built during his few days off.

Roger, the youngest in the Best family, with his daughter Chelsea, 10, and Roger Jr. 8, who had just enjoyed a birthday the day before, and of course the Matriarch of the family, Ma, Nan, or Mary...........however you like to address this wonderful, friendly, hardworking, fun-loving woman........

Wayne and his daughter Emilie, who had a birthday the day we left and is 9 now and these two wonderful people saw our bug splattered car and washed it to a shine while we were visiting.....a BIG THANK-YOU.

Demetrius, Dennis's son who lives with Nan, who keeps the cleanest room I've ever seen of a young man.......

We even got a chance to meet Byron, the 3rd oldest who arrived just as we were leaving. He has a boy and girl, Brandy, and Brad.

So to sum it up Mamma Best has 9 children, all of who are pictured here with some of their children except of course Gary, who is back in B.C. where we are from and who all our family knows........................as he is one of us..........

That night Rose treated us to her favorite local performers, Men of the Deeps, who are the best all men singers I have ever heard. Everyone of them have been coal miners and they are the only coal miner group in North America and have travelled all over the world. They did this concert in a little local hall close to their home in Glace Bay for a charity benefit for a church that had burned down. This is why we were right up front and got to mingle with them during the break, got pictures with them, and got to chat. Rose's family grew up with one of them who recognized her and joined us in the pic. Never been more thrilled and entertained. Almost all of them did a solo which was awesome.

Seely Bridge on the way to Baddeck where Alexander Graham Bell had a summer mansion and his musuem of all his inventions are housed. Absolutely spectacular man, and his accomplishments and life story is too numerous to put in here but we were in awe.

Baddeck is the start and finish of the Cabot Trail so we went
to one of the most scenic, highest points, an hour away at
Cape Smokey, but as you can see the fog was way too thick to see much........sigh......can't win them all.....however the
coastline, cliffs, greenery, and landscape was beautiful and

we did enjoy the drive......

Rose told us of the best chicken in Cape Breton so of course we had to try it.........and we brought her home a bucket of it for supper that night.

Ron got into character with his bucket of chicken.........

We are off to Newfoundland and then will finish our tour of Nova Scotia on the return trip Part II.....................

Island of P.E.I.

2007-06-14T09:48:00.001-07:00

These first pics are of our last day in N.B. and enjoying our

feast of lobster and stroll
along the beach watching the sun set. Pure beauty, and very romantic.

Crossing the Confederation Bridge to P.E.I. was an awesome experience. The longest bridge in the world at 12 kilometers. There is a toll only when going back for $40.00.

Hello P.E.I. these pictures prove how beautiful it is here. The earth is red from all the iron in the soil, the emerald green fields are from plenty of moisture, and the blue of the sea is sapphire. Just breathtaking scenery. We just loved it and took hundreds of pictures around every bend in the road.

Anne of Green Gables and this house is the original one that inspired the story.

The grounds and trails around the park are just beautiful.

Leaving P.E.I. on the ferry to Nova Scotia. The weather has definately turned cooler.

Another beautiful sunset on the ferry, which took 75 minutes to cross and costs more than the Vancouver Island ferries at $64.00 for the car but you can pile as many people in the vehicle as you can for that one price.

P.E.I. is a beautiful little island and it is well worth the trip to see it. Charlottetown has lots of beauty and history as well. We enjoyed every minute over there and wish we could have stayed longer but us gypsies must move on. We have been gone for a month and a half and are half way through our journey. We still have Nova Scotia to tour and Newfoundland before we start our trek back through the states so have to get a move on. So far we have gone 6700 kilometers and we'll post the final total when we get to the farthest eastern most point in Newfie. Till next time..........................The Matrix Gypsies

Breathtaking New Brunswick

2007-06-09T16:41:00.000-07:00

We thought we had seen the prettiest provinces already, but each is more surprising than the next. This one feels so untouched with it's rolling hills and valleys, quaint little villages - each with a unique flare that "wows" a person and a shoreline along the Bay of Fundy that is truly spectacular. To start our adventure here we were stopped just after the border by a road block. We thought it was an accident so when the cop came to my side of the window I was stunned. I just stared at him like a deer in headlights - first encounter for me since I was a teenager - and Ron had to tell me to unroll the window to find out what he wanted. As I was covered in maps from the tourist info center a few miles back to figure out our next route, he leaned in the window and asked where we're headed. I stuttered, "uh, uh, - I think Grand Falls probably" - he chuckled, "just vacationing?", and waved us on. We laughed our heads off for several miles because of our welcome to the province and my reaction. We did see many radar traps set up along the beginning of our journey. This first picture is of Grand Falls which is 75 feet high and has close to the same water volume as Niagara Falls.

This is the world's longest covered bridge in Hartland, N.B. on the St. John's river. Legend has it that if you close your eyes from start to finish and make a wish it comes true - only if you're not the driver of course. Also in the old days the young men trained their horses to stop half way to kiss their sweethearts much to the horror of the public community, and the final legend was of Sal The Famous Flying Salmon, self explanatory, being the biggest salmon ever and he was showing off by leaping over the bridge to show off his size to the local fishermen.......

A picture of Ron in St. Andrews enjoying

the best seafood chowder he's ever tasted, crammed full of lobster, crab, shrimp, scallops, clams, and NO potatoes.

Ron and I needed a break from the road, so rested in this beautiful spot that we had to ourselves for 2 days before all the locals showed up to their favorite camping spot on the St. John's River at Harding Point in Grand Bay, close to St. John's. We enjoyed the peace, tranquillity, and the sounds and sights of nature frolicking in the summer sun.

Campfires at night. My 'happy place'.

Strolling through the pathways.

Ron enjoying some cave time.

We were entertained by a father with his kids flying a remote-control plane. (This one's for you Colleen).

We did a whirlwind tour of the rest of the Bay of Fundy trail the next day, which reminded me a lot of how Ron's dad used to vacation.

This first pic is of the Reversing Falls (river higher than the ocean at one point when the tide is out and reverses when the tide comes in), at St. John's.

Off to St. Martin's - such a quaint, beautiful little village - where we had another bowl of the best Seafood Chowder in the world - and we walked along the sea caves at low tide where I collected some pretty rocks. (Just what Ron wanted-ha, ha, to lighten our growing load in the Matrix).

Then it was a race for time to get to our last point of interest here at the Hopewell Rocks to see the formations that were created by the highest tides in the world. We arrived right at 5:00 when they were closing but they allowed us to go at our own risk - which meant we had to leave our car outside the gates - but we snuck in. We also avoided the 8.00 charge per person, and proceeded to power walk for 20 minutes up and down to get a sight of this phenomena. After worrying if we'd be locked in as everyone suddenly disappeared we lucked out and got out in the knick of time. Whew, were we elated and exhausted. Lots of fun stuff and beauty to behold though. So we knew we didn't have the energy to set up camp again tonight so drove at a more leisurely pace to the next big town - Moncton - where we couldn't find a Motel anywhere. That decided it for us to continue to our next point of interest, Shediac, which is the lobster capital of the world. Lobster is in season by the way. We noticed buoys in the water with trees attached as we crossed the bridge into town and assume those are lobster traps. We found a lovely kitchenette that is almost as big as Dave's condo, but not quite, and decided to stay a couple of days.

Ron is excited about the price but we don't feel like cooking it ourselves, so will go to the best restaurant here in town tonight.............

Quebec City Tour

2007-06-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

Leaving Montreal was hard but we were advised to take the scenic route to Quebec City - around a four hour drive along the St. Lawrence seaway. Our head was on a swivel, I did not offer to drive for Ron, and we had to stop several times along the way to take pics. Every little town was so unique and different with beautiful cathedrals, mansions, castles, gingerbread houses and rich farmland and dairies along the way.

I had to do my ritual dipping in the waters (Ron called Baptism) and he made me get out in the middle of this bridge and take this picture.

We did a two hour tour of the "Old Quebec" and we were just wowed. The city was the first in Canada back in 1608 and they are celebrating their 400 year anniversary next year. They will be having the world hockey, the Pope, and U2.

Place Royale

There is so much history and the buildings are the oldest in Canada with the only city in North America encircled by a 30-50 foot thick wall, 5 kilometers long and with three gated entrances. They have preserved all the original buildings, and cathedrals that are no longer in use have been converted into condos. The only thing we can say is we'll be back, as there was too much to explore and everyone should experience this city, tourism being their number one industry.

This building has a mural which tells a story of the old and new Quebec which took 9 months to paint. It is the scene where Steven Speilberg filmed parts of "Catch Me if you Can" with Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio, which is a true story.

Beautiful Dutch Elms which is the Provinces' National tree.

One of the gates entering the Old Quebec, Jacques Cartier, I believe.

Ron going down the artist's lane where we purchased some black and white prints of the historical 'Old Quebec'. The rain was coming down pretty hard so they have their art covered from above and all the adorable outdoor cafes were empty.

Ron enjoying a delicious Chocolate Duet which I scolded him we didn't need, but after one bite I almost polished off the whole dessert. After our tour we enjoyed a bowl of the best ever French Onion soup and Ron had soup d' jour, which was Eggplant and Mushroom, with homemade rolls, and absolutely delicious.

2007-06-04T06:49:00.000-07:00

Here we are in beautiful Montreal, staying at Motel Pignons Rouges (anyone who knows what
that means please let me know). We took our very first subway ride to the downtown where we tried the flavour of Montreal's famous cuisine......Montreal smoked meat on rye with Dijon and later their famous St. Viatuer Montreal Bagels (since 1957) cooked in a wood burning oven (nominated for one of Canada's seven wonders). We took a '3 hour' bus tour of

the city and there are a few pics of the Notre Dame Basilica which was breathtaking(Canada's Celine Dion was married here). Drove by the Expo 67 architecture designed by a Frenchman at the age of 21. Saw where Pierre Elliott Trudeau lived and Brian Mulroney up on the hill. A pic at the lookout up top of the city of Montreal. Too hazy to see the Laurentians. The city is very vibrant and the day of our tour there was over 30,000 on a bike ride around the Botanical Gardens/Old Montreal area. The day before was the Ladies Race-they had to go up that hill we were on 11 times on their circuit-reallllyyy in shape.......we went down to the harbour and saw where the Cirque Du Soleil tents were set up and some large sailboats.
Then we passed the area they are setting up for the Formula I Grand Prix race next week. We're going to miss that one George......there's lots of hype and excitement around here for that.
Oh yeah, we drove by the site where there's a Brad Pitt movie being shot. Lots of girls hanging around there......I would be one of them if I could have got off the bus......

We got dropped of in Chinatown, walked through the narrow cobblestone streets of old Montreal, enjoying the sites, flavor, and activity of the people of the city. We passed several streets that were filled with clowns, acrobats, vendors, etc. that is an open-air European type market/carnival that runs every weekend. Wow, what a cool place to explore. Of course there were lots of roller coasters and rides for the people to experience over there as well. Au revoir - off to Quebec City - a 3 hour drive.........

Good-Bye Ontario-Hello Quebec

2007-06-02T14:53:00.000-07:00

We've been travelling pretty steady with only one night stops everywhere. After S.St. Marie we spent the night at Mattawa and took some pics down by the harbour where the two rivers meet-Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers. Then on to Petawawa (a lot of awawa's in this area) were you can see Ron's school and the PMQ's where he lived from ages 5-9. A lot has changed but you can see the trees to the side of them where Ron climbed higher than the PMQ roof and his dad yelled at him to get down. Gene was on the roof fixing the aerial and looked over and saw Ronnie climbing in the treetops. Then we toured the beach (just beautiful and sandy) where Ronnie would ride his bike to play there against his mommy's instructions. After this tour we left for the next nearest town, Pembroke, and spent the night. Beautiful town with a fair at the boardwalk for the weekend. I got my picture by the TDCT bank which had a mural on it like most of the buildings had. There are yellow ribbons everywhere, around people, buildings, and cars, which means they support the troops. We splurged that night and went for Mexican at the Santa Fe restaurant, just yummy. We decided to live up to our gypsy name and move onward out of Ontario and say hello to Quebec. After much instruction at the tourist booth we got them to reserve us a Motel and give us directions there which is on the eastend of Montreal. A little nerve racking going through the over/under passes and manouevering through the many lanes and traffic. Ron did fabulous in his "HAPPY LANE" (the middle). We have to get a good nights sleep for our Montreal touring tomorrow.......

Rossport-Sault Saint Marie

2007-05-31T06:55:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pics of the famous sleeping giant. I had to get this shot as my first view of him was when we were looking for Safeway downtown and I instantly knew what I was looking at. Haven't heard the outcome of the vote for the 7 wonder's of Canada but good luck to Thunder Bay's 'sleeping giant'. I also included a Dam pic for Aunt Tippy and Uncle Ernie that I had to hop out of the car on a busy street in T.Bay to take, just as an O.P.P.(Ontario Police Patrol) went by. Luckily, it didn't faze him. After packing up the motel from a week's visit we carried onward to Mike's at Rossport. He has a gem of a spot right on Lake Superior and the mouthwatering smells that greeted us at his door were superb. Felt right at home with Mike and learned lots from his earlier days with Gr.Grannie Hebert, who taught him many skills involving hunting, fishing, and how to give back to the land when you take from it. Mike is Aunt Fran's oldest and has fond memories of all the elders of the clan. We met Mike's girlfriend Sharon, and the adventures she has had while working in the Middle East back in the 70's kept me captivated. We enjoyed a rotisserie prime rib roast, stuffed potatoes, squash, wine, lemon meringue pie and very good times. Thank-you for a wonderful evening Mike and Sharon. We stayed the night 15 min. away at Schriber and then I drove from Marathon to Wawa to give Ron a break. Some pics of sites along the way that we thought were cute. Made it all the way to Sault Ste. Marie and spent the night in another motel as the heat, humidity, and long drive had done us in and of course we needed a t.v. to watch the Ottawa/Ducks game. As we travel east we have run out of family and the only Canadian Tire dealers on our route will be Real in Lavelle Quebec. We'll try and look him up. We are going to travel steady now till we hit Petawawa. Cute names eh? That is some earlier years Ron did some growing up in..........

Thunder Bay - Part II

2007-05-29T10:06:00.000-07:00

I have been informed that this train is moving on in about 10 minutes. Here are a few more pics and a quick update. We had a visit from Mary Ann, who was raised by Grannie Storry and I guess you would say is our Aunt/Cousin. She has 2 grown children and she and her partner are very excited about moving into their own place next month. Good Luck in the move Mary Ann and it was great to see your pictures of your family. We then left for the hospital to visit Aunt Barb and meet with Doug as I mentioned before. They were getting ready to move Aunt Barb to the rehab hospital, St. Joseph's, for a week to get her new knee up to ship shape. The hospital here is new and quite impressive. By the way, most of the aunts, cousins, and friends, all work at the hospital. We had a great time with A.Barb and Doug and I wish we could have had more time with them and everyone. We went to Uncle Les's and Norma's famous Sunday dinner after that but before arriving we took A.Barb's suggestion and snuck up her old driveway for a peek at the old homestead site. Brought back many memories for Ron. I can see why all you kids had so much fun there. It almost made me wish we were back in time and could experience it first hand. Well what a lovely family Uncle Les and Norma have. Their oldest daughter, Lisa, and her husband Rick arrived at the same time as us. Their oldest son Dean was already there and youngest son Jason and girlfriend, Kelsey were working on her car with Uncle Les. Melissa was at work but we were glad we got to meet her a few days ago when we were out. We had so much fun and ate so gooooddd, it was over all too quick. Thank you two for a great experience and all your tips on travel in the states. Yesterday we went to Aunt Fran's to return her photo/Storry history book and take her to lunch, but we sat on her lovely covered deck (beautiful, sunny day) and had coffee and her delicious butter tarts instead. Got a few pics off her computer that I'll post now and I'll give you a hint.....ones about hunting......then off to Tammy and Gerry's for a fun-filled afternoon of appys, refreshments, good company, reminiscing, and laughter. We were served a lovely spaghetti dinner, Greek salad, Garlic toast (that I was craving) and Cleo, her husband Don arrived after their work. Met Tammy's two boys, Corbin and Travis who breezed in, ate some snacks and went off to baseball. Michael's daughter Chi and her daughter Cynthia came over and we got to know them as well. Chi was very pleased to receive a stack of children's books from Gerry that he deposited in her truck. I heard there was about 100 of them but she didn't have that much room so probably got about half. By the way, the girls pic has four generations in it. Great times, that Ron and I will never forget. We are both really looking forward to the next reunion, hopefully within a year or two and then maybe Ron and all his family, including Rob and Cathy and families will be able to make it.

Thunder Bay - Part I

2007-05-26T14:10:00.000-07:00

Wow......what can I say? We have been meeting and getting reacquainted with relatives everyday since we've been here. BIG FAMILY......where do I start? I'll try and keep it shorter and to the point, otherwise there won't be room for pictures. After leaving the Landmark Hotel where I did most of my recuperating from the virus we seeked out and found a very reasonable, clean, newly renovated motel to spend the week while visiting the clan. Without letting Aunt Barb know where we were she happened to spot our blue Matrix with the Yakima on top and BC license plates on their way back from KFC. She surprised us with a welcoming hug, cupcakes, and a bottle of their homemade wine. We visited with Aunt Barb and Uncle Murray, saw their quaint, beautifully decorated garden and viewed all of their art, carvings, and masterpieces. Very talented family as I hear their son Clyde has inherited their artist skills. I'm sure the whole family has inherited many talents including their good looks. Aunt Barb was going in for her knee surgery the next morning and is recuperating remarkably well from her ordeal as we visited her today in the hospital and is as spunky as ever. We met with Doug, her eldest son there, who is an avid golfer, fisher, and hunter. (More pics coming in Part II). The next day, Thursday, we were invited to Aunt Fran's and she organized a lovely homemade Chinese dinner for us where we met her eldest daughter Cleo, youngest daughter Tammy, and husband Gerry, and second eldest son Pat and girlfriend Sheri. Mary Ann came over briefly to meet us and take pictures. Pat and his sister Cleo are also avid hunters, and fish and he makes his own sausage and butchers his own game. Aunt Fran lent Ron her book on the Storry Heritage so he could get some reprints of his lineage. While Ron was doing that the next day I happened to spot a Winners store in the same vicinity and spent my time there-what a hardship. From there we visited Uncle Carl who showed us all his pictures. He is doing remarkably well after a severe stroke that affected his motor skills. He talks in one syllables and needs assistance to walk (cane,walker,wheelchair), but goes out around the boulevard every day and does all his own cooking. Good for him.....That night we got a call from Uncle Leslie to come out for a visit as they were all out around the backyard fire. So I finally got to check out the famous Onion Lake Rd. Aunt Barb and fam., Granny and Gramps, and Aunt Teen all used to live out there, where Ron visited as a boy. Lots of stories and memories were shared about the adventures and hardships of their lives out there. It was great to meet Uncle Les and his wife Norma, neighbors, and their youngest daughter Melissa, 24. She has completed her schooling for an x-ray tech. and before that was in the veterinarian field. Good for her. They will be celebrating soon with a huge party for her which her parents are famous for in their beautiful back yard. They have redone the house, put in a basement and made the property look like a park. Melissa has a real soft spot, like her mother, for any animal needing rescued so the family is expanding with 3 beautiful cats, and a Basset Hound dog, Lucy, who took immediately to Ron and strutted her stuff. So on Saturday we were 'graced' with a visit from Uncle Aurie who stayed a good long time to fill us in on all the happenings throughout the years. After his visit my mission was complete and I had met all of Ron's Uncle's and Aunt's. There is lots of gestures, expressions, traits, and features that you can see have been passed down to the next generation. Our last visit in Part I was with cousin Bill, Aunt Barb's youngest son, and we went out to a restaurant called Gargoyles which was packed with grads. Bill's wife Kathy was not feeling very well as she had been battling the same virus I had been so couldn't make it. We did learn about their 2 children Kindell who is married now to Joshua and their son Brandon. No grandchildren yet but like us are sure they will be arriving in the not too distant future. We had a great time with Bill who is into millwork and kept very busy. Of course he hunts, fishes and makes his own sausage as well. Such talent and I'm so glad the clan has learned these skills to pass on down to future generations. These skills are all part of survival as well as a lot of fun but I hear there is a lot of work involved. More pics of the families coming in Part II.

HAPPY 27TH BIRTHDAY GRANT

2007-05-25T09:02:00.000-07:00

Grant is celebrating his 27th today and we are sending him our well wishes from Thunder Bay. For those of you who don't know he is our 1st born son and we are so proud of him. He is pictured here on a beautiful beach in Victoria not far from his house, where he took us to do our Pacific Dipping for the start of our journey X-Canada. He is also the one that convinced his dad to use his old Cannon digital camera that he used on his trek across Europe which I am grateful for as it takes way better pics. Grant made it so easy for us to learn how to blog by setting this up for us with plenty of back-up instructions. Thank-you El Senior!!!!! Have a great retreat, with plenty of surprises I'm sure from lovey Lola, his wife and we are sending you all kinds of happy thoughts and wishes..........

DryCampOut North of DRYden

2007-05-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

What a blast......We rolled into Dryden around 4:00 p.m. Thursday the 17th and spent the evening with Ted, Heather, their son Chris, 12 and their daughter Samantha soon to be 19, & her boyfriend B.J. We had delicious moose steak (haven't had that since my grandpa bagged his last moose back in the late 70's or 80's), mushrooms, and fixin's. Then we packed up the next day after everyone got off work and the relatives started rollin' in from all over-Brett, Rhonda, and girls Sydney & Alora , and dog Timber, from St. Andrews Mb. near Winnipeg, and Deb and Heather, and dog, Hope from Thunder Bay, On. - Dryden being the half way mark.

Our convoy being complete we had to water up, pack up, gas up, bait up (live bait - minnows), and we finally left around 7:30 p.m. to head up north to the boonies. Ted & Heather in the lead towing his new boat, us in the matrix behind him, Deb & Heather in their 24 ft. R.V. behind us towing a boat behind them for their 1st time and Brett & Rhonda hanging a few km. behind (to avoid all the dust) in their brand new 30 ft. trailor. We did slow down to view my 1st live moose in the wild that stood very nicely on the side of the road for my perusal. (We did happen upon a large deceased one on the side of the road on our trip into Dryden). After several stops to drop a live bait trap and others to make sure we were all accounted for, we arrived at Lac Seul around 9:00 p.m. We were in for a surprise by the weather as it rained, hailed, sleet, snowed, along with gale force winds and cooled off to 0 degrees. May long weekend usually delivers a mixed bag as the weekend before it was hot - shorts weather with a fire ban on. Needless to say the fire ban was lifted allowing us a toasty warm fire. The first night we set up, -Ted and Heather had brought their camper up the day before, but as the winds increased and the temp. dropped all tents, and screen tents were brought down as they weren't staying up anyway. We decided to put all our crates and camp gear in the front 2 seats and just sleep in the back of the Matrix without setting up our tent as it didn't look like it would stay put anyway. Was quite cozy and kept us warm but hard to get in and out of in the middle of the night when nature called. Heather's cousin Carol and partner Rick were all set up in a trailor one step up from a bowler with son Matt and daughter Brook. We all kept warm in Brett & Rhonda's 30 ft. trailor that was big enough for us all and chowed down on Heather's delicious Chili, that she had the foresight to have premade. I must admit I had to start taking off sweaters in there from the warmth of all those bodies. Brett & Rhonda, Deb & Heather all had generators so they had heat, and electricity in their units. These were the main hang-outs during the bad weather and we were offered shelter the next nights in these units which we gratefully accepted.

The next day was filled with cheer, laughter, and fishing. Bad weather or not this hardy breed of cousins bundled up and with fishing gear in hand braved the elements to bring us home some fish for our cookout Saturday night. After their catch of the day-6 in total-I'm not sure the outcome of the fishing derby but I do know the first was caught by Rhonda's daughter and Brett, Deb, and Ted caught the rest of the first days feed. You haven't lived till you've tasted Ted's downhome recipe for Pickeral and Pike (another one of my first's.) I was put in charge of testing the oil for the french fries and did a pretty good job if I do say so myself. As I was busy taking pics I did miss the art of Ted's filleting of the fish which is a sight to behold. He was done in a matter of minutes, hence my missing the most of it. Once the meal was prepared outdoors in our hosts premade handy kitchen, the food was brought indoors to our favorite dining room, (B&R's trailor) and with 2 salads that were made by Carol and you can't have a cookout without pork and beans, made by Heather, we all enjoyed a hearty meal. Best fish and chips I've ever tasted. We ended the evening with a huge bonfire, smors, and lots of fun and laughter.

Ron and I left the next morning, Sunday, as I did get that cold/flu I was trying to shake off, lost my voice and really didn't want to spread anymore germs than I already had. So after hugs and goodbyes we set out for getting out of the woods and thanks to all our cousins who made our long weekend a really exciting experience and one we'll always remember. We made it to Dryden without any difficulty, stocked up on cold medicine, and rolled into Thunder Bay several hours later on fumes (again), because we heard from Deb there was a gas war going on and held out till we made it there. The Matrix is amazing. So far we've spent only $330.00 to get to this point which I heard from Deb is the bellybutton of Canada (exactly half way across). We've been holed up in a hotel for three days to get our sleep, and recuperate. Check out our latest pics and we are checking out tomorrow to visit a huge list of clan we haven't seen in years, some over 30-34 years (for Ron that is) and some I have never met. Till next time signing out at Thunder Bay. Ron and Di P.S. Our son says the comment option hasn't showed up on our last few posts. I don't know if it will show this time but I couldn't find where to locate it to make sure. If anyone knows how to get it back please email us the answer.

Lac du Bonnet Visit

2007-05-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

Here we are at Colleen and Richard's parents, Aunt Tippy and Uncle Ernie in Lac du Bonnet for 3 funfilled action packed days. We ate fabulous home cooked meals that WE couldn't stop pigging out on and Aunt Tippy gave us many good tips and ideas for creating a feast for company. Thank-you Aunt Tippy!!!!!! Uncle Ernie drove us all around to 5 or 6 of the seven dams in the area and when he asked if we'd like to see more on the last day I had to admit to him, "I'm dammed out today and that's for dam sure!!!!!" New family joke. He also showed us the street named after his family where the old farm was, the atomic energy plant where he worked for close to 30 years or more and the surrounding area. This is cottage country for all the Winnipegians and is absolutely beautiful with many swimming and fishing holes. Just loved our visit.....Uncle Ernie made Ron a walking stick he acquired on one of our dam trips. Thank-you so much Uncle Ernie and Aunt Tippy.....saw lots of critters, the bunny who adopted U. Ernie in his back garden, a mother black bear and her 2 cubs, 6 deer (some we narrowly missed), a bit of road kill that smelled pretty fresh (skunk), and a mink that I missed cause I was too busy yakking in the back seat with Aunt Tippy......p.s. I'm still fighting off that cold and it hasn't got me yet...p.p.s.s....we even got a round of golf in at the Black Bear course nearby, our first of the trip and very enjoyable.

Visit with Colleen and Brittany

2007-05-18T08:48:00.000-07:00

Take a look at these pics of cousin Colleen and Brittany we took when they visited us on the farm for a whole evening of fun before we left for Lac du Bonnet. Colleen is Ron's age and very busy with ballet, dance, and sewing costumes for the troupe. It was great for me to finally meet her and her daughter, Brittany, 12 who is more busier than her mom in dance, teaching dance, swimming (soon to be a lifeguard), school, and she wants to be a veternarian. What a sweetie.

Then Ron and I spent a night in Selkirk, a quaint town northeast of St. Andrews for our first hotel stay of our trip. We phoned home and it was great to hear our son's voices on Mother's Day and reconnect. Wished mom a "happy one" and cousin Coll and Geo are taking good care of the Don and Dona because they were out fishing and playing while we tried to call. What good cuz's. Had a mother's day dinner at Barney Gargle, (thanks for the tip Rhonda), which was absolutely delicious. Happy Birthday Crystal, our newly engaged neice back home.

St. Andrews/Winnipeg

2007-05-14T07:12:00.000-07:00

Love this blogging. Not only does it save on hard copies of your travel diaries but it forces you to keep your pics more organized. We've been in the country for several days with no internet access, hence the long delay between updates. I met Ron's Aunt Amber and Uncle Ron for the first time since we were married back in '79. Everything you've ever heard about 'Friendly Manitoba' is absolutely true. They have a breathtaking farm in St. Andrews with land as far as the eye can see. There's crops and cattle and little critters running around everywhere, and not just the four legged kind. The door was always open to their 3 children and 6 + 1 grandchildren. We were in for a pleasant surprise when we arrived Tues. Uncle Ron had taken his youngest daughter to Winnipeg to have their 7th grandchild a 7lb. 13 ounce baby girl. See pic of the little darling. From the moment we arrived we were welcomed like the long lost prodigal relatives we were back in B.C. and ate some of the best Ukrainian foods we've ever tasted. Uncle Ron's mom taught Aunt Amber everything she knew. Yummy!!!! Being only 15 minutes north of Winnipeg it was a quick hop to v isit the sites there. Aunt and Uncle treated us to the Aviation Museum, saw the quaint buildings downtown, and a few high rises and ate at the famous Royal Forks Buffet. The next day Ron and I ventured off on our own and he showed me his boyhood haunts and houses in the St. James area. I was surprised at how spoiled he was with all the amenities at his disposal just off the army base-gym, bowling alley, swimming pool with high dive towers, indoor rifle range, cinema with 25 cent movies(including the popcorn) and even a pretty decent sliding hill and outdoor hockey rinks. The whole area felt safe and like you were in the country but was right in the city. Winnipeg's population is approx. 1 million but really spread out so to me it seems like a quaint city. After all our reminiscing we went to the Assinboine Park which is equivalent to Stanley Park back home and we watched a bit of a crickett match. We had a lovely lunch at the Conservatory and then took in the zoo. Back on the farm we enjoyed a fabulous evening at U. Ron, /A.Amber's oldest child Rhonda's for a delicious steak/chicken BBQ. Rhonda and Brett have a nice home at one end of the road with a pool, chickens, dogs, cats, and 2 daughters, Sydney 6, and Alora 4. The rest of Uncle Ron's and Aunt Amber's children are Adam and his wife Tina, with 18 month old adorable twins a boy, Tristen and girl, Chloe, who loved to dance for us (I have a video on my camera of that), and Linda (who was giving birth so we just got to meet her the night before we left-in the hospital only an extra day) and her husband Lorne, with 3 children, Connell 3, Morena 1, and Keira 2 days old. She will be kept verrrryyy busy for awhile. All the children live across or down the road from A. Amber/U.Ron's and have lovely new homes. We were welcomed in and enjoyed meeting these wonderful, genuine, hard working family members. A BIG THANK-YOU for helping make our Manitoba experience spectacular! Happy Mother's Day to all you mom's and a Huge, GIGANTIC, HAPPY BIRTHDAY today to our darling neice back home in Brentwood Bay, Vancouver Island, MAEVE, who is turning 6 today!!!!!!! Big hugs and kisses.........XOXOXO Keep up the comments, we love it. Miss everyone back home but having a blast....Off to Lac du Bonnet now.....till next time, Diane and Ron

Two Day Retreat at the Rubber Ducky

2007-05-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

Ron and I were so happy to get off the TCH and see some back country in Sask. and Mb. Really beautiful. See pic of me dipping in Lake Manitoba during our lunch break at a nice picnic spot. Meant to mention how well we have been eating at all our stops. See pic of Ron's colorful plate at the picnic table last night. Also, we can still taste the delicious native food of El Salvador, called "Pupusas" we were served with our full turkey dinner at Ron's cousins Richard in Yorkton. His wife Donia is a good cook. The Ukranian homemade sausage, and perogies were mouth watering that Dianne Penny served in Dauphin. We are going to have to watch our waistlines. We are really enjoying our 2 days of R&R and 32 degree weather. Spending most of the day lounging at the pool and meeting local Winnipegians. Hot Tub is nice at night and can't beat the campfire and wall to wall stars. Yikes, it's tic season everyone. Had to deal with one already in my hair. Tomorrow we're off to St. Andrews MB. Will keep you posted. Ron and Di.

Dauphin MB

2007-05-08T08:19:00.000-07:00

What a quaint little prairie town. We are in Ukarainian Territory now. Beautiful area, friendly people and we found out you get air miles for all your liquor store purchases in all of Manitoba. Yippeee.....Met up with our good buds from Canadian Tire, Darren and Dianne, who have a store about the same size as the North Kamloops. Caught up with them and they are doing great, had a delicious BBQ Ukarainian (spelling unsure) meal, were royally entertained by their 2 lovely young daughters, Sara and Samantha and pet dog Oden. What a great time and community, would love to come back. Hey it sounds like everyone is having too much fun back in Salmon Arm, Dad and mom have been out fishing with cousins George and Colleen and I hope they save us some of their fish when we get back. Onward to just west of Winnipeg for a few days of camping. We'll keep you posted. Love to hear from you all.

Travelling onward to Saskatchewan

2007-05-07T15:02:00.000-07:00

We travelled from Calgary on to Strathmore and stopped for Timmy's of course. I took over driving from here to Medicine Hat so I could experience driving on the prairie's and I can now understand how exciting an actual hill or curve can be. Nice to give Ron a break and he appreciated it because hey ma, he saw a turkey buzzard on the fencepost as we were passing by Bossano, neat huh? The sign going into Bossano says something like "The Best Little Town in the West for Dam Sure" Bossano has an airport/dam/but Ron wouldn't let me stop to take a pic. Saw the largest Teepee in the World at Medicine Hat (metal), but I had to agree with Ron, it's just too much to keep stopping and taking pics. We did 9 hours driving thru the rest of AB, and on into Sask. and rolled into Swift Current on fumes as it was a longer stretch than we expected to the next service. No time change in Sask. which helps. Passed by the big moose in Moose Jaw, temp. is 19 degrees, changed into sandals. Stopped at Buffalo Lookout Campground just outside of Regina and set up our Matrix tent, and the wind, rain, and storm rolled in but hey, it was a fun experience. (Ha, ha) Nice facilities, free showers, internet, laundry, and breakfast. All for $12.00. Good Place to stay if you're ever camping thru Sask. We packed up our wet tent, plastic, and left camp for Yorkton, Sask. off the beaten track on Hwy. 10. Beautiful rolling hills, and lakes in the Echo Valley and nice to leave the TCH. Arrived at Ron's cousin's Rick and his lovely family, Donia, and her 3 kids, Edgar 20, Vicki 18, and Stephanie 15. Sorry to miss the other 2 of this very active, busy, large family, Matthew 15 and Samantha 13. Hope to meet them next time. We were welcomed and fed with true good ol prairie hospitality, and enjoyed the company of their good friends from El Salvador. Really nice to get to know Rick, who Ron hadn't seen for over 30 years, and we sure hope he and his family get a chance to visit us in B.C. some day. Oh yeah, Ron saw a sign as we were passing through Melville (in Echo Valley), that said "lots for sale $200". We were sure it was a type O but after asking Rick he assured us they were practically giving the land away to get people to move to their town. Take a look at a few pics....stay tuned for our Dauphin MB visit.......

Calgary Visit

2007-05-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

Had a great day with Becky and her 2 darling boys Clayton and Robbie. Enjoyed an early dinner at Kelsey's, after which Becky went to work while Ron and I enjoyed a walk to the park with the boys and took the LONG short-cut back home (according to Clayton who said all he needed was a big drink of water and then lets go back out walking). By the way, what happened to those Canucks? Glad we missed the last game, I wouldn't have any voice left. Ron has made arrangements with our next contacts in Saskatchewan, will keep you posted. Leaving early tomorrow morning. Thanks for the comments, keep them coming........

Bon Voyage Salmon Arm

2007-05-04T10:31:00.000-07:00

After a fun send off by our buds we packed up and left dodge on Thursday afternoon. Oh yeah, with not too many frayed nerves and yelling. We are sure we remembered everything and did manage to fit 3 months of camping gear, golf clubs, and personal effects into our compact Matrix with Ron's excellent organizational skills. As you can see by the pic we hit snow at the border and we had just taken off our winter tires. Arrived at Becky's in Calgary just at the witching hour. She offered us shelter and hospitality which we greatly appreciated.

Happy Birthday Boys

2007-05-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

Happy times were had by all on the 24th (The Don's) and 29th (Ron's) birthdays. They are both young at heart and take a look at a few pics.

Dipping in the Pacific

2007-04-09T10:09:00.000-07:00

The day started with a blustery wind and rain but cleared up for our BIG dipping event. This is so much fun and a great learning curve (blogging). Take a look at the pics. The last one is a pic of our farewell lunch with G&L and we headed home to the Shuswap.

The Beginning of our Journey - Victoria, B. C.

2007-04-08T22:16:00.001-07:00

We are starting this X-Canada journey on Easter Sunday April 8, 2007, while visiting our oldest son and daughter-in-law, in Victoria, B. C. which is our western most point of Canada and we will Christen our trip by dipping our feet in the Pacific Ocean.

We have had a great weekend with our boys and by the way, Grant is throwing pizza at his dad. Charlie is our newest addition to the family, who we've been informed is our granddog and boy oh boy is he BIGGGGG. Good protection for our lovely Lola. Watch out anyone who might be quietly showing up.

We have enjoyed a great family Easter Weekend in Victoria with our youngest son arriving a couple days ago and a big party was enjoyed by all at The Jungle Room... So nice of G&L to plan a party for Dave. Thank-you from all. Well, hello to all and please let us know how you're doing, as I'll be checking my gmail regularly and look forward to hearing from all of you throughout our trip.

Cheers. Ron & Di