Christmas 2022

We had a wonderful Christmas. Filled with family, good food and lots of fun. And Santa even stopped by!

Harper performed in a Xmas performance at his school. He’s such a good reader. 

Bright lights at Memorial Park in White Rock.  It was beautiful. I met up with Mike, Teeny, Jameson & Weston.



Beautiful lights.



Paul, Kiara, Landon and Harper.



We had record breaking snowfall and cold temperatures right up until Christmas.  It’s now warmed up and the rain has washed the snow away. It was beautiful but it’s much easier to get around now. 

Back up and running!

Thought I should update my blog for anyone following me.  I have recovered from my surgery better than expected.  Only two days in hospital and a couple of days in the caring hands of my sister and then I was home.  Taking it easy and slowing down which is difficult for me.  I am now starting to get bored so that is definitely a sign that I am almost back to normal.  The biopsy is back and it’s good news.  Better than my doctor anticipated!  My family spoiled me with a wonderful birthday celebration which left me feeling loved.  I so appreciate and love my wonderful family and friends.

Sweet girls, Sophie and Nora (my niece’s children)

My lovely grandsons, Harper, Weston, Jamie and Landon.

My wonderful sons, Paul and Mike. 

Nothing like a little shake up or bump in the road to make you appreciate every day.  Hopefully my next post will be my next trip!

Travel on hold? Bump in the road of life…

In my blog I’ve always tried to be real.  It’s not always a bed of roses and things quite often go sideways when planning a trip.  That’s part of the adventure.  It’s also my journal so I felt it was important to add this blog.

I had a trip planned with my good friend Bev to go south to celebrate my 70th birthday.  It was a tour from Nashville to Memphis, Graceland and then finishing up in New Orleans.  What fun we would have had however I had some medical complications suddenly arise and my doctor said do not go out of country.  Surgery was performed Oct. 27 and I left hospital Oct 29.  I am recovering and feel better than I thought I would.

My big concern is what does this look like going forward?  We cancelled Nashville and that was the only trip I have EVER cancelled.  Marlene and I have been planning a trip to Fiji/New Zealand/Australia for Feb/23 and I highly doubt I will be able to get travel insurance.  Next week I should be speaking to my doctor and will see what the prognosis is after the results of the biopsy come back.  

I am already thinking of what trips I can take in Canada and am lucky that we live in such a beautiful country and have great healthcare however the thought of never traveling internationally does not sit well.  No days in Paris?  Won’t see my friends in Australia and New Zealand or France?  I’ve been on so many adventures I’m just not ready to call it quits.

White Rock is an awesome place and I’m lucky I can just walk to the beach.  I am working on regaining my strength so fingers crossed you will see more posts of upcoming adventures. 🙏

Time for a road trip!

My friend Bev and I had talked about doing this small road trip on Vancouver Island. This last weekend we did it!  Bev lives in Nanaimo so I caught the ferry at Tsawwassen and Bev picked me up at Duke Point, Nanaimo.  

This is the route.  After Bev picked me up we did a little retail therapy at a great clothing store called Fig then we went for fresh out of the oven apple pie with Red Dragon Chai latte.  The conversation always flows non stop when we get together.

The next day we head out from Nanaimo. No rush. We stop for breakfast and then hit the road.  It’s a beautiful day.  Fall is finally here as it’s a wee bit chilly but lovely.  We stop at Port Renfrew.

Lots of parks and trails.  You can access the Westcoast Trail in several places.

We arrive in Sooke and decide to stay at the Prestige.  Such a beautiful place.

Great place to sit and enjoy the view.

We got a great room with a water view.  Had a lovely dinner in their restaurant.  Bev treated me for my birthday.  It was perfect!

The next morning we took a side trip to East Sooke.  Couldn’t resist a picture with the Sasquatch.  Lots of winding road and lovely countryside.  

That’s our hotel across the water.  Had lunch in Sidney and then Bev dropped me at the ferry terminal.  A great weekend!

Home again, home again!

After leaving Winthrop we head over the Cascade Pass.  Beautiful country, winding road.

And then we’re back!  Used our Nexus so the wait at the border was minimal.  Dinner out in White Rock before going home.  A great short holiday.

Second day of road trip

We enjoy a leisurely morning and then leave Oak Harbor heading south our destination being Langley.

Langley is a lovely town on the south of Whidbey Island.  Lovely shops to look in and places to stroll.

Starting to look a bit like fall.

The Inn at Langley.  Very nice place with an award winning spa.  Unfortunately we didn’t try it out!

I don’t see any fire trucks!  We then leave Langley taking a small ferry over to the mainland where we continue on to our next stop. We arrive at Leavenworth next but it’s very busy and some smoke has moved in from a forest fire so we continue on.  Unfortunately we spent too much time on Whidbey Island and didn’t allow enough time to properly see Wenatchee or Chelan.  Chelan has a beautiful lake but we couldn’t get accommodation there so we drive to Pateros where we stay at Howard’s on the River.

This is the view we wake up to!  We have a private balcony and we enjoyed our coffee there. Was lovely.  

Now we’re off to Twisp.

Twisp is a small town with a definite western theme.  Much like Winthrop however Twisp has….

The famous cinnamon twists!  So yummy.  Then we’re on to Winthrop.

The original stage coach stop.

The wooden boardwalks make it so authentic.

This would make a unique gift!

And then we head back home over the Cascade Pass.

Road trip to the Cascade Loop

Sue and I headed off to the States on Friday of the Labour Day weekend. Destination: Cascade Loop

 First heading down to Fairhaven for a look around and then down Chuckanut Drive.

In Fairhaven we stop for coffee and a pastry.  Sue was busy conversing with Mark Twain outside the book store.

This is a lovely square where they show films to the public.  It’s surrounded with great shops, restaurants and coffee bars.  Lots of history and we enjoyed looking in the shops.

We then drove down Chuckanut Drive to LaConnor.  Beautiful drive.  Great shops in LaConnor.  Great art pieces.

We had lunch and then carried on to…

Deception Pass.

And then we continue over to Whidbey Island to Oak Harbor for our first night at the Coachman Inn.

For dinner we drive about 15 minutes south to Coupeville which is lovely and right on the water.  It’s really small and we have an hours wait for dinner but worth it.  I had lovely mussels which are harvested right in Coupeville.  While waiting for dinner we had a drink at the place next door, sitting outside enjoying good conversation with a couple from Coupeville.

Now you can tell we are in the United States.  I don’t think you’d find a sign like this is in a family restaurant in Canada! 😳. Back to Oak Harbor for the night.