Hello 2013!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

Our travels this Christmas saw us take a winter tour of BC. We tried to see and do a little of everything and I think we succeeded. On December 22 we packed up the Truck and headed out to Salmon Arm. We found a nice travel lodge there with a pool and met up with our friends Erin and Ben from Vernon. The roads were in decent shape and pretty much devoid of traffic. It made me realize how much winter driving stress comes from having other drivers on the road. No cars = a limited inventory of things to hit on the road = less stress. Plus you can go your own speed without getting stuck behind an endless line of RVs or finding yourself with a snake like stream of angry followers.

 

After Salmon Arm we headed to Green Lake (near 100 Mile House in South Central BC), where friends Tanya and Chris loaned us their fantastic lake from cabin for the week. The setup was fantastic although mired somewhat by a sickness imported by us from Calgary. Andrew and I got it first followed by my mum, dad, and brother once they got back to the lower mainland. Luckily it was only a  24 hour bug so the damage to our holiday time was minimal. At Green Lake we spent time skating, tobogganing, snowshoeing and indulging in general Canadian Christmas merriment.

 

On the 27^th we moved locations to Yaletown in downtown Vancouver. We found a great inexpensive one bedroom condo on VRBO and stayed there for four nights. The idea was to show the kids some of the sights in Vancouver including where I grew up. We managed to see the Vancouver aquarium, Science World, Granville Island, Lynn Valley suspension Bridge, my old school, my old house etc. The kids liked it but I think their favorite activity was the little False Creek pedestrian ferries. Andrew and Carly were so excited every time we went on one.

 

After Vancouver we ventured out to Fairmont Hot Springs on the 31^st in time to welcome the new year with Penny’s Brother and his family. We stayed in a great condo there and took the kids skiing a couple of days. Carly and Andrew are both getting the hang of skiing and are happy to show off their skills. With your lift ticket you also get free access to the hot pools which is a fantastic way to round out a day on the slopes.

 

Our Christmas break was great but now it’s back to the grind. Carly starts School tomorrow and Andrew on Wednesday. The rest of the month will see us finalizing preparations for the baby and perhaps getting a little more info on the upcoming chemo clinical trial. I hope 2013 is good to all of you and I wish you good health.