Days 30 - 33 - Family and Friends

Catching up with this blog - a lot of time goes by when we're having a good time with people we haven't seen for a long time - in some cases 27 years!

We also managed to get in some time with in-laws of our kids.(well these ones were in Victoria but you get the picure)

 and see more of Vancouver  - including the post stanley-cup-riot walls of the Bay.

Driving around Vancouver brought back a ton of memories, even though the place has changed so much. I remembered a picnic here, a family outing there, days at the beach etc. All fun times.

The party with family on Friday was just wonderful. Of course it seemed like we had never gone away from these people - the same sense of humour, a shared ancestray - and they are all as loud as me.So to all those nursing instructors who said , "Miss Atherton, you'll have to keep your voice down", I now say, "Not my fault - it's in my genes!"

We spent a lot of time identifying people in photos, and locations ( "oh that was in Banff") and had some questions answered ( "so she was Granpa Kelly's sister?"), and added more mysteries to solve back in Ontario ("But why did they go to N.Dakota from Bracebridge?").  Also included were photos of my sibs from a trip to Van. in 1954/55.

The oldest family member is now 95, and she was full of stories for us - it was terrific. The party on Friday night was a ton of fun - and we're thinking about reunions for 2013 - pay attention siblings!

On Saturday we headed to Victoria to stay with a good friend for the weekend who has a spectacular view from her place! We parked the trailer in the local provincial park, and on Sunday, walked our way around the inner harbour, and bought some loverly sockeye for dinner. Finally the weather cooperated!

Today we'll check out the BC Museum which has a current exhibition on the early Emily Carr, plus the BC archives, so will try to look up some addresses etc. of old family homes.

Tomorrow, we are back on the road by ourselves in the tent-trailer. It has been wonderful to sleep in a regular bed, take a shower without worrying about what previous occupants did, and perhaps most importantly, head to the bathroom in the middle of the night without a flashlight and bear bells - but overall, we are eager to get back to the nest and start the trek home.

Catch you on the road!