So Long Canada

On Tuesday we went to visit Stanley Park.


Much of the way around the park had archways of trees, which I really liked.


This is Lions Gate Bridge - which has an interesting story behind it.



After that we went to Queen Elizabeth Park, which has lovely gardens.





Here we are with one of Mrs Bagshaw's favourite types of tree, dogwood - we didn't see a pink one in the park though.


The next day we went to the beach for a picnic.



We then walked out across the sand (it was very low tide like Eastern Beach gets but more).



Mrs Bagshaw also took me down Vancouver's "crookest street" - a street that follows a salmon stream. Mr and Mrs Bagshaw have a great sense of humour and were incredibly hospitable. I am very thankful for all they did for me.


I had an amazing time in North America, it was such a blessing to be able to go and I am glad to be home back in gorgeous New Zealand.

Beautiful British Columbia

What’s entertaining in Canada is the different number plates for different provinces. The plate for the Northwest Territories is in the shape of a polar bear, and BC’s says “Beautiful British Columbia” - it’s right too. It was so lovely to have someone waiting for me at the bus terminal in Vancouver, I’ve walked through so many bus terminals and airports alone with no one waiting. Mrs Bagshaw (a friend of Uncle David and Auntie Audrey’s) met me in a NZ RWC 2011 jersey Mr Bagshaw picked up during their trip to NZ last year. She treated me to dessert - homemade brownie with ice cream and chocolate sauce - after lunch! I would soon learn that dessert would follow every meal except breakfast - what a treat! We helped out at the Bagshaw's church - painting for the upcoming holiday programme and later on went for a driving tour. Here’s the college Uncle David taught at during their trip in the 70’s,



and this is the building Mrs Bagshaw attended her nursing classes in.


Then we went grocery shopping and spotted these. There’s no place like home.


I extended my stay in Vancouver and spent less time in LA so that I could go to church with the Bagshaws. After a great service and lunch we went to Steveston for a walk, dinner and ice cream. There were lots of kites flying.


Here I am with Mrs Bagshaw and Linda, their daughter.



The next day Mrs Bagshaw took me to Granville Island for a picnic lunch. The kids were having fun at this water park, and we saw turtles. The markets were very cute.

Banff

I flew to Calgary then bussed to Banff to see the rockies. I was blown away by the beauty.


It was such a surprise when at 10pm the sky looked like this, it felt like the middle of the day!


I stayed with Mel, who is a yoga fanatic. I enjoyed watching her do her exercises, and was amazed by her flexibility and strength.


Banff is such a cute town!


It had been raining a lot so the river was around four times its normal width.



This is the Banff Springs Hotel. Mel did a day course about Banff and was full of interesting information. The architect of this building was from England and returned home once he had drawn up the plans. When he returned to Banff in 1888 the hotel had been built back to front – so the grand entrance faced the bush not the road.


Not a bad view for an entrance I would say.


I finally had a Beaver Tail, long overdue but much enjoyed. I had apple and cinnamon and Mel had a chocolate spread (Nutella pretty much).



Mel then had to go to work and I went on to visit an exhibition. Unfortunately, this is the only moose I saw during my visit.


I was reminded how un-artistic I am when I arrived at the exhibit, I struggled to make sense of a refrigerator in front of a green screen with odd noises.


I liked this sign on the way back.


And this display.


The next morning Mel took me up Tunnel Mountain, which had a wonderful view.



Then in the afternoon I went up Sulphur Mountain. Tunnel Mountain looked like a mole hill from the top of Sulphur Mountain.




In fact Tunnel Mountain is right in the middle of this photo, to the immediate right of the town. Don’t strain your eyes too hard – it’s barely visible.


I went up with an Australian girl I met on the bus to the bottom of the mountain. We thought about taking the gondola down but opted for the walk. My travels started with Halifax almost two months ago, 3867km away from Banff, and soon I will be in New Zealand, almost 12,262km away.

Los Angeles

The tours final destination was Los Angeles.

We stopped by The Grove and The Farmers Market for lunch and shopping and then went on to Hollywood Boulevard. Here Ari and Kalps are looking for something to eat.



The zoom on my camera leaves much to be desired, if you squint enough you may be able to make out the hollywood sign, otherwise use your imagination.



We had fun spotting celebrities stars – some we saw were Jackie Chan, Britney Spears, Donald Trump and this photo was with Keanu Reeves'.


We saw the Dolby (formerly Kodak) Theatre – where the Academy Awards are held – and the Chinese Theatre where many movie previews are held.




LA’s traffic lived up to its reputation.


We then said our good byes and I got a few hours sleep before I was up again at 4:15am to head to the airport.