Calgary Tower and Zoo

After a large family breakfast we headed for the Calgary Tower. 

It is a free standing observation tower, right downtown across from the Marriott, 630'/191m tall that sways in the wind. I hear that it was constructed as a continuous pour of concrete. It was totally cool to watch us trying to stand on the clear glass looking down to the street way below. Not all of us had the courage to stand on the glass floor 630' above the ground.

Then it was on to the Calgary Zoo. This zoo is home to over 1,000 animals from all over the world, as well as to nearly 6 acres of Botanical Gardens and a Prehistoric Park for dinosaur lovers. First were the tigers with 3 cubs running all over. This was in Eurasia, with snow leopards, elephants, camels and more. Justin's hit was Prehistoric Park on an Island with 17 dinosaur models with authentic rock and vegetation from the time they roamed Western Canada.

This zoo is massive. We toured Destination Africa with gorillas, a huge hippopotamus, misty rainforest, Savannah and more. The Canadian Wilds was very authentic with Mountain sheep and goats, bears, elk and whooping cranes. We spent about 3 hours walking through everything and were very lucky with most of the animals outside playing.

We had a cocktail hour, meeting both families in the evening. 
It is so nice to see everyone.

Calgary

Today we flew to Calgary for a family wedding. Vancouver's airport has hundreds of pieces of art and is like a small city.  We flew over the Gulf Islands, then arrived at our hotel and found family members.

We had fun at a bridal shower for Vanessa and met all her attendants.
After that a group of us went out to the Libertine Public House which has an unconventional menu and their own inhouse Wild Rose Brewery overlooking Steven St. Downtown Calgary has closed off this 1 block and it is now filled with restaurants and patios, quite the swinging evening spot.

Fabulous Family Picnic

Allison's home from South Africa with Simon who hadn't met yet  and we celebrated with a party at Spanish Banks in Vancouver. Perfect spot: shade, sun, water, logs, kids found a 'bear cave' and our best friends.

 

Even Uncle Ken aged 97? was there.

Kids, grandkids and cousins were there. We are truly blessed with the best family in the world.

The New Librarian-me

I have picked up a couple of very good books from the library in our clubhouse here at the RV park. Because our neighbours Agnes and Hans are now on  the road, long haul trucking, I've offered the books to them when they've got home every 3 weeks. They have little time to read what with reading maps,planning the trips, running over the scales, reorganizing weight, fueling, waiting to deliver the load and waiting until the new one is ready, walking the dog, and getting meals when and where they can. They started in April and I find it fascinating hearing about their routes through all the different states, from the west coast to Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee, back up into Canada and across the prairies home. 


One of the last ones was Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. This is an amazing story of 2 sisters who led a privileged life in Shanghai until their father lost all his money. It tells the story of their immigration to America in arranged marriages and the difficulty of adapting to their new life.

The 2nd one was A Falcon Flies by Wilbur Smith, one of my favorite authors. He is a prolific writer who was born in Zambia and has lived all his life in Africa. This book tells about a man returning home to Zimbabwe to investigate ivory poaching but gets caught up in a bloody tribal war, led by a power crazed fanatic, who would sell his people into slavery to achieve his ends. The detail of the culture, the people, the vanished Eden of the African continent is worth the read.
It seems that I am now their private Librarian and we are all enjoying these books.

Off to Gibsons

I bussed to Richmond, caught the Canada (skytrain) downtown and had to wait outside the Hudson Bay for 30 minutes for my bus to Horseshoe Bay. The old overhangs are being replaced and it looks naked without them. The skywalk that fascinated our kids when they were little, is still there.

Telus is building one of the most technological developments in the world, they say.
The tourist buses are running.

You can see the Library, an amazing building and the bones of Roger's Place down the street.

I had a great time on the bus talking to a couple from Cologne, Germany here for 19 days and a girl from Austin Texas who was going to Bowen Island for a day. When we left Horseshoe Bay, the Bowen Island ferry was just arriving and then we stood with the trucks before we walked up the ramp to exit.

Solly's Jewish Deli

When we were in Ottawa in 2009, we were headed for a great Deli that made famous Montreal pastrami on Rye. Ron took a header and we never made it.
Today we met Suzanne and Hana in town and this was the closest meeting spot. It seemed prophetic to me, so we had a delicious pastrami on rye. The bagels were displayed with their 11 different varieties.







Your table was identified with your number on a famous Jewish person pictured on a bagel, with their history on the back.

There was a very nice eating area outside.

What a Party !!

We co-hosted a party with Glen and Leah yesterday and what a great time. Chayla hired a band and we also celebrated Rick's birthday. Glen hauled out the fire extinguisher for all the candles.

 The washer game come out, the dancing was on and the planes flew overhead for the Abbotsford Air Show. When one of the planes zoomed by, Rick's son said 'Sorry Dad, I guess the banner ' Happy Birthday Dad' got ripped off. And the usual good time was had by all.

Thunder and Lightning

We had a delicious spaghetti dinner Malcolm made with every single herb from his garden he could find. We ate under Jan's awning as rain started coming down. Then the thunder and lightning started and we had an interesting show until kaboom! all the power went off. I actually ducked, it was so loud.

Today lunch was provided from a neighbour's garden. They're on holiday and their lettuce has gone wild. It's just leaf lettuce but is larger than my pen and delicious.

Aug. Long Weekend

Driving on the overpass on 8 Ave, (remember that the border is at 0 Ave.) we saw the lineup for the Peace Arch Border crossing backed up past the 'Pink Palace'. Pity the poor truckers, they couldn't even get to their turn off.

There are activities all weekend long and wall to wall people at the beach. From the top of Marine Drive, you can even see Mt. Baker in Washington in the distance. Kids were painting a new mural on a building on the beach.

Dinner with the Neighbours

We're got into a weekly dinner with neighbours. You may as well cook for 4-6 rather than 1-2. Everyone brings something and it's delicious.

And the company is so much fun.