Clearwater, Florida

As we near dinner time on day four of our Christmas Holidays 2014, it's time to start thinking about Spring Break to chase more sun before spring and summer arrive in Vancouver.  We have settled into Cedar House here in Clearwater Fl. The house is over one hundred years old and provides a comfortable and relaxing base for this year's holiday. We have spent our time on the deck and in the pool. The pool guy was surprised to find anyone swimming in the pool, but once we said we were Canadians he understood. The weather is perfect except for Sunday night's storm, but after quite the lightening show, it blew its way out by Monday morning. Today is in the high 20's with some humidity.

"Family Reunion"

Well all is going well with the Family Reunion. The weather is holding

Staycation 2014

After a recess from writing, I thought it best to get back on the proverbial horse and reactivate our travel blog. You might think that we are jetting off on an exiting getaway, but we are now just past the half-way mark of my staycation,

Seaking the shade on Ambleside Beach 

I say my because Steve is still working about 2 days a week, while I'm off until at least September 2 and that could be the subject of another blog. After Christmas in New York and then a Spring Break in Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon in the near past, and Christmas in Florida in the near future, it seemed like a good idea to stay close to home for the summer. Even a  short return visit to the Sunshine Coast that we enjoyed last summer fell through, so we thought it must be in our tea leaves that the backyard was the place for us this summer. We are planning to make up for this staycation next summer, as we have already put down a deposit on a house in Bellac, France for the two months. More about those plans later. New patio furniture and excellent weather has turned our back deck into our new living room, and our even newer barbeque has turned it into our second kitchen. Since there is no place like home, Steve thought his mum would enjoy a visit out west from her home in Waterloo, Ontario, and she has been our guest since early July. We have had day trips to Belcarra, White Rock, the Vancouver beaches, and West Vancouver to enjoy the sunshine, scenery and the mother-son bonding. At home the two of them, well mainly Jean, has been painting up a storm. 

In her West Coast Studio

So the summer has past with the sounds of Martini In the Morning on the stereo, some gardening, a few trashy summer reads as well as some more substantial literature such as Romeo and Juliet. It seemed like a good plan to teach it to our grade 8s in the fall back in June, but it could be very interesting....  The peace and serenity of our own little Giverny is about to be invaded by even more family. A family tree might be helpful, but 4 generations of the Michalek family will be landing this Saturday. Two of Jean's daughters, Donna and Victoria, two of Jean's grand kids, Paul and Evie along with their spouses and 3 great-grand children will turn our little garden oasis into 3 ring circus. It is fortunate that Evelyn, Jean's youngest daughter, lives just through the forest and across the creek from us, as wel,l her partner Kevin, has an apartment in the building right next door to our complex. He will vacate his apartment and bunk in with Evelyn and our cat Puffin, who is on her own summer camp adventure, Jean is allergic to cats. This frees up two bedrooms and a den for our out of towners. A week of sunshine is in the forecast and the beach, parks, pool, picnics are on the agenda. 

Viva Las Vegas.....

Well Spring Break is here again. After our last year's trip to Palm Springs, we are now making this an annual escape to somewhere warm and sunny. This year we are off to Las Vegas for 3 days and then driving up to the Grand Canyon for a couple more days. Our flight leaves on Sunday afternoon from Bellingham. Our neighbours, Elke and Paul are joining us on this year's adventure. We have taken Steve's sister's advice on our hotel. The Plaza Hotel on Main and Freemont will be our Las Vegas home. With a little luck the pool will be nice for an afternoon dip. The forecast is sunny and almost hot for the next few days in Vegas, which is better than our rain and 10 degrees forecast for the next few days here. Well off to pack and run the last few errands. Looking forward to discovering Las Vegas with our Las Vegas virgin neighbours.

Viva Las Vegas....

Q.B. = Qualicum Beach

Sunshine Coast 2013

the gang

For the past few years, we have spent the Labour Day weekend with 2 other couples (Evie and Kevin, and Elke and Paul), at a townhouse in Whistler. Evie, Steve's sister, thought it would be nice to change locations this year, and to move the dates to avoid the long weekend traffic. Well we set off to discover a new long weekend retreat. From the Gulf Islands, to Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast were all in the running. The property didn't need to have much, just: waterfront, sleeps 6, indoor plumbing and a bar-b-que, not a difficult task for our rental finding guru, Steve. Once again he came through with our new favourite beach front getaway. 

Our little secret.

The cottage is on the waterfront, just a few minutes north of Sechelt, on the Sunshine Coast. Allowing extra time for the ferry line up, it took 3 hours to get from home to heaven. While the property was a rustic cottage, it had everything we needed. It wasn't long after our arrival that we made our way down the beach stone path to the edge of our Mecca, the water. The purchase of water shoes from Walmart for $7.00 was the best money we have ever spent. The beach was a combination of small pebbles, to larger smooth rocks, but with the water shoes, and $3.00 air mattresses from Target, we were in our element. The water was cool, but by the end of our stay, it began to feel like bath water. Upon arriving home, we realized we have no pictures of any of us frolicking in the surf. 

Evenings were spent collecting drift wood for our fire. Here we watched the sun set, the stars come out, the cruise ships slide by and the shooting stars shower us. The fire was also our dessert, as we perfected the smore. We started with the classic and progressed through some new variations using brownies. It was all a sweet treat. Now just what to do with the left over marshmallows.  

Friday we went north on the peninsula to discover the Skookumchuk Narrows Provincial Park.

This park was established in 1957. Skookumchuck Narrows Provincial Park provides trails and viewing areas for visitors who wish to experience the awesome power of incredibly turbulent tidal rapids. On a 3 metre tide, 200 billion gallons of water flow through the narrows connecting Sechelt and Jervis Inlet.

The difference in water levels between one side of the rapids and the other sometimes exceeds 2 metres in height. Current speeds can exceed 30km/hr. The rapids are famous for their spectacular whirlpools and whitewater.

Skookumchuck Narrows

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/skook_narrows/

It is an hour north of Sechelt and then once in Egmont, and then it is a 4 km hike to the narrows. When looking at the rushing ebbing tide, it is hard to remember that it is not a river flowing in front of you, but the tide going out from the Sechelt Inlet. Our next trip would be to see the flood tide flowing in; it is an early morning or late evening event. 

Our Beach Walk

By the evening fire

So back at the cottage, we spent our time on the variety of beach chairs, in and out of the water, walking along the shore, and enjoying great food and company. It turned out to be the best of our weekends away, and we are already planning to come back. You can, with any luck, view the pictures at the following link:
http://flickr.com/gp/vernandsteve/5d6wvQ/