After a night at an airport hotel in Seattle we flew to Maui in Hawaii for a few days of sunshine, swimming, snorkeling & just catching up after our hectic time. The resort area is on the dry western side of the island & isn't as lush & green as we expected.The Sheraton hotel grounds were green with palm trees, frangipani etc & our room was great - ocean view in a quiet section far away from the central core. Watched the flare lighting & cliff...

Hired a sporty Chrysler for a few days & James drove us into the Rockies - one of his favorite places during winter & very lovely in summer too even though it was cloudy & rainy. We stopped at McMahon Stadium on the way so he could show us where he worked last summer for the Calgary Stampeders football team. He was part of the equipment team & was lucky enough to work for them the year they won the Grey Cup - pinnacle of Canadian football. He was ...

Had a wonderful 6 days in Calgary with James, exploring his places, meeting some of his friends, sharing his little flat & enjoying his company so much! We met his mates in the former Source store which is now Less 17 & the Source on 11th Ave where he works now. Calgary has very conveniently numbered it's grid of roads as streets going north-south & avenues going east-west so it's easy to find your way around. We went up the Calgary Tower & all st...

Having made the booking earlier we were excited to wake to beautiful clear weather again for our flightseeing trip to Mt McKinley on the way south. Drove to Talkeetna, a pretty heritage town that is a National Historical Site & the centre for climbing the mountains here. We were part of a group of 12 on board a single engine Otter aircraft & everyone had a window seat. James was lucky enough to be seated next to the pilot for a super view! We went over th...

This morning Jon showed us his dogs that he keeps for sled-dog tours during winter. James & Geoff had a wonderful time talking, scratching & smooching with these very friendly animals, getting covered in fur while Jon explained about their way of life & work. Continuing the dogs theme we went back to the National Park for lunch & a tour of their kennels including a demonstration & ranger talk. These dogs were all so excited, hoping to be chose...