Well the Angels are now in Vancouver Island. Carol dropped us off on Tuesday morning to catch the Red Arrow bus down to Calgary where we caught the Brewster bus to Banff.

We really enjoyed our time in Red Deer and we hope to return soon.

Riding the buses to Banff was great. We could not believe how easy it was, particularly with the amount of luggage we are travelling with. The bags seem to get bigger every time we leave somewhere. Pam keeps finding bits of Trish's stuff next to hers when she is packing because Trish can't fit it in hers! We will probably buy another case in Hawaii especially if Trish and Wendy hit the shops again.

We arrived in Banff on Canada Day just in time to see the parade. We then walked up to the Banff Springs hotel where we had a drink in the lookout bar before walking down to Bow Falls. A beautiful spot where apparently Marilyn Munroe made a movie. Then it was back into town for dinner and then to the hotel. We probably walked about 5 or 6 Kim's so we were pretty tired. Trish heard a noise outside the window and when she looked out there were two Elks having a feed in the garden over the road. Unfortunately every time we tried to take a picture they moved.

Next morning we took a helicopter ride before jumping on the Brewster Bus back to Calgary to catch our flight to Kelowna to visit Nancy and John in Osoyoos. We had not seen them for 25 years and it was great to see them waiting at the terminal. Nancy and Trish promptly burst into tears hugged and jumped up and down with sheer delight. It was a very touching moment and certainly gave everyone at the airport something to look at.

We had been quite concerned to learn John only had a regular sedan as we did not believe we could fit all our luggage in the boot. Even Mike did not believe he could and had spoken to John and suggested he hire a van. Well we were WRONG! He managed to get it all in including hand luggage . Mind you the car was riding a lot closer to the ground.

We stopped and had dinner in Penticton on the way to their place. It was a beautiful spot and the rain which had been hanging around disappeared. Next day we went to the Osoyoos hardware shop which stocked everything you could think of not just hardware. We had a quick look around before heading off to the wineries . John had packed a picnic and bought some sushi and we sat on the balcony of the winery eating and drinking one of the wines we had tasted. We went to another couple of wineries before going cherry picking. In about 10 minutes everyone except Wendy managed to pick 25 pounds of cherries. There were heaps of Mosquitos and as Wendy is allergic to them she had to get out of the orchard real quick.

We went back home where we set up a production line sorting, de pipping, and stacking the cherries on freezer trays while John cooked dinner. Trish was the main de pipper and ended up with stained hands and nails. Eventually she got clean after soaking her hands in bleach.

Our visit with Nancy and John was vey short and they have promised to come to visit us in Australia very soon and we promised to bug them about it until they do. We packed the car again, still amazed that everything fitted and took off to meet up with Brian in Manning Park where we changed vehicles for the drive to Vancouver Island.

We recognised Keppel the dog before Brian!

It was a quick goodbye as the tears started to come. Brian had his truck so there was no concern about the luggage fitting in. The drive with both Nancy and John and Brian gave us the opportunity to see more of this beautiful country. We stopped on our way to the Island to see Lauren playing in the provincial soccer championships. Our timing was a bit out as we arrived literally 20 seconds before the final whistle for the last game of the day! Kim was there with their other dog Auzzie and once again we recognised the dog before Kim! Says something weird about us!

Kim stayed with Lauren for the night while we took off for the Island with Brian. We hit Vancouver in peak hour and had a bit of trouble finding our way to the ferry terminal because of construction work closing roads and no signage. We missed the 4pm ferry but were first in line for the 5pm. We have been so lucky - all our friends have the most magnificent homes. Brian and Kim's which they have just sold is nestled in the trees with wonderful views of the water.

Brian cooked dinner (the blokes here are very well trained) of fresh salmon he had caught. Next morning Wendy and Pam took the dogs for a walk before taking off for our next adventure - seeing Vancouver Island by boat. What a way to go! We dropped some crab and prawn pots in the water before dropping Wendy and Trish off to see the Butchart Gardens. Pam went with Brian to check on the crab and prawn pots, stopping and the pub on the way. Kim picked Trish and Wendy up and they came home via the hairdresser so Wendy could get her fringe cut. She had made the mistake of saying how hard it was to get it straight and refused Pam's offer to do it,despite Trish saying it would be OK. Well the fringe kept getting longer so she finally asked Pam to do it but she refused as she did not want to have to hear about it for the rest of the trip if it was crooked. Now both angels are happy!

First pot that came up had two crabs which we had to throw back and 12 prawns. Second pot was a lemon - nothing. The third had about six crabs of which we could keep two. We supplemented our catch from the local store and had a wonderful seafood and pasta dinner washed down with some lovely red wine.

It was a fantastic day and evening. Today we head back up to Vancouver where we will spend the night before catching an early flight to Hawaii via LA to meet up with Pam's brother Gary and his family. It is his wife Linda's 60th birthday on 10th - a very nice way to celebrate. It also happens to be his daughter Kirsty's birthday so it should be lots of fun.

Pictures will be posted soon

Hope you are all well

The Angels