Today was wet, expecting 50mm. If only some of that could go to Oz it would hopefully make things better down under. As we walked into town we got wet and had to buy some umbrellas to minimize the soaking. Robson Square had ice skating so the kids had a slide for a while. Tilds was charging and Ems was conservative but they both came off the ice unscathed which is a win. Stacey and Sue met us for a trip to the factory outlets for some shopping. The train ride was...

Today we headed to Whistler, host to some of the 2010 Winter Olympic events. John, our driver, picked us up and showed us the sights of the Sea to Sky coast road on our journey north. We dropped past a little bay, Porteau Bay, which is used by the ferry companies when the storms damage the harbour close to Vancouver. The bay was sheltered and had a little campsite. The water was great for diving as there was a number of ship wrecks there and the water was amazing...

Today started with a quick load of bathtub washing before heading out to Stanley Park. First stop was the 9 o'clock cannon. This goes bang at 9pm. It can be heard in downtown Vancouver every night. From there we saw Totem Poles, carved by the first nation people of Vancouver. These were spectacular and big. After visiting the shop we walked back through the park to the Vancouver Aquarium. This contained a variety of fish and marine animals found all over the worl...

Today we decided to get our bearings around Vancouver by taking the hop on hop off bus. It started at Canada Place and goes around downtown. We saw the sights of Stanley Park which we will visit tomorrow and eventually made our way to Granville Island. This has a great market for food and crafts. After looking at some of the shops we had lunch. Mum, dad and Penny had wraps, while the kids has sushi and I had a beef stirfry. Really good food and there was a great ...

Today we visited Hell - Hells Gate on the way to Vancouver. It was about 3/4 of the way on highway 1. Dad said it was a good place to see water pass through a narrow gorge creating rapids. We left Kamloops in sunshine and arrived at Hells Gate in clouds and drizzle. Was this an omen? Sounds like a good time for a joke. There were 2 cars, 8 people, 4 Catholics and 4 non specific beliefs. They arrived at Hells Gate and guess what happened? It was closed. Must have ...