And to Nelson. Quirky to say the least, and stunning. The boys finally paddle-board as rental here is cheap as chips. Staying in the city centre campground, where being friendly and having dreadlocks is the uniform. This morning, Leah and Sachi came to the campground to wake us with an Oso Negro Americano and Blueberry Muffins! We spent a lovely day with these gentle and fun people, and we were taken to the secret spots only the locals know - like the awesome...

It's like a different world! Driving though a valley of fruit...rows of fruit crops and fruit stands for miles and miles, and then in Osoyoos - deserty and stunning with dry dusty rocky mountains and a stunning body of water. Wonderful drive through Hope and Princeton to Osoyoos then quickly to Nelson!

Islandy, human-sized, pretty, arty, alternative, organic...and the home of our lovely friends Phoebe, Dawa and Tsoknyi. We stayed in comfort, ate fresh farm greens, played and played and played...and...hiked up Mount Erskine, drove up Mount Maxwell, spent a day on Vancouver Island, went to market, packed food in boxes, and swam in St Mary's Lake. Ferries, artists, entrepreneurs, mountains, more artists, and the best coffee and gelato in Canada. Salt Spring, we...

We arrived at destination family! Being with Brian and Carol felt so comfortable and normal and seeing them again was wonderful. To those reading who don't know the family link, I'll tell you. My uncle Den, was my dad's brother and one of his kids is Brian. That makes Brian my cousin, and his kids, Adam and Sarah, my kids' 2nd cousins and their kids, my kids' 2nd cousins once removed. Got it? Well, it was awesome to be with them again. Thank you guys, all...

Long drive. All exhausted. Arrived at a crummy campsite with loud neighbours and large dogs. So what glimmer of light can I share? Well, we listened to Desperaux (story) where the King outlawed soup - the making of it, the eating of it, and all soup-related implements. When we stopped off on the way for a rest stop, the woman in the cafe came up to us and said 'sorry, no soup today'... We just looked at each other and laughed! The other glimmer of light is t...