If 'scenic' makes you weak in the knees, than the roadtrip from Jasper to Banff (in Alberta) particularly through the Columbia Icefields is going to be your number one worldwide choice with all other options vying for a distant honourable mention. Unfortunately it's not quite the undiscovered secret that it was many years ago, so both Jasper and Banff can be both crowded and expensive in the summer and winter seasons. We were trying to sneak through j...

We're just about to leave B.C. and DH has given me my camera back (the only reason I got it back before Alberta had to do with a close encounter with a black bear- even DH knew that this bear was demanding to be photographed). It's really too bad I couldn't get a few more shots because this westernmost province is one of the most spectacular photo op areas on the planet. DH doesn't want to spoil the surprise for the airlift of visitors that she is...

I have been banned by she-who-must-be-obeyed from detailing or photographing much about what happened during our time in B.C.. DH says it's because we will be properly exploring the province in much more detail at a later date but I suspect it's really because she's actually a little embarrassed that she now owns the world record for the most expensive souvenir shopping ever. Most people pick up a couple of fridge magnets during their travels but we d...

We are back on the Pacific Coast Rd as we enter Washington and our big objective was to take Billy Thunder to the beach- not a road or parking lot next to the beach, but right on the beach- the longest driveable beach in the world. I assume that you're supposed to drive at a substantially reduced rate, but DH (where the 'D' stands for Daytona 500) had beach goers and seagulls scattering as she plowed through a number of sand castles while doing a numb...

Today we were off to visit a massive flying boat- after our recent stops you might be thinking that a flying boat would be a Homer Simpson idea, or a napkin sketch from the Salem Insane Asylum, but it was a U.S. government sanctioned project that was led by the notorious Howard Hughes. The ship convoy losses resulting from German U-Boat attacks motivated a number of off-the-wall ideas but this might have been the biggest one. The original idea for the flying boat...