Callym's Top 5

Here are my Top 15 animals that I've seen on this trip so far!
1~Dolphins
2~Seals
3~Crabs
4~Sharks
5~Garden Eels/Eels
6~Beluga Whales
7~Cat Fish
8~Arapaima
9~Pirahhna
10~Frogs
11~Snakes
12~Caiman
13~Parrots
14~Lizzards
15~Bats

Top 5 Fav Things on the Trip so far!
1~Vancouver Aquarium
2~Calgary LEGO Store
3~The really nice Hotels
4~The Swimming Pools
5~Seeing the Seals in the Ocean

Top 5 Things that are not my Fav on the Trip so far!
1~Sitting in the car for about 2 weeks!
2~Hotels with NO pools!
3~When the iPod & 3D~DS batteries run out
4~Being totally bored!
5~Not seeing any of my Friends & not playing Football at Recess!!!

Friday

What a relaxing & amazing day today was. We got to the Sea Side Marina Resort & unpacked knowing that we were going to be here until we found a real true rental. It felt so good to be 'home' for a while. I think Twinkle knew it too, she made herself super comfortable.

It's just a tiny little cabin, but it's perfect for us right now. And on the bright side it will make our apartment look HUGE when we finally find one!

(this is the living room/kitchen, you can see the 2 small bedrooms, the washroom off to the left side)
After unpacking we took a trip to the grocery store. It was time for me to cook again! WHOOHOO!
The first thing I made was Alicia Silverstone's Lentil Stew (you can find a version of the recipe here). Turned out to be a great decision because while in the store we heard that a severe storm was coming in from the north knocking out power & tearing down trees......
Did you know that we have great luck? Well, as it turns out the minute we walked back into our 'new house' the wind came outta no~where & we could see the Ocean turning up things from the deep. It was incredible! Our first storm ~ but lucky for us, it really didn't hit us hard, some wind & rain & it was all over! Oh well, the stew was wonderful anyways. Callym & Chris braved the wind to take a few photos...

The rest of the day was so nice. We relaxed, ate, did some blogging, played lambsy, ate some more, watched a movie & just had a great day together. It was especially nice knowing that we are able to stay here for at least a month, so there is no worries or stress as to where & when we need to pack up.
The boys headed off to bed & Chris & I watched the movie "Food Inc". It was horrible! I recommend everyone to watch it because it really does open your eyes to where most food comes from, how the animals are treated, how the workers are treated, & especially the quality of food (or lack there of) that we are feeding to our selves & our kids! I think it's on shaw on demand under the documentary section. Worth it for sure ~ tomorrow we plan on watching "Forks over Knives" again which is a great movie about eating for optimal health & how to eat to prevent & reverse dis~ease!

Tamara

Getting Closer

Today we went for a drive to Duncan but before that all happened Tamara went to a Health & Wellness talk and gathering.  She'll fill you in on that later.  I have not done any blogs yet.  This trip has been awesome.  two weeks ago it all began and we are feeling good and close to our next step.  Yep we hit a few good towns as Tamara already posted.  I like a Nelson and Mill Bay and Sooke and now am feeling really good about Ladysmith.  Not only to livebut to get that brewery going and i feel sooner than later.  driving these roads is like driving thru a national park all the time which we may very well be doing.  I love it.  I am very certain we made the correct decision in Vancouver Island and I am very glad that we committed ourselves to this move.  Time will tell how it goes but so far it is going very well.  Thanks for the good vibes and thoughts and i'll take them if you keep sending them.  I have learned that Vancover island is a lot more hilly than i ever thought.  Captain is getting a good workout and i am getting really good with the clutch.  Living so closely has also been fantastic although i think the boys are due for some school soon.  Me on the other hand I haVE BEEN BASKING IN THE GLORY OF BEER SELECTION.  the choices are great in most stores and most beers are sold in 650 mL bottles so a good share, but i think i will get hold of some 500 mL if feasible and bottle into those.  it has been super great stoppping in many breweries on the way from Winnipeg as well.  Truth be told i am happy that i finally (besides my family) love somethign enough that i devote so much time and energy to it. yes beer is going really well so far.  hopefully next week i can tlak to a couple places this next week or apply for that baking job at cowichan bay.  yes life is really great right now even with all the uncertainty cause we are making these choices.  it feels right.  tlak to you soon. 

Playing catch up Part 2

Yikes, so there is more to catch up on!
Today is already Saturday, so let's recap what we all did the last few days.....

Thursday.
We woke up in Chemanius eagerly excited to see LadySmith. We got ready & took advantage of the free breakfast & fitness room. We drove the 10 beautiful minutes to LadySmith & sighed........ How gorgeous! (Can I keep saying this? Will you keep believing me?)
We were told that LadySmith was quite hilly ~ & boy were they right. If you've ever been to Nelson I will tell you that it's exactly the same feeling! This really reminded me of the European towns that I always thought were so pretty & quaint ~ the town's literally sprinkled up & down the mountain side, can you imagine it at Christmas with all the lights? We parked (making sure the E~brake was on), & headed to get a coffee. We found an amazing bakery with a lineup out the door. The boys grabbed a peanut butter cinnamon bun & we sat & just took it all in.
Across the street was a health store so after my coffee I ran over to apply (good thing I had some resumes with me). We walked & talked for a long while. The lady at the info centre was a great resource for us, filling our arms with newsletters & names of people who could help. We drove thru town looking for rentals & I even stopped by the school to get some forms started for the boys. (how long is too long for them to be outta school? We were thinking between 2-4 weeks was max, but I dunno......)
Anyways. We headed down to the famous "transfer beach" (they say it's the warmest waters north of San Fransisco) to look for shells & seal's & whales & more. It was so nice to be so close to the Ocean. 
We saw some HUGe leaves & a crazy mushroom the size of my head.

We heard a rumour that LadySmith had a brand new soccer field with real turf, so we had to go and check it out!

it was so cool to run off some steam! I'm really looking forward to seeing Callym kick some butt on this field soon (soccer season here is from now till April)
By this time it was getting dark, so we headed back to the hotel. We were hoping to get into a cabin nearby for the remainder of the month, both for cost & just to feel a bit more settled. It's in a central location so we can still explore & find the place that will be ours. We will move in tomorrow, a cute place right on the Ocean ~ perfect for beach~combing!
Here's a cool photo of us overlooking the Ocean. Can you just imagine seeing this everyday?

Playing catch up

Wow, where has the time gone! It's Thursday already??? It seems like just yesterday we landed on the Island. Boy do we have a lot to catch you all up on!
Monday.

Arrived on the Island after all those km! We felt alive, happy, & so glad to finally be here. We took a look and walked around Sidney first. Such a cute town. It was nice to finally be at the Ocean, to smell it & touch it. The boys found their very first shells. I must admit (tho I don't feel so ignorant, this being my first time on the Island), I was totally shocked of the topography here. Everywhere we went it felt like we were actually in the mountains! I know for a lot of you that may sound funny, but I thought it would be a flat sort of Island with a mountain off in the distance. I had no idea!!! (in my head I always thought it would be sweet  to live in the mountains surrounded by the Ocean, but I never thought it would happen). Driving around it made us think of Costa Rica (again). We drove thru clouds, past huge moss covered trees & rocks, up mountain passes & down again. It was gorgeous (one lady told us not to tell anyone how gorgeous it is here because then everyone would move here).
Chris found us a great hotel up in a beautiful golf resort at the Westin Bear Mountain. It's like it's own little village. Twinkle again looked like a spoilt little kitten laying on big beds & eating out of pretty new bowls (& she should be with all the driving & being couped up in car's & hotels). The views would have been better if it wasn't so misty, but I'm really not complaining ~ how can I? We hung out & relaxed Monday night at the hotel, doing a bit of swimming, hot tubing & tv. It was really nice after such a long day. We are here after all, & if all goes our way we will be here indefinitely!

Tuesday.
My first run on the Island was Sweet! The air, the view, the hills (ugggh!) After that Chris treated me to an amazing massage at the spa & we had a quick breakfast (Chris went out to the grocery to get some fresh fruit, almond milk, orange juice, cereal  & frozen berries), we took off for our first scouting trip! Mill Bay, Cowichan Bay, Crofton, & Cobble Hill were the first on our list. All are up the east side of the mountain between 20-80 minutes out of Victoria. Before we got to the first 'village' we turned off of Malahat Drive to see the Salmon Run. It was the first time I've ever seen such a thing. It was pretty cool. There were a lot of Salmon jumping up the river as well as a lot of Sea Gulls feasting on Salmon who couldn't swim anymore :(

On to the towns.... A lot of them are actually areas where people just live & commute to Victoria for work. A bit sucky seeing as we wanted to live & work in the same area, but we're still hopeful. Beautiful windy roads hugging both mountain sides & the oceans edge. Hidden driveways leading to amazing Ocean side homes & high hedges hiding cute B&B's. Small cafes filled with locals on a break & local markets still selling organic veggies. It reminded me of the quaint villages in Europe I always wanted to move to.
Mill Bay was the first stop & I'm sure I don't have to tell you that it stole our hearts. We stopped for a coffee & to talk with some locals & as we left I eagerly looked for 'for sale' signs....
Cobble Hill was next & although it was off the Ocean & more into the mountains, Chris was picturing his Brewery in a few gorgeous open meadow like areas. It could be so picture perfect!
Cowichan Bay was cute as a button, the Bakery is hiring & we saw all the kids running out of school playing soccer. It was perfect (there was even a house we could rent near by!)
Maple Bay was more of a community up a steep hill instead of a town & Crofton was not at all what we were looking for. All in all it was an extremely productive day. We ventured further north then we anticipated for the day, but it was ok. Better then ok, it was glorious!
On our way home we stopped in at a local Fish n Chips place for a bite. I know, I know, we're veggies ~ but when in Rome i guess.... (Chris didn't have any & Oz was asleep from the long day of driving, so it was only Callym & I). Yum tho!
Anyways, we got back to the hotel & relaxed some more. Hot tubing & swimming.
Here's a photo of Callym with a big tree we saw

Wednesday.
I woke up thinking that we were going to head up to LadySmith (the town that kept popping up in my research, the one that I kept deleting). But Chris had other plans. We packed up the car (again), packed up poor Twinkle (again)

& off to Sooke we were! SookeSooke is kinda going thru a rough time right now. People are selling because there are no jobs & they can't afford to stay (at least 70% drive into Victoria to work as it is). If we were to settle here, our business' would be what would keep us going (& the town hopefully). The people we talked with were very supportive of Chris starting a brewery here ~ such great news! One thing that Sooke had that no other town did, was the ability to walk around & know everyone. It really is a town away from it all. One road in & one road out (if there is an accident, you're stuck!) The western part of the Island is much quieter & less populated then the east.
After Sooke we had just enough time & day~light to make it to our hotel in Chemanius. Once there we headed to town to see what we could see. Ah SO CUTE!!! I'm glad we kept this one till close to the end. Chemanius is known for having their own currency, we haven't collected any yet but it's legal tender in Canada & it sounds pretty cool. Chemanius is also known for their murals. Being a bit dark we didn't really get to see any, but I'm sure we will soon. We did a quick tour of town but most of the stores were already closed & the rest were closing within minutes. We found a Christmas store that was still open & popped in. The lady working was from Manitoba & the lady who owned the store was from SK. It was nice meeting people who had travelled like us to make a new life ~ but I must admit that the lady from Sk was a real dream squasher. She kept saying things like "oh it's such a nice dream but....." & "you know it's much harder work" & oh so much more. I wanted to squash her (I'm being really nice here), anyways needless to say we were all pretty down after that :(
We made it back to the hotel hoping to grab a bite to eat in the restaurant ~ but there was no restaurant.... ah, anyways, to end off this day I ordered us pizza & the boys went out for a swim. Bed time for us, such a long day only to have it end sour because of that lady.

Here's a cute house we saw for sale

Today is THE day.....

So, today is it. This is what we've been waiting months for, talking about, researching about, dreaming about. Today is the day we will be getting on the Ferry & finally seeing what the Island may be holding for us. Is our future there? Will it all work out this time?
I spent the night awake & unable to sleep. I don't know why it dawned on me then that the hard work was about to begin. Chris & I don't want to move the boys again & again & again..... We need to find a seriously cool town to set some roots down in. Funny how finding an apartment, job or school isn't freakin' me out, but finding the perfect town is. I guess we'll see.... but first, the ferry!
We woke up to rain, which was fitting considering the rumour is that is what we will be living with now! A dreary day outside, but we were all happy inside!

We packed up the car, the cat (Twinkle has been doing amazing!), & headed out! We were in a total rush this morning so we didn't have the chance to have a proper good~bye & thank you to Auntie Barb. :(

After paying for our ferry spot we waited around for around an hour. We walked around the market & then came back to the car. At one point I got a little cold so I asked Chris to start the car.......
 But it wouldn't.....
Scary.......
Our poor car ("captain") did so well this entire time, & now that we were about to drive onto the ferry & take the last~first step, it wouldn't start......
I think it was because the radio was on or maybe she wasn't use to the rain yet, but who really knows. Thank gawd the nice guy beside us flipped his truck around to give us a boost! And just in time too, as our captain started up again with a nice roar, people were passing us to get on the ferry!
Phew!
What a sight for us! first ferry since Costa Rica! Boy were we excited!!!

The 2 hourish ferry ride went by pretty fast actually. We were all hungry & excited & didn't know what to expect. I think Chris was a little nervous still, wondering if the car was going to start. (I wasn't worried tho! :)
Oscar was super excited to see a lighthouse,

It was a gorgeous ride. I wish I had photos, but I was just in awe of everything around me, & still in a bit of shock that we had actually made it all the way.

Look at the km we have done so far! what a wild ride!!!
And back to Twinkle! What an amazing cat! (part cat, part squirrel & part dog), here she is getting her first proper breathe of the salty island air (think she can smell the fish)?

of course we had to brave the cold & wind to get down to the actual water!

it was so amazing! I know we just got here, but it feels right!
We're off to the hotel now for some dinner & proper relaxing before we head off to do some important work ~ Finding the perfect town to settle down in so you all can come & visit!

Till later!
T

the last few days.

So we left Slocan & the Hill family. It was so sad because we were having so much fun! But west is where we're headed & so off we must go. I needed to get a photo of all 4 of the boys. Can you believe this???
(Oscar, Grayson, Callym & Dryden)

We decided to make our long 1 day drive to Vancouver into a shorter 2 day drive. This would give the kids an easier time & would give me a chance to see Baby Taylor (& of course Kathy & Rob). I would post photos ~ but Kathy asked me not to (If you wanna see the baby, email me OK!)

The drive to Penticton was gorgeous! The orchards & rolling hills....

 We thought maybe if it doesn't work out on the Island, we'd consider coming back here.
Pentiction was a short visit. We went out for dinner with Kathy & Rob (here is Chris' fortune),

 we visited as much as we could, got some sleep & headed out on the road again. Taylor is the cutest little girl I've seen, & such a good baby! Kathy & Rob both seem so happy to have her! It was so SO nice to see them!
The drive from Penticton to Vancouver was big! We had to get over 3 passes ~Luckily there was still no real snow. Chris drove the entire way again (amazing!!) I took photo's & took it all in....

 The town of Hope caught our attention. It was very cute, small, friendly & tucked away from the highway. We took a break to watch a bit of the Bomber game, have lunch & play at the park!

After Hope it seemed to go down hill (literally ~ haha!). The roads got faster, the mountains disappeared & the towns got much much bigger. Nothing that we were looking for :(

Bye Bye Mountains :(

We headed into Surrey to visit with Auntie Barb tonight. So nice to see her! It was so much fun to hang out and catch up! I wish we were spending more time together, but I guess it's just nice to be able to see people for the time we have right? Tomorrow is the Aquarium & dinner at my fav. Uncle's. Should be fun!

Till then,
T

callym again

Today we are at the Vancouver aquarium.  These are some of the animals we saw.  First we saw parrots,

piranhas,

catfish,

a huge fish- an Arapaina, the biggest freshwater fish in the world

- bats and snakes.  Then we saw the jellyfish room with big and small ones. 

 these ones were super tiny

 these ones were really big

We saw sharks and manta rays,

electric eels, garden eels,

an octopus,

crabs and little lobsters, and pipe fish.  We also saw turtles, starfish,

beluga whales

lion fish, angel fish, sea horses, sea cucumbers,

harbour seals, sea otters, frogs, and tadpoles. 

And now for something real cool.  We saw a dolphin show!!!!  The boy was named Spinnaker, and he was the biggest.  There were also two girls, one was named Hannah, and I forget the other one. 

The dolphins jumped out of the water very high and other times landed on their back making a big splash.  They would do a whole bunch of different tricks, like rollover, shake their head and swim very fast.  Hannah even did three big jumps in a row! 

Here's funny part.  When one of the trainers threw some fish in, there was a seagull nearby who dived in for the food.  There was a big fight underwater.  The seagull was trying to get the fish and so were the dolphins.  I saw a big bubble underwater but the seagull did not die, just ran out of breath.  He came out with a red leg cause the dolphin bit him going for the food.  The dolphin did get the food. 

The show wasn't very long but it as very cool.  After the show we went and saw frogs like red-eyed tree frogs, blue jeans frogs, toads, poisonous frogs, and many others. 

Then we went to the gift shop and Oscar bought a stuffed Tiger shark and I bought a stuffed Spinner Dolphin.  That was the end of the aquarium.  We drove to Mom's uncle's house for supper.  I got to play with Lego and I built a car and attached to the top a piece of flat lego and then under that I built a camper.  After that we went to Aunty Barb's house and went to bed. 


Callym Lukie