Inside Passage, British Columbia / Kelly Date May 9, 2010

I had forgotten how difficult it was to sleep on the ferry. No cabin, no sleeping. I had expected a restless night, but about 4:00 a.m. four young boys on the bball team decided it was time for some fun. I’m pretty sure they woke everybody up and the Steward came by several times to quiet them to no avail. However, this encouraged me to start the day and by 4:30 I was up and waiting at the side door to catch the morning light.

Of course the ferry is built so that you can’t get to the bow, which is of course where the sun was to come up. Regardless, joined by two young fellows, one from Holland the other from Germany, we decided to enter the "forbidden zone", clearly marked "stay out" on the upper front deck. I think they call it a "restricted area", but at 5:00 a.m. in the morning we did not expect any company. And, we managed to enjoy the absolute best of the day, get in some great photos before getting booted lol. I'm smiling. Best shot of the day. However......

Apparently, we are brain dead idiots who can’t read lol. We three, were of course simply delighted to get in some good shots of the coming sun. It is going to be a glorious day and I will most likely add to the commentary throughout....

Okay, I'm back and right now I'm in Prince Rupert, BC waiting for the ferry to continue on its way to Haida Gwaii. We arrived at 2:00 p.m., but I'm here until 11:00 p.m. tonight. Ah well, I found a coffee shop and got a lot of work done, phone calls made, and my blog up-to-date.

Reflecting back on the day it was absolutely wonderful. The sun was out and it was warm enough to have spent a considerable amount of time out on the deck watching for whales. I met a young man BJ from Victoria who is also travelling to the Haida Gwaii to work for the summer and a gentleman by the name of Steven Bangos.

Steven was an instant mate who proved to have similar interests as my own. At heart we are both adventurers and we spent several hours yattering about everything from great bear stories to JFK's assassination. He is from southern California and headed to Anchorage, Alaska to start a restaurant. It is called the Silver Derby Dinner and is scheduled to open in 2011. So if any of you happen to be headed that way, be sure to check it out and let him know how you found out about this great spot. It is always nice to meet great people you can chat with while journeying - such fun and a wonderful way to explore other's ideas and thoughts.

Sadly, I did not see any whales but did see a small group of dolphins did pass by in the usual way. They looked like they were having a blast and I was glad to have caught them in a photo. Not a great photo, but I can assure you it is more difficult to get it just right given how quick they move through the water.

I cannot tell you how beautiful the Inside Passage is along the west coast of British Columbia. It almost has an eerie quality to it. I swear, I felt like I was in a scene from Jurassic Park when the birds would soar past the boat. I was lucky though as the water was very calm and the reflections could be seen along the shoreline, mirrored perfectly onto the water. I've included a picture of this to the right as it was so pretty and another photo of a lady looking out from the upper deck from just behind the lifeboat station. It looked as though she was having a lot of fun just taking it all in and getting the most out of the day.

I am writing this from a small pub (closed down the coffee shop) looking out over the harbour at Prince Rupert. Came for the chowder and actually got to watch a bit of the hockey game: Vancouver vs Chicago. We're winning yea! But, it's back to the ferry soon and a bit of work going over the tour information for the cultural centre. Should be fun.....

Kelly reporting in from the Inside Passage, British Columbia, Canada.

Off To Haida Gwaii - Packed, but not ready...

After hugs and kisses goodbye to Chelsey, Randy, and Mr. Finningan, I left Nanaimo, B.C. on the bus to Port Hardy at 10:33 sharp and headed out with great expectations as to what the day was to bring. I was not to be disappointed. The bus trip was fairly uneventful, but we did make pit stops in Parksville, Campbell River, and Port McNeil on the way north. We saw two bears about 50km outside of Port Hardy and a truck that was on fire somewhere in the same vicinity. Cool.

We stopped for nothing and no one - hot on the trail to catch the 6:00 o’clock ferry. With the exception of a very chatty lady who kept trying to get my attention with questions that might hopefully engage me: unfortunately my eyes were on the road ahead and was not to be easily engaged lol.

I didn’t actually make it into Port Hardy itself as the bus takes you right into the ferry terminal which is about 10 minutes south of the township. I took a couple of great pictures of the ferry prior to getting on and afterwards. What a fantastic ferry. It’s new and and from what I can tell a great place to spend the next 18 or so hours. Once aboard I headed to the purser’s office who kindly took my pack and then made my way to an outdoor sitting area to get some video footage and pictures. (Note: I will be posting some video footage, but have to figure out how to first ... so stay posted.)

It's 7:00 p.m. and I’m currently sitting in the cafeteria/lounge area and just to give you an idea of the prices: coffee $2.26; wine $10.06. I am drinking the coffee lol. I’m going to take some more pictures in a while. I want to catch the early evening and sunset so the light is better. It’s really too bright to get good photos right now. The afternoon has come and gone and I’ve managed to stake out a small space for myself in the Aurora Lounge.

There are about 10 people sleeping in this area tonight and much to my delight the guy right across from me snores. Argh, my worst pet peeve of all time. Not that he can do anything about it, but my instinct is to stuff a big old sock in his mouth. To top that off, he left his computer movie on full blast. So I shall pass the rest of the evening away listening to the gentleman snore to the beat of his boring movie. Thank gawd I brought earplugs and I can still here him ha ha.

Ah well, the upside is that there was an awesome sunset tonight and I took some wonderful photographs. You would be proud of me as it was dreadfully cold and the wind was battering against the west side of the ferry, but I hung in to the bitter end much to my delight now that I’m warm and comfy in my public state room. Things is just different on a ferry; you wander about, get the lay of things, stake

out some space and join all the other souls trying to get some sleep with no mattress. Oh right, the snoring guy brought along his own full size air mattress so he could sleep more deeply. Argh.

It’s been a fabulous day and please drop a note if you are curious about something in particular that I’m doing as I make my way northward. Always nice to hear from people.

Kelly

Kelly Date May 2, 2010

So leaving off from last Sunday, I arrived in

Nanaimo on West Coast Air, which flies you

straight from Vancouver to the town's harbour. Wow, wow, wow! It was incredibly beautiful coming across the straight. The sun was shining, the water was a deep deep blue, and the ferry was chugging its way across to the Vancouver terminal. I'd forgotten how lovely it was here and I had such a sense of coming home. Wonderful. Finnigan had a great trip as well, at least he didn't seem any the worse for his experience. However, he was exceedingly glad to see me ha ha.

Chelsey was there at the docks to pick me up and we had a warm and welcome reunion. Finnigan jumping and barking and the girlies hugging. Great to see her and we spent the week hanging out as much as possible. Went to dinner several times and you could not have kept me away from Bocca Coffee and a "Big Cookie". The best cookie on the planet in my humble opinion. Ha, even Randy was keen to get one. Chelsey is happy to be back at work there and is doing much of the baking. She's so good at it - huge pumpkin spice and cranberry muffins - my favorites, although I don't eat them often. Way too fattening. You can see how pleased she was that I was there to take pictures of her at work lol.

I'm missing Celise and Carissa, but will be stopping off in Calgary on my way back from Haida Gwaii to visit with them. So, I've been busy finishing up a few projects here at the university and ..... taking a break to go to the store with Randy. I require sustenance.....I'll be back. Me

So I'm now back from the store and dinner and a movie and a trip to the other store and fun with Finnigan and Randy. We actually ended up going to London Drugs in the end to pick a camera lens I was hoping to take with me to the Haida Gwaii. I have the zoom lens, but now I'll be able to take some wide angle zooms with the new prezzy I bought myself. Randy is of course quite proud of the fact that he had dragged me away from the store yesterday only totrack down a lower price, which they price matched. So I got a great deal and a lens cover for a lot less than what I would have paid otherwise. You can see him the picture to the left playing with the other prezzy.

My apologies for the lengthy blog, but I've had a busy week. I hung out with my dear friend Rose and we spent the entire time laughing about some crazy thing. We were late picking up Chelsey and we laughed about that. We laughed about last year and the year before that - as good friends do. We even picked up the mail and of course we stopped for coffee. Randy has been great and very helpful and we spoke to his Mom and Dad last night (Hello Anne-Marie) who live in Quebec. Always nice to hear from them and they had well wishes for me on my pending trip to the Haida Gwaii.

The last picture is a nice one from a walk Randy and I took up at Westwood Lake. We messed around taking lots of pics and trying out the new video camera. We took two hours to walk a distance that should have taken only 45 minutes tops. But we had fun and have proof of the excursion.

I will blog again this week as I get ready to leave on Saturday for Haida Gwaii. It will be a blast to pack and re-pack all the gear and totally fun to think of getting underway. I should have time tomorrow to figure out how to upload a video clip onto the blog as well. I'll try - no promises though. Have a great week and I'll be back soon to let you know how things are going.

Kelly Date April 25, 2010

Kelly's going on an expoitition to the north ... well the west actually but who's directing.

I'm off again and looking forward to two weeks in Nanaimo before heading out to the Haida Gwaii. I was actually able to leave Nova Scotia early as the housesitting gig fell through and VIU decided to cover the cost of upgrading my flight and hotels. So I will be working at the university this coming week with Nicole and will finish off the federal government's project on amenities-based rural development prior to my departure for Skidegate. Works for me.

So Mr. Finnigan is presently crated up and waiting in the cargo area for the flight. He looked none too happy to be boxed in, but he will be fine and I will catch up with him again in Vancouver. As for me, I will be seeking out a space to catch a nap. I was so excited about getting underway that there was little sleeping that occurred last night. Yeesh, I was up at 3:30 and tossed all night long.

Susan picked me up at 5:30 for the drive to the airport and I was ready to go - packed, stacked, and sacked. Fin was nervous and unsure what was going on until I said the magic words "Wanna go see Randy and Dozey", and then he was all excited. Two of his favourite peoples on the planet. Thanks to Susan for the ride to the airport, which is a major pain as it take a full hour to make the drive and then of course the drive back not discounting the fact that one has to get up at 4:30 in the morning to make it all happen. I owe her big time.

So I will be blogging more frequently for the duration of the trip and journalling about my adventures in the Haida Gwaii. I have the camera with me so will be posting wondering pictures for you to ooh and ahh over so stay posted. I've also purchased a video camera so will post a few clips here and there so you get a sense of the place. Hopefully, I will be able to avoid the bears up close and personal, but if I do happen to see some will include that on the blog for sure.

John might be able to stop in and visit enroute to Whitehorse mid June. If he does we have plans to go sea kayaking and maybe a tour or two. Should be fun.

So stay in touch and check back often as I will be doing some serious adventuring lol. Have a totally awesome day. Me.

Kelly Date April 18, 2010

It's been a bit of a quiet week, but I did manage to get a few things accomplished. The main thing was finishing up an online survey for John which we had been working on for some time. Nice to get it inched along a little further. I did get a few things done for my trip as I had expected to be house sitting this week and didn't think I would get to it while away. However, the mini-vaca from my present lodging to another has been postponed as John and Susan's trip to Britain has been cancelled. I guess the volcano in Iceland has put things off for a time. Aw well, I guess I get to hang out here for another two weeks instead.

Nicole will be here next week from Vancouver Island University to work on our project, which should help make the time go by quickly. Hopefully, that will bring my work on that project to an end and I can spend my last week here focused on getting ready for the trip back to the west coast. Even though John and Susan will be here, they have agreed to have a dinner regardless so it will be fun on Tuesday for everyone to get together. Very nice of John and Susan to have Nicole in their home even though it was supposed to me doing the hosting. I guess I'll be buying the fixings though so we can have a nice sit down. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate.

So overall a quiet week, but fun nonetheless. The weather has been a bit cold and the nights seem to go below freezing. I was half expecting it to snow today, which is making the west coast sound even better. Can't wait to go back home if even for a few days. I'm looking forward to seeing my friends and Chelsey. Anywho, have a great week. Enjoy!

The picture I chose to include this week is from walk I went on recently. I went along the dykes for about 16 kilometers and this is one of the gates I found at the end of the trail. It was a glorious day and I enjoyed the time out in the sun very much. The pastures are starting to come alive with the warmer weather and it's a delight to wander along the dykes (sea wall) and take it all in.

Kelly Date April 11, 2010

Hello Everyone!

It's been a relatively slow week for me, but this is good as I was down with a horrible cold. Right up until Friday and Saturday I was not a happy camper in the slightest. Yeesh, I absolutely hate being sick - the stuffed nose, the coughing, the blowing - all of it - hate it - hate it! The weekend did go a little better though and I actually got out of town Sunday afternoon and took a drive down to Avonsport, Greenwich, and Hantsport. It was a nice day out, but the wind was really blowing, which made it seem a lot colder than it was.

I did find a nice beach to hang out at - Blue Rock Beach. It was a shale beach and must have been at least six miles

long. Fin and I had a great time wandering along the shoreline and we even had a beautiful view of Blomidon Point off to the south east. Some of the pictures are really quite nice and I have included several from Greenwich, Avonport, and Hantsport to give you an idea of whatthe area looks like. Most of the places we visited looked out over the Bay of Fundy and the tide was coming in so the colour of the water is a rich ochre red.

It was nice at Blue Rock Beach as it was sheltered from the wind and it was incredibly warm. The shale was so beautiful - miles and miles of it and a lovely deep grey colour. You could have driven up with a truck and carried tons of it away for a patio. Not that I would recommend it as the shale seems to suit the place where it is presently located ha. The idea of a shale path or patio is appealing, but the shale seems to be there for a reason - to make a fantastic beach. The best part was the crunchy sound it made every time you took a step. Very neat.

I've actually taken a number of pictures of the spring flowers this week. The crocuses are out in full bloom and I'm really surprised at how many there are - they seem to be everywhere and come in so many wonderful colours. I especially like the whites and blues. The trees are started to leaf out and you can see everything coming back to life - winter pushed aside for long summer days and swimming. Many of the garden centres are opening up again and restaurants closed for the season are in full swing. Spring is areally busy place around here and I've seen so many people out in their gardens getting ready for the new season.

I am getting excited about going back to the west coast. Three more weeks and I'll be heading out for Nanaimo and then the Haida Gwaii on the 4th and 9thof May respectively. I will be housesitting for John and Susan for two weeks as well, beginning on the 19th of April and right after that I shall make my escape. I can wait to Chelsey and Rose and Randy and visit my old haunts.

Should be fun! Have a great week - catch ya later.

Kelly

Kelly Date April 4, 2010

It was a great day here in Wolfville. I think the temp hit 25 degrees and at 3:30 I had had my fill of homework and decided to take Finnigan and myself out for a walk. So we packed up the camera, a small snack, water, and kleenex as I have a cold and off we went. There are a series of hikes and beaches just south east of here that I wanted to go back to and explore.

Okay, 16km is much further than it might seem. However, Finnigan and I enjoyed a wonderful two hour hike out on the dykes this afternoon with the sun blazing and the wind blowing gently off the Bay of Fundy. The farms and fields in the background were stunning and it made for a perfect Easter Sunday in Nova Sccotia. Actually, I think Finnigan was more glad to see the car than I was but my first pit stop thereafter was the local pub for some wings and wine. Sounded like a good idea at the time lol.

We passed an old grave yard along side the road that I'm sure nary gets a visitor, old farm gates, and views that lookout out onto the Bay of Fundy that were stunning. I thought that we'd be able to loop around and back onto the road at some point but that was a mistake. Making several

attempts to cross farmer's fields and back onto the main road when awry and we ended up doubling back the exact same way we had gone to get back to the car. Aw well, it was beautiful regardless but a very long walk.

There were some ducks out on the flats that were too far out to get good pictures of, but at low tide they looked very happy to be plunking around in the muck looking for their next meal. Finnigan is was oblivious to it all

poking around the path sniffing everything of the slightest interest and stopping every once in a while to look back and see if I was still coming. Once so satisfied, he would tear off down the path to the next delight. Silly puppy. I'm betting he's asleep before we hit the highway on the way back home lol.

The night before I decided to go to what was billed as "Get Your

Barn On", a night of good music and good times.

As I had never before been to a barn dance I was mightly intrigues and decided to pay the prescribed $10 entrance fee and see w

hat it was all about. A group of home grown Annapolis boys were home from Montreal and making the rounds for family and friends. Hillbilly music a la carte, but it was fun and noisy. I on the other hand got a headache and had to depart early.

But it was fun and overall I had a great week and the weather has improved greatly. I have of course another busy week and I'll be one week closer to leaving for the Haida Gwaii. Yeah. Should be fun lol.