We started the day in Seattle. Our wonderful hosts got up at the crack of dawn to get us to the early ferry.

We were blessed by a beautiful sunrise-like Seattle saying “See you again soon!”

Mount Rainier stood majestically in the distance.

The 3 hour journey went by in a flash and was a lovely way to spend a morning.

We were only in Victoria long enough to pick up a car.

The sights on route to our next destination were breathtaking.

But so was our destination. The weather cleared the further north on the island that we travelled. Our Home Exchangers had a beautiful little private beach, chairs and a dock. We were warned that we might want to clear off the otter poop. We celebrated arriving at our next leg in the journey with crisp white wine.

The owners of this Home Exchange had taste that matched my style exactly and it truly felt like home from the moment we arrived. We had hosted the owners, earlier this summer in Winnipeg.

Their home was on a hill across the road from the water’s edge. We made our way back up as the sun was getting lower, which at that time of year meant that it was chillier on the water.

This may be hard to make out but they had built a bar top and stools right by the hot tub.

These stairs ascended to the rear of the property where there was a platform to dine in the forest. The stair path also led to hiking trails which we didn’t actually get to.

This cozy corner was in one of the bedrooms where I spent my morning quiet time.

They had welcomed us to work on their current jigsaw puzzle but once again, I was stumped and didn’t have the patience for a single piece. But as they say “tomorrow is another day” and we were content to have a cozy supper prepared in their well equipped kitchen.

Kath’s quote: “The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking, you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.” – Julia Child

Love never fails.

The Iflands have long known that I am a lover of hearts. When I see a heart, I pause and take in the realization that I am loved. This image appeared on my breakfast table that morning.

There sure was a lot of love in that home. This is me with our Goddaughter Annalynn Joy.

And here is D with Theo and Anna.

We nipped home for a quick lunch after church and then headed downtown to see the sights.

We enjoyed our Executive Tour of Nordstroms, courtesy of Orion.

I included this picture of an Asian Food Court in the area. It was cleverly decorated with brightly coloured milk crates that I thought was so clever.

We had spent many hours at their famous market on previous trips, so we didn’t linger this time.

When we were last in Seattle there wasnt a lot to take in on the waterfront other than the market. The revitalized area was beautifully planned and executed.

It was packed with people enjoying a last glimpse of summer weather.

Perhaps the cruise ship market was the inertia for the investment in the waterfront.

Silas & Anna. This was my only pic of Silas, who was tremendously busy with his own artistic endeavours.

For our Thanksgiving dinner, Rebecca had made reservations at a fabulous Lebanese restaurant called Tanoor. I had never tasted Lebonese food before but it reminded me very much of trip to Israel years before.

The family were wonderful tour guides, pointing out buildings and landmarks all weekend. That evening, we stopped at a favourite place to see the city lights.

Kaths quote “I think that when you invite people to your home, you invite them to yourself.“-Oprah Winfrey

Love never fails.

We woke up in another bed. This time in Seattle where we visited dear friends who had once lived in Winnipeg.

Orion made us this stack of waffles

and then picked blueberries from their garden to accompany them. Delish!

They reside in a cozy home with a ravine/trail which runs behind it. When you looked off their back balcony, you couldn’t see anything but forest. Interestingly, there was a busy street that ran adjacent to the ravine and you would never know.

We were there to catch up with them and their four amazing kids, all with an art of their own. Here is a watercolour of the siblings, painted by our Goddaughter Anna Lynn.

We also got to see Seth on the cello at a rehearsal with the Seattle Youth Orchestra. I used to babysit for the family while Rebecca accompanied him to cello lessons. He is so posed and a natural with his cello.

D and their youngest -Theo, playing frisbee. D always finds something to engage the kids in our midst. They would run ahead and throw the frisbee until we caught up with them. D said it was a great work out.

We spent the afternoon strolling and catching up as we walked through an exquisite arboretum.

En route home, guess where we stopped? At a wonderful craft brewery of course!

Burke Gilman, had a great indoor and outdoor tasting room and was right around the corner from their home. D and Theo walked home, throwing their frisbee as they walked.

Kath’s quote: “In the book of life, old friends are the chapters we turn to again and again.” — Unknown

Love never fails.

We started the day in Vancouver. While D was finishing his work for the long weekend, I packed, cleaned and made lunches for our travel day.

We walked along our familiar pathway to the train station, even though it was a bus that we were taking.

When you travel on the “Connector” you board in Vancouver. The bus drives to Tsawwassen and right onto the ferry. The views were lovely as the ferry travels closer to the shore than when we journeyed to the Sunshine Coast. And our bus was first on AND first off!

Upon arriving in Swartz Bay, Vancouver Island, the Connector whisks you right to the beautiful harbour of Victoria. It was a short walk to the dock of the “Clipper”, a person only ferry, that would take us to Seattle. The Clipper docks right across from the historic Pendray Inn & Tea House, pictured above. I was glad for the short distance as we were pulling our luggage behind us (and remember that we were travelling for over three weeks)!

We had some hassles about our luggage as the Clipper wanted to charge us $100 for the privilege of bringing it along. D decided to book us VIP seating to satisfy the luggage cost, so we had front row seats and a glass of prosecco to boot!

D had his heart set on seeing a whale en route. As the sun had started setting early, we didn’t get a clear view of the water ahead,

but we enjoyed the sunset AND a double rainbow.

By the time we arrived, it was total darkness, but what better way to enjoy the Seattle skyline. I took this pic from the boat and had to crop and enlarge it. I love the abstract feeling of it with square blocks of colour instead of round images.

We were met by our lovely friends and we were as they say “tired but happy!”

Kath’s quote: “Take only memories, leave only footprints.” – Chief Seattle

Love never fails.

It was only a matter of time that we found the ginormous Craft Beer Market for Happy Hour.

D was delighted to try a couple of craft beers that he wasn’t familiar with. Thank heavens many craft beer places also serve wines now. I enjoyed a robust merlot.

We noticed that just about everywhere that we visited in BC served truffle fries with parmesan. Of course, we had to try them everywhere to declare our favourite. These were pretty darn good!

Our Home Exchangers also recommended Gusto for a light supper. It was the real deal for chilled Orvieto Classico and ham, mushroom and burrata pizza! We first started drinking Orvieto Classico together when we were first married. Since we were celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary, it seemed fitting, to celebrate with this delicious white wine.

We loved watching the families picking up their daycare kids in the vacinity. Many of them came in for a quick treat or a light supper. We felt like we had been inaugurated into the community and toasted each other with amazingly gelato in a waffle cone of course.

Upon leaving the restaurant, we noticed the pinkish mountains to the north.

It was a sensational evening for a walk along the False Creek trail.

We were delighted with the view of BC Place which we knew were going to host this year’s Grey Cup Game. Little did we know at that time, that it would be a bittersweet game for us Winnipeggers..

Vancouver’s city planners inserted a little bit of green space along the trail so that you felt like you got to enjoy a bit of scenic privacy, right smack in the middle of a bustling city.

This was one of my favourite pics from our time on the creek.

The sun was setting on a especially wonderful night, but also on our time in Vancouver. We had wonderful times ahead but didn’t know so at that time.

Kath’s quote: “Anticipation of pleasure is, in itself, a very considerable pleasure.“-David Hume

Love never fails.