It’s Remembrance Day, 2014 and I’m interlocking the sleeves of my parents’ Air Force jackets laid out on the bed. They are arm in arm once more. Mum, a coding and deciphering officer with the RAF, and Dad, an RCAF air observer/navigator with the 10th Squadron, Bomber Command, met at a dance in Gander, Newfoundland […]
Adventure Raconteur
Vancouver Skiers daytrip to Manning Park
If A Tree Falls…? Forty-two Vancouver Skiers fled the Lower Mainland’s Sunday drizzle for a snowier destination to Manning Park on January 18, 2015. Jason, our International Stage Lines driver, assured us we’d be on the soft stuff by 10:15, and indeed we were. Jason stayed throughout the day, at Lightning Lakes, so most skiers timed their […]
Vancouver Skiers in the Kamloops Region: Stake Lake and Sun Peaks
A full International Stage Lines busload of Vancouver Skiers with Orville at the helm left Vancouver’s mild, foggy condition for the snowy interior on January 9, 2015. We arrived at Stake Lake, 25 kilometers south of Kamloops to enjoy over three hours of expertly-groomed and track set conditions. With an elevation between 1270 and 1410 […]
Christmas Bird Count on Kauai
Bird-watching is the most popular recreation in America, and the Audubon Bird Count summons us every December to the Christmas Bird Count on the ‘Garden Isle’ of Kauai in the Hawaiian Archipelago. With David Kuhn, creator of the website, ‘Sounds Hawaiian’, we add native forest birds to our count. Kuhn leads us into the Alakai […]
Thormanby Islands, British Columbia (Sea) Horsing Around
Buccaneer Marina, on the northeast arm of Secret Cove, is a 45-kilometer drive from Langdale Ferry past Gibson’s Landing and Sechelt, on the sparkling Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. We’re headed for Buccaneer Bay on South Thormanby Island…a perfect place to horse around in sea kayaks on a fall Friday, if we can beat the weekend rush. Launch […]
Neither Wind, Nor Wave at The Across the Lake Swim, Kelowna, BC
We see neither wind nor wave from our perch on some rocks above the start of the 66th Across The Lake Swim, which loosely parallels the William R. Bennett Bridge (or Kelowna Floating Bridge), from the Old Ferry Wharf in West Kelowna to Hot Sands Beach, City Park, Kelowna in British Columbia’s arid interior. ‘Any wind? […]
Cowichan Locavores Hit the Trail
Southern Vancouver Island locavores lollygag on the Trans Canada Trail in the Cowichan Valley. See Joan’s article pages 6-9 with ‘Getting There’ finale. Here’s a synopsis: Follow Lochside Trail up and over the Saanich Peninsula to the Brentwood Bay Ferry. Stop at Seahorses Restaurant or Merridale Ciderworks for refreshment before rolling on to Shawnigan […]
The Rule of Three: Okanagan Cross Country Skiing
The Rule of Three Cross Country Skiing Omne Trium Perfectum Everything that comes in threes is perfect. We didn’t realize we were following The Rule of Three. One never knows this ahead of time. It’s a writing rule that loosely parallels a visual art concept, the rule of thirds. The three rule creates tension. Once it’s […]
Cross Country Skiing Lucky Streak
Vancouver Skiers to Stake Lake and Larch Hills Friday to Sunday Jan. 24-26, 2014 As Vancouver Skiers depart for some cross country skiing at Stake Lake (near Kamloops) and Larch Hills (near Salmon Arm), two distinct streaks of cloud give the eastern sky a gold-encrusted flair. One is a snow omen. Snow we cross country […]
TWS & North Vancouver City Library Local Authors’ Series
Upcoming poetry/prose readings: Thursday, October 3, 2013 The Writers’ Studio hosts readings at Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main St., 8pm start http://www.sfu.ca/continuing-studies/events/2013/10/tws-reading-series-jan-31.html AND Wed., November 27th, 2013 7-8:30pm (doors open at 6:30 for wine and refreshments) North Vancouver City Library Local Authors Series, with Dina Del Cucchia, Barry Jakal, Maria Tomsich, and yeah Joan’ll […]