Picture: Our visit to Prince Rupert coincided with their annual "Seafest" celebrations. The picture shows "First Nation" people dancing at the community center. Their attire, drumming and dancing reminded us of the Tlingit or Haida people in the Southeastern Alaska.

We were excited to participate in some of the activities that the community offered during their "Seafest" celebrations. One of activities was the "Senior Tea"; we thought we might meet some local people and get some local knowledge of the area at the same time, and we sure did! We met a couple in their late eighties, John and Peggy, with whom we had an interesting conversation. John even invited us to their home and so we visited some more there. His lounge seemed like an old fashioned library, two sides of walls were full of books. He was like a walking encyclopedia. It is amazing that he could remember all those facts and which book has the information. I talked with Peggy much of the time; otherwise she doesn't get to speak at all. She said that Prince Rupert has not changed very much over the past 40 years and they have not recovered from the deep economic recession of 2008. The population was 20,000 when she moved there in 1975 and now it is about 15,000. She is disappointed with big businesses dominating the waterfront properties. Now there is little free waterfront public access.

After the visit with John and Peggy, we walked to the community center and watched the dancing for a few hours. Because of our close association with the natives in Alaska, the familiarity of the dances and the sound of the drumming and chanting brought comfort to our minds and souls.

Prince Rupert is on the rail and road systems; it is possible to ride the rail all the way to Edmonton, Alberta, and it also connects with the Al-Can Highway. So the town is well-connected with the rest of the world. I did notice that fruit and vegetables are cheaper than at Ketchikan. When travelling north the city is the last major town before leaving Canada. When travelling south it is the first. Customs check-in for ourselves and the boat was by phone, we have never experienced one so easy.

Included in the festival was Canadian Coast Guard patrol boat tour. Ted and I jumped on board the big vessel along with many local residents. Ted finds anything associated with marine, boat and boat parts interesting. Sometimes we even stroll through marinas to look at the various vessels. He is comical that way�... like a postman on holidays.