It sure is good to be alive and we are having a wonderful time. We are currently in Vancouver, British Columbia, enjoying the fine hospitality of cruising friends, Rob and Debra from SV Avant. Although Randall and I have been to Vancouver before, both by boat and by plane, our focus has always been around Stanley Park and the City Center. Thus, we are very happy to be exploring the southern side of the city and Debra and Rob, a life-long resident, are excellent tour-guides. The late-springtime weather is marvelous and, as has been a theme all the way from Florida, dogwood trees and roses are in full, glorious bloom.



Jane and Peter in Abkhazi Gardens, Victoria

For both hospitality and tour-guiding, we are being completely spoiled as we travel (mooch?) our way around visiting family and friends. Our last hosts, Jane and Peter who live on Vancouver Island, took us to beautiful gardens in Victoria, to a huge wooden-trestle railway bridge, to towns which specialize in displays of contemporary totem poles or murals, and to an apple-orchard to for a cider-tasting. During our ferry-rides to and from Vancouver Island, we did not see any whales but we had excellent views of the Southern Gulf Islands and the snow-clad mountains north of Vancouver and on the Olympic Peninsula to the south.



Terry and Gretchen in Bellingham

Before arriving in British Columbia, we had a fun stay with Terry, Gretchen, Anna, and Emme, in Bellingham, WA (about 22 miles or 35 km south of the Canadian border). The two preceding nights that we had spent with Jan and Michael in Olympia (about 150 mile or 240 km further south) were a delightful reunion after being apart for a whole week. On May 20th, the four of us had enjoyed a day driving through Napa Valley, with Jan and Michael stopping for wine-tasting while Randall and I hiked and watched birds.



Jan and Michael in a Napa Valley vineyard

During the intervening week, Randall, Martha, and I had been reunited with other family members when we spent several nights staying with Cousin Court and his wife Ellen. This was the first time that we had visited their lovely mountain-side house in Jackson, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, southeast of Sacramento. The house had a spectacular view south over the Mokelumne River valley (pronounced something like moo-cull-mee...maybe?) and it was a great pleasure to spend time just sitting admiring the scenery and the visits of wild turkeys, lesser goldfinches, and Anna's hummingbirds. Court also took us to see: several erstwhile gold-mining towns; Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park; Silver Lake (above 8,000 feet or 2,440 m and the snowline); and Calaveras Big Trees State Park. The latter had a 1.6 mile (2.6 km) loop-trail from which impressive examples of giant sequoia trees could be admired. We were also very impressed that Martha negotiated this loop without any complaints of pain. It was her longest walk, by far, since having her hip-replaced.



Totem called Peaceful Boundaries with Top to Bottom: Raven, Maquinna sun mask, and double-headed sea serpent in Duncan, Vancouver Island

Giant sequoia trees are the more massive of the two redwood species native to California while the coastal redwoods are narrower but taller. A few days earlier, Randall and I had walked through the grove of coastal redwoods at Muir Woods National Monument, north of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, on our way to meet Jan and Michael in Napa Valley. We had also been walking around these trees in San Jose because there were several healthy specimens in the communal gardens around Martha's house.



Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, seen from the north end

Martha did use a cane for her marathon walk at Calaveras but by the time we had returned her to San Jose, she was walking around her neighborhood without any assistance at all, which was really encouraging. There were no limitations to her ability to drive so after a month together, she was fully independent again and we felt confident that we could leave her and take-off for Olympia.



Mural representing First Nations People prior to European contact, Chemainus, Vancouver Island

I will try to add more photos and some details about a few of the particularly interesting places that we have visited (Sarah Winchester's House in San Jose, a massive, rambling 160-room house that was continuously extended for 38 years - continuously as in night and day - springs to mind). However, that assumes that I can find sufficient time to sit and write between all of the wonderful activities that are being organized for us...we are so fortunate to have such generous and entertaining friends!



Water lilies in the Abkhazi Gardens, Victoria