Happy Holidays

If anyone is still reading this, we'd sure like to know! e-mail to robanddeirdre@shaw.ca...

I promised to make a few more entries but have been very busy recently. David and James have been doing lots of swimming at the SAIT pool. They're really enjoying it. David was also doing drama camp this fall and was in a play at the Pumphouse Theatre a few weeks back. Today was the last day of school for the boys; over the break they'll be doing some art classes, and then starting cross-country skiing (Jackrabbits) in January. Hopefully the weather will stay a bit on the warmer side, and the snow will come down in heaps in the mountains.

Apart from this, we are looking forward to a relaxing break from school. Some Skiing, skating, and a few parties and visits with friends, a big turkey dinner at the Delta on Christmas day and New Year's in the Porcupine Hills - sounds like a traditional Alberta Christmas time I guess.

Merry Christmas to all those far away; we are missing a vist with Jill in Toronto at the moment as she is in town singing the Messiah with Taffelmusik. Hope she has a good time! Best wishes to the Irish cousins, Aunts and Uncles, and of course, to GP & GT in Toronto.

Sad day

This just a short note to relate the death of Craig Foss. Craig and his wife Maureen rstayed in our house while we were away adventuring. At that time, Criag had a bone marrow transplant, and eventually recovered to the point where he could be home for a while. Unfortunately, Craig's cancer spread to his lungs, and yesterday evening, he lost his long battle.

Maureen's message can be seen at http://craigfoss.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=115

Bright sunshine in Alberta today.

Weather's Good There in the Fall...

It's been a long time since we've added anything to the old travel blog, but we decided it was worth keeping going as a means of updating any interested folk on our life and activities. If you scroll down, there are a couple of new larger format pictures, as well as the little ones on the side.

Back in August, both David and James went to COP camp. The late summer weather was excellent, and we got up to the mountains a bit for some hiking and canoeing. We spent a lot of time working on the garden at Ecole King George with the other volunteers, and have managed to make the area under construction look pretty nice. It features some new elements including an outdoor classroom amphitheatre.

I was back to school in the third week of August, back to Ecole Fairview, and the boys started back in September. James is in grade 1 with Madame Marie, and David in grade 5 with Madame Doan. They are both having a good start to the year. Apparently taking five months off to travel was not too harmful. Deirdre is the new chair of the Parent council at King George, and I am organizing the fundraising casino so we can buy a new playground. Lots to keep us busy.

We had a great visit from Grandma Pat and Grandpa Tony in September. They were out West to attend a wedding anniversary party for Doug and Libby Wise in Kelowna. The great weather persisted and they had a fine time cruising Lake Okanogan looking for Ogopogo. It is always a treat for David and James to see their grandparents. We had the added bonus of helping grandpa Tony ease up to turning 70, and a party complete with Crave cupcakes. In the middle of their visit, I was off with 40 students and 3 other teachers for a week of sail training with SEA Programs. This is the 11th year I've taken a group out, and it marks 15 years of sail training with CBE students for me. The trip was wonderful; we had great weather, and saw a lot of marine life. All the students did really well, and all the ships were happy. It is always good to reconnect with the SEA crew, though I miss spending time with Captain Greg on the Passing Cloud. The big news in the SEA family is the upcoming marriage of Captain Ryan, and former first mate Kim, the Goddess of the Galley, in Kamloops next summer.

At Thanksgiving, we had a visit from Simon, Sharon, Caleigh, Jenna and Bram. A good time was had by all. James insisted that Jenna stay in his room. We all went to the Westside wave pool/water slide to build an appetite for the BIG TURKEY DINNER which was fabulous. Again, we had great warm, dry fall weather and spent a lot of time out enjoying the sunshine at the zoo and playgrounds.

Throughout October, the weather has been good enough for me to keep cycling to work. The mornings have become a little dark and icy, but the afternoons are generally glorious. Last night was Hallowe'en; David was a Zombie/Skeleton rising from a tomb stone, and James was Hobbes (the tiger; not the Philosopher). The evening was mild and the whole neighbourhood was out socializing. The candy haul was good, but not outrageous.

Adjusting back to normal life has been a bit of a challenge. After spending so long moving from one amazing place to another, it's tough to head up and down the same streets every day. I'm imagining we'll adjust (no choice!) but I'm also planning for the next big adventure, possibly in 2011. Tomorrow night we are hosting the 2nd of 3 slide shows of our trip photos. We still have over 7000 photos to finally process, organize and share. It will take a while to get through it all. Meanwhile, we enjoy looking at our trip, and remembering all the places, but especially the people, we connected with.

Watch this space for more to come...

New Pictures for those still looking

Now that we've had a chance to save and store our images from the trip, we've changed all the ones on the site. Hope you enjoy. David and James are liking being back home. Both have been swimming at the outdoor pool, and enjoyed time at COP Adventure camp.

David turned 10 on August 6th - small party included a trip to the pool and David's favourite meal, fusilli longhi, with lots of capers. Thanks for all the birthday greetings and presents!

Not sure how often we'll keep up with the blog, but we will add some text and pictures from time to time. Continue to check it out, especially around major holiday/vacation times, if you wish.

Home again, home again...

We have now been back in Calgary (safely) for a couple of days. Starting to reflect on 5 months away. Visits to 27 castles, countless markets, countable UNESCO World Heritage Sites and many many museums.

No hospital visits!

No illness, in spite of drinking the local water and munching the local street food everywhere we went!

On budget! (well, almost)

And I will be changing all the pictures on the blog over the next few days for sure. Thanks for watching us on our trip; we will be planning a party soon where attendees can view a highly edited version of our 5000+ trip photos.

Many huge thanks to Maureen & Craig for taking such good care of our house through their ordeal, and to Bob, Holly, and Becky for looking out, cutting grass (never looked this good before) and picking us up at the airport!!! And then feeding us Pizza!!!!!!!

Noonway.

maybe the last entry from the field?

Can't beleive we're almost home! We have had some great adventures through Scotland and Wales, including a trip out to the Isle of Mull (from where Calgary gets its name) and the sheepy mountains around Snowdonia. We met a world-champion sheep-dog handler, Aled Jones, and saw how his dog Gwyn can collect sheep and move them where ever he wants. Sheepdog puppies were plenty cute too. We also went deep into King Arthur's caves, visited the slate mines and spent a day on the beach. Carnaerffon castle was also a great visit and we were very saw to have to say goodbye to Cyffdy cottage when we had to leave.

Travel tip: the Yout Hostel in Bath is full of mold. Don't stay there.

In London now, and have been to the RAF Museum, Hyde Park (where James clonked his head on the playground again), Tate British and Modern galleries and the Tower of London. Lots of good bloody stories there for sure.

Tomorrow the boys reach the promised Mecca of Legoland. We'll visit Deirdre's cousin Chitra on Saturday and hopefully get to Hampton Court Monday. We're loving staying in Jill's house, but wish she was there with us!

See y'all back in Calgary Aug. 1st

Bonnie Bonnie Banks o Loch Lomond

Just figures... we want a quiet highland getaway and they have to host the Scottish Open golf tourney 3km down the road from our hostel... Traffic is a problem, but all the golfing stars are out and about. So, we've been enjoying this part by visiting some castes. First, Doune Castle, where the lion's share of Monty Python and the Holy Grail was filmed. They even give you coconut shells at the entry to enhance your visit. Very cool to see the spot where John Cleese (Launcelot) slashed his way through the peasants to save the 'princess' in the tower, and to see the wall where the French Knights taunted King Arthur and his men, and eventually launched a cow at them! Fun castle visit!

From there, we went to Loch Katrina for a boat tour and some local stories of Sir Walter Scott, who apparently landed a 34 lb Pike from the Loch. More recently, it is the drinking water supply for Glasgow, some 30km away. Nice highland views. Today we visited Stirling Castle, and the battlefields where William Wallace and Robert the Bruce became legendary as true BRAVE SCOTS. The boys love the gory history for sure. Axes in heads. Drawing and quartering. All very cool for sure. We also visited the Falkirk Wheel - a giant lift-lock on the canal system which uses a unique set of gears and wheels to raise and lower boats.

Then, back to the hostel, which is a massive estate home which looks a bit like Hogwarts's converted for hostel use. Our room is in a turret on the 3rd floor. Again, the boys think it's pretty cool.

If anyone is still reading this blog (I know it's summer now) thanks. We are just a few weeks from coming home and have enjoyed the e-mails and comments. We are having fun, but looking forward to seeing family and friends again!