Travelling on

After spending the last week in Aldergrove cleaning, washing and repacking George he is now at the depot ready for shipping back to Australia.  The grey dust set like cement on and under the truck and was so hard to wash off.  He served us well during our holiday and big trek up to Alaska and back.  The roads and mountains were a big test for him and he has earned a good rest.  We will be happy to welcome him back into Australia.

 

It was great to have the use of the cottage at Aldergrove while we prepared for our trip back home.  We enjoyed the company of Ian, Doreen, Laddie and their crew and are most appreciative of their friendship, help and support during our stay with them. Tom spent last Sunday driving us all around the beautiful city of Vancouver which has lots of waterways, mountains and gardens.  It took us no time at all to drive up the mountains in a modern vehicle  - a completely different story in a vehicle built in 1943.  We were very thankful to be passengers and to sit back and relax all day.

 

We are now "homeless" and completely reliant on public transport. It is quite nice being driven around in a quiet and airconditioned vehicle - far less stressful especially in a big city.  Fortunately we have managed to get around on buses and trains with our backpacks and wheeled duffle bag without any problems.  The people are very friendly and point you in the right direction if you need help.  Today we caught the ferry over to Vancouver Island where we will be spending 2 nights.  From what we have seen so far it is a pretty Island with a very "English" feel about it.  The city is bigger than what we expected but still has a big country town atmosphere.  Tomorrow we are going to the Butchart Gardens (it has been on my bucket list for ages) and fortunately more sunshine is forecast.   We have been very spoilt with the weather and the days have been lovely.

 

Although George provided a good home for us during the trip it is nice to have the space of a hotel room and to be sleeping on a big bed AND not having to get up at 5.00am.  It is the first time we have watched TV since first arriving in Canada and nothing much seems to have changed.  We didn't miss TV at all and have enjoyed the time after the trip to enjoy reading our books.

 

Just a matter of days until we fly home but in the meantime we plan to enjoy everything Canada has to offer.