Qualicum Beach storm 2010

Simply had to share these glorious pictures of the storm in Qualicum, December 2010, taken by a friend of a friend, Colin Kearns, in Qualicum. High tides, and strong winds, made for a gorgeous seascape on the eastcoast of Vancouver Island.

Hong Kong Christmas 2010

Ho ho ho! (In Cantonese, that means "yes, yes, yes!" And yes, we did have a wonderful Christmas this year. We still have a few days left of holidays until back to school on January 3rd, and it has been a relaxing and fun couple of weeks off. I hope all of your celebrations were wonderful too :)


It all started with the gingerbread house - and both Sarah and Meg jumped in! Not too many of the candies were eaten before they were finished :)

Sarah calls him Jean Pierre - getting ready for Montreal next year?


It wouldn't be the same without some of our cherished ornaments from our Island home - including the birdhouse from Don....
And the beautiful ornaments from Jan last year....
And some new ones to add from our Hong Kong home....
Meg and her much loved fabric peacoat - comes in handy when our temperatures dip below 10 degrees :)
A look at the tree and Aberdeen Harbour below



And Sarah's gifts to get her ready for her big trips this next year - Thailand in January, Bangladesh in April, and Nepal in July - makes the head spin! With a Canadian-made backpack and books on India and Nepal - she's almost ready! Just needs some hiking advice from Uncle Dave and Aunty Sue :)

And, waiting for the knock on the door - Christmas dinner is here!
Wait a minute - that's it?
Okay, then! Still hot and smells wonderful!
Sarah took some artistic shots of the table - actually looks a little Zen


Christmas turkey, coming up!
With all the trimmings - sprouts, stuffing pucks (long story), potatoes & gravy - a pie in the oven (fingers crossed!) and Sarah's nod to the holiday for her meal - cheese canneloni ?
Oh boy!
And trying out Bob's new camera, with tripod... 1/8 cup gravy anyone? Some things never change:) Merry Christmas to all of our loved ones at home!

We wish you all the best of the season, and health and happiness for 2011,

Much love, Bob, Jennifer, Sarah and Meg
xoxo

Meg and Bob do Australia!

Byron Bay in the background- gymnasts in the foreground
Meg and I on Byron Bay beach
crummy weather in Byron Bay- group shot
Meg doing her best Robin Hood imitation
Shannon and I getting ready for the ropes course
Meg and Gaby celebrated their birthday's 2 days apart so the Outdoor Ed. retreat had a cake done for them
Meg on the zipline ( flying fox) at Tyalgum Ridge
My travel partners- Mike Balo (Windsor, Ont) and Shannon Kerry( Portland, Ore)- too much fun
Up Mount Warning- 5 K straight uphill
Mount Warning on the horizon- we did the knob on the left
group surfshot
Meg heading in to the surf for her lessons
body boarding is way easier than getting up on a surfboard- I can guarantee you that
Between the flags on Surfer's - designated swim areas
Beach hike
Loads of canals in Surfer's - on our way to shotover jet boats
Meg and Gaby ( her best friend) in downtown Surfer's Paradise
A shot of the beach in Surfer's- 26 miles of the most beautiful beach I have ever seen
One of those moments a daughter loves to share with her dad on a school trip- maybe not
Surfer's Paradise
Another beach shot
Meaghan and I had the opportunity to spend 8 days in Australia as part of our school's Experience Week program. Similar to last year, Meaghan has been busy leading up to Experience Week- in the past 4 weeks she has been to Hua Hin, Thailand (family holiday), Singapore ( Under 20 girls volleyball SE Asia Championships- they finished 4th) and now Australia.

For those not familiar with Experience Week, our school shuts down for a week in November to support creativity, action and service based trips around the world. All students are expected to participate in a trip and staff are assigned trips to chaperone, unless they choose to lead a trip- in this case the only limit is what you are interested in doing and whether students will choose the trip. I have been to New Zealand the past 2 years on adventure based trips, so thought this year it would be fun to try Australia. Our trip was focussed in Queensland and New South Wales. We spent the first half of our time in Surfer's Paradise doing all the surf based activities you would think of- surfing, jet-boating, hikes, bodyboarding etc.. The second half of the trip was at an outdoor education retreat in the Tweed Valley- Tyalgum Ridge. The kids were pushed hard for 3 days- climbing ( we did a 5 km climb up to summit of Mount Warning), hiking, high ropes courses, mountain biking, archery, flying fox etc... Finally, we ended our time in Australia in beautiful Byron Bay. The first half of our trip was gorgeous- hot and very sunny. The last 3 days were cloudy with a bit of rain, but it didn't dampen the kids spirits. Another great Experience Week in the books!

Thailand in October 2010

Good morning!

Waking up to another blue sky day - really great weather with a slight breeze, and hot, but not too hot to have to stay indoors. It's so nice to be breathing clean air :) Tuesday, we spent most of the day reading, and relaxing - a swim in the Gulf of Thailand, and a walk down the beach to find an italian (!) restaurant belonging to one of the many beach resorts along this stretch. The complex where we are staying is one of probably 20 or so big buildings along the beachfront.

We had a brilliant day yesterday - I woke up before the night owls and sat on the balcony enjoying the morning sun. We started moving just before lunch, and went down to the pool - we were the only ones in the pool, and I think there are only 5 or so flats being used in this entire complex of approx 500 flats... this is definitely off season. The pool and gardens, and beachfront here are really gorgeous, and well kept and the front lobby area is huge, with a small coffee counter and a shrine to the King and Queen - I took pics and I'll post them on the blog. Hardly any english signage anywhere here, and only one of the staff members speaks some - we are enjoying communicating with each other with sign language and plenty of smiles.

We hired a car to pick us up, and take us to Hua Hin (about 20 minutes away) for the day. First off we visited the former summer palace for Thai royal family. We got dropped off outside the gates of the estate and hired bicycles to tour around. Sarah and Meg grabbed a bicycle built for 2 - hilarious! The estate runs along the beach and is huge - with many outbuildings and gardens, and a monument to King Rama VI, who reigned in the early 1900s. We were to wear sarongs and cover our shoulders, and walked into the palace grounds. The entire former summer palace, now open to the public and probable a good revenue generator, is built on stilts, the living quarters are all on the second floor, and is incredible, no walls (some half walls around a white clawfoot bathtub :) - and long 'hallways' connecting different areas together. The floors are all teak, and we walked barefoot. Many of the rooms are painted in bright blues and yellows, and much of the furniture is still there, including a huge ceremonial dining table that would seat 20 or so. Beautiful gardens with sculpted shrubs in shapes of elephants, deer and fountains with stunning flowers. Truly a tropical paradise.

We then biked back out of the palace area, and hopped back onto the truck (we sat in the back of the pickup - had walls and a roof) and went to the Thai silk factory - neat displays on how different types of silk are spun and woven. Very expensive gift shop inside - Sarah immediately fell in love with a gorgeous scarf then looked at the price tag of 3000 Thai bot - about $100 CAD! She put that one back on the shelf.. and kept looking - not much in our budget but stunning fabrics nonetheless. We found Bob outside at a cool roadside restaurant and had some cold drinks (Singha beer!). The restaurant is also home to the family who runs it, and is full of knickknacks, elephant statues, little pools with ceramic frogs, and pictures - always pictures of the King or Queen - you see portraits everywhere in Thailand (also huge monuments with their pictures along the highways - they love their royal family here), and a little baby fast asleep across the counter.

We then went bowling - yes, bowling - in the one western-style mall in Hua Hin where we had picked up groceries the first day we arrived. Meaghan won the bowling match, much to Bob's chagrin, and then we took off to visit the night market. Very fun, lots of food stalls with fresh seafood on ice displayed - many things I didn't recognize :), mixed with artwork and fabrics, and the usual cheap tshirts, etc. We spent a couple of hours looking around, and decided to have dinner in a very cool restaurant painted bright red and yellow with pictures of the Royal family, and enjoyed a great local Thai meal: stir fried morning glory with oyster sauce and garlic, chicken satay, deep fried squid, salt & pepper fish, green curry with prawns, fried rice with pork and Phad Thai (their signature dish) with noodles. Even Meg filled up - very fun, crowded, loud area full of sights and smells of the local scene - so cool.

Mid-Term Break holiday in Thailand, October 2010

Yay! it's mid-term break, and we had a quick 5-day getaway to Thailand.
Off we go to explore the communities close to the complex where we are staying - between Cha'Am and Hua Hin, on the northeastern coast of Thailand. We hired a 'taxi' - loose term for a small pickup truck with an covered box with bench seating. Actually, a cool way to get around, and see the sights around us.


All along the highway there are huge pictures of the Thai royal family - the King and Queen, and massive, ornate gates at every turn. Gorgeous, gilded and full of pictures. Shrines on every corner.
Second day in - we went to the Western Market - groceries and shopping. Overcast but not too hot.
Spot the local!


A shrine to the King and Queen in the lobby of our flat complex. Of the 500 or so flats in the building, only about 5 were occupied - off season, definitely!
Our friend's flat was full of stunning furniture and artwork from his travels around Asia.


It is against the law to take any image of Buddha out of the country - even a picture of Buddha's hand or eye would be considered illegal. No jailtime, but they would confiscate the art.


Kitchen area with everything you'd ever need.
View from kitchen past dining and living area. The flat had two bedrooms, 2 bathrooms - perfect for our family

View from our 4th floor balcony to the beach right out front, and the Gulf of Thailand. The beach was a darker brown grainy sand, and the water was warm. Lots of fishing boats passing by.


The beach out front, and skyline
A view of our complex - Bob went exploring and we found lots of other beachfront hotels and 'condotels', like ours

Bob found a beachfront bar and a Singha beer.

We walked along the beach on night to find a restaurant - some very fancy hotels, and other, local smaller beachfront huts.


A view from the 25th floor pool towards Hua Hin
One of the two pools in the complex, 25th floor
Looking the other direction, northwards towards Cha'Am

And off we went - to the former Summer Palace in Hua Hin, now open to the public. Best mode of transport around the grounds - bicycles - the girls couldn't resist the bicycle built for two!

It was so fun to get out and bike around the beautiful grounds of the palace
In front of a memorial to King Rama VI, who built the palace - he reigned in the early 1900s



We had to wear sarongs and cover arms to go into the actual palace area. Lots of great displays of the Royal Family, and artifacts

The entire palace is built on stilts - the main living areas are above, on the 2nd floor - with hallways connecting all of the 'rooms' - no walls, all open, and beautifully kept
Up to the second floor - barefoot
A typical living room area - beautiful furnishings, and all open to the elements, looking out towards the sea

Gorgeous dining area, with a huge teak table that would sit at least 20
One of the areas that had a wall - inside, a tiny white clawfoot bathtub!


Main stairwell entrance up to the living areas
Couldn't resist - a custard apple tree!


Shrubs were all shaped like animals, and the gardens were impeccable. A true tropical paradise!


While we visited the Thai silk factory, Bob found a really cool local restaurant, and enjoyed a beer. The family that runs the restaurant also lives there - a baby was fast asleep on the other side of the counter - this place was FULL of knickknacks, and pictures of the King and Queen, of course.


AND a fun game of bowling! Meg was the clear winner for this one - very fun.
Lost in translation moment - Sarom and MeagMan!

A visit then to the Hua Hin night market - very cool. Lots of noise and smells of amazing seafood, fabric and artwork stalls!
Bob couldn't resist taking this picture - this bunny was wearing a sweater, and was about 5 inches long. Sarah wanted to take one home!

Always gorgeous flowers for sale. Even when our taxi stopped at a light, we were 'visited' by the flower sellers
Wouldn't be a trip to Thailand without the cheeseburger and fries!
Our last night in Thailand, what a great trip!