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9/9/04
Aloha, today is the day that we are officially ending our North American tour. We fly to Hilo! Visiting Vancouver has been a mix of tourist attractions and relaxation. We have been here for 9 days and it went by so very quickly. We give huge thanks to our friend Kelly and her roommate Mike for sharing their space with us. It was nice to be in one bed for more than a night or two! We did a day trip to Vancouver Island by ferry to visit Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. Kelly got to experience the trolley tour with us and had a surprise when our restroom break was where the main office of her company is located, she had never been there before. We saw huge homes and multi million dollar mansions, the Parliament buildings, a butterfly garden, the Royal British Wax Museum and the hotel the Empress before the day was out. Kelly and I did our next excursion together which was the Capilano Suspension Bridge. The greatest thing is that Kelly and I had gone there together over 15 years ago, we had good memories! I don�t know the stats on the bridge but it�s huge and sways quite a bit when you walk across. It�s a little nerve racking especially when you know in the back of your head that there is always someone trying to make it sway on purpose! This time I think it was Kelly. Speaking of Kelly, she also gave me a tour of Vancouver and Richmond like a pro and I didn�t even need to tip her. In between our days of attractions, we did nothing but hang around, sleep and eat, it was great transition from the road to Hawaii. Another day, her boyfriend Jamie came out with us to check out Stanley Park here there is a lighthouse, many totem poles and a beautiful drive along the waterfront with a few beaches. We also went to the Maritime Museum where they have the St. Roch ship that is famous for passing thru the Northwest Passage both ways and for circumventing North and South America. Keith and I took off on our own to go on a whale watch to see Orcas another day. We saw about a dozen. All though mostly from far away, we had one curious guy come circle our boat really close. Our boat was a Zodiac where it was all open and looked like a rubber tube boat where we had to wear a special suit to keep us warm and dry. Let me just say that we were very grateful for the suit! It was awesome being in the open water going and going so fast. It was a two for one deal, a bumpy raft ride and a whale watch! We also saw harbor seals, eagles and a lighthouse (bonus). Orcas are the black and white whales (killer whales) that are actually related to dolphins but are endangered. I was hoping to see them jumping and playing around but it looked like it was feeding time. We took the boat out of Steveston, which is an old fishing village with a lot of Japanese heritage and history of British Columbia. They give tours of the last salmon canning plant that closed in the 1990�s. It was so interesting to see the machines set up like they use to all set up with fake fish, guts and blood. Everything use to be done by hand at one time, from killing the fish to smoldering the cans- no thanks. While here visiting Kelly, we also ate great. We had East Indian food and sushi for the first time, both awesome. So that is our trip to West Coast Canada in a nutshell. Stay tuned for updates straight from Hawaii and our new home we are sharing with Elaine and Adam. Mahalo
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