Author: bbpeck

Wet and Windy Cardiff

Bob and I are having a mild (temperature wise) but wet and windy time in Cardiff at our latest house sit while our homeowners (parents and children) are having a ski vacation in Austria with two other families. It is “half-term” here, so the boys are out of school. Today, Atlantic Storm Doris is to bring winds of up to 80 mph for some parts of Wales. We will see — so far it is windy but not that WINDY.

We have one very cute and active 2-year old dog that we are watching. Her name is Rita, and she is quite charming. She is a proficient ball retriever both inside and at the nearby parks. She is also quite social and loves small children and other dogs.

Rita chewing on one of her balls and wagging her tail

Bringing the ball back for Bob to throw — again

Our first venture out was to St Fagans Castle and National History Museum in the nearby community of St. Fagans. The castle is not really a castle but rather an Elizabetean mansion built on the site of an old Norman castle. The castle is undergoing renovations, so we were unable to go inside (downside of traveling during the off season), but we were able to enjoy the beautiful gardens and grounds which include over 50 original historic buildings that have been moved to the site to preserve them. No admission charge for this impressive heritage site that also includes craft demonstrations, tea rooms, and gift shops.

The main entrance to the castle and grounds

An old post office, possibly the smallest in Wales, used during WWII

We have also ventured into central Cardiff and have seen a few of the sights that we saw during our brief visit here last May while seeing some new sights as well. One of the new sites we visited was the National Cardiff Museum. The National Cardiff Museum (also free admission!) contains both the National Museum of Art and the National Museum of Natural History. Bob and I focused on the Art Museum and spent most of our time in the Impressionist & Modern art sections as well as the Welsh Ceramics. The have a lovely collection of art that has been donated and/or purchased. We enjoyed seeing the paintings and sculptures from some artists with whom we are familiar (Cezanne, Picasso, Rodin) as well as new (to us) artists and learning about the history of ceramic-making in Wales while viewing some lovely pieces.

Part of the Gorsedd Gardens in front of City Hall

One of the statues in the atrium of the National Museum

A ferry boat on the River Taff adjacent to Bute Park

A stone circle in Bute Park with the Cardiff Castle in the background

Typical architecture — similar to the home in which we are staying

While out getting the battery replaced in Bob’s cell phone, he decided to buy some chips to support a local businesses’ fund-raising attempt. We were too late for the chip-wrapping world record attempt, though they did break the record with a speed of over 48 seconds (not sure how many chips), but all proceeds for the day we’re going to Cancer Research Wales. There is a bit of irony in a chip shop supporting cancer research, but there you are life is nothing if not ironical.

Yesterday we had a very, very wet walkabout to see the Landaff Cathedral and walk some of the Taff Trail. We were only partially rewarded for our ambulatory persistence.

On the way to the cathedral, we stumbled upon The Bishop’s Palace, a 13th century fortified residence of the Bishop of Llandaff. It was occupied by bishops until the mid-15th century.

Another view of the Bishop’s Palace. This area was used as the walled kitchen garden for the new Bishop’s residence beginning in 1850.

Additional repairs and landscaping were completed in 1972 when this area became a public garden.

One side and part of the gardens of the Llandaff Cathedral

The front entrance to the cathedral — note the sign on the door that Bob is reading

This is what the sign said — luckily for us it wasn’t in Welsh or we may have interrupted their meeting

Just wanted to share this that we thought was interesting, although it may be that we have too much time to read signs.

Apparently dogs are only allowed on smoking campuses?

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Beautiful Bournemouth

Bob and I began our UK adventure Part II with two days in the beautiful seaside town of Bournemouth. Bournemouth is a resort community of over 180,000 on the southern coast of England. It is known for its 7 miles of beaches, but it also has some lovely gardens, a great art gallery, and a pretty vibrant retail and restaurant area. It is apparently a popular destination for hen (bachelorette) parties. We were impressed by the cleanliness of the area, the people we met, and the amount of visitors even in the off season. We arrived late on Tuesday night, the 14th, and left by train for Cardiff for our current house sit about noon on Friday.

The end of the lower gardens closest to the sea

The Russell-Cotes Museum and Art Gallery, the former home of Sir Merton and Lady Russell-Cotes who gave their home and art collection to the town in 1908

The view of the coastline and Bournemouth pier from the Russell-Cotes home

Another view of the coastline, pier, and promenade

Looking back at Bournemouth, the beaches, and their famous beach huts from the pier

A closer view of the beach huts — supposedly over 2,000 of the along the beach

One of the zig zags that pedestrians take to go from town level down to the beach

Hengistbury Head at one end of the Bournemouth Beach, near the community of Christchurch

The Christchurch Cove adjacent to Hengistbury Head — Christchurch Cove, adjacent to Hengistbury Head

Walking back to Bournemouth from Hengistbury Head

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In a New York Minute

This house sit went way too fast! We started the Brooklyn house sit last Wednesday and just completed it this (Monday) pm. We head back to the UK tonight on an 11:40 pm flight to London via Lisbon.

Here are some highlights from our brief time in the big city.

First, one last glance at our gorgeous Brooklyn cats.

Last Wednesday, after getting settled into our Brooklyn home, we headed out to take advantage of the gorgeous winter day — 60 degrees! We headed for Prospect Park, but discovered that the nearby Botanical Gardens was having a free-entry day, so we decided to explore that instead. It was good that we got out Wednesday, as the City basically shut down Thursday due to a fast-moving snowstorm that dumped about 8 inches in the area.

The Japanese Pond in the botanical garden

The conservatory building at the botanical garden

Thursday we spent mostly inside due to the weather, so we were eager to get out on Friday even in the chilly weather (highs in low 30s with a crisp wind). We decided to take the subway into Manhatten to visit the 911 Museum and Memorial and then walk back into Brooklyn.

The Oculus, the new shopping center/metro stop to replace the one destroyed on 9/11. It was designed by Santiago Calatrava. Unfortunately, a 23 year old teacher died falling off the escalator after a night on the town.

One of the first displays in the 9/11 Memorial Museum (very well done) is a montage of photos of people watching the events unfold on that day.

A quilt with the names of all 2,997 individuals killed on 9/11 — in NY, DC, and PA.

The museum details the events of 9/11, the recovery/clean-up process, and then the longer-term impacts and rebirth.

I love this quote. The installation is to honor all of the individuals killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing as well as those killed in the World Trade Centers on 9/11.

This is one section of the memorial outside of the museum. There are 2 areas where the former towers stood — each surrounded by walls with the names of those who died. The plaza also has a number of cypress trees on it, including the only one to have survived the attack.

It was a brisk walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, and we have done it before, but the views never get old. We also enjoyed watching the tourists (somehow we don’t consider ourselves tourists when we house sit) taking their selfies on the bridge.

Walking towards Brooklyn on the popular bridge

‘Nuff Said. It was pretty sweet to get off the bridge down to where the wind wasn’t quite as brisk!

On Saturday, we ran some errands and then headed to the New York Transit Museum which is housed in a former subway station. The museum provided a great overview of the building of the lines (both on land and underwater), the efforts needed to keep the system running ( or get it back in operation) after both man-made and natural disasters, and showed the history of turnstiles, payment methods, and train cars.

Changing types of payment — from cash to tokens to cards

Remember hearing about this? The museum provided a good overview of what happened, how they reacted, and lessons learned.

I ljust liked this poster, but it is impressive that the system is over 100 years old. We should all be blessed with good public transportation.

After the transit museum , we walked along the East River to King’s County Distillery for a tour and tasting.

View 1 of Manhatten from the Brooklyn Esplanade. The new Freedom Tower is the building with the tall spire on it that rises 1776 feet in the air.

View 2 of Manhatten from the Brooklyn Esplanade — note the Jenga game shaped building in the background

Truth in advertising — it is the oldest and only distillery in NYC. It was started in 2014.

Some of the small kegs used to age their moonshine and bourbon

The actual distillery is located in the former navy yard:however, they also have a bar in one of the gatehouses to the navy yard — really cute!

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Three State Blog

The following is a quick blog to catch you up on out travels. Since we left Vancouver, we have had a lovely East Coast tour. First, we had a great time with Bob’s brother and his family and girlfriend in Alexandria, Virginia, before doing a quick 1.5 day tour of Newark, New Jersey to get our 44th state visited. We are now in Brooklyn to start a quick 5 day house sit for two cats before heading back across the pond.

Below are some photo highlights of our travels.

District of Columbia

Bob’s brother Eric’s girlfriend Kym works for the Library of Congress and gave us a great private tour of this gorgeous building after we went through the exhibit on presidential inaugurations. The exhibit presented some of the Library’s items from past inaugurations, including photos, clothing and jewelry, as well as agendas and menus. Best of all staff were on hand to answer questions and provide additional information.

The Jefferson Building, the main building of the LoC. Jefferson sold his collection of 6,000+ books to restore the library after the collection burnt in the Capitol fire during the War of 1812.

One of the beautiful halls. The original building was completed in 1897 and was restored in 1997.

Overlooking the main Reading Room. The eight semi-circular stained-glass windows are decorated with the seals of the 45 US states and 3 territories when the original building was completed.

A small section of the beautiful Great Hall.

The stained-glass ceiling of the Great Hall

Some of the arches and paintings in the mezzanine

Outside of the Supreme Court a few hours before the announcement of Trump’s pick for Supreme Court Justice

Alexandria

Bob’s brother Eric lives in Alexandria. we explored a bit of the area while we were there, and I took advantage of one of the many hiking/biking paths in the area to get some runs in.

The George Washington Masonic National Memorial grounds and building

Plastic critters being used to keep non-plastic critters (?) off of the grounds of the Masonic memorial

A helpful display at the National Inventors Hall of Fame in the Madison Building on the campus of the US Patent and Trademark Office

The need/process to file for patents is included in the Constitution, and many individuals have taken advantage. Under Obama’s term, the US moved to conform with most of the rest of the world where the patent owner is the “first to file” instead of the “first to invent.”

One of many historical buildings in Old Town Alexandria, though I’m thinking that Washington participated in all of his birthdays!

The blue house is a “spite” house — built in the alleyway between two existing houses to keep people from using or hanging out in the alley.

Fairfax, VA

Our nephew, Nathan, is currently a freshman at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. He gave Bob and I a tour of the campus while we were there. Usually abbreviated to “Mason,” it is the largest public research university in Virginia.

Each freshman class signs a board with the year of their anticipated graduation. No pressure Nathan!

Bob and Nathan standing by the statue of George Mason for whom the school is named. The esteemed Mr. Mason was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention but was one of only three delegates not to sign the constitution. His objections formed the basis for the US Bill of Rights.

Bob found a big head on campus to pose with

Newark, NJ

Bob and I had a quick trip to NJ to earn our 44th US state. That will mean more to some than others, but I’ll spare the rest of you the TMI.

Bob and I took a Greyhound from Union Station in DC to Penn Station in Newark. Easy, inexpensive four hour ride (though no wifi, we did enjoy the Sunday edition of the Washington Post).

While in Newark, we slept with (dead) presidents. Sort of, but a surprisingly nice hotel, given that we are always looking for a bargain.

Our hotel was near the NJ Performing Art Center. We didn’t catch a show but thought the building was attractive.

Oh, oh, oh Stayin’ Alive on the NJ Walk of Fame

Bob by the Big Head of Justice outside of the federal courthouse building

The main administrative building on the NJ Institute of Technology campus

The outside of the main public library building

Crossing the Passaic River into Harrison, NJ

A 9/11 Memorial in Harrison made from some of the beams from the Twin Towers

Brooklyn, NY

We are now at our house sit in Brooklyn looking after two cats below and a lovely apartment/condo in a town home building. More on the house sit later. Both cats are larger than the 2 dogs we just sat for in Vancouver!

This is Boomer who can take or leave humans but does like to curl up on the bed and our soft-sided suitcase. He also likes plastic, so we need to watch out for that.

This is the curious, cuddly (you will attend to me!) Alf who actually slept on my head last night.

I am finishing this in the midst of a winter storm that is to bring 8-12″ of snow — after having reached a high of 61 yesterday!

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Advantage Vancouver

Tonight Bob and I leave Vancouver with an ultimate destination of DC. However to get there as cheaply as possible, we will stop and change planes in Seattle and then catch a red-eye to Chicago before heading onto DC. Here are some final photos from our time in Vancouver —

Bob participating in some public art installed to inspire laughter.

Dr. sun Yat Sen was a Chinese revolutionary and political leader who is often referred to as the “Father of Modern China.”

The pavilion in the Dr. Sun Yat Sen garden.

A street in Vancouver’s Chinatown — Happy Year of the Rooster!

We took the sky train to the outlying city of Burnaby one day and then walked back into town. This is the top of a stairway that took us from the residential neighborhoods all the way down to Deer Lake and a lovely (though still snow covered) walking/running path.

Looking back towards the City of Burnaby from Deer Lake

From Deer Lake, we walked across Hwy 1 to Burnaby Lake, a larger lake, but which is more sheltered by trees. Also has a good walking/running path around it.

On Friday we walked south across the bay to visit the Bloedel Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park. I joined some “locals” for a photo.

Another view of Vancouver from Bloedel Conservatory

Maria and Carmen, the Conservatory’s red parrots

Bob and I thought Ruby was the prettiest bird in the place.

Bob and I have seen lovers locks on bridges all over the world, but we really like this way of incorporating this trend into public art.

Vancouver City Hall which is located on the top of a hill in a neighborhood south of the downtown area

Vancouver’s famous steam clock in the Gastown area (where we have been staying). It announces the quarter hours with a whistle chime.

A helpful sign to remind us all, that wherever you go, there you are.

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Catching Up, Eh

Since our last post, Bob and I moved across theBurrard Inlet from North and West Vancouver to East Vancouver before settling again for a bit in Vancouver (are we inclusive or what?). During this time, we have mourned a US transition, celebrated women and dignity for all humans, made our own happy transition to our next house sit, started exploring Vancouver, and been walking and caring for our smallest dogs ever.

Whew! While it is nothing compared to what you are doing to keep the world going, it feels like too much for one blog, but here’s a start.

North Vancouver Public Art

Bob and I ended our lovely interlude in North Vancouver with one last public art walk. Some favorites are highlighted below. My apologies to the artists as I don’t have my (actually our Airbnb host’s) guide to the names of the installations and the artists.

Either this installation or another one like it use to be near Stanley Park in Vancouver. We were glad to see it again and have since seen that it is no longer near Stanley Park.

I call this Houses on Stilts. It was near the grocery where we usually shopped.

There are three of these figures all involving flowers/plants.

Women’s March in Vancouver

The Vancouver Women’s March was held in collaboration with the other marches being held in the US and around the world, the Vancouver March started with some speeches at Jack Poole Plaza and then marched to the new Trump Tower in downtown Vancouver.

Awesome to hear from my friends and sister participating in events across the US. We were excited that Vancouver held their own March, so we could participate.

Bob spotted us in the crowd photo in the Sunday paper. We are to the left of the woman holding the sign “A Woman’s Place is in the Revolution.”

New House Sit

While we had a walk through with our homeowners on Friday evening, we didn’t officially begin our Vancouver house sit until 2:30 pm on Saturday shortly before they left for the airport. They live in a 1 bedroom condo on the 18th floor of a 30 floor high rise in the Gastown section of Vancouver, so we couldn’t move in until they were leaving. While our homeowners are having a break in Cuba, we are caring for their 2 adorable dogs — the playful Milo and the cuddly Bugsley.

Milo, an 8 year old Boston Terrier, with his favorite tug-of-war toy.

Milo, an 8 year old Boston Terrier, who can play tug-of-war and fetch with you all day.

Bugsley, a 2 year old Pomeranian, just the cuddliest ball of fur you can imagine. He’s quite the sight when he gets going on his little legs too. He is the alpha dog.

Night View 1 from the 42nd floor of the neighboring building where we can access their gym, community room, and spa (haven’t tried that).

Scenes from the edges of Vancouver

We have spent a few days walking parts of the incredible trail system that runs along much of the south, west, and north coasts of Vancouver, including through Stanley Park. It’s an amazing trail with some pretty lovely views.

A different version of big bird — this one (and its mate) are in the plaza of what was the Olympic Village but which are now residences

Public art from storage elevators on Granville Island

Lions Gate Bridge which connects West Vancouver to Vancouver in Stanley Park

View of West Vancouver from Stanley Park

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West Vancouver and Signs that Caught our Eye(s)

Post author By bbpeck
Post date January 17, 2017
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Yesterday we walked back to West Vancouver (still on the North Shore but west of North Vancouver. Deep Cove and Seymour, referenced in prior post are east of North Vancouver and also on the North Shore.). We do not plan to cross the harbor until Thursday.

We headed out of North Vancouver via one of the many trails through local parks. We were headed for the West Vancouver shopping mall (Park Royal) where we had changed buses on the first day, as it was suppose to rain all afternoon and we thought we could poke around inside if the weather got too bad. However, the rain held off until today, so we got to have a lovely walk along the seaway and look at Stanley Park in downtown Vancouver from across the harbor.

West Vancouver Walk

Entering the park on the way to West Vancouver

I love this photo. It feels like we are out of the city, but we aren’t. It also just seems like a beautiful winter day.

Looking across Vancouver Harbor towards Stanley Park and the many cargo ships moored in the bay.

Another view of Stanley Park from across the harbor

A lot of Christmas/holiday lights still seem to be on here which always “brightens” a walk

Mural on the side of the City Market where we have done some of our grocery shopping

Signs of the Times

We have taken a number of photos of signs that have caught our eye but have been derelict in including them in the blogs. I’m sure it’s been keeping you up, so here are a few from the past couple of weeks —

This was outside of a school in Nanaimo.

Outside a restaurant in Lonsdale — I tend to agree

Note: No assaults were experienced in the use of this (and the other) restroom. Can we send this to NCAA and TX to encourage them to find a real issue to address?

I always appreciate a funny versus mean way to get a point across.

Nothing good comes of hitting either dear or deer

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Plan B Part 2: North Vancouver

Post author By bbpeck
Post date January 17, 2017
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Bob and I have been to the city of Vancouver before as well as to the ski resort of Whistler, but we have never spent any real time in the North Shore (the communities just north of Vancouver Harbor from metro Vancouver). We decided to try to amend that deficiency with a stay in North Vancouver, a municipality of about 48,000. We are staying at another great find on Airbnb with the rate being comparable to lower end hotels/motels but much, much nicer. An added bonus is that the house is directly adjacent to a boulevard with paths that lead onto other city/community paths for a nice walking/running option.

After disembarking the ferry on Thursday, we caught a bus immediately outside of the ferry terminal. We were on that bus from Horseshoe Bay to West Vancouver. We got off in front of the Park Royal Mall and caught our next bus there that took us into North Vancouver — 2 blocks from where we are staying. The whole trip after the ferry ride took just under 2 hours with a 20 minute wait for the second bus. (Important Note: We would not be very mobile if I were doing the transportation planning. Bob is the mobility guru and could probably teach courses on how to use public transport systems around the world.)

My “talent” is deciding where and what to do each day, and Bob makes it happen if only because — happy wife, happy life.

So here is what we have enjoyed during our latest explorations —

Lonsdale

The Lonsdale area of North Vancouver is the area immediately adjacent to the harbor. We had a great day exploring the area on various walking paths and checking out some of the public art and heritage sites from information that our hosts had provided.

Awesome interactive art — you push a button to hear trumpets playing various songs. We were amazed that the 2 song clips that it played for us were My Country Tis of Thee and When Johnny Comes Marching Home

A mosaic on the 1st floor of the Lonsdale Quay Market a small indoor market area with food vendors, retail shops, and even a hotel

A fountain outside of the market as seen from the top of the Q tower (see 1st photo)

Aberdeen Block Building on the Heritage Walk, originally occupied by the BC Electric Railway Co

Lynn Canyon Park

One attraction that I had wanted to explore was the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Bob had gone many moons ago when in Vancouver for work. The park now charges $39.95/person to enter which is a bit over our daily budget for this extended holiday. However, we found a local park less than an hour’s walk from the house with its own suspension bridge. The park was free to enter and was busy on Saturday when we headed out even though many of the paths were still iced over. We got to cross the bridge and get a bit of a hike in before taking in some of the public art in the Lynn Valley area.

Park cafe (closed for season) and restrooms (happily not closed)

Navigating ice on our walk thru the woods

Lynn Valley Public Art

We used the public art map and information provided by our hosts to see more of the Lynn Valley area after our trip to the park. The following were some of our favorites —

“The Living Lounge” by Sipper & Liu, 2014, located in the courtyard of a retail center that also houses the Lynn Valley library

“Canyon Springs” by Khouri, 2015, at the corner of a residential development

“Your Ancient Scribe” by Head, 1986, a tribute to WM Draycott, a chronicler of Lynn Valley life

“Rock Report” by Slipper, 2006, outside of the community archives building

Deep Cove

Bob and I covered almost 15 miles on foot Sunday in search of a big head photo for Bob and a walk around a local university. Neither of our initial goals were terribly exciting, but in the process we discovered the beautiful community of Deep Cove and even got to enjoy some sun!

Bob and 2 not-as-big-as-we-were expecting heads, oddly named “Who’sGot the Umbrella?” by Kawczynski, 1992

Capilano University

Knowing that we still had a long walk ahead of us (it took us about 2 hours to walk to Deep Cove), we pulled ourselves away from the view to walk out of Deep Cove and back through Seymour before heading slightly north to Capilano University. Per Wikipedia, this a teaching-focused university that currently has an enrollment of about 11,600. We were ther on a Sunday during winter break. We could have strolled around naked and not bothered anyone, as there was no one around. My apologies if you lost your lunch on that last statement.

Our welcome to the small, and very forested, campus

A statue along the path through the woods that connects the 2 ends of the campus. Apparently, her head appeared to be cold.

What appears to be the relatively new film studies building

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Na Na Na Nainamo Good-bye

Post author By bbpeck
Post date January 14, 2017
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Bob and I ferried away from a great trip to Vancouver Island on Thursday. Photos and notes from our last few days in Nanaimo are provided below.

Nanaimo Museum

Nanaimo has its own museum that provides an overview of the history and heritage of the local area. We found it to be cute, informative, and a real bargain at $2 per person. Our main interest in going was to learn about the Nanaimo bar (cookie not tavern) that we had seen throughout the island. We didn’t learn much about the history of the confection, but we did get the recipe.

Looking for a new use for an old tub — bring it to Nanaimo for its annual race

Bob and I finally tried a Nanaimo Bar after our visit to the museum. It’s as good as it looks.

Millstone Estate Winery
After we walked downtown to the museum, we walked for about 90 minutes to the Millstone River Valley portion of Nanaimo to the Millstone Estate Winery. The Bad News: we went on Monday and the winery is only open from Wednesday through Sunday at this time of year. The Good News: one of the workers was there labeling bottles, and he kindly offered to do a tasting for us (6 wines for $3). He was really knowledgeable about the wines (his girlfriend and her father make the wine) and was fun to talk to.

The tasting room — The winery tasting room

Westwood Lake Park

We had a winter wonderland day on Tuesday, as we walked to Westwood Lake Park, the park favored by local runners. It ended up being a beautiful winter hike.

The park sign in front of the mostly iced over lake

Our path through the woods with the sun teasing us before we got snowed on again

One end of the lake with trees growing out of it

BC Ferry to Vancouver

Wednesday we used mostly for planning before our Thursday departure for North Vancouver. On Thursday, we had a short 15 minute, downhill walk to the ferry terminal where we caught the 12:30 ferry for the 1 hour and 40 minute ride to the Horshoe Bay terminal on the Canadian mainland.

Watching our ferry approach the Nanaimo terminal

The front section of the ferry — additional sections contained a shop and cafe, additional seating and work spaces, and a restaurant

Coming into Horseshoe Bay on the Canadian mainland

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Navigating Nanaimo

Bob and I are currently making the most (according to our unbiased standards) of our visit to Nanaimo, British Columbia. Nanaimo is located on the eastern side of Vancouver Island up the coast from Victoria in the central portion of the island. With a population of about 82,000, Nanaimo is the second largest city on Vancouver Island and the third oldest city in British Columbia. It is known as the “Harbour City,” and was officially so designated by Charles and Di in 1986. Not sure what Camilla calls it.

See below for some highlights of our first three days:

Nanaimo Harbour (local spelling) Walk

Boat Storage facilities at the start of the walk — near Departure Bay where we will take a ferry to Vancouver

A view of the walking path as we head into downtown Nanaimo

Pedestrian bridge along the walk in the downtown area

“I believe I can fly. . .” — art along the walk

This crab seems desperate to get out of the sea

The Bastion, a defining symbol of Nanaimo that is even included in its coat of arms, was originally built in 1853 to assist in the protection of the new settlement

Newcastle Island

Newcastle Island is the largest island in the Strait of George off the coast of Nanaimo. It is about a 15-20 minute ferry ride from downtown after a stop at Protection Island. Newcastle Island is reserved now as a park to be used only for camping, hiking, etc. We spent 4 hours on Saturday hiking around the island.

We waited inside this moored ferry to catch another one just like it. The ferry was pretty full but most of the passengers were going to Protection Island which is a residential island.

Bob, myself, and another passenger were welcomed to the Island. We had to tell the ferry boat driver what time to pick us up or we would have been there until someone else decided to visit.

We were spotted by some masked creatures! We also saw a couple of beautiful bald eagles, but we didn’t get a good shot of either one.

Looking back at Nanaimo from the island. I think we could almost swim across.

One of the cargo ships anchored out in the Salish Sea

Garden Memorial to Chinese Pioneers

This memorial garden is located in a small park near where we are staying

Old City Quarter

Vancouver Island University

Vancouver Island University has about 16,000 full and part-time students across 4 campuses, with Nanaimo being its primary campus. It is located on a hill overlooking much of the city.

The university sign — we keep wanting to find someone that can pronounce the indigenous language as it looks so complex!

One of the totems at the First Nations gathering spot on campus

Looking over some of campus and Nanaimo from the library

The Peace Garden, and it’s partially frozen pond, on campus

As if homework and exams weren’t enough to worry about!

Buttertubs Marsh