Visiting cousin Barb in Nanaimo

We left Victoria and drove north, stopping for lunch in Chemainus. We got to Nanaimo and enjoyed 2days visiting with Charlotte's cousin Barb and her husband Rob.  We had a great time sightseeing on Salt Spring Island and around Nanaimo. We especially enjoyed the company of Simon and Roxy, their two cute dogs.

Lots of West coast native art to see.

Taking the ferry to Salt Spring Island

Pulp and Paper mill

Salt Spring Island was less developed than we expected, but had lots of beautiful visas.

Barb, Rob and Charlotte

Harbour at Ganges, where we had lunch

Rob & Barb with Roxy and Simon

Tiny village at Fulford Harbour

Our attempted ride up to Baynes Peak on Mt Maxwell ended abruptly

Rob & Barb's new boat

Relaxing in the hot tub after our day out

Standing on the spot where Rob & Barb were married

Picturesque vistas all around the area

Visiting Mildred in Victoria

From Seattle, we took a ferry across the bay to Bainbridge Island and the road to Port Angeles and then the ferry to Victoria. We spent 2 days there visiting our dear friend Mildred Van Ommen, who was our neighbour in London Ontario. We did a walking tour of the city and had fish chowder for lunch. It was great to see her again and reminisce about old times.

Mildred has a beautiful condo in Victoria

Walking in the park

It's true, the Crocuses were already blooming in February

Ssshhh Don't wake the sleeping giant

Charlotte & Mildred

Terry Fox statue where he tipped is foot into the Pacific Ocean

The BC Parliament buildings are very majestic looking

Memorial to the unknown soldier

Beautiful Victoria harbour

The famous Empress Hotel has been undergoing some major rennovations

The Clarion Bell Tower donated by the Dutch people for Canada's centennial

Charlotte & Mildred celebrate old friendships

The old town of Victoria has been beautifully restored 

preserving many old buildings

Sleepless in Seattle

After our cruise, we spent the day enjoying Singapore one more time before flying 15 hours to Vancuver via Hong Kong.  We departed at 8:15PM and arrived in Vancouver 10 minutes later at 8:25PM.  We basically stayed up all night watching movies, so we're very tired and slept for 12 hours straight.  We drove to Seattle the next afternoon and have been enjoying the city.  We went up the famous space needle tower (from the 1962 World's Fair) and toured the Chihuly Garden and Glass museum, which was absolutely spectacular. Dale Chihuly is a glass artist who makes the most beautiful glass art pieces.  We ended up down at the waterfront having lunch at the Pike Place Market. Off tomorrow to drive to Port Angles and take the ferry to Victoria.

The famous Space Needle Tower from the 1962 World Fair

View from the space needle tower of Seattle on a very overcast day

The pieces of glass art works by Dale Chihuly were spectacularly beautiful

These are all hand blown glass 

This hanging piece was huge

There were also many outdoor garden glass sculptures

We watched a demonstration of glass blowing

Downtown Seattle was not as big as we expected. 

It had the flavour of a nice west coast small city

Pike's Place Market down at the waterfront was a happening place to be seen

Lots of goods for sale, especially fish

A couple of complimentary pictures with our entrance fee tickets