Mike and Beth's Adventures

We visited Butchart Gardens the end of July.  I'm going to "interview" Beth about our visit. Q: Why did you want to visit Butchart Gardens? A: This time of year flowers were in bloom that we had not seen when visiting earlier in the year. For example the zinnias, the dahlias, the begonias, and the roses.  I also wanted visit later in the day,  after 5pm, as the tour busses have all departed by that time reducing crowd size.  We also timed our visit for Saturday evening as live music and fireworks were scheduled. "Ketchup and Mustard" rose Q: Where did you stay for your visit? A: There is a back cove at Butchart Gardens with 4 mooring balls.  It is located at the base of the Japanese Gardens.  It even has a separate ticket booth.  Boats can stay free for 24 hours, so the moorings are a hot commodity.  They are also limited to boats less than 40 feet in overall length.  As an alternative, if the mooring balls are full, boaters can anchor in Tod...

Do you want to visit an exciting and fun city?  Well, Vancouver is the place.  With mountains and water at it's doorstep, it is located in a truly lovely location.  It's transformation from rough and tumble lumber town to sophisticated cosmopolitan city was aided by hosting the World's Fair in the '80s and the Winter Olympics in 2010.    Their skyline is enhanced by it's interplay with the weather and the geography. Their general plan actually talks about preserving sight lines to the most prominent features in the surrounding terrain. The town transitions smoothly and effortlessly from it's daytime to nighttime persona. We Stayed at Fishermen's Wharf Marina Welcome to Fishermen's Wharf Our Home while in Vancouver Fishermen's Wharf is conveniently located next to Granville Island Granville Island Granville Island is a mecca on the southern shore of False Creek. Packed within the borders of the island you will find nourishment, entertainment, shopping...

Canada's first dragon boat festival was held in Vancouver after Expo '86, a very popular World's Fair located in the False Creek area of the city.  The dragon boats used in this initial race were gifted from the city of Hong Kong. The festival was repeated in '87 & "88 and was so popular that the Chinese community and other volunteers formed the Canadian International Dragon Boat Society and now sponsor multiple dragon boat events across Canada.  The 2024 Event consisted of over 200 teams and almost 5000 participants. As Vancouver is an international community and the event has strong cultural inclusiveness undertones, we were not surprised to see this dragon at the event.  In fact, 2024 is the Year of the Dragon! Yes!  The boats do have a dragon figurehead on the bow. Here is a race boat with its dragon figurehead, the drummer who sets the rowers cadence, and the rowers,   At the stern there is also a helmsman who uses a sweep, a long oar, to steer the...