Girls On Tour and sundry other adventures

 After not seeing my cousin Leah for many years, I invited her to visit me in Vancouver. While it is the start of the rainy season, we lucked out with many periods of no or little rain. However, even when raining, we managed to have a pretty spectacular week together. Some of the highlights: Walk from Olympic Village to Granville Island where we had yummy crepes.  Trip to my sister's Whistler condo including a siting of a bear wandering in the village! And a lovely visit to the Scandinave Spa . Brunch at Secret Garden Tea Company . Cozy evening by the verandah fire at Wendy's house.  

My first trip outside of North America was in  1992 .   I sailed on what felt like a pirate ship, to a small island in Fiji for 3 days.  This was followed by a bus tour of the North & South islands of New Zealand. I decided to go on a horseback ride in Queenstown instead of bungee jumping, being the scaredy cat that I am. Unfortunately, "Sam" and I were not a match! I ended up falling off which led to a back injury, a broken finger and an overnight stay at a hospital.  The tour went on without me for a day but I joined them to climb a glacier, a catamaran boat trip and a genuine Maoro show.  The final leg of this trip was to Australia that included an overnight on a Barrier Reef island, Warner Bros. Movie World, riding a camel, climbing Ayers Rock, watching a sugar cane fire and Australia Zoo among many other fun adventures. NOTE : Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them (click back arrow to return to blog).     Movie World, Gold Coast  ...