Quebec 2008

This summer we went out to Quebec for two weddings in Danny's family.  Danny's niece married a wealthy entrepreneur who lent us this convertible Mercedes Benz to drive around the province in!  In this photo we're parked out on a narrow stretch of land that goes out into the sea-way, that's Les Escoumins in the background.

So after the first wedding the day after we arrived, we spent a few days in Les Escoumins, then continued up the St. Laurence Seaway to Baie Comeau, where Danny's sister lives and stayed there for a few days before heading back down to Les Escoumins for the second wedding.  Danny's nephew who spent a few years in Edmonton finally married his common-law wife, after many years together. 

We rented a condo with Danny's sister that looked out onto the St. Laurence - from the panoramic windows, we could see sea lions, belugas, and fin whales swimming along the shoreline.  As well there were always cargo boats coming into Les Escoumins where they send out a local pilot to steer the ship into Montreal. 

Then we headed back down to Quebec City to catch the Paul McCartney concert the day before we left.  We met up with our Mexican Holiday friend Olivier and stood behind the stage because there were some 200,000 people there, so we could only hear him and watch him on the big screen.

Then when we came home, we headed out to Sundre for our Mayfield camp-trip.  We spent an hour or so at the Sundre Rodeo, until it started to pour rain.  And then it was back to Edmonton & work.

 

Maya Riviera 2008

 

Wow - what a fabulous trip we had. This was our first breakfast at the hotel "Grand Coco Bay Resort"- what a view - looking out onto the Mexican Caribbean! It was a bit windy and cloudy the first couple of days, but I sure didn't care! Gorgeous beach - turquoise water - and WARM! Is this really January?

We really enjoyed the resort we stayed at - I heard a lot of complaining - about the food, the service, but HELLO - we're in Mexico, I thought the food was just fine, and we were in a great location - just a short walk to the town centre, where we could do some shopping and dine outside the resort whenever we felt like it. I would definitely stay here again.

When we weren't out on day excursions, everyday we would take long walks along the beach. (Sometimes at night too - it's very safe).

 

On excursion days, we repelled into "Cenotes" - sink holes full of crystal clear water to swim in, zip lined through the jungle, climbed the pyramid of Coba, and did a day excursion out to the famous site of Chichen Itza, where it was sweltering hot!

 

This place makes us want to retire in Mexico - a January stroll along the beach with warm waves lapping against your feet is MUCH better than shovelling snow and trudging through snow drifts! You can see more of our photos by: CLICKING HERE and even more by CLICKING HERE

Camp 2007

We managed to get some time away again this year, and decided to Camp along the David Thompson Highway, which I've never been down before. We stopped just before the Banff Park border, and camped at Thompson creek.

Our first day out we decided to go for a bike ride. As soon as we came to a sign that said "Bear Warning. If you encounter a bear, remain in your vehicle" I noticed a car stopped ahead, and just then, a black bear came ambling down the embankment!

It's the black bit in the top left corner of the photo - that's Danny's hand at the bottom right. You'll probably have to click on the image and make it full sized to see the bear - but we didn't want to get any closer.

We stayed in the campsite for four days, biking, hiking, playing cards...

We have a pretty comfortable set up - a large tent that my family has dubbed 'The Taj Mahal', a cushy blow up mattress, and a dining tent, so even if it rains, we can sit at the picnic bench and play cards, eat, etc.

It was great weather, but COLD at night (high altitude) and lots of mosquitos!

Biking on the David Thompson Highway Crossing the Creek on one of our hikes

Our Campsite at Thompson Creek Campground

Then we went to the Okanagan and joined our family for the annual Mayfield Camp weekend. Spent 3 days there before heading home and back to work.

Dan, Susan & Cody Construction of new overpass at Roger's Pass