Gardeners all over the Cowichan Valley are going full tilt this month (May 2013) as blooms are bursting forth everywhere you look. A quick tour of my garden today shows an array of the best ever iris. Rhodos in bright red, white with yellow centres, mauve, pink, magenta and another yet to come. Hostas are getting bigger every day. Lillies are growing taller and getting ready for next month’s display. Meanwhile my newly planted annuals are settling in. Spent the afternoon visiting some very experienced gardeners who love to share their garden successes. Find out more at Jacquie Gordon’s Bed […]

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In a rare bit of indulgence, my wife and I went out to dinner. Significant anniversary aside, it was a rare confluence of conditions that allowed us to enjoy our own neighbourhood of Kitsilano. Abigail’s Party is on Yew Street only a couple of blocks from Kits Beach Park. It’s a great spot to take a sweetheart because on a nice evening you can go for a walk and enjoy the glorious view from Kits Beach. Furthermore, on warmer evenings there’s a great amount of people watching you can do. Those who enjoy Kits Beach are wonderfully varied and colourful. […]

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Sprockids Mountain Bike Park is a special place. Last year it celebrated its 20th anniversary sharing our amazing forests with kids through the love of mountain biking. Teaching kids to ride safely with family and friends in a sanctioned park with educational components. This system is now used across Canada. Here it is 2km from my front door and I place where I love to hike. Capilano University’s Mountain Bike Operations students have built a number of trails over the past few years as part of their coursework applications. Recently, students organized a workday to install over 30 signs throughout […]

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It has been many years since going to Whistler.  My family doesn’t ski or snowboard and thus there has been a low desire to take effort to travel from Vancouver to Whistler.  When the 2010 Winter Olympics were announced and the subsequent Highway 99 (Sea-to-Sky) upgrade was started, many of us Vancouver types stayed off the road.  For years. Recently during a weekend getaway with my kids in Squamish, I thought, what the heck.  It’s summer, the scenery will be amazing and Whistler is only an hour away. And when I say an hour, I mean it literally.  From the […]

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Katie from the Riverside Resort has this to offer for Whistler’s Best Kept Secrets. Spooky: Train Wrecks at Function/ Ghost Town Green Lake “Parkhurst” Top Secret: The Hemloft Yummy: Riverside Cafe, a local’s favourite – located at Riverside Resort History: Alta Lake was the original name of Whistler but the settlers start calling the area “Whistler” because of the shrill whistle sound made by the western hoary marmots who live among the rocks. Budget: There are countless cross country ski & snowshoe trails that are FREE in Whistler in the wintertime!

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Daniel from Chase Country Inn says that his five secrets of the Shuswap are: The long pier that extends into the Little Shuswap. The salmon run that peaks every four years in the Adams River The hiking trail directly across the street from the Chase Country Inn The Sunshore Golf Club – 9 holes, but scenic The Little Shuswap restaurant with a Red Seal Chef in charge

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VanDusen Botanical Gardens is located at Oak Street and 37th Avenue in Vancouver.  During spring, summer and fall, the gardens have terrific collection of plants, trees and more.  In the winter, they put on a lovely Festival of Lights.  It’s hugely popular and my wife’s choir was singing at the event and it was a first time for me and my children. It literally felt like every single plant, tree or shrub that could handle having a light on it, had a light on it.  The Autumn this year in Vancouver has been quite wet since mid-October and we lucked […]

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It has been many years since going to Whistler.  My family doesn’t ski or snowboard and thus there has been a low desire to take effort to travel from Vancouver to Whistler.  When the 2010 Winter Olympics were announced and the subsequent Highway 99 (Sea-to-Sky) upgrade was started, many of us Vancouver types stayed off the road.  For years. Recently during a weekend getaway with my kids in Squamish, I thought, what the heck.  It’s summer, the scenery will be amazing and Whistler is only an hour away. And when I say an hour, I mean it literally.  From the […]

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Shannon Falls Provincial Park is a favourite spot of mine in BC because it allows you to enjoy the stunning scenery without much effort.  Of course old aphorisms stating the journey is more important than the destination were composed by people who never sat beside a chain smoker in withdrawal on a 12 hour flight from London to Cape Town or hiked up a BC mountain with bad knees. Regardless, Shannon Falls is 335 m (1105 ft.) of wonder.  When you pull into the parking lot, if it’s a beautiful day, it will likely be full.  There was no signage […]

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Obviously if you’re like me and have not been to Squamish since before the 2010 Winter Olympics, things have changed. A lot. But for those of you looking for more background, Squamish is the first real town north of Vancouver and West Vancouver. You truly feel past the point of sane commuting. (I hear stories of people doing Squamish-Vancouver commutes, but this induces the same scepticism that I have when I hear stories of people bending spoons with their mind powers.) The Sea-to-Sky Highway (#99) is well named as the scenery up to Squamish is stunning as you wind your […]

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