Vancouver, Seattle, Toronto, Niagara Photos-Now with story

Bonjour from Quebec

We have definitely entered the French speaking part of Canada and also the coldest. There is snow absolutely everywhere. The countryside is completely white, with houses metres deep in snow and cars in some areas almost completely buried. We are so glad we made the decision to fly across Canada rather than drive. After leaving Niagara Falls on Thursday which in Sams' words is "the most amazing thing we've ever seen," we set off for Montreal, making it as far as Cornwall, Ontario's most eastern city located on the St. Lawrence River. The river is almost completely frozen as we saw driving to Montreal on Friday morning. It is an incredible sight to see so much water frozen into a solid mass, mind you with a maximum temp of -4C and getting down to -12 while we were in the car, it is understandable. What astounded us were the tyre tracks everywhere on the ice, with a local man informing us it is co mpletely safe to drive on at this time of year. We opted against this in our rented Chevrolet Suburban laden down with 6 large suitcases, substantial hand luggage and the 6 of us. Not sure that the travel insurance includes sinking damage of rental cars.

Many locals have stated it is sad we are seeing everything covered in snow but for us it is the icing on the cake. The boys take every opportunity to slide down even the smallest hill, throw snowballs and build snowman. Craig and I both had a good laugh as we stepped onto a beach on Vancouver Island wearing gloves, beanies, snow boots and several layers of clothing. A little different to what we wear to the beach at home or see for that matter as there was snow halfway down the sand.

Canadians and Americans alike have been extremely friendly and helpful. We are overwhelmed by the wonderful hospitality of our friends in Vancouver and now in Eastern Canada. Leah Constantini (a prac teacher who taught in Jordan's class last year) and her family made us so welcome and comfortable when we arrived in Toronto. Alex and Ben particularly enjoyed having a home base and being thoroughly spoiled by Leah , her lovely Mum, Loretta and Dad, Frank. We also plan to see Melissa Townsend a Canadian prac teacher who taught with Craig at Mountain Creek in 2007. It is wonderful to see some familiar faces throughout our travels as we are missing family and friends. Luckily taking the boys skiing helped them cope with not being there for the start of soccer season. To all of you back home, best wishes, we hope the sun starts shining again soon.

Love the Wockies

West Coast Wockies No More

Hi everyone,

A Brief Post for now!
We are now on the W Coast of Canada staying with Leah Costantini and family for a couple of days before touring the area. After a beautiful visit to Vancouver Island and its capital Victoria and skiing at Mt Washington we repacked our many bags for the next leg of the journey.
We said goodbye to our wonderful Vancouver friends and took a perilous journey to Seattle in icy and snowy conditions where we were glad to have the big 4WD with numerous 2WD taking an unexpected journey into the barriers or banks. A 3 hour drive became 5-6, but we drove slow and got there safely. We took a brief tour around Seattle before returning to our room and repacking our bags yet again to lighten our load. Charity was the winner.
After an interesting journey through US security where we managed again to break the liquid laws for planes and forgot about Sams new pocket knife (OOPS) we were on our way to Toronto.  One of our 5 week old Samsonite bags came out the turnstile a different shape and with the top torn open which didn't impress us. Lucky Air Canada says they will repair/ replace. Will need a hell of a bag panelbeater and sewing machine to return to original form, so hope to get a new bag.
Today we went to Lake Ontario one of the great lakes and had a walk along the pathway,
watched mini icebergs, threw chunks of ice in and had the compulsory snowball fight. Finished with a snowman building session, before going to Battlefield where Canadians defeated the Americans in a battle in 1812. Forgot to take the camera so hope to get back for a few pics. Hillside was well used with scraps of tarp that we found for a make shift toboggan.
Tomorrow we plan to drive to Niagara Falls to check them out. Not sure if the boat at the bottom of the falls works this time of year and for that matter whether getting a shower in minus conditions is such a great idea, especially when Suzi and I are battling sore throats etc. Still, a look from above will be great. Break out the thermals!!
We plan to set off in a day or 2 for a tour around this neck of the woods in the next couple of days, but have not grabbed a map yet. Sam is complaining of jet lag, but we think it is just from the hectic pace of the last few weeks/ months catching up. Will need to take it easy on this journey.
Photos include- Whistler cable car etc, Mt Washington (Vancouver Island), Victoria including golf course- after unexpected snow dump (V.I.), First Nation and historical exhibits at Royal BC Museum (V.I.), Front yard at Dennis and Vivs after snowstorm we drove through, Snowball fight vs Canadians at Governers Residence, (Victoria, V.I.) Ferry ride back to Vancouver. Stunning!!! (but freezing outside cabin)