Today started out with a ride into Kirland to check out our bikes, make sure they were road worthy after the train ride, and do some shopping at Sur la Table, a great kitchen supply, cooking shop. 

The main focus of the day was the celebration of Kenny’s grade twelve graduation. Now this was an impressive event with a bewildering array of the most talented young people you could imagine.  Every grad had secured a spot in a post secondary institution reflecting the top schools in the U.S.A and Canada.  A flavor of the evening follows.

Student speaker

Student speaker

Some of the festivities as the grads celebrate their accomplishments.

Kenny getting his diploma.

Drabble Family with new grad 'Kenny'

The whole family here to support Kenny

Kenny with evidence of lots of hard work.

Awoke at 6:00 at Peter and Yasue’s here in Kirland Washington with the best of intentions to head out on a long brisk walk to remove the sludge of inactive train travel. About 100 steps down the road there was a brief skirmish with Nature and I was held captive for the next hour in a small pocket park created by the local residents. They have removed invasive species, installed natural pathways, planted native trees shrubs and flowers, fought with the brutish Himalayan Blackberry bush, defeated English Ivy and created a natural habitat for all species to enjoy. Here are some of the images from my saunter through Cotton Hill Park.

Spotted Tohee

Here is a Song Sparrow brightening the morning. Be sure your sound is on.

Slug enjoying slithering on grasses

The largest Horsetail I've encountered

More monster Horsetail

Starting Friday June 14, 2012

We are off on another adventure on our new favorite mode of transportation….VIA Rail. The train offers such a slowed down, civilized, way to move from one place to another.  We arrived at the station in Saskatoon in lots of time to check in. Our first encounter with a VIA Rail person involved a hilarious exchange with a very relaxed employee who was having great fun hinting at the inevitable fate awaiting our bicycles stashed in cardboard boxes. As the train pulled into the station we observed Cathy’s brother John and his wife Diane waving at us from one of the cars.  They had boarded in Winnipeg and are travelling with us to Vancouver. Our next VIA personage could not have been more friendly and accommodating while he explained where our car was, how to access our reserved seats and where the amenities on board could be found.  It struck me that VIA Rail and Air Canada (motto ‘we’re not happy until you’re not happy’) may have divergent views on how to satisfy customers.

Trent and Cathy with boxed bikes.

Basking in the slow rhythm of train movement while visiting in the dome car the four of us spent an hour catching up before we headed off to our bunk beds, snuggled into our comfy nests and melted into the soothing sway of a moving train. As five o’clock am approached I was so excited about catching the morning sun wash its warm glow across the prairie/parkland that I unwound my carcass from the upper bunk put some clothes on it and headed for the dome car.  There, through the rain and fog I could make out that the train was still rolling along on its metallic ribbon headed in the general direction of Edmonton.  My momentary disappointment in arising to a grey cloudy day was soon vanquished as the sun slowly beat back the clouds and replaced monochrome with full color.

In Edmonton a Panorama car was added just ahead of our car and provided another great way to view the world according to VIA.

Panorama car as seen from the station in Jasper.

Viewing within the Panorama car

After a great brunch with linen table clothes and silver service (remember the comment about civilized?) we headed back to our beds for an afternoon nap (remember the comment about civilized?) in preparation for a walk in Jasper.

VIA rail dinner setting.

The train is running a bit late so our walk in Jasper is only about 30 minutes.

Main Street Jasper

We board the train again with the promise of ‘Bon Voage’ drinks and hors d’oerves in the dome car.

A glass of sparkling wine enables complete relaxation as the mountain scenery is rolled out in front and behind the train.

Suddenly there is great excitement as word comes from the conductor that a black bear is foraging on the side of the tracks.  Luckily I was on the correct side of the train to snap a picture. I swear the bear is blurry from the window glass refraction and not the wine!

Soon we are sitting down to a delicious meal of baked Salmon or Rack of lamb prefaced with soup, salad and finished off with carrot cake desert.

The mountain scenery continues to block the view, dumping gushing rivers, craggy peaks, brilliant green forests and tumbling waterfalls in front of our eyes obscuring the pastel shades of the familiar prairie grasses!

Pyramid Falls, B.C.

Tuesday, Oct. 25
Our day begins at another breakfast table loaded with delicious fruit from the hotel garden.  Our meal is delightfully punctuated with another visit with Mare and Evelyn who have become our La Perla friends. Mare's family has strong Italian roots and she comes here a couple of times a year to refresh her Italian soul.  Her knowledge of the local area has been very helpful when suggesting places to visit and where to eat. On top of that she is a stand up comedian and keeps us in stitches with her descriptions of family life in the USA and her observations about our group's choices in attire and head cover.

Don, Trent, Mare, Evelyn

Today our group heads off in different directions to explore on our own. The local birds continue to elude my shutter so I content myself with pictures of plants that cannot dart away.

Olives that missed picking and processing.

My walk carried me to a local marina, along a stony hiking path, through a residential area clinging to the rock face and back to the hotel. Along the way a towering rock called out to the little boy in me to climb up, push it over and watch the toppling peak careen down the mountain. Fortunately, my adult voice prevailed and I carried on.

Can you imagine pushing this stone pillar over.

I also discovered how smooth rocks are formed on beaches with lots of wave action.

This walk was so enjoyable that I returned to the hotel to get Cathy and we repeated the walk in reverse order.  Throughout our stay on the Amalfi coast we have observed full sized cars and busses negotiating the roads built for tinker toy cars.  Pat has commented on the regular appearance of the patented Amafi pin striping applied to many of the vehicles.

Note the Amalfi pin striping.

Further on we passed a restaurant  where a lady called out asking if we wanted something to eat.  At least that was our interpretation of the Italian sounds and gestures.  Our positive response turned into a satisfying episode of cappuccino drinking and cake eating.  Just what you should do for lunch in Italy.

How could you refuse cake made by this lady.

Three very handsome young boys dressed in rather formal clothes were tossing rocks into the sea as we sipped our coffee.  Our waiter informed us that the action on the beach was part of a photo shoot to advertise children's clothing.  Cathy was most fascinated by this and managed to capture a shot from above the photo shoot.  We are currently in negotiations with the advertising arm of Armani to secure the exclusive rights to this photo for an undisclosed 6 figure contract.

Eight hundred years ago a tower was built on a rocky outcropping just below our hotel.  Twenty years ago Paolo Sandulli opened his ceramic studio in this tower. Two hours ago we had the delight of touring this eye popping studio.

Paolo is a painter and ceramic artist who studied in Paris in the late 1970's in a studio used by famous painters such as Cézanne. This was a great inspiration to him over the years.  Our conversation with him was most delightful and included a discussion about his interest in coming to Canada to attend our biennial International Emma Collaboration. Here is a selection of the delightful ceramic pieces that were evident in the tower.

We are now preparing for our last supper at La Perla where we will share the repast with Mare and Evelyn.  Our sides will ache from the laughter in a few hours.  
Tomorrow we leave for Naples and then back to Saskatoon so this may be my last posting, especially if we are mugged and my computer stolen as we have been warned many times.