Whistler Mountain

Near the top of the world
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Up the Gondola
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On Monday we headed up to Whistler in the Rockies. It is about a 2 hour drive from Vancouver. It is where some of the Vancouver Winter Olympics events will be held. The drive up is spectacular. It was a beautiful day when we arrived - over 25 degress and bright sunshine. We got the Gondola from the village to the Roundhouse, which is just over 6,000 ft. It was a little cooler up top but still warm. We hiked the last 900 feet to Little Whistler summit. At the top there was a tea room which did not sell coffee! The views all around were breat-taking. It was such a clear day you could see for miles and miles in every direction. There was even a little snow.

Whistler Summit
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Spectalcular Views
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Tea at the Top
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Canadian Flag
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Daffodil Lane

After Lynn Valley we went back to Colm and Babs for lunch. They have a lovely house on the side of a mountain but only 5 minutes walk from a beautiful will harbour called Eagle Harbour. They sometimes see bears in the back garden - BEARS!

Lunch
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Chez Caldwell
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Time for a Swim
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After lunch we walked down to the harbour. It really is in an idyllic setting. Vancouver Island is in the distance. Senan and I had a swim - it was lovely, came water almost warm - we even saw a seal in the water.

Seal Head
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Eagle Harbour
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Lynn Valley Bridge

Dog Tired
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ON Sunday morning we were collected by the Caldwells. Of course we had to show off the float home first.
Then we headed across Lions Gate Bridge to Lynn Valley in North Vancouver.

Having Fun
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Forest Walk
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Twin Falls Bridge
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Flowers
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It is a beautiful spot with a suspension bridge and forest walks. We walked to Twin Falls bridge - which was about 20 minutes from the car park. It was a beautiful spot. The forest is not the conifers that we are used to in Ireland but there are giant Douglas Fir, and its all on the side of a pretty serious looking mountain. You don't stray off the path becaause there are bears - yes, BEARS really! It's also a place where almost every year some young male dies or is badly injured jumping into the river. We were watch the river from the Twin Falls foorbridge when we heard a loud noise. "It's jumpers", we were told and sure enough there was a group of about six teenagers. Most of them jumped - I got just one on camera. See More Lynn Valley Photos

Jumper
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Climbing back up
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Boating at False Creek

Getting in and out of the boat can be tricky
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Today we had visitors from Ireland. We arranged to meet up with Margaret and family on Granville Island. After lunch at the market and some wandering around the island we went back to the house boat for tea. Michael and Natalie had kindly lent us the Kayaks and so Colm, Katy, Senan and Lisa ventured down False Creek. I took Ruth and Aoife out in the boat.

I can do this Mum
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Aoife and Ruth also tried some kayaking around the dock. It all went well until Aoife tried to step out of the kayak and ended up in the water. However the life jackets worked and help was soon at hand.

Here's my Hand
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Grab Hold
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Hold on Tight
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Rescued
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Vancouver Aquarium

Dolphins showing off! Uploaded by M+MD

Today we took the bikes and cycled to Stanley Park again. This time we went to the aquarium. It is a great place. There are lots of different exhibits of different underwater animals. The Beluga Whales; the Sea Otters and the Dolphns are the stars of the show. But the exibits from the Amazon and from the British Columbia coastlines are also spectacular. The dolphins were not of the Flipper / Fungie bred (I think they're called bottle-nosed dolphins) but looked bigger and are more starkly coloured black and white. They put on a great show - big jumps and even landing up on the deck of the dock. The theme of the show was educational rather than the circus that you see in Sea World.

Beluga Whale underwater Uploaded by M+MD

Beluga Whales and trainer Uploaded by M+MD

The Belugas look like very overweight white dolphins. The Belugas has a 3 to 4 inch layer of blubber alll around their body. On the oldest Beluga this was pretty jelly like. They don't move as fast or jump as high, but they look like they are smiling all the time. They like in the Artic and can hold their breath for 20 minutes under the ice!

Sea Otter Uploaded by M+MD

Sea Otter Uploaded by M+MD

But the real stars of the show were the sea otters. These are the same guys who made in big on YouTube a few weeks ago - apparently they made the greatest number of views in a day or ever on YouTube. See Kevin's comment for confirmation. We didn't get them holding hands - but they were cute enough! YouTube Stars Uploaded by M+MD Watch YouTube Video Here

Jelly Fish from British Columbia Uploaded by M+MD

See more Vancouver photos

Granville Island Market

Granville Island Market
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Granville Island market is just on our doorstep. Its not just fruit and vegetables, but its fresh bread from one of several bakeries; at least 4 different butchers, plus hot food, cheeses and much much more.

Granville Island Market
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Fireworks

Fireworks
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Last night we played host to Sea Village because with a little help in setting it up we had the best viewing spot in the village. The show to-night was from China. While Canada had better music on last Saturday night, the concensus was that China probably had the better show. We will know the final result and winner from Spain (whose show took place a few days before we arrived) Canada and China.

Sea Villagers
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Fireworks
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Preparing for Firework Display

Rowing the Dock
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Before the fireworks display we had paddle around the extra dock to attach in front of our dock. Senan and Katy helped the more expert Michael and Natasha.

Nearly there
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House Boat

House Boat Originally uploaded by M+MD

This is a picture of sea Village in Granville Island which you can see is right in the middle of Vancouver. This is a small community of 14 float homes. Each home is different. The yellow building in the middle is where we are staying. Living is a float home means that you are very much part of a community. We havn't quite meet everyone yet as some are away on vacation, but almost everyone has been introduced to us and all have made us feel very welcome. See more Vancouver photos

Walkway

House To-night there will be another fireworks display. the best way to see the fireworks from Sea Village is to tie a working dock to the dock in front of our house and arrange benched facing the bridge. So we will be entertaining to-night!

House Boat When the tide is low the roofs of the house boats are almost level with the main dock. The boat is moving all the time - no so much that you would notice - I guess we have our harbour legs by now.

View from the Dock

Harry the Heron

Harry the Heron
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We have a daily visitor to the dock at the back of our house boat in Vancouver. He just sits there and lets you get as close as you dare. We are told his name is Harry, but he doesn't seem to react when we call him. Although we havn't seen him do it yet - apparently the reason he is there is not to visit old friends, but to fish. He sits looking in the water and suddenly with a quick movement he will duck in his head and come out with a fish in his beak - then one gulp and its gone. Harry didn't your mother tell you that you really must chew your food.

Shoes?

There are just some things that even Jet Lag can't explain. Mags was wandering around Granville Island on Sunday morning - she came home and said she say a dog wearing shoes. Surely not? It looks like it might be true.

Shoes?
Originally uploaded by M+MD

Shoes, originally uploaded by M+MD

Early Morning Vancouver

Early Morning Vancouver, originally uploaded by M+MD.

We stayed up late on Saturday night, to force out the jet-lag. It nearly worked - but for some reason our body clocks are still about 3 hours off. So we collapse tired at about 10 in the evening and wake up between 5 and 6 am. With the great weather and the bright sun on the water just outside our front door, there are some compensations for the jet lag.
This morning we headed down to Granville Market for breakfast. What a variety on offer, I had a "boring" scrambled eggs on waffles, Senan had a crepe with lemon and sugar; Mags had an indian special of curried sausage and curried scrambled eggs with Chai while Katy just went mad and had noodles and sweet and sour chicken!

Kitsilano Beach, Vancouver

Kitsilano Beach, Vancouver
Originally uploaded by M+MD.

This afternoon (Sunday local time, 8 hours behind) we took the bikes out and cycled along the seaside cycle track. This brought us through Vanier Park, where the kite flyers were out. At Kitsilano Beach we stopped for Ice cream. It's warming up after a dull start to the day. Being Sunday there are lots of people walking and cycling or just sun bathing.The bike trail then took us through some quiet suburban streets and then down to Jericho Beach Park. While the path went on to the University of British Columbia, but having cycled over 6 km out we decided it was time to turn back.

Swimming in False Creek

Swimming in False Creek
Originally uploaded by M+MD.

Whats the point in living in a house boat if you don't go swimming. We just jumped off the deck and into the cold water of False Creek, Vancouver Bay. It didn't take too long to warm up. Though as the picture shows, Senan was a little harder to persuade. See more Vancouver photos

Street Life

Street Life, originally uploaded by M+MD.

Granville Island on Sundays attracts a lot of visitors. Lots of visitors means Street Entertainment. This gentleman manages to balance on a plank of timber on a pipe on a platform. While there he suceeds in passing his body through a tennis racquet (with no strings) and juggle some kitchen objects, including knives and a plunger! It's all happening literally on our front doorstep.

Vancouver - First Night

Evening 9.45
Originally uploaded by M+MD.

We've just arrived in Vancouver for a two week holiday. It was a long day and by now its 5.45 in the morning in Dublin and we's been up since 6.15 so we are just coming up to 24 hours on the go! But we need to keep going another hour or so to shake off the jet lag. We are on our first house swap holiday. We are staying in Rob and Anne's fantastic house boat on Granville Island in the centre of Vancouver. This is a picture from our floating "patio". This was taken just as we were getting ready to watch to-nights fireworks display - I think its to celebrate our arrival!(?).

Murder at Margaritaland

To mark a couple of significant birthdays we had a Murder Mystery evening last night. The photos from the night are up on the web. Flickr Photo Album It was a wonderful night – we had 26 characters. They included: Coconut Joe — Owner of Margaritaland. The owner of the resort and the man to talk to when anything goes wrong. Coconut Jane — Wife to Coconut Joe. Jane is in charge of guest relations and will go to any extent to make sure that the guests remain happy and satisfied. Bindy Barkeep — Bar Manager. With bar sales decreasing lately, Bindy is looking for someone to blame. Will Bindy be able to keep the bar in the black… and their job? Flick Click — Paparazzi. Has come to the island to get exclusive pictures of Starr Bright. Will go to any lengths to get the front page picture. Kylie Cocktail — Cocktail Waitress. A gold-digger at heart, her aspirations might be a little ambitious for even her to achieve. Lifesavin’ Sam — Lifeguard. Sam is supposed to be the safeguard of the resort, however, after his recent break-up with Kylie Cocktail, his actions have been doing more harm than good. Cabana Bob — Cabana Boy. Ambitious and driven, Bob will do anything to advance his career and his love life. Cinders — Fire Dancer. Raised on the island, she is a close friend of Izzie. There has been a lot of island gossip about her and old school friend Cabana Bob. BJ Baggage — Bellhop. With hopes of promotion, this bellhop is willing to help out the guests and the staff for little price if it means advancement of their career. Carrie Behan — Resort Staff. Confidante and secret admirer of Jack Daniels, but might know just too many secrets. Sgt. Lord — Police officer. As the island’s top crime fighter, Sgt. Lord is here as a personal favour to Coconut Joe. Before the night is through, their sleuthing skills will turn up more than a few lost dollars. Tatum Tatt — Tattoo Artist. An artist and true talent. Another talent that they have is one of observation and Tatum has seen more than they are leading on. Thurston Howard III — Millionaire. A man of money and power, Thurston will let no one take what is his or make a fool of him. Candy Cotton — Millionaire’s girlfriend. As the vivacious and young girlfriend of Thurston Howard III, she will do anything to keep the adoration (and financial security) of her beau. Lucky Numbers — Lottery Winner. Lucky came here to celebrate his winnings and ended up falling in love with Izzie. Now, he doesn’t know how to get something he can’t buy. Starr Bright — Movie star. Tired of the limelight and paparazzi, Starr is here to recuperate and rejuvenate far, far away from a daunting public. Agent Hollywood— Hollywood Agent. With Starr Bright’s sudden rise to fame, this agent has had to work overtime to keep their client happy and Starr’s career on the right track. Sandy Beachbum — Professional Surfer. A two-time world champ, has this pro hit it big and then decided to hit the beach. Was the surfing circuit too much for him to take? Mo Manager — Sandy Beachbum’s Manager. Mo will do whatever it takes to make sure Sandy stays healthy and out of retirement. Margie Mooner — Honeymooner. Proof positive that keeping a secret, any secret, from the one they love can be deadly. Mike Mooner — Honeymooner. Desperately in love with his wife, Mike is determined to make this marriage work and will do anything to keep Margie true to him. Jack Daniels — Bartender. Known as the Casanova of the pool bar, it is hard to say whether his philandering ways will get him promoted or in trouble. Izzie Islander — Island girl. Raised on the island, Izzie is a natural beauty and has a way of capturing everyone’s heart except the man she wants most, Jack Daniels. Hans Off — Resort Guest. Rich and extravagant, hangs out with Lucky and Thurston and any other millionaires he can find. Bahamas Bill — Resort Guest. A fun-loving holiday-maker. Has befriended Margie Mooner with whom he shares a secret – some say much too friendly. Camilla — Resort Guest. Wealthy heiress, has befriended Cotton Candy and like Cotton, likes to get what she wants. Trays — Waitress. Working as a waitress in a cocktail bar – a very happy go lucky gal. The only blot on the landscape is the fact that she has fallen out badly with her one time friend Kylie. If you want to try it yourself log into Night of Mystery

isnt sms gr8

- SMS from Senan on holidays with his friend Ross near Venice- Hi we arrived at 11:30 on saturday and yesterday we played scrabble and played chess and we got table tennis bats but the place was closed ross didnt want to go swimming so we stayed at home the dinner was nice. ross's dad and i went to this archery thing but ross didnt go and we are thinking of going swimming i cant send messages now so you might get this later i wrote this at 11:56 on Monday. Also I got 4 bites on saturday night 2 on each leg the 2 on my right leg are quite bad. We are in the village now at 12:42 still no signal. We are going to Venice tomorrow so I will send this then. 18:20 monday. Sorry about the long text its because I cant send texts so I am adding more to this one its almost like a diary thing monday 21:05. ross has been headaches but he does not want to take any tablets so it is not going away 21:12 we are playing scrabble now 22:10 Is deli a word or an abbreviation and is vise a word 23:29 oh yeah just to tell you my phone is wierd the signal bar is full but the network does not work if i try and call or text or check my credit or change the network (TIM, vodafone etc.) it says network error and emergancy calls only. It says limited service instead of vodafone 23:43. Ross's dad got a bite so we are finally getting anti bite thing tuesday 08:58. Its surprising that its only tuesday it feels like thursday or friday 9:27 Hi I got my phone working so im sending this now sorry about it being so long 10:27 -