Coffee in Edmonston New Brunswick

Mark and I have spent the past few days travelling around New Brunswick. We left the kids at his mothers house and took off to visit our friend Catherine in New Brunswick. We had not seen her for 7 years so were very excited to catch up.

Catherine lives on 6 acres of land overlooking the rolling hills of Southwest NB. She has access to neighbors land all around her and 20 minutes walk away is a pristine lake which she swims in from April to October, as long as it is not frozen.

First night we had Lobster, of course. What a treat and so delicious that we had lobster again the next night, which was so delicious and in such quantity I think I have had enough lobster to last me for quite a while.

Catherine has also been working on "Creating her Own Reality" after reading the book and watching the movie "You Can Heal Your Life" by Louise Hay. Mark recommended it to her at the beginning of the year. We had some wonderful conversations with her. There have been so many incredible changes in her life and our lives that have enriched us beyond our expectations and as we all continue to work on our beleifs and how they affect us in this world, we experience more and more the exuberance of life.

Highlights of NEW BRUNSWICK
*Whale Watching in the Bay of Fundy - we saw a humpback whale 30 feet from the boat, diving numerous times and a number of smaller Binky whales.
*Eating Lobster and listening to Mark talk to the lady selling lobster. Her first reaction to Mark when he asked if they had any lobster with 3 claws (they were selling lobsters with one or two claws) was just priceless.
*Spending time with Catherine who grows all her own vegetables, lives with 3 incredible dogs, cans tomatoes, makes fresh pesto, upholsters her own sofa and runs the math department in her area with passion.
Lianna


Drinking a mug of cafe o lait in NB.

Buying our first airline tickets

Lianna and I went to Ottawa to get our visas for China. The kids stayed with my mother and Steve in Sutton.
We started off by waking up at 5:50 a.m. (Luckily I woke up automtically, without an alarm, as I was supposed to get up to put on the alarm, which didn't happen) to pack. We didn't really feel like packing again, so we just took all our stuff!
We were supposed to be at the Chinese embassy by 11 if we wanted our visas the same day - which we did. The reason the visas were so rushed was because the kids had to have their passports to fly to the states. Se we had to wait till we met them in Vermont and returned to Canada. Montreal does not have a Chinese consulate. And with time being tight, we had to drive them over to Ottawa.

As it happened, we left Vermont with an emotional good-bye to Lianna's sister Risha, Shabbir her husband, and their three kids Dyami Zara and Tohan, and FORGOT THE PASSPORTS!!!! Halfway to Montreal from their place in Vermont Lianna remembered the passports. Big decision: go back or have them couriered. We opted for the latter, which worked out.
So L and I were of and running, on the road by 6:30-ish. All was well: we stopped for coffee after the bridge, which wasn't too bad.

By the time we get to the embassy, it was 10:45. We walk in and there's a big line, one wicket open, and at least 11 people in front of us. As we wait in line we hear the lady ask everyone for hotel reservations and return tickets. Knowing full well we had neither, we waited fatalistically, and when we get to the front 45 minutes later, she askes us the same thing, to which I say, "no". and she sends up packing.
Demoralized, disoriented, and determined to get in, we head to my friend Sheila's place for lunch.

On the way, through these tight narrow, one-way Ottawa roads packed with cars, I spot an adventure travel store, with a large sale sign in the window. I make the spontaneous decision to go in there (we'd just listended to the Seth CD on just that topic!), and sure enough, they sell Osprey backpacks!! The very ones I had tried to hunt down in Vancouver for months, to no avail! AND, they have the exact models we want, and they are on sale, and they have exactly the right quantity - we take the last 3! I also buy a pair of Keens, which I'd been searching for for months having actually purchased a pair and then returned them some days later - and got a pair of great pants, and Lianna got a pair of shorts. In short, total success.
I intuitively know I have to ask the guy there for a good travel agent for China, as we realize we have to step this up a bit visa process up a bit.
We also realize that we have not really tackled the issue of tickets and visas head on, so this was the time. Well the guy did know a travel agent, and apparently before he HAD to recommend one, as the owner of the store owned it. But he reocmmended another, just behind his store. Went there and after some very good information (about safaris and possible ticket purchase problems) was given a great tip: go to Chinatown and have a Chinese travel agent arrange it. So we did.

First place we stopped: dud. Second place, third floor up, way in the corner, visible - barely- from the street as we drove by. Lots of parking. Go up. Golden. She'll do the visa for us and make all the necessary arrangements with hotels etc. So we're in baby! She also gives us a better deal on our ticket than the first travel agent, so we book our first plane ticket! Vancouver - Tokyo - Beijing.
We leave on 14 September for Tokyo Japan! Over to China 8 October, overland to Tibet, then to Nepal.
Mark

The Lovely East Coast -Visiting Family

We spent a few days in Vermont visiting my sister at her new summer lake home. It was a fabulous place to chill and catch up on the much needed sleep. Mark even slept in until 10:30 in the morning which is something I have never seen before. The weather was also incredible and we all managed to create tan lines in only a couple of days. My sister and her husband have just completed this summer building their mansion. Its stunning, colourful, has a gorgeous lake view, what more can I say.
After a day of waterskiing and frolicking on the lake, Sunday August 13, we packed up from Vermont, to drive to Sutten, Quebec, Mark’s mothers (Gissa and Steves) place.

About an hour or so out of town from the lake mansion “Where are all the passports?” came to mind. We had managed to take everything, done a check and double check of every room in the house and still we managed to leave the children’s passports behind. I immediately called my sister to have them couriered to couriered. Big realization about the absolute necessity of organization and creating a list of everything in each of our bags and then checking that list everytime we leave a location. We are going to be travelling with a small back pack with few items, most of them important. Once we get the backpacks, and the final packing is complete, the list will be a priority for each one of us to create. So far the kids have been in New Jersey - Caleb left his sandals and Vermont- we left their passports.

Gissa and Steve just completed having a pond dug in their backyard. They live on 25 acres of land in the Eastern Townships of Quebec so plenty of space to have a pond. And what a POND! It is like a small lake. Just gorgeous. Fresh springs coming out from the ground, pristine trees all around, at least 100 m of length. And to top it off, there are lots of frogs jumping around everywhere. We even spotted a blue one the other day while we were in the middle of a massive croquet game (a tradition when we are visiting).

The kids have spent the past summers at Gissas and Steves for at least 2 weeks and they were not about to give that up just because we were going travelling for a year. They also insisted that Mark and I were not to interfere in their visit and traditions. So Mark and I packed out bags and left for a quick trip to Ottawa. Time to get Visas, airline tickets and to do some real shopping.


Lianna

No Keys

Yes we are keyless. No house keys and no car keys. Ok we do have a new key to the storage unit but otherwise we are completely free of keys.
As for where we all are now that we have no keys, the kids are in New Jersey with my sister, Mark and I are staying with his father in his apartment in downtown Vancouver (we are leaving for Montreal on Wednesday morning) and the cats are staying with a friend.
The whole event has barely had time to hit us. After the past month of cleaning and packing and selling and moving, we are completely exausted. We pulled out every last bit of energy in order to get through the week and now we have crashed. Its great to have a few days at Mark's dad to relax, gather our thoughts and tie up all the loose ends before we leave.
At this point there is no reason to RUSH anything. We are on holiday now, we are living the reality we created. I can hardly believe it!
Lianna

Almost out of the house

We are scheduled to be out of this house on August 14 and then hand the keys over on August 15. AHHHH! Had a moving sale on Saturday and managed to sell quite a lot of stuff but oh my god there is still plenty left to clear out. Fortunately just before we were ready to close up the moving sale, who should walk in the door but a lovely family from Italy, 3 sons, who just moved here on sabatical for the next year. They have rented a house and they needed to furnish it completely! They were our best customers of the day.
I guess it will all be done by the 14th no matter what, no need to fret or worry about that.
Lianna

Planning the Trip

Our schedule and plans for the trip have changed daily. I think we will have to always remain flexible and open to whatever transpires. We have worked out the beginning of our trip.
August 15 - September 12: Eastern Canada, Vermont, New York
Sept 12-15: Vancouver
Sept 15: leave for JAPAN
October sometime - would like to be in China, Beijing. We are excited to travel from Beijing to Katmandu on the Beijing to Lhasa high altitude train ride, then by other forms of transport to Katmandu.
November - head to SE Asia

We have had lots of requests to visit Australia, there are some fabulous people down there we could visit! So like I said, we have to be flexible.

Send us your suggestions.
Lianna

House is SOLD!

Lake Louise, Alberta

So things are falling into place. The house has been sold and we have to get out of here by August 15! That now leaves us about 3 1/2 weeks. We just returned from a cousins wedding in Edmonton. Had a fabulous time! Drove there and drove back. This was a very good adventure to spend some time thinking about how we were going to travel for a year. What are the challenges, what kind of things do we need, use, how are we going to get along with each other for the whole time?

Golden, BC

Our two 2 week trip to included Kelowna, Drumheller, Edmonton, Jasper, Lake Louise, then back home. Had a wonderful time. We experienced every type of accommodation along the way as well. Home exchange in Kelowna, crappy motel in Golden, rustic cabin in Drumheller, real country outback motel in Patricia, Alberta, Hi-rise hotel in Edmonton, camping in Jasper, youth hostel in Lake Louise and to end it all off a lovely cabin at a resort in Revelstoke.
Saw all the relatives during the wedding in Edmonton and spent lots of time with my sister and kids in Drumheller.

Drumheller, Alberta


Wedding in Edmonton, Alberta

After Edmonton, Mark and I and the kids drove through the Rockies. Spent two nights in Jasper. I have worked there many times with different film crews and have seen everything but it all seemed so different introducing the area to my family. First of all the Korean Restaurant I had visited years ago was taken over by another owner and although I raved about the food, this time it was terrible! Went for a horseback ride, saw some bears, camped in the wilderness. Real Canadian adventure. On the way down the Icefields Parkway we stopped at the Columbia Icefield - always an awesome sight. I am always amazed at the amount it receeds from year to year. There were warning signs for people to stay off the glacier itself. This did not seem to matter to many as they walked up the toe of the glacier. We spoke to a Parks Warden who watched as people lost their shoes in the muddy silt at the base trying to get to the toe. He hopes that the muddy area will eventually get so large that people will be discouraged from embarking over the ice. There is a very high chance of that ice cracking and revealing the raging river underneath. It will happen, it is just a matter of when. Did some exhilerating river rafting on the Kicking Horse River in Revelstoke and then back home to pack.

The house has been officially sold! So we have to be out of here by August 14. Lots to do and plan over the next few weeks.
We made multiple lists during the drive through the Rockies; house stuff, travel stuff, packing stuff, money stuff, electronics etc.


Columbia Icefield, Rocky Mountains, Alberta


Rocky Mountains, Alberta


Shopping at Mountain Equipment Coop, Edmonton, Alberta

Now it is Saturday our first day back. I realize that there is a lot to do but my real only concern is our cats. Two beautiful cats who have lived with us for 8 years are now going to spend a year or maybe the rest of their lives with another good family. We are all putting out the word that the best people come forward to help us with these lovely creatures.

Until next time
Lianna