Posts from — July 2024

Early in April we made a quick couple night visit to Princeton and then over to Kelowna to see both families April was mostly a catch up month with us both getting back into life regular routines of dancing, ukulele, gardening and painting.

May arrived and the early part of the month was getting ready for an upcoming Wells Gray Tours trip to New York City

On May 25th we boarded a Wells Gray Tour bus for a drive to Kelowna and then a flight to Calgary for the night By the time we met up with everyone there was a total of 30 travellers

Our tour director was Rhonda and she was excellent, we have travelled with Rhonda in the past and she is always customer focused and shares lots of information, so you always know what’s going on and what’s going to happen Overall it was a great group and everyone showed up when requested and everyone mixed well with each other

Without giving a day to day detail review of what we saw and experienced here is a list of some of the stuff we saw in the 6 full days we were in New York City
Time Square – right outside our hotel
New Year’s Eve Ball – 12ft in diameter and it looks tiny from the street
Empire State Building
Rockefeller Centre and the Top of The Rock

Central Park – Strawberry Fields and John Lennon Imagine mosaic
The Court House where Donald Trump was on trial
The Bronx to The Battery
The Charging Bull in the financial district
Wall Street
The 911 Monument and the Oculus

Ground Zero Memorial Tower #1
Liberty Island and The Statue of Liberty

Ellis Island and the National Park Buildings
Broadway including 3 Plays “Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Son” “Back to the Future” “The Wiz”
Trump Tower with the golden elevator (Don’t be fooled, it’s more brass than gold
Grand Central Station
Tiffany’s
Plus some specialty dinners out and a local food tour
It was a busy few days

The month of June arrived and we were just getting back from New York City

Midway through the month went down to Kelowna for one night to attend Zach’s year end Band Concert He really did well and had fun, we are so proud of how he is progressing in music

When we got home Kevin and 3 of his buddies had arrived for an extended weekend Disc Golf Tournament They were a lot of fun to have visit and they had a lot of fun on their weekend away

Then at the end of the month Jeff, Lindsay, Zach and Oliver stayed with us for a couple of nights and stayed over for Kamloops Canada Day Celebration in Riverside Park

Stay tuned for more life adventures with SillyLog

January 2024 arrived and so did our 50th Wedding Anniversary
It’s hard to believe that 50 years have gone by since the day we got married
We both sit back and say “Where did those 50 years go”?
We also both know how lucky we are to have each other.
So, here’s to many more years ahead.

To celebrate we decided to have a month long vacation in Hawaii from mid January to end of February Plans were made earlier in the fall which included 5 nights in Vancouver prior to Hawaii and then off to Honolulu for a month in Waikiki.

The 5 nights in Vancouver flew by and before we knew it we were at the airport boarding the plane for Hawaii I should have mentioned that Vancouver was having a bit of weather and the night before we were to fly out they had had about 4″ of snow Nothing to worry about, right WRONG
We boarded the Westjet flight early and the Captain made an announcement that we would be pushing back as soon as the last of the luggage was loaded So, there we sat at the gate waiting for the baggage handling crew However we could see right outside our window on the plane and the baggage handling crew were having a “Snow Day” they were spinning the tires on the loading ramp conveyor and at times almost hitting the plane Basically they created a skating rink and no vehicle could get near the plane Meanwhile we watched as snow plows drove by not stopping to help clear a path

After about 3 hrs of sitting at the gate in the plane the Captain finally said we were ready to push back and there was a cheer from the passengers We waited another 1/2 hr and finally we started to move Yaaaaa we’re on our way; NOT SO FAST!
Now we had to line up for de-icing, so it was go, then stop, then go, then stop for another hour til we finally got to the de-icing area I could see planes on either side of us getting de-iced but none on us and after sitting here for 15 minutes the plane started to move forward and away from the take-off area Once the plane stopped the Captain made an announcement that they were now low on fuel and had to return to the gate to refuel Once at the gate gate agent came aboard and announced the the flight was cancelled as the crew would be over their safe working hours if they took off for Hawaii and that we would all be receiving revised flight times in the next short while by text message

So, it was off the plane, back through Customs and Immigration and pick up our luggage I immediately called a hotel in the area to get a room for the night Of course none of the extra expenses was covered by Westjet as they declared it was a weather related event Once back inside the terminal we waited over 1 1/2 hrs at 2 different baggage carousels for luggage and then headed to the hotel for the night.

Once at the hotel we got our revised flight times We were thinking the next day same time, but oh no! Our next available flight out to Hawaii was schedule for Saturday, 4 days later or there were other change options all of them stupid So we decide to scrap Hawaii for 2024

However, once we were at home for a couple weeks and we had time to cool off we decided to try Hawaii again and this time with Air Canada Plus we also decided to treat ourselves to an upgrade to Premium Economy and we flew directly from Kamloops This time it all worked out and we finally got to Hawaii and 3 1/2 weeks at The Pacific Monarch

However, once we were at home for a couple weeks and we had time to cool off we decided to try Hawaii again and this time with Air Canada Plus we also decided to treat ourselves to an upgrade to Premium Economy and we flew directly from Kamloops This time it all worked out and we finally got to Hawaii and 3 1/2 weeks at The Pacific Monarch

One of the casualties of the cancelled Westjet flight was a beautiful flower arrangement the Kevin, Tamara, Sage and Conrad had sent for our January arrival; the saving grace was the hotel staff and guest all got a chance to enjoy it in the lobby entrance

When we did get to our room there was a gift basket which included champagne and macadamia nuts from the Hotel Then a day or so later a gorgeous flower basket from Jeff Lindsay Zach and Oliver arrived

Once there we settled in and had a great time and got our Hawaii groove on and into some daily routines like a morning walk, early afternoon beach time and a sunset Mai Tai

Plus the change in our travel plans allowed Brent and Karen’s travel plans to overlap with ours so we got to see them for a couple of dinners

Hawaii this year took up most of the first three months from traveling to cancelling to replanning and getting there and getting back home

The one thing is, we will always remember our 50th Wedding Anniversary trip to Hawaii

Well after all the hustle, bustle and busy around the family gathering we started to get our somewhat quiet life back on track.

November and December flew by and somewhere in there we managed a trip to Kelowna to watch Zach play the trumpet in the Dr Knox School Band Christmas Concert GGPA was smiling down that night!

While down in Kelowna we celebrated an early Christmas as Jeff, Lindsay, Zach and Oliver planned to be at Silverstar Ski Mountain for Christmas with friends

We also bought all the supplies for Zach, Oliver and their buddy Ross to build Graham Wafer and candy Christmas Villages They really loaded up their individual creations.

For Christmas we headed to Princeton to spend it with Kevin, Tamara, Sage and Conrad What a fun couple days and it was so nice to be invited for Christmas Tamara and Kevin always prepare and serve a delicious Christmas dinner

And finally, a picture of Silly Christmas head wear