North of the Border, eh!

After unloading my stuff in Tacoma, off I went to the Great White North. I spent a busy but wonderful time with my family in the Vancouver area. My parents had flown in from Toronto, my aunt and uncle from Korea and I have 2 aunts who live in the area. We spent a few days in Victoria on Vancouver Island and then in Whistler, where a lot of the 2010 Winter Olympics will be held. There was no snow at the resort area but there was enough for people to go snowboarding in the higher elevations for a few hours each day. There was also road construction along the way, I guess, to get ready for the expected traffic in a little less than 2 years from now. It was a fun time had by all.

The Vancouver area is a lot like Seattle, cloudy and rainy. On Vancouver Island and at Whistler, it was blue sky, sunshine and a little cooler. A wonderful change from Hawaii. My aunt goes hiking several times during the week. A group of us went for a short and not too challenging of a hike in the hills behind my aunt's house. She lives in the hills leading up to the Rockies so there's plenty of trails to venture on. Traffic there during rush hour is just like any other major city but people are nicer about it...being Canadian and all! ;)

I was sad to see my parents and aunt and uncle off at the airport before returning to Tacoma.