Expedition Canada

Final Countdown Used to be cosy in here! Check Lists

Micro brewery - Vancouver And Why British Columbia   We were first drawn to Canada some 20 years ago when we enjoyed a family holiday in the Muskoka region of central Ontario.  East of Lake Huron, we stayed in a cottage in Huntsville, on Lake Vernon.  Cottage somewhat understates it as the property had numerous bedrooms and was set in several acres on the lake edge, with its own boat dock.  Boating on the interconnected lakes, walks in the Algonquin National Park, sundowners on the deck; Ontario lit the fuse. Lake Vernon - Huntsville, ON Several years on our daughter and partner transferred from S Island NZ to Whistler with the company she worked for and we had our first visit to Vancouver and British Columbia. We fell in love with Vancouver; the proximity of ocean, mountains, Granville Island, Victoria Park and the friendliness of the Canadians, was enough to keep the fuse burning.  A year later our son moved to Vancouver, attracted to the outdoor life that we had enjoyed as a family.

Tape and Cardboard Boxes The shut down is underway.  After weeks of lists, edited lists and yet more lists, household possessions are getting packed in to cardboard boxes by the Britannia removal and shipping team. Today the stuff going in to long term store is being packed, early next week the more essential items, that we will need quickly, as and when we rent or buy a property will be packed and stored ready for when we press the button to ship. Packed boxes stored in garage The workshop machinery and Land Rover went over the last few weeks.   It is a strange feeling ending a relationship with a house that has been home for 31 years.  The house where children grew up, friends visited, extensions added, gardens restored and memories stored and retained.   Some of the furnishings remain for our tenants who will be looking after the house for the next six to nine months.  All of a sudden familiar surroundings dotted with personal touches, family pictures and reminders of those 31 years

The Countdown Begins In just twelve days our Canadian adventure begins, though not quite as we envisioned, as for three days we will be quarantining in an airport hotel in Toronto until a clear Covid 19 test arrives.   The onward journey to Vancouver, with six months worth of luggage, sees the start of the remaining eleven days of quarantining in a house in North Vancouver.  There we await the arrival of Jack, our spaniel cross, who arrives a week after us.  We decided three days locked in a hotel room would not be fair on him, or us! The seed was sown this time last year on a visit to see our son and fiancee's wedding venue.  The day after we returned to the UK the lockdown began, as did the planning for how we might make it all happen.  It is an experiment and we will give it six months,  but after numerous visits to both Ontario and British Columbia, we have a feeling it might well be a successful one.  As the plan developed we did not expect the effects of Covid to be quite so