Expedition Canada

Gibsons - Highest number of Breweries Per Capita Thu Mar 24th  Moody morning off Hopkins Landing We thought obtaining a Visitor Record (an IMM 1442) would be plain sailing now that we had our Super Visas in place.  The form is issued automatically if you extend a 6 month visitor stay beyond the initial period and it allows you to obtain a BC driving licence and therefore open a bank account.   When we 'flagpoled' around the Peace Arch border crossing to have the Super Visas added to our passports we asked for the Visitor Record and were told they would only stamp the passport, allowing our initial two year stay until Feb 2024.  Neither of the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers we dealt with had ever heard of a Super Visa, so they wouldn't issue the Visitor Record which we were entitled to.  Our visitor extension approval to stay from 3rd Oct 21 to 2nd Oct 22 has still not come through and we are still without a Visitor Record. No problem our im...

Snow on the Mountains Sat Mar 19th  West Lion after recent snowfall There are definite signs that Spring is around the corner.  Shrubs are producing buds and temperatures have returned to seasonal normal.  The westerlies are bringing rain to the lower coast shores which at higher level produces some of the best snow of the season in Whistler and other resorts.  The Blackcomb season has now been extended to May 23rd.  Whistler Mountain still closes April 18th as they start preparing bike trails for the summer season. We have yet to hear when our shipping container arrives in Vancouver, but have started to think about the move from our rental to the house we have bought in Grandview Road.  With the pressures of the legalese out of the way and money safely in our solicitor's account, we now can't wait to get the move done and have a base of our own. We pay a return visit to the house on Sunday to check out various ideas and show Nick and Lizzie around, all 'th...

Ferry Delays Sun Mar 13th Even if you managed to get past the lorry load of logs strewn across the Gibsons Way/Highway 101 junction Friday lunchtime on the way to the ferry, you would have been out of luck as five of the day's crossings were cancelled due to engine problems on the Queen of Coquitlam. The junction was blocked for about 3-4 hours while the trailer was righted and cleared away, and a new rig brought in to clear the logs.  There were no serious injuries. Not the first time a logging trailer has overturned.  High centres of gravity and fast cornering is never going to be a successful experience!  Local coverage here. The ferries were cancelled through to the following morning with the first ferry out and back from Horseshoe Bay being replaced by a 12-seat water taxi! The Queen of Coquitlam, at 139m can take 1470 passengers and up to 362 cars/trucks on three car decks.   Quite how a water taxi running to the ferry timetable was going to help was ...

House Moving Still Up There   Thu Mar 10th  Seal watching Jack watching seal off Hopkins Landing In the context of all that is going on in Europe it is inconsequential, but I can confirm that house purchasing/moving remains one of the top of life's stressful events.  Not helped when the transaction transcends borders and large sums of money need to be moved.  It's made worse when the exchange rate goes 2.5c against you the day after contracts after exchanged!  In house purchase terms that is a lot of money.  The money is somewhere between my Wise £ account and Wise CAD account, while they carry out money laundering checks, all quite legitimate, but not a quick process.   I wonder if Russian Oligarchs had this much problem moving money around.  One suspects not!  The good news is that the rate has improved and is only 1.2c down - but who knows where it will end up by the time it's sitting in our local attorney's account.  T...

The Canada Connection Sat Mar 5th Canada, according to local news reports, has the second largest Ukrainian population outside Ukraine.  It has therefore been mainstream news across all the networks and local news stations.   This blog was impossible to put together without thinking about what is going on in Europe.   After 35 years working in a news environment,    I remain a bit of a news junkie.  T he first hour of my day is scanning the UK, US, Canadian and international print and broadcast media.  I still have friends working in the industry, who daily are juggling the challenge of Ukraine and Russian deployments of journalist and news crews to cover the story.  Trying to balance the risk to them, against the need to get the story out to national and global audiences.  I miss the buzz of working in a news environment and being part of the decision making teams, but don't miss being part of the decision making.  I am glad I...