Expedition Canada

Hot and Humid Wed Aug 3 Night sky over Van Island After the highs of the sailing regatta weekend, the last ten days have been interesting!  Much health related.  Ros tested positive for Covid  two days into her UK trip and had to cancel most of her plans. The couple who ran the business we flew around NZ with some years back, flew in to Wisconsin for the annual flying show - Oshkosh 2022 - and had to put an email out asking for help on their stand as they too had tested positive for Covid and had to isolate.  It's easy to see how international air travel helped spread Covid. Thursday it was my turn to check out the local health services.  Fred, not to be left out, has been providing personal food bank services to the local Mosquito population.  I tell her it’s because she’s so hot in bed!   Happiest in water Ros has since tested negative and arrived back in Canada late Sunday, the same day Oshkosh 2022 finishes. We’ve not heard if the NZ ...

I Don't Believe it! Thu May 20th    Setting aside Covid, there can be no doubt we are living in a more global, homogenized market place.  Standards are converging, the same brands are found in high streets around the world.   As my old iPhone 8 was not working properly before we left the UK and repair looked expensive, I switched to a new iPhone 12.  The most modern of the Apple phone fleet. We switched to local SIMs a few weeks in.  Fred's old iPhone 8 works fine with the local number.  Our older iPhone 6's with our UK SIMs work fine.  Not so the latest iPhone 12 technology.  Calls in cannot connect reliably, get dropped and outgoing also just won't ring 50% of the time. Time to chat (online) to those lovely people at Apple.   " Well, what happens mike is that you bough (sic) a model that works only at the location that you bought it, that's why it is not working as it should right now, I'm going to share with you a link...

On the Sechelt Inlet Thu May 6th Today was more house hunting.  Two properties on the Sechelt Inlet.  The inlet is a section of sea that comes right up to the back of Sechelt almost making everything NW of Sechelt an Island, but for the town itself being built on a land bridge.   Of the two properties, one was a possible and the second a really interesting art deco meets 70's hippy house.  An eclectic mix of styles, art and furnishings, but no garden!  It was a hillside property with stunning views over the inlet but Fred would need a safety harness  to manage the front garden!  The first house had great views as well.   So still looking.  We are keeping the first property in mind as a short term purchase.  Before heading back we headed further west to Pender Harbour (not overwhelmed) and Garden Bay (stunning properties -  but distant from services). We had previously made an offer for a property in this area but...

Granville Island Jack checking out urban Van Wed Apr 28th The day started trying to work out how to change the Apple App store country location on my iPhone, so we could download local Apps that were barred from being added to a UK configured phone.  After much research, discussions with Apple and trial settings the project was abandoned.   Changing you country location, can only be done after you have unsubscribed from Apple Music.  You then lose all your music.  I assume this is for copyright reasons. As part of setting up the country you have to enter a local address.  No problem, we will use our rental address.  As you go through the process of adding a payment card to the store, you discover that the Paypal or Credit Card address, has to match your residential address in Canada.  Except we don't have a Canadian payment card (or bank account) yet. Lobster Brioche from Popina So after several hours of trying to resolve this and ending up back a...

Cars and More Cars Thu 22 April Today was about cars, all day.  After coffee in Kitsilano, it was off to Richmond, out near the Airport, to another car retail park.  A few more test drives and the list narrows.  Toyota Highlander, Ford Explorer, Discovery Sport and Jeep Grand Cherokee.  We don't anticipate doing a lot of town driving and want something that will tow and be safe on the trails.  The last two made the final shortlist and the evening was spent reviewing specs for a decision Friday morning. Lunch back in Kits was followed by a quick trip to the bank to see if we could open a joint  account with Nick.  Not possible until we have something other than visitor status.  So getting local debit cards and cash management is at least five months away.   Back to North Van via the Lion's Gate Bridge.  Whether viewed from Stanley Park below where it's possible to admire the bridge structure and architecture, or from the bridge ...

We Hope Tracking tells us that our tests have been delivered, to ‘Glen @ Ship Dock’ in Vancouver, which we assumed was a local testing station, rather than being sent all the way back to Ontario.  It turns out that ATS, where Glen works, is not Advanced Testing Services, but Advanced Transport Services, who specialise in medical and associated transportation.  It looks as though they have been shipped back to the laboratory at Mississauga ON, where we started our Canadian quarantine in the mandatory hotel, two weeks ago tomorrow. How do we know all this you might ask.  Well there isn’t much else to do when you are in quarantine! On a more serious note, it does make you appreciate the freedom we have compared to many living in urban flats and apartments, who had to tolerate weeks of self isolation.  It is easy to understand how for some it was a real mental health challenge.  Behind the humour, we recognise we are very fortunate.   Reading the small print, i...

  Two days to go Afternoon Slumbers 'Your quarantine lark is getting a bit boring dad' It's not a lark Jack, but you are right, it is getting boring.  At least you are getting to go for a walk in the evening with you new friend "Josie", the lady boxer from upstairs, so stop complaining. We're confined to the house and garden. 'But I have to walk on the lead dad, they won't let me run free and chase squirrels ...... and cats'. It's only two more days Jack, and you do have a lovely garden to run around in.  And you must not chase the cats. "Yes but you don't come out and run around with me dad, or throw the ball, or chase me .... or let me chase cats". You are getting more than enough attention and it's no good sitting there waving your paw in the air, trying to get attention. 'Ok dad - oh look somebody new [bark, tail wag, bark, bark, tail wag]. Jack no, that's the owners daughter, say hello nicely.  'I am dad [bark...

Three to go A quiet news day today.  Covid texts have been picked up by the courier.  An international Zoom gym session took place with Marlborough based Dom Smart and Jack is getting to know Josie, the resident boxer. Relief when our Covid tests were picked up half an hour early, not least as we had put them out for collection ahead of time in case they pitched up before the appointed hour.  They now head back to Ontario and we await the results.   The only exercise in quarantine is limited and it’s been difficult to find the motivation to do something.  Oh to go on a run!  This morning I had another Zoom session with Dom Smart which guarantees I’ll be aching and stiff tomorrow.  But hey, no pain no gain!   After a couple of walks out with the lady boxer upstairs, she has been allowed down in the garden.  They seem to get on OK, though  she keeps stealing Jack’s balls.  Worse, he lets her! We have had a chance to try some local gin...

Five to Go Chilled Jack Life in quarantine seems to have settled in to a bit of a routine.  Jack regards the place as home and let us sleep until just before six.  He's getting in to the zone! The local store delivers as does the wine merchant (liquor store), Amazon has found us and our hosts who own the main house have been welcoming and helpful. We are starting to think about longer term arrangements.  We remain in touch with the realtor who is sending properties through but will wait until we are freed from quarantine before getting too excited.  We're also starting to look for rentals for July onwards in case we haven't found a property to purchase. The more immediate requirements are for local phone Sims, harder to acquire than the UK even for pre-paid where proof of Canadian status is required.  More important is to get UK driving licences converted to BC ones so we can buy and insure a car at a sensible price.  Insurance with a UK driving licence is ...

Six to Go No Jack, it's not dinner time it's only 04.30 in the morning, you're in Canada now, on Pacific time.   'I don't understand Pacific time dad.  There's dinner time, walk time, play time, sleep time and now it's dinner time and walk time.   I'll let you have your dinner, how about that? I want to have my breakfast, I'm hungry and then  go walkies'.     A rh, we need to talk about that.  We're in quarantine and we are not allowed out of the house and garden for another six days.      'But Dad  I'm not in quarantine dad, I can go out' Yes but you can't go out on your own, you'll have to play in the garden.  Maybe get acquainted with the lady boxer upstairs! 'How come you are in quarantine and I am able to go out'.   It's the rules Jack.  You can have your breakfast, then perhaps go and have another sleep? 'So humans have to quarantine and dogs like me don't? That's right Jack, humans have to qu...

Seven to Go Black-Capped Chickadee The sun returned to North Vancouver today which brought out the birds this morning.  The Black-Capped Chickadee with its distinctive call managed to stay still just long enough for me to get a picture.   To me it looked like a Tit of some variety. The same could not be said of some local humming birds who would hover for a second or two before disappearing so quickly it was almost impossible to track them.  Certainly too quickly to get a photo of them.  Going to have top find a way of resolving that.   The highlight of the day was the pending arrival of Jack.  He left the UK at about 10.00 BST (02.00 Pacific time) and flew direct to Vancouver, unlike his owners.  At 06.30 local he'd just passed Greenland at 40,000ft.  What was he thinking, how was he coping, would he sleep;  the questions were endless. Jack's aircraft just West of Greenland The lovely people at PetAir said the owners were usually m...