To The Land Downunder!

So, you have all decided and the planning now begins.  Thanks to you all for voting!

Check back when you can. We'll post updates as our planning progresses.

Summer Vacation 2012

On the left hand side you can vote us to our 2012 summer vacation *Legal Disclaimer*.  We started with a very ambitious list - see blog below with the flag images.  We needed a list that was manageable for planning purposes. We usually secure our accommodation and airline tickets 5-6 months in advance, which requires us to explore a number of places simultaneously.  Given that we decided to put things to a "public" vote this year, we needed to reduce that list to something with significant infrastructure and with information easily accessible from the web - hence the list on the left. So, go ahead and vote and tell us what you are thinking.  The poll will close on February 10.


*Legal Disclaimer - (f you are reading this that means you really thought we had a legal disclaimer or that we are some big corporation with teams of lawyers. Well, we don't! So stop reading this and vote. ) 

Summer Trip 2012 - Choices, Choices

How would you like to help us choose our next summer vacation? We are in the process of creating a short list of countries from among the countries below. Once we've created our short list, we will need your help!

Check back soon for the short list...and how you can help narrow the list...

Aug 3 – Journey Home

Today our Voyage to Canada came to an end.   Our return home was pretty uneventful, with a stopover in Calgary, Alberta, for a couple hours, making our total number of provinces visited:  FOUR.

Thank-you to everyone who came distances both long and short, and rearranged their schedules to visit with us, or host us at their home.  Thank-you for the wonderful events organized for us or those we were included in.  It was all of these people and things that made our trip full of fond memories and great experiences.

And for those that followed along on the blog, I hope you enjoyed our adventure as much as we did.

Aug 2 – LAST DAY

Tomorrow we fly home!  I can’t believe how fast time has passed. 

Although we just stayed close to Tanya’s home today, the kids were busy - jumping with the members of their frog sanctuary on the trampoline,

creating static electricity,

eating icecream, feeding crickets to their frog sanctuary members, and many other crucial summer childhood things.

In the evening, Isaac and Jasmin performed a duet for us. 

It was a great finale to a wonderful day.

Once the kids were settled for the night, Tanya, Paul, and I went out for an exceptional dinner  - the encore to a wonderful day and fantastic visit.

Aug 1 – Tunnels under Moose Jaw

This morning we said our good-byes to Tanya’s parents.  We will surely miss their hospitality, the beautiful lake, and I’m sure Lukas will miss the butterflies.  He has become a master catcher of at least 15 or more every day (catch and release, of course).

After our departure, we had to make a stop for our Mounties to enjoy the awesome Prairie landscape.

On our way back to Saskatoon we took a detour to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.  Home of the giant Moose, Mack, among some other interesting things…

After a trolley ride depicting points of interest in the city, we went underground. 

In 1985, a massive tunnel network was discovered under the city after a truck fell into one that had collapsed.  These tunnels are believed to have two very intriguing histories. 

Initially, they were dug by and housed Chinese immigrants, in the late 19^th century, to connect building basements in order to access the buildings’ boilers. Once the tunnels were completed, the immigrants continued to live in them and worked under squalid conditions as laundry workers and other menial labour.  In addition to exploring these tunnels, we also learned about the injustices imposed on these people by the Canadian government.  It is awful that these people suffered such treatment, but amazing that they persevered. 

In the more recent past, the tunnels were used as smuggling and get-away routes for bootleggers and, most famously, Al Capone.  It is rumoured that he came up from Chicago to oversee the production and smuggling of wisky during prohibition in the US.  Who knew Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan was so notorious?

Both tours were depicted in an interesting and uniquely interactive presentation by character actors guiding us through the tunnels and their history.

July 31 – Family Reunion

Today we had the privilege of going to Paul’s family reunion. 

We spent a wonderful day on his uncle’s acreage.   Besides meeting many of Paul’s wonderful relations (including Paul’s 96 year old Grandma), there was plenty to keep us occupied.  There was a tractor ride (or drive), cherry spitting contest, “potato gun” shooting (potatoes from a gun), and a splash pool to cool off in, among other things.

They have four horses that captivated the kids.  Our Mounties took the horse riding opportunity to show off their skills.

Paul’s cousins organized an “Amazing Race” that required participants in teams of four.  It entailed a family trivia quiz, freezie eating contest, shoe toss, 3-legged egg race, plus song writing and performance.  The entire time we had to keep our egg with us and ensure that it stayed intact during the activities.  I’m not sure which team won, but we all had a lot of fun!

Throughout the day our dinner was cooking on the spit.  When all the planned activities were finished, we all enjoyed the pig roast and many other scrumptious treats.

It was nice to be an honourary member of Paul's family for the day.