A Collection of Daily Wisdom by Dennis Sylvester Hurd since September 2003.

I cannot argue with the weather today. I've been complaining, not so secretly, about how crappy June has been. At least things have improved a lot now that the month's almost over.



I deposited my $100 Climate Action Plan cheque in the bank machine while grocery shopping today. It's sort of an initial bribe from the government due to the upcoming carbon tax which is being implemented in British Columbia. It doesn't make a whole hell of a lot of sense to try to combat fossil fuel use as a single province alone. For example, it may prompt me to travel more frequently to Bellingham, Washington as while there we could fill up much more cheaply. In the long run that means I'll burn a little more petrol.

We've never had really cheap gas here but this will add an extra 2.4 cents a liter. It comes into effect on July 1st, so I wanted to buy gas today. I filled up at $1.464 but I saw many stations selling at $1.495 a liter. These prices are the equivalent to about $5.50 a US gallon. Starting on Canada Day, the tax will likely push up the price past the psychological $1.50 per liter mark. In subsequent years increases will automatically kick in.

An interesting thing about our extra fees is they're supposed to be revenue neutral. It's not simply an additional tax grab. Although it will cause inflationary pressures, being that we aren't big consumers, we'll probably be better off financially. Reduced provincial income taxes should leave us ahead of the game. To celebrate, when visiting downtown Vancouver today, we took the SkyTrain. We did this more for its convenience than a desire to be eco-friendly though.

Labels: British Columbia, cars, government, money, transit, Vancouver

I'm feeling lazy today. I don't feel as though I have the energy to write about much of anything. I have made it an absolute necessity to put something here daily though. Even if I'm not within reach of an Internet connection, I scribble down something on the back of a dinner napkin and post at a later point. That's why there's something for every date since September 2003.



I decided to simply look for an old digital photo to post today. I bought my first digital camera in February 2002. The goose above was taken at Burnaby Lake on March 3, 2003 so it must be among my first ever digital captures.

Labels: blogging, British Columbia, digital camera

I like how using labels in this blog has opened up exciting new ways to view the information. Under this and most my eJournal and images entries are specific keywords I've entered.

My daily rants and raves are not especially well-suited to the standard, reverse chronological order of a blog. Except during the times of vacation blogging, most of my entries are fairly random. One day I may be recounting what happened at BCIT. Then next, I might include a decades-old scanned photo. After that, I might paste in something I got as email. Obviously, simply saving weekly pages may not be the most useful way of reviewing the data.

Even better than a search, being able to view entries that I've pinpointed as categories is preferable. Of course labels can be edited, replaced, or modified. From time to time, I can add a new way to view what's already been entered. British Columbia is a fairly new label. I think I'll generally use it to show entries describing trips within our province.

Labels: blogging, British Columbia

The weekend is on its way. Earlier in the month, we thought we might head to Salt Spring Island. After all, we thought, the weather is bound to improve as we get closer to the end of June. It really hasn't. Sunday is due to be a complete washout; therefore, we decided not to make a three day weekend at this time. I begin with a new class on Monday and work only two of the next five Fridays. Jay can take a sick day when the weather on a future weekend promises sunshine.

I don't think we've been over to Vancouver Island yet this year. Last year we cruised through Victoria on a Holland American cruise from San Diego. I think the last time we were on a ship of BC Ferries was after Christmas in 2005. The fares and cost of vehicle seem too expensive to just pop over for a quick unplanned journey!

Labels: BC Ferries, British Columbia, Vancouver Island, weather

I like taking something ten years old and being able to modify it for use in this blog. In this case a photo from a trip to Victoria in the summer of 1997 has become an entry.

Labels: BC Ferries, British Columbia, scanned, Vancouver Island

What an exciting weekend! As it's BC Day tomorrow, many people are free for a three-day weekend. The weather forecast looks perfect. Although the ferries over to the island have probably been busy, there's a lot going on around here. Last night we headed to downtown Vancouver for the finale of the HBC Celebration of Light along with an estimated 400,000 others.

This morning is the annual Vancouver Pride Parade. The webcam below will probably be pointed to English Bay but I'm not sure if you'll see any activity on the right-side of False Creek. This camera updates around every five minutes. Please click the photo below to load the page of Kat Kam and see it in all its 1024 X 768 splendor.

Labels: British Columbia, Vancouver, webcam

It was a year ago yesterday that I took some pictures on a trip over the mountains to BC's Okanagan region. After getting home, I sought a better way to share them than email. I discovered a site that has substantially changed my life. I'm approaching the one-year anniversary of being a member of Flickr.

It has changed my whole perception about digital photos. Photos aren't of much consequence unless they can be shared. I have been doing just that. I've decided that scanning and adding pre-digital photos is important for my collection too.

Another milestone occurred yesterday in my relation to Flickr. I uploaded my 2000th image. It was a photo of Hick's Lake, BC from our trip to Harrison Hot Springs over the weekend.

Labels: British Columbia, driving, Flickr, Okanagan, road trip

I took me longer to get them online than it did to take 'em.

Back in May, I did complete some blog entries during the trip. We headed down to Seatac airport to catch an Alaskan Airways flight to San Diego. During our three night stay, we accidentally visited Mexico for a few hours. We did the zoo, too. Then we got on our the Holland America ms Veendam for a five night coastal trip to Vancouver. We spent a half day in Seattle and a whole day in Victoria, BC. The eight-night journey went without a hitch.

To individually select from the more than 90 photos, use this option. Or, if you'd rather run through a slideshow of all the photos, just click here.

Labels: British Columbia, cruise, Seattle

Holland America starts its Alaska Cruise season tomorrow. In order to waste time on this repositioning cruise, we docked all day at Victoria. It is a delightful town for tourists as it still seems a bit British. However, it was not new to us as we live just across the water and visit from the Southern Mainland fairly frequently.

Today, we strolled leisurely into town. We bought tickets for Mystic India at the National Geographic IMAX that's part of the British Columbia Museum. The show was worth going to. Everything looks spectacular in IMAX format.

We returned to the ship for late lunch at the final show of the journey. It was nice having a hotel room waiting at the dock.

Labels: British Columbia, cruise, Vancouver Island

I just completed a quick search of a document called myhistory.doc. It's that one where I try to add something I do each month just to keep long-term track of times that we take vacations, or other events.

Today, I was looking for something to post from a historical perspective. I just wanted to find something from a prior April. I discovered that we once travelled to Nainamo, BC with friends, Tim and Jiwan. Nainamo is over on the island. We spent a night there and a second in Victoria before coming back over. That was the year 2000. I find it hard to believe it was six years ago! Where does the time go?

Labels: British Columbia, Tim, Vancouver Island

If you followed the news yesterday, you undoubtedly heard about the sinking of a BC ferry. Apparently, no people were lost or seriously injured.



This was taken aboard the ferry that is now gone. We had just left Port Hardy at the northern tip of Vancouver Island. The Queen of the North was heading north towards Prince Rupert. This was back in April of 2003. People from elsewhere have a difficult time picturing the actual size of this province. We were out on a road trip to see a bit of it ourselves.

Read an email with photos which was sent to friends and family upon our return from this trip.

Labels: BC Ferries, British Columbia, driving

There's no better way to make one feel great about living in this part of British Columbia than a beautiful ferry ride over to Victoria. We had fair weather with the big storm not coming until we were sound asleep at the Dominion Hotel.

Going and coming completely by public transit proved easy and relaxing, not to mention cheaper. As hordes of people were finishing up their Christmas days off, there were tremendous crowds returning to the Mainland this afternoon. If we had driven, we would have been stuck in a three-ferry wait. Yet, there's always room for foot passengers! We got back a number of hours earlier by taking buses on either side of the 1.5-hour ferry run.

Labels: BC Ferries, British Columbia, Vancouver Island

My city began with a population explosion. In a single year, 1858, more than twenty thousand men came through this area, primarily from San Francisco, seeking Fraser River gold. The term Gold Rush was pretty accurate! The Hudson Bay Company was overwhelmed in trying to keep law and order. This concerned the British Government too. So, the Hudson Bay Company's charter to British Columbia was rescinded and the land became a British Colony.

Colonel Richard Moody and a corps of Royal Engineers were quickly sent to build a new capital. Colonel Moody chose a location on high ground next to the Fraser River, right before the river branches into the north and south arms. The city was founded to oversee the hordes of new immigrants and to prevent the area from becoming a territory of the United States. This area would be easily protected.



There was a dispute as to what to call the new capital. An appeal was sent to Queen Victoria and she named it after her favourite part of London. New Westminster is still known as the Royal City because of this. In 1866, it briefly kept its title when the British Colonies of Vancouver and Victoria were united. However, Victoria was made capital in 1868.

Labels: British Columbia, government, New Westminster

Visiting the fruit and vegetable shops are a pleasure this time of year. While during the winters we rely on imports, August is the optimum time for local fruit. There are still cherries in abundance. What some people in other places may not know is British Columbia also produces a large variety of Okanagan fruit.


Even wild blackberries despite their rogue reputation can be delicious.

Labels: British Columbia, driving, Okanagan, road trip

No wonder why the world's been agog over Flickr. I've been slow to investigate the service. Although initally started by folks from here, it's now a part of the Yahoo empire. Thankfully though, the new management doesn't make one jump through hoops to participate.



Here's a sample picture uploaded to Flickr. The photo was taken in the wine tasting section of the Burrowing Owl Winery. Luckily, Jay and I had just watched the DVD of Sideways (2004), so we were in the right mood.

Labels: beer and wine, British Columbia, Flickr (Page 1), food

In order to add a quick photo today, I raided an image from this week's trip to the Okanagan.

This is a reststop on the Route 1 (Trans-Canada Highway). The city of Kamloops, BC is at the end of this lake. In the opposite direction the lake extends another fourty kilometers too.

We are blessed with a province with a diversity of geography. If one drives a mere half day away from the coast, there are all sorts of different climates and vistas.

Labels: British Columbia, driving, Okanagan, road trip

It was already time to head home. Before hitting the road, we ate a traditional breakfast at a little greasy spoon. We drove along through Kamloops and stuck to Route 1 through the desert, grasslands, and finally thick forests of the coast. The mini-van showed around 1300 kilometers for the total trip by the time we'd parked here at 8:00 pm.

Labels: British Columbia, driving, Okanagan, road trip

The second day saw us driving up the valley. We did winery tours and had a nice leisurely picnic lunch at a roadside BC park. This was my day to drive. Although we thought we might stay in Kelowna, the crowds prompted us to continue along to Vernon. After a short evening shower, we saw the most intense rainbow that I've ever witnessed. The night was spent in a somewhat cheaper suite. Everything all seems to work out well without reservations of any type.

Labels: British Columbia, driving, Okanagan, road trip

It was a good day. We were able to pack the rented mini-van and get on the road by 9:15 am. After sliding out to the city of Hope, we took Route 3 to Osoyoos. It was 35 degrees Celsius upon our arrival. We stayed on the third floor in a suite overlooking the lake.

Labels: British Columbia, driving, Okanagan, road trip, Tim

Throughout life, we continually develop ways to define ourselves. The process may become more mature but it's not, perhaps, much different than when adolescents initially embark on 'finding themselves'. For many, the definition eventually involves their chosen field, while for others, the kids become their defining attribute.



I've always thought of my desire for travel as a major defining component of the me in me. It's not so much the luxury of the transportation that's important; it's the scope of kilometers travelled. Frankly, when looking back on the 46 years of my life, it's the journeys that stand prominent.

I doubt there's a single human being, when confronted with their ultimate demise, who wishes they'd spent more time working or at the office. Similarly, I'd much rather live with less but live with personal freedom, than collect material goods which could only act as a leash. I'm not one who'd enjoy whiling away the years in single spot. Movement seems mandatory and I'm thankful Jay's shared this view with me for the last 20 years.

Labels: British Columbia, opinions, travel planning

I was pleased with yesterday's photo. It looked good and I am lazy today. Therefore, I'll simply include a link from webshots.com for an additional photo I took during the same trip.

This is Enderby, British Columbia.

Just click on the little picture to open a new web browser.

Labels: British Columbia, Flickr (Page 1)

A few weeks back I mentioned planning a mid-week break. The original plans tentatively were set for this week but now, we're rescheduling till next. Six in a rented mini-van should make the trip over the winding Crowsnest Highway a lot of fun.

Labels: British Columbia

There's recently been talk (and email) from the guys. We're all considering taking a trip for a few nights in mid-June. The Okanagan is one suggested destination. I love heading over the Coastal Mountains and seeing just how quickly we can go from the Lower Mainland's temperate rain forest to the semi-desert of that area. It's a leisurely, half-day drive. The particulars of a plan haven't been ironed out. Yet if it develops, I'm sure it'll make for a good time.


This is a digital picture taken on a 2002 trip when my camera
was nearly new.

Labels: British Columbia, digital camera, driving, Okanagan, road trip

In the old days, it was easy to write a note or message on the back of a photograph. I'm sure the only time I ever bothered was when I sent ones to my grandmother. Still, that possibility has been squashed as my pictures don't often leave their digital format nowadays. I selected the following image directly from a computer folder. Although I could include no note on its virtual back, I am fairly positive this picture of Jay was taken in Port Alice on northern Vancouver Island.



I looked up things we've done during April in previous years. Jay and I took a ferry/road trip in April 2003. This picture was taken during the long, BC journey and about five months before I started blogging. However, if you'd like to see several more pictures including Hyder Alaska, you may view this re-constructed email message.

Labels: BC Ferries, British Columbia, road trip

In the next couple of weeks, I will have a new timing belt installed in the old Ranger. Then it should be set for another 60,000 miles. This, obviously, leads to thoughts of a few future road trips.

Click Here --->

I've always considered it a bit strange that people from Vancouver are more likely to head to California than explore their own province. British Columbia is pretty big, so the driving distances are great. It's pretty hard to plan a big trip and not go for a week or two. I've visited much of beautiful BC but have never gone to Bella Coola in the Cariboo Chilcotin Region. That will have to be next on the list.

Labels: British Columbia, Ranger, road trip

I really wish all photo finishers would stamp the date on the backs of the pictures they develop.

Today, went to a drawer to find a photograph to scan. I would swear this one was from April 2002 when we took CirclePac tickets for a BC Ferries trip and visited the Island and Sunshine Coast. I can remember the kind lady who politely took a picture of Jay and me.



There are still some things I don't recall. I got my digital camera in February of that year and this trip would've been in April. Did we take along a film camera too? Is this Comox, or was this from another trip?

Labels: BC Ferries, British Columbia, road trip, scanned

They're colourful, they're weird, and they're all around the cities of Vancouver and Victoria. You might wonder what Orcas in the City are.

This picture of one was taken on Tuesday at the exhibit mentioned earlier, so it had Egyptian hieroglyphics! Maybe you'd like like to see examples of others in Vancouver or Victoria.

Labels: British Columbia, Vancouver Island

Yesterday was a rainy day; not just showers, but an almost continuous pouring rain. I'm now officially from the 'left coast' as it seemed very normal and comforting.

The exhibition was interesting. Of course, when you've seen one ivory, early dynastic period, mid-1st Dynasty, reign of Den (ca. 2985 B.C.) plaque, then you've seen 'em all! Sorry, no photos were allowed inside the exhibit. Be sure to click the first and last link in this entry for two other photos though.

There was a geocache at the harbour so we took twenty minutes after eating sandwiches, and found it.

The transport was comfortable and easy. I would recommend Pacific Coach Lines if one is considering driving over to downtown Victoria from the Southern Mainland.

Labels: British Columbia, Vancouver Island

We decided that we wanted to see the BC Royal Museum's Eternal Egypt Exhibit. It's only runs till the end of October, and today was a good option.

A trip to Victoria is always fun. Yet, in order to pay a visit to the provincial capital, one needs to first get over to the island. The most practical way is on a BC Ferry. We've always driven but the midweek, round-trip price for the truck and two people now adds up to $88.50.

We noticed that Pacific Coach Lines is running a special that includes a free ferry passage and reserved access to the Museum. We can get to their downtown Vancouver bus station by SkyTrain and they will later drop us off right in downtown Victoria. The cost is nearly the same but there's no need to worry about a line-up at the ferries, traffic, or parking.

We're off for a 7:45 departure and will return, on our open tickets, in the evening. I'll post a couple of pictures tomorrow.

Labels: BC Ferries, British Columbia, Vancouver Island

At the moment, I'm a month shy of a year of blogging now.

It seems rather fitting that the blog will hit the year mark just as we head off to Sri Lanka on a two-month vacation. Have we been rather homebound during the last eleven months? Compared to previous years, I thought that we'd not done very much time away from this apartment. Then, I realized it'd be easy to count up the nights spent at friends' or in hotels by looking back at these blog entries. Documenting life has its advantages. Here's a rundown:

September 2003 - Road Trip to Sicamous, BC - 2 nights

October 2003 - Flew to San Francisco, CA - 4 nights

December 2003 - Bus Trip to Calgary, AB - 4 nights

February 2004 - Road / Ferry Trip to Victoria, BC - 3 nights

April 2004 - Road Trips to Port Angeles / Grand Coulee Dam, WA - 3 nights

May 2004 - Drive to Stay w/ Friends in Seattle, WA - 1 night

I guess I was fooled by the close proximity of all of these times away. Seventeen nights is not much by our usual standards, but it is more than the benchmark by which many unfortunate, workaholic folks choose to live.

Labels: British Columbia, lists

We got home late yesterday. It was a great day. Perhaps after my class today, I'll put up a couple of photos from the park. We had fun and the gang did help find a geocache called Fern Forest. Apparently, geocaches are everywhere!

Labels: British Columbia

We're off with friends for a day out at Golden Ears Provincial Park. Tune in tomorrow afternoon for a picture or two!

Labels: British Columbia, Tim

Here's H3 on a rest stop on a road trip. This little
fellow hasn't gone as far afield as H2 who travelled
with us from Vancouver to St. John's, Newfoundland
and back during the summer of 2001.

Labels: British Columbia, road trip

I was nearly at a loss as to what to write today. Then, I just happened to be cleaning up my Outlook folders. I discovered an email that was written by Jay and me after a BC trip taken last April. That was before my blogging began, so many friends and relatives may have missed it. As some of the pictures are interesting, I've taken the liberty to format the note as a web page.

BC Coastal Ferry and Road Trip - April 2003

Labels: BC Ferries, British Columbia

One week ago today, when we were in Victoria, the Legislative Assembly re-opened for its spring session. The whole affair turned out to be quite a big deal. We heard the sound of the cannons. The crowd on the lawn wasn't too large, but there were several 'protesters' on hand. We spotted the Premier, Gordon Campbell, greeting Iona Campagnolo, the Lieutenant Governor. They climbed the main, red-carpeted stairs. (The Premier's role is similar to that of a US governor and Ms. Campagnolo is the official BC representative for the Queen of England and officiates at important, provincial events.)

The story of why an island city hosts the seat of of government is rather interesting. Maybe I will comment on that at some future date.

Labels: British Columbia, government, Vancouver Island

The west coast of Vancouver Island is basically unspoilt wilderness. In fact
there are only a few ways over to the other coast by road. We had been to
Tofino and Gold River on other occasions. We'd never been to Port Renfrew, so
the 70-mile drive was imperative. The twisiting, rough road had some pretty
scenery but there will be no need to go there again unless we decide to camp,
hike, or kayak around the provincial or national coastal park lands.

(For the reference of those reading from New Hampshire, the island is one
third again larger than the Granite State. Interestingly, Vancouver Island
also boasts a Mt. Washington. Yet, the highest point on the island is 7212 ft
and, therefore, is about 924 feet taller than the peak in the White Mountains.)

Labels: British Columbia

I will not include an image today. Too many of 'em on one page must make it difficult to load for the poor, unfortunate 'bandwidth impaired'.

Off on a vacation this morning although we should return by Thursday evening. It's time to jump on a ferry, slide over to the south of the Island, and spend a bit of time in the area near downtown Victoria.

I might add a bit of text this week, but promise to come back and fill in any blank entry with a few pictures from the provincial capital.

Labels: BC Ferries, British Columbia, Vancouver Island

... home.

Labels: British Columbia, mountains

Here's a picture taken last year from the Glacier Highway (37A) in BC.
We were on a road trip just for pleasure. This scene is around a 1500KM
(900 miles) north of New Westminster. The highway heads to the cities
of Stewart, BC and Hyder, AK. The Alaskan panhandle juts down taking
more than one third of British Columbia's coastline.



Don, a regular reader and contributor, sent the following in response to Monday's entry:

"A travel gene is an interesting premise. I think it's more like we emanated from folks who started out travelling and we just grew up as a nation of travellers. It's sort of, "Well, we've come this far; what's a few hundred miles."

20 odd years ago, I stopped in Brighton, England to visit a couple I had known in Iran (I was on my way home from 'the Revolution', but they had fortuitously left 6 months earlier). I enquired about a couple who had been our friends and asked if they had seen them. They replied in astonishment, "Lord no. They live in Wales." That would have been a several hour trip (less than a day) on the train, so it was out of the question! Just this past summer I had a British colleague who was going to be in Eastbourne, further west on the south coast of England. I suggested that, if I got to Brighton, I might come and visit him. He replied, "But that would be at least 3 hours by train." As if that would be too long a trip.

I think the Continental Europeans are a little less intimidated by distance, but just yesterday I asked my Alsatian friends about driving from Strasbourg to Amsterdam. They both said, "I suppose you could do it, but it would take EIGHT hours." They have lived in Strasbourg for 20+ years and have never done it nor would consider doing it.

I think long distance driving is a North American and, in particular, a US thing. I don't know if Canadians do it. Think of all the 'Snow Birds' who drive south in the fall and back in the spring. And a lot of the long distance travellers, with or with gigantic Winnebagoes, are senior citizens, who in most any other country would not venture more than a few miles from home at that age.

In 1985, my 70-year-old mother and I, armed only with a AAA map, reservations at several Holiday Inns and tickets to the Grand Ole Oprey, started out from Bradford and ended up in Greenville, Mississippi a week later, spent a week there and then another week driving back to Bradford a different route.

We just look at driving distance in a different way partly because the US is so big and partly because we've always done it on relatively good roads and in fairly comfortable cars with lots of inexpensive road-side accommodation and cheap and convenient restaurants. And travelling long distance didn't require border crossings, a passport, changing money or hassles with a language. And very often, the places along the way or the destination was populated with old friends or extended family.

By the way, whatever happened to Howard Johnson's, the first franchised restaurant and motel chain which would have seemed to have been in perfect position to capitalize on today's travel oriented society. They've all but disappeared."

Labels: British Columbia, cars, Don

With November has come winter temperatures. It's been nearly freezing at night which corresponds to zero on thermometers here. (The U.S. freezes at 32 degrees.) I can think in either Celsius or Fahrenheit, but for some strange reason, I've never been able to convert without a calculator.

It's time to start wondering if we'll see much snow in New Westminster this year. Last winter I don't think downtown had any! It's rather an exciting surprise when it does happen.

Snow's fun. Here's Jay standing in some near Mt. Washington over on Victoria Island. We took a BC Ferries CirclePac trip last spring. The skiing season was over but neither of us ski anyway.

Labels: BC Ferries, British Columbia, road trip, Vancouver Island, weather

Shot back 3A to the Crow Highway through Princeton and past Manning Provincial Park. Got to New Westminster at 3:00 pm. The trip was about 1230 km (760 miles).

Labels: British Columbia, Okanagan, road trip

Travelled down the Okanagan Valley via 97B. Slept in Penticton.

Labels: British Columbia, driving, Okanagan, road trip

Followed Route 1 rather than paying the toll to Kamloops. That route is more interesting and we enjoyed watching the forest turn to semi-desert. Slept in Sicamous. (The hamster ran on its wheel though.)

Labels: British Columbia, Okanagan, pets, road trip

It's past time for a short road trip. Jay has a few days off this week too, so we'll go away for a bit. We've not spent very much time in the Thompson-Okanagan region. It's around 500 km (310 miles) to Salmon Arm.

Labels: British Columbia, driving, Okanagan, road trip, travel planning

Now, I'm really convinced that blogs are a fantastic way to initiate communication.

I just got an email from a Mr. Gaurav Pahwa. He is in India and said he was looking at this blog. He appreciated the pictures and asked for more. So, here's another picture from when my sister was here last month. It is Horseshoe Bay, BC. There are provincial government ferries which leave from this area and travel across to Vancouver Island. Write again when you have a chance, Gaurav.

Labels: BC Ferries, British Columbia, email, India