Boston

Today I had a 26 hour stopover in Boston, so I took the advice of my friend Nicole and walked the Freedom Trail around downtown Boston. It was incredibly well marked, with red bricks clearly marking the entire route. The National Parks Service operates several sites along the route and I was fortunate to be able to join two, one hour free walking tours that bought the trail to life.




I loved the red brick buildings everywhere.


My last stop the Boston Commons wasn't quite as grand as I imagined.


Paul Revere, my favourite character from this era. I love that post war he took a family holiday to England and managed to become a millionaire from what he learnt there.


This statue of William Prescott has me thinking off the Princess Bride, "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."


I think every hotel needs a charging station like this by the beds!

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Nova Scotia

I've had a wonderful time catching up with my friend Ceci and learning about the beautiful province of Nova Scotia.


Ceci and I on a beach near Pictou.


I even got to eat off the dishes I bought in Seoul. Ceci bought them from me when I left, I'd forgotten how much I loved them.

We spent a day visiting Halifax and Peggy's Cove. Peggy's Cove was absolutely beautiful, a great way to end my time in Canada.


It's a very pretty fishing village.


The lighthouse at Peggy' Cove.


Thanks to Ceci's connections I got to do a boat tour where I learnt more about the local fishing industry as we cruised along the coast. We even saw three seals very close by.


I also had the opportunity to have dinner with some other friends from my time at Seoul International School. It was great to see them all after so many years.

It has been great to catch up with so many friends as I've traversed North America. Next step is 24 hours in Boston and then Peru!

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Prince Edward Island

Yesterday we took the ferry across to Prince Edward Island so I could fulfill my childhood Anne of Green Gables dreams. It is such a beautiful island!


This scene at Wood Islands greeted us as we arrived on the ferry. Loved all the red beaches.



I loved all the barns, enormous compared to the houses and beautifully maintained yards and surrounded by vegetable crops.

We first headed to Cavendish, so I could visit the house that inspired Green Gables. It's beautifully done by the National Parks Service, each room setup to look as described in the books.


There was always a queue to get into the house, thanks to it being a rainy day and a cruise ship in town.


Anne's bedroom.


I wandered though the Haunted Woods, towards the house were L.M. Montgomery grew up until I got to the Green Gables golf course!


They even had a Jersey cow in the barn!


After a quick stop at the Avonlea shopping village, we then wandered around downtown/waterfront Charlottetown.


On our way back to the ferry we spontaneously decided to follow a sign to Belfast Mini Mills Yarn Shop. It was a most interesting place, based on a farm, we even got a free mill tour. This yarn is a quarter each of quivit, merino, alpaca and silk.

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Blyth, Ontario

The last few days have been about catching up with my Colorado travel buddy, Shari and meeting her family. It has been wonderful to experience small town Ontario life and just catch up, there was a lot of talking!


Shari and I, photo credit: almost seven year old Elizabeth.


Celebrating my birthday a little early, with my birthday buddy William.


Making sure I experienced Canadian treats like Tim Horton's doughnuts and maple leaf cookies, even if it was 10pm.


We visited Niagara Falls, which were very misty due to the heat. Apparently they look great almost frozen, I'm thinking my next visit might just have to be a winter trip


Highly recommend Journey Under the Falls. It was great to really see and hear the power of the Falls. We had planned to also do another whitewater walk but the elevator broke down, thankfully before we went down.


I had no idea there was such a huge tourist setup in the city of Niagara Falls. This is Wizard mini golf, the volcano even erupted periodically.

Thank you so much for your hospitality Rick and Shari, despite my midnight arrival.

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The Canadian, Vancouver to Toronto

My four night, three day train trip from Vancouver to Toronto became a four day trip as Via Rail are constantly being made to have their trains wait for freight trains. I was meant to arrive at my friends by 2pm but instead it was 1am!

The train ride was quite interesting for the first two days but the delays meant we went through Manitoba in the dark and spent two days in the lakes and forests of northern Ontario.


The types of accommodation explained. Yes, the carriages were built in 1950 and refurbished for electricity in 1961! If I were to do it again I'd choose the roomette, as you can pull down your own bed any time you want!


My visit to Economy made me very grateful to have sleeping accommodation and its associated dining carriage.


This was my seat by day and it folded out at night, had a mattress added and a curtain to make a very comfortable sleeping space. When the steward made up the bed they even put a chocolate on your pillow.


My favorite dinner, meals were great. Three courses at lunch and dinner, four choices at each meal except for our "bonus" meals, the last dinner had no choice but given at lunch time the food manager was adamant we'd be off the train before dinner it was amazing we got three courses.


Pyramid Falls, British Columbia


Foothills, the Rockies. I felt like I was in Dotsero, Eagle Country, Colorado.


Fields in Saskatchewan.


Bison, was impressed the train slowed right down so we could photograph them.


Lake reflections, northern Ontario.

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Beautiful British Columbia

Despite wildfires bringing a smoky haze over the landscape, the small part of BC I've seen has definitely lived up to its description on licence plates, Beautiful British Columbia. Thanks to three wonderful friends I was able to experience three quite different parts of lower BC, inner city Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast and Victoria. I've became familiar with BC Ferries system and now understand that Victoria, not Vancouver is the capital of BC but it's located on Vancouver Island! I've also been able to sample lots of local food including, pancakes with maple syrup, seafood, double smoked bacon and farm fresh beer.


A mini reunion of some of my Seoul colleagues.



Loved how these in use, cement silos on Granville Island have been transformed into such fun art.


The beautiful marina at Granville Island, on the edge of downtown Vancouver.




Roberts Creek, Sunshine Coast. All these rocky beaches have made me realise how spoilt we are in Tasmania.


A community art project, the residents of Roberts Creek actually get to paint a section of the mandala each year.


Angela and her lovely parents took me on a fun day trip to Whistler. Unfortunately it was so smoky we couldn't go up in the gondolas.


Loralee and I cycled around Victoria to see a series of painted pianos, a summer public art installation. This was my favorite as it is a painting of the area it faces and in a stunning location.


The castle like parliament building of BC is lit up every night.


I loved all the First Nations art, particularly the totem poles around the BC museum.


The beginning of the Trans Canada highway! Crazy to think I'll be at almost the end of it in ten days time.

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