Category: Uncategorized
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Look up, look waaaay up….
These words from the opening of the 1960’s children’s TV show The Friendly Giant certainly came to mind the past couple of days as we spent time on the Pacific Marine Circle Route in southern Vancouver Island. The height and girth of these beautiful firs, spruce, and cedars has been very impressive. And we did […]
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There’s Something Fishy in Steveston
Had two visits to Steveston this week to check out its fishing industry heritage. What an interesting place. Starting in the 1870s and up to the 1990s, there were many salmon canning plants in this still active fishing village at the mouth of the Fraser River, at one time as many as 45 canneries! The […]
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Bookman’s Holiday
I am sure you have heard of the term ”busman’s holiday”, which means that someone goes on vacation and ends up doing an activity not unlike their work back home. In my case, I think you would have to call this west coast trip a ”bookman’s holiday”. As some of you will know, I have […]
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Happy Birthday to Me!
(or, How I spent my day with other old things) While planning our trip out west, I decided there was a place I really wanted to spend my road trip birthday, that being Dinosaur Provincial Park near Brooks, Alberta. The park is a Unesco World Heritage site, which consists of 75 square kilometres of hills, […]
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Another Patio Girl on the Road
I promised the girlz, I would try to continue our stories of Patio Girl adventures on the road. After all the great posts from Gwen’s trip to Portugal, I hope I can produce something as interesting as hubby and I drive out to British Columbia. It’s been hard to decide what to blog about first, […]
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The Big Wave Pilgramage
When planning our trip I looked at a variety of accommodations, including those on AirBnB. Little did I realize at the time of booking that our accommodations in Nazare that overlook the beach would introduce us to a famous Big Wave professional. Garrett McNamara is famous for introducing Nazare to the Big Wave surfer world. […]
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Evora: Roman ruins, a chapel of bones and a collection of nativity scenes
Evora, a UNESCO World Heritage city, was impressive. To start, the Roman temple remains, which date back to the 2nd or early 3rd century AD are thought to be the best preserved in Portugal. According to the guide book, the temple managed to survive as it was walled up to form a small fortress in […]
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Fish and Vegetable Market
Just south of Estoi is Olhao, a large fishing port in the Algarve, with a bustling fish and vegetable market. The first building we entered was two rows of seafood venders. What a sight! The second building we entered was full of vegetables and fruits. It appears that strawberries and raspberries are in season! We […]
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An unexpected discovery
Housed within what was once a water tower for the City of Tavira, is a camera obscura providing a 360 degree panoramic view of the city. Think back to school science projects, especially all you photography enthusiasts, for you may have made a similar device consisting of pinhole for light, a dark room, mirrors and […]
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First Stop: Tavira
Flashlight in hand, we marched out the door of the Pousada at 10:30 pm determined to conquer the navigation system in the rental car. Thanks to Google and YouTube the exercise to change the Portuguese voice into an English one was quite simple and left us wondering why we couldn’t figure it out the evening […]