Englishman River Falls

We hope to develop the habit of getting out and about more regularly for some walking, exercise and fresh air. So this afternoon we drove over to Englishman River Falls Provincial Park and hiked the short circle tour past the upper and lower falls. Next time we'll have to visit French Creek...

France took these photos:

The Upper Falls disappearing into the crevice...

Some Mysterious Forest Creature...?

The Lower Falls

Spring Snow...sss

I better not get too smug about weather - we're still on the verge of some weather that could actually leave some accumlation on the ground... Nooooooo! ;-)

Where the wind blows...

After spending thousands of hours cruising over the world at 30,000+ feet, I look forward to revisiting some spectacular places at much lower altitude. Bryce Canyon comes to mind.

Here are two photos from a Swiss pilot who's already doing this:

Somewhere in North Africa:

Somewhere in the Swiss Alps

(The strings on the wing are part of his aerodynamic testing of some wing modifications. This is a standard way of making airflow "visible" during such tests.)

Refuge

France and I went up to the World Parrot Refuge last Saturday for a special event (see previous post). Here's a shot of me with my buddy, Frodo taking video of the presentation:The Casino regularly donates money from the unclaimed winnings fund, to charity. Last Saturday they contributed $11,111 towards a future, on-site avian veterinarian facility.

World Parrot Refuge Donation

My sense of celebrating Easter with a weekend-long festival was enhanced by the news that Great Canadian Casinos just made a significant contribution towards an onsite veterinary facility at the World Parrot Refuge. We went down on Saturday to help them celebrate and witness the "big check" event:

King's Cafe now open

King's Cafe is now OPEN on Haliburton street in Nanaimo. Located in the old Balmoral Hotel, it specializes in fish and chips, and other seafood. The owner, Gregg Hoffstad also plans to sell fresh/frozen seafood. Seeing as he used to make his living as a commercial fisherman, he has good sources for fresh product.

The atmosphere is 'laid back' ... kind of a 50s cafe/diner. The decor is eclectic - from faux Coke lampshades, to fishing floats and nets and rods, to old musical instruments ... It's the kind of space where folks will feel welcome to sit and visit and relax over a meal or cup of coffee.
Gregg is planning to host special events. Maybe an evening to watch a movie on a big screen? I'm sure live music featuring local musicians will be on tap as well. Right now background music is provided by an old turntable and record albums. If you don't find what you like, drop into Heritage Music at the bottom of the street where you can find most any album ever produced. Bring it on in and drop it on the platter!
Gregg's menu also features hearty breakfasts. The front window offers a great view of south Nanaimo harbour. Come on Down!

The Cremation of Sam McGee

When I was young I recall how much fun it was having my gramma come for a visit and stay over. In the morning my sisters and I would crawl into bed with her and cuddle and have her tell us stories. One of the favorite things she'd do is recite from memory some poems from Robert W. Service. Our favourite was the Cremation of Sam McGee, which I've now passed on to my own kids. A strange sort of family tradition, but I guess it suits our macabre sense of humor:

In memory of Grams, heres a slightly stranger version - as read by a robot:

The Chicken Coops vs. Nature

While I understand that people like a high viewpoint of the fantastic scenery around here, it troubles me that this is what some local developer (with city approval at some level) considers acceptable. I don't care how cheap or how expensive such units are, these "chicken coops" constitute a disaster for both the environment and the people.
The famous north Nanaimo deer may not last long with developments like this wiping out the forests, so appreciate the next two views while we can: