Grandma Jackson

I started this blog 8 years ago as a way to share my families life with my Grandma Jackson. Since I first moved to the lower mainland she has sent me regular letters and cards, and I wanted to return the favor. It is with bitter sweetness that I write this final blog to her. She will never read it but I will look back on it and my time with her fondly for the rest of my life. My memories of her are strong because of the person she was and the steadiness of her presence since the day I was born. For those that knew her, not all of this will have the same meaning as it had with me but I hope you can be reminded of your own memories by reading those that I shared with her.

My Childhood

You lived in the same house for my entire childhood so most of my memories would start with me asking for a sleep over at Grandma Jackson's house.

• The candy tin- It was always stocked and we got to have as many candies as our age. I don't think we decided it got excessive until I turned 12.
• The corner store - It seemed so far even though it was only a block away. You got your lottery ticket and I got a treat.
• Climbing Connaught Hill - I was six. You were much faster.
• Collecting bottles at the high school - We'd take them back to the bottle depot and I got to keep the change.
• The red scooter - I was allowed to go to the end of the block and back.
• The folding bike - I don't think we ever actually got to ride it but I never saw another one until my 30's.
• Searching for coins under the meters when the snow melted - You kept that change so you could count your total each spring.
• Sitting on the front porch - You were often there with your coffee in the summer.
• Watching new drivers - They used your street to practice parallel parking and if there was a visitor in front of your house it was always that car they used to practice with.
• Juice boxes - Your cupboard was always stocked.
• Walking to the grocery store - When I got older and could drive to your house and you weren't home I would walk towards the store and help you home with your groceries.
• Canada Day 125 - They had a cake. You helped me get to the front of the line to make sure I got a piece.

Her House

I wish I had lived closer to help you look after it. The little things that needed work added to the character.

• The front gate - You rebuilt it many times and it always needed a loop of wire to keep it closed. A friend of yours rebuilt it brand new and even though it worked perfectly you still used the loop of wire to keep it closed.
• The old green shed - It leaned. The door was hard to shut. I wasn't allowed to open it until my 20's because you needed to tell me the special security measures to get in.
• The old gate in the backyard - There was a system for everything at your house including how to open and close the gate to get your car in.
• The orange car with the white seats - You drove it to the lake in the summer. It had sunk into the ground and sat for many years. It went to a good home. The guy who purchased it made sure to drive it by your house after he got it running again.
• The blue cupboards - You were ahead of your time style wise. The doors wouldn't stay closed so you had a stick to put through the handles. The drawers didn't close. That's where the candy and juice boxes were kept.
• The heavy wood doors - They creaked and crushed my fingers on more than one occasion.
• The chimney cupboard - Pots and pans piled high with what seemed like a secret passage to the attic.
• The old books - Lessons for Boy Scouts and Big Little books. They were from another time yet were so fun to read.
• The leaky kitchen tap - You fixed it constantly. The leaking was on purpose to keep the pipes from freezing.
• Your old phone - A classic telephone ring. I think you rented it into the 90's.
• The cuckoo clock - Well maintained and chimed every fifteen minutes. If only the clock repairman had stayed open, it would still be running today.
• The picture of you and Grandpa on the shelf - I never met him. You looked so young.
• Your old green couch - Not comfy. Not stylish. I miss it still. It had the box of Legos and the puzzles underneath.
• The crystal door knobs - Hard to turn. Each had a key permanently in place.
• Your attic - The stairs were so steep you practically had to climb them like a ladder. When you got to the top you always made sure to tell us about the rope ladder under the bed to escape if there was a fire.
• The two pronged plugins - No way to get home insurance with the electrical the way it was. You only had a single three pronged plugin in the stove.
• The 1733 over the door - That number is in your e-mail address.
• The screen door - If the screen door was latched you were out for a walk. Always with a destination. Never a stroll.
• The thermometers on the porch - So many layers of paint.

Her Food

Walking trips to the grocery store were to get ingredients for baking.

• Pumpkin pie - Every Thanksgiving.
• Lemon pie - For those that didn't like pumpkin pie. The meringue was fluffy. The perfect amount of lemon.
• Apple pie - The crust had an A.
• Scrappy pie - No crust dough was ever wasted. Jam was the filling.
• Strawberry Jam - With a wax layer to seal it. Canning lids are expensive.
• Ginger cookies - With a drizzle of liquid icing sugar. You would send them to me regularly as you said they 'travelled best'.
• Shortbread cookies - I have never tasted better. They were your specialty.
• Cabbage rolls - I hated them but still loved that you took the time to make them for my Dad.
• Pancakes with bacon bits that you made yourself - I still like bacon bits on my pancakes.
• Rumballs with Nanaimo bar yellow inside - You insisted we could only have one at a time. You always felt they were too strong.
• Chicken noodle soup - Lots of veggies but none that I could see. You strained the juice for me for every batch. I picked it up in a big jar. It probably kept me alive during my teen years.
• Canned pickles - Still my favourite. Water from the river but always upstream of the city. You had your spot.

Holidays With Her

Every holiday had a tradition with Grandma Jackson.

• Christmas - Your little tree and the single string of Christmas lights in the window. We would always go to your house on Christmas Eve. You always had enough food for everyone.
• Halloween - My favourite was the Bert and Ernie pumpkins you made. I'm glad I reminded you about them this past Halloween.
• Mothers Day - A trip to Art Knapps. I sent money to my Mom each year so she could keep buying you flowers for your pots.
• Birthdays - A birthday wasn't a birthday without a call from you. You missed one year because I was 'too old'. I wasn't happy. You did it for the next 20 years. I did the same for you.
• Canada Day - One year you made a newspaper hat and wore it proudly. The next year Carter made one for you.

Her Garden

It got a bit smaller every year but you never stopped. I wish I could have been closer to help you keep it from shrinking.

• Raspberries - Enough to keep 6 year old me picking for hours. Not all of them made it back to the kitchen for jam.
• The crab apple trees - So sour. They always got 'too big' and didn't live long lives in your garden. They made great jelly.
• The clematis on the side of the house - I loved sitting by the kitchen window when it was in bloom.
• The window wells with flowers in them - The bulbs came up every year. 
• Eating snow peas - So strange to be able to eat the whole pea. Shell and all. I was like a puppy following you through the garden. You would search the vines for every last one to make sure I got to eat as many as possible.
• The Lilac bushes - I have a transplant of both in my own yard. The smell of Lilacs is one of my fondest memories of you. Spring will be tough this year.
• The electric lawn mower - Whatever your motivation for going electric, you were ahead of the times. We had to bring the cord all the way into the kitchen for the only three pronged plug.
• Your push mower - The cord didn't reach the front yard beyond the fence so we had to use the old push mower.
• The flowers - I only wish that I could have saved more to bring to my own garden.
• The yellow rose bush - So prickly and only pretty for a short time but nothing beats it when it is in bloom.
• The garden at the home - Even in your 90's you still had your little garden to keep you company.

Her Puttering

You were retired but you always kept busy.

• Burning grass - The quickest way to get the grass ready for the spring. I loved being on hose duty. 

• The burn barrel - Self sufficiency was important.  

• Hanging your clothes to dry - I still remember the sound of the clothes line as you brought things in and the styrofoam container that held the cloths pins. 

• Sharpening knives on the turning wheel - I got to turn the handle while you sharpened the knives. 

• Your push vacuum for your short green carpet - Not really a vacuum. More of a dirt collector. I was always worried it was going to get my lego. 

• Fixing the chairs on the front porch - They were so many different colours it was impossible to know what the original was. 

• Bird watching - You used your binoculars regularly. Your bird book had so many birds that I didn't know existed. 

• Keeping Gus going - I made you a windmill. You named him Gus. You repaired him until you could repair him no more. 

• Dish cloths - We still use them today. I made sure Callie learned how to make them. I saved the first one for you but I won't be able to give it to you.

Her Love of West lake

A small plot of 2 acres that will hopefully stay in the family forever.

• Squirrels - You had multiple platforms for feeding them peanuts. They always came. They always teased our dogs.
• The trailer - So small yet so practical. Everything in it had a purpose. I never understood why it was so far from the lake front but I'm sure there was a reason.
• Keeping things clean - Forest management practices before we knew what the term was. All the brush was kept short.
• Cutting hotdog sticks - We couldn't cut every little tree down. We still needed hot dog sticks for the camp fire.
• Your little signs - Instructions for lighting the stove and how to pull out the bed. There was no other way to make sure we knew what to do every spring.
• How to deal with bears - The whistle was on hand when the bears came to visit.
• Your little garden at the lake - I tried to keep it going. I don't know how you managed to keep it alive for so many years.
• Your barbecue at the lake - For when the fire danger was high or it was too windy.
• Building a fire pit - Every year the winter ice would take it away. Every year you would rebuild it with logs surrounding it to make sure little people didn't fall in.
• Agates - So many found. I have your collection. I can't look up when walking on a rocky beach. I'm looking for agates.
• The old rowboat - I never saw it floating but one day I will build one like it.
• The bench you got from the mill softball tournament - Made with nothing but 2x4's but so comfortable. I've made several and will keep the one at the lake going.

Her Stories

So many stories. I wish you could still tell them.

• Your dog - I think his name was Shadow. You spoke of him fondly. 

• Softball - Sports weren't just for boys. I never saw you play. I'm sure you were great. 

• Rowing to school - 5km to school every day including a trip across the river. 

• The cutbanks - You loved to climb them. 

• Award winning gladiolas - Best in show. 

• The West Lake cabin - And so many other stories about the history of our property at West lake. 

• The hole in the stucco - A poor parking job by one of Uncle Bob's colleagues.

Her Keys to a Long Life

• Vitamins above the fridge - A tray of simple vitamins. Vitamin C was my favourite.
• Garlic pills - All the benefits without the bad breath.
• Walking everywhere - My six year old legs could never keep up.
• The rowing machine - When you no longer had access to the rowboat to cross the river.

Her Years as Great Grandma (GG)

I'm glad you got to see my kids grow up even if it was from afar.

• Hearing you sing to my kids - Not the best voice but it sent chills through me. I'm sure they were the same records from when I was a baby. 
• Puppets - The kids couldn't wait to get to PG to see GG with the puppets.
• Food - You always made sure to have food for visitors in the home. Even it if meant sneaking an extra cookie from lunch.
• GG Jaywalking - We had to get you to the local McDonalds but the sidewalks were too bumpy so we took you down the side of the street.
• Puzzles - We always brought you a puzzle and got you started. You always finished them.

Her

There were certain things that defined Grandma Jackson and later Great Grandma Jackson.

• Messing up your grandsons names - Erin and Evan. Jesse and Jordan. That might not have been your fault. 

• Facetiming - You learned to use an iPad in your 90's. You always said you didn't understand but I think you understood more than you know. 

• No backing down - I remember your argument with Jesse on the number of steps up the to the attic. He had to remember the number before he could sleep up stairs. He wanted to count stairs. You wanted him to count steps. He had to sleep downstairs that night. 

• Fun Money - Everyone got a treat for Christmas and their birthday. You always had loonies and toonies on hand for when we stopped by. You lived simple and shared what you could. 

• Picture taking - No visit was complete without a picture with everyone. 

• 95th birthday - In a home. In a wheel chair. Using your feet to push yourself around to go visit everyone.  Your 95th birthday ballon attached to your chair. 

• Puzzle Games - Wooden or plastic puzzles. You weren't happy until you not only solved them but could repeat the process. 

• Chinese neighbours - You understood that everyone was equal and cultures were just cultures at a time when that wasn't always a common view. You treasured the Chinese calendar you got from the neighbour each year and we all know our zodiac sign.

Her Influence On Me

You helped make me the person I am today.

• My earliest woodworking projects were for you.
• I garden because of you.
• I still play the lottery because of you.
• I collect coins because of you.
• I putter because of you.
• I hope to age half as well as you.

Good Bye

I only remember being upset with you at one point of my life. 8 year old me didn't like when you gave me advice and then repeated it over and over. 41 year old me wishes you were still here to talk to, still here to sing me happy birthday. This is the first blog I won't be able to share to you. I will always miss you.

Aldor Acres Pumpkin Patch

This year was the 30th anniversary of Aldor Acres Pumpkin Patch and I think we've been going for about 15 of those years. It's a great family farm that gets better every year. This year they opened up an area that used to be their dairy farm and had several pieces of old farm equipment on display. A highlight of the trip is the petting zoo area. No biting turkeys this year but there were lots of goats. Apparently goats really enjoy pumpkins. We saw two of them fighting each other over the chance to stick their head inside. They were very competitive.

We like to get a family photo in front of the pumpkins each year and as we were wandering around suggesting locations, Kerry vetoed a particular spot because it would have sheep bums in it. This of course was an excellent suggestion from the kids point of view so I immediately found a spot where I could get a family photo with the sheep bums. We took another elsewhere with pumpkins but I think the most honest smiles were the ones in this picture.

We took the hayride to the pumpkin patch and we got to go to the field up on the hill which is much more scenic then some of the other fields. Unfortunately it seems it's also been a bit cooler as many of the pumpkins were rotting and we chose not to get one from that area. We went to an area closer to the parking lot to find Carter's and Callie decided she would get hers from Superstore. This is okay with me as they are much cheaper and the farms sell the good ones to them first. Carter still very much enjoys the trip and hopefully we can keep going for years to come.

Drones

Carter had a goal for his birthday this year. He wanted to save enough money to purchase a drone. We spent quite a bit of time researching different brands and capabilities and with an initial birthday money push from us he saved up enough to get the one he wanted. It had a camera and automatic stabelization abilities and it can even do a flip in the air.

We were a bit quick to try it and avoided reading the instructions. Big mistake. Let's just say I had to bring the ladder over to the elementary school to get it after one of our first test flights. After carefully reading the instructions and starting off in the middle of the soccer field, we have now mastered the basics. Still a bit more practice required for close quarters flying but it's been fun so far with some neat aerial pictures.

Carter's Birthday Party

Carter's birthday planning started immediately after Callie's birthday in August and you would think this would have been plenty of time to plan for a party in mid-September. The theme originally started out as Guardians of the Galaxy however we struggled to find decorations and one week before the party Carter shifted directions towards a Medieval theme. This meant knights and castles and catapults. It also gave Kerry an opportunity to redeem her last castle cake. She made one for Callie when she was 2 and let's just say it's good that Callie didn't remember it. This year was a big improvement.

Carter had arranged for a four hour birthday gala at our house. Most parties are two hours at a location like bowling or trampolining so there was a lot of pressure to make the four hours exciting. Things started off at home with some knight fights, a trebuchet launch and then continued over to the school for some street hockey. Kerry had brought home some sticks from the school and the recently paved parking lot at Frost Road made for an excellent playing surface. It seems hockey is a dying sport though because none of the kids had any hockey experience. Everyone still had a great time.

Dinner for the party was pizza and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Pizza for those that didn't like the chicken and the chicken because that was what Carter felt the knights of the round table would have eaten. We finished off with the very chocolatey cake, gift opening and a dragon piñata which turned out to be really quite difficult to break. Every kid got several hits and we finally had to encourage one of the bigger kids to just wack at it until it was broken. There's nothing like a piñata to bring a big group of kids together in mayhem.

First Day of School

This year was a new first day of school milestone. Callie has moved on to high school. This meant for the first time she would not be just down the hall from Kerry and would truly be venturing out on her own. Just because she was going to a new school however, it did not mean that we could not still do our first day of school tradition of breakfast at Ricky's. The day started with some pictures and then a drive to drop Callie off at school. I didn't quite know what to expect because we had been warned traffic could get pretty bad. I think we went early enough that it wasn't too busy. Once I had dropped Carter off at school I went home for an hour. First day of school continues to be nothing more than a single hour to count attendance and then the kids are sent back home. I picked Carter up first and then we drove to pick Callie up. I was still worried about traffic so we had pre-arranged a pick up spot across the street from the school in the Mohawk parking lot. It worked out well. I was surprised we were the only family that had this idea.

After picking up Callie we went to have breakfast at Ricky's. Another first day of school first was that we did not get the treasure chest sent to our table so Carter could pick a toy. I guess both kids are growing up.

Summer Odyssey - Marvel and Ed Sheeran

We bought tickets to the Ed Sheeran concert in Seattle in October last year. The plan at the time was simply to drive down for the concert, stay the night and then head home. Somewhere along the way I got an e-mail from the Venetian and the Palazzo for a cheap hotel rate. This added Las Vegas to our trip. Then we had to figure out what to do with our dog Oliver so we added Oliver as a destination so we could drop him off with my in-laws. Once we were going to Las Vegas with the kids it made sense to do the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam. We had to get back from Vegas and Reno seemed like a good stop and it's a two day trip so we added Woodburn for back to school shopping. Now our simple trip had turned into a 10 day, 1 province, 6 state, 5,740km odyssey across the western half of North America.

After 9 days we made it to Seattle and where the concert was being held. We met up with Kerry's best friend Melissa and her son Ethan and had some time to kill before the concert so we went to the Marvel exhibit at the Museum of Pop Culture. We've been in the area before but never actually gone to the museum. The Marvel museum was nicely done. It presented the origin of all the characters in the recent movies as well as the history of Marvel. I also got a chance to see the Pearl Jam exhibit. They were based in Seattle and were one of my favorite bands growing up. It was neat to see memorabilia from their entire 30 year career.

At last it was concert time. I've seen Ed Sheeran once before just after he released his second album. Kerry couldn't make it so I had an extra ticket and at the time I literally couldn't give it away. Now he's singing at packed stadiums. He's a unique act to watch as he does all of his songs with nothing but a guitar and a loop pedal. The loop pedal allows him to record short snippets of guitar or vocals and play it back. He layers on his voice to give the sense that it's a full band with multiple vocals. He's also amazing at getting the crowd involved. As someone mentioned to us on our trip, once you've seen him in concert it ruins his songs on radio. Maybe we'll plan another road trip for his next concert series!

Summer Odyssey - Crater Lake

We did it again. We crammed too much into a single day. Our plan was to drive from Reno to Woodburn Oregon and do some back to school shopping. The trip was 8 hours by Google which mean it would usually take us 9 hours with stops. What we didn't plan on doing was stopping at Crater Lake National Park. We were getting a bit bored with driving just as we were about to pass the turn off and it called out to us. On the map it didn't look like it would be too much out of our way but the road was much narrower and curvier.

By the time we got back on the road we were in for an 11 hour day. Having said all that I'm glad we did stop. We always drive by the signs on the I-5 and it sounds like an interesting place. It's an old volcano that blew it's top about 7,000 years ago. It's now the deepest lake in the US and you have to be there to get a sense of scale. We stopped off at the visitors center and the gift shop and drove around the western edge. After that we were back on the road to Woodburn where we finished up the day with some shopping at the outlet malls. Tomorrow we are off to the Ed Sheeran concert in Seattle.

Summer Odyssey - Death Valley and Reno

We had an 8 hour drive ahead of us so we planned on getting out the door by 6:00a. (more on why later.) Were able to make it out by 6:45a. We would have had only a 7 hour drive however we wanted to drive through Death Valley which added about an hour to our trip. Death Valley is home to the hottest temperatures on earth. For our visit it only made it up to 40C. I say only because on our first day in Las Vegas it got up to 43C. The hottest temperature ever in Death Valley is over 56C. As soon as you enter you can tell there is something different. The vegetation mostly disappears and the landscape is very different.

As soon as we got into the park we stopped at a very small visitors center that was nothing more than a billboard and an outhouse. There was no staff but there was a place to pay to enter the park. It's honor system and we were a bit surprised by the $30 cost. I imagine many people don't pay, especially since there was nothing on the highway saying you should. The most interesting feature we saw in the park was a lookout that looked into the valley in several directions. The landscape looks very foreign with many different colored rocks. I was definitely happy we chose to take the detour into the park.

Our destination for the day was Reno. Our plan was to make it to our hotel by 3:45p so we could go to the movie theater in our hotel. $4.00 for a movie and they were showing Avengers-Affinity War. Unfortunately our late departure and detour slowed us down and we didn't quite make it. It was all for the best because it gave us more time to tour our hotel and take in the buffet. It may take a few days for my stomach to recover from the dessert bar. We finished the evening with $20.00 of gambling at the slots before heading to the pool. Kerry was up to $26.00 and Callie and I figured she should stop. She did not. We lost it all.

Summer Odyssey - Hoover Dam and Las Vegas

We are staying in Las Vegas for a few days and using it as a jump off location for some local trips. Tuesday was the Grand Canyon and Wednesday was the Hoover Dam. The dam is only 45 minutes outside of Las Vegas so this was by far our shortest driving day. In hindsight, I think the next time we do a big road trip we will make sure to have some 'no driving' days interspersed. I'm not driving of course so it impacts Kerry the most since she prefers to do that herself,  but it's still a lot of time spent in a vehicle. We seem to enjoy about 6 hours and after that it gets to be a bit much.

I didn't know what to expect when we got to the dam but it quickly became apparent that the US is very proud of this particular achievement. the visitors center and parking are extensive and security is everywhere. We paid for a tour of the power plant which was $15. There was also an option to tour inside one of the stair wells of the dam itself for $30. The power plant tour was excellent. We got to see the enormous turbines as well as the pen stocks. You could walk over the dam itself for free. The family enjoyed this day trip very much.

We were finished the Hoover Dam and back to our hotel by 1:00p which finally gave us some time to check out the pool deck at the Venetian. Carter and I had to use the 10th floor pool the previous two days because the pool deck closes at 8:00p but the other pool is open until 10:00p. The Palazzo and Venetian share a pool deck but there was construction going on so it was a lengthy trip to travel between the two inside the hotels. We wanted to see both so we made the trek. Both sides had similar Italian inspired amenities and a total of 10 acres of pool areas. It was a hot day and very busy.

After the pool we went to check out Buddy V's Restaurante. Buddy is also known as the Cake Boss and it was of course an Italian theme. We chose this restaurant mainly because it looked like it had something everyone would like and because we had a $150 resort credit burning a hole in our wallet. We needed to use it up before the end of our stay.

After dinner we started our final tour of the Las Vegas strip. Carter really wanted to check out the Marvel Experience which was at Treasure Island across the street from our hotel. The price was a bit steep at $32.00 per person and we didn't expect it to be worth it but he got everything he wanted out of the gift shop. There were opportunities for pictures and some merchandise to round out his collection of Marvel figurines. The gift shop advertises itself as 8000 square feet of Marvel but it was very sparsely filled. They did have some good deals though so all went well.

For the remainder of the evening we walked down to the end of the strip and back which means we made it down to the Luxor. The hotels past there are mostly just casino and less interesting. Our first stop was at Caesar's Palace. I came here the last time I was in Las Vegas and warned the family that we would likely get trapped. I was correct. You enter the main door and hope that when you reach the end you can just exit but that's not the case. You end up having to come all the way back out the way you came to get to the front door. We also planned on stopping at New York for the Hersey store as well as the roller coaster. Carter was planning on going with Kerry but it was a bit too intimidating. Perhaps next time. Our last stop was at the Luxor which is a giant pyramid shaped hotel. It looks neat from the outside and has a few neat Egyptian scenes inside but is starting to show it's age. Our only stop on the way back to the hotel was the coke store. Carter really wanted to do the flight of 16 different coke products. Do not try the Beverley.

Summer Odyssey - The Grand Canyon

I'm happy to report that we did get our car back. We were out the door at 6:30a this morning for a 'Day Trip' to the Grand Canyon. In hindsight it was a fairly long ways to go just for the day. Kerry compared it to going from Vancouver to Oliver for lunch and back in the same day. We got to the village around 11:30a and suddenly realized how incredibly unprepared we were. We only planned on seeing the canyon and doing one of the easy hikes however we were only prepared to do that in sunny weather. The canyon had other ideas as there was a giant thunderstorm with a couple inches of rain in a short period of time and it was only 15 degrees.

As we sat in our car wondering what we were going to do, I remembered I have an emergency poncho in my back pack and Kerry remembered she had one in the car. We also had several garbage bags in the emergency kit. Several minutes later we were all prepared to brave the storm. We weren't about to travel 5 hours only to turn around without seeing something. It was still raining as we walked to the look-out and there was no one around. Thankfully the weather turned sunny and warm fairly quickly. The canyon was still a bit smokey/foggy but it was still spectacular. I would even call it grand.

We spent a few hours hiking the canyon rim and checking out the geology center. There were several nice places for pictures. Plenty of them were safe but there were still dozens of people taking selfies only a few feet from some steep drop offs. I wonder how many tourists they lose each year?

We headed for home in the afternoon with plans to stop in Flagstaff which is apparently one of the former Route 66 cities and we had visions of it looking like Radiator Springs from the Disney Cars franchise. It is actually a large bustling town with a university. We stopped off at the visitors center for souvenirs and some pictures before heading back to Las Vegas along a portion of Route 66. The route between the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas goes from desert, to shrubs to sparse forest with a ton of neat rock formations. I would highly recommend it as a drive if you are in the area. Tomorrow we take a rest day with just a short jaunt to the Hoover dam.

Summer Odyssey - Twin Falls to Las Vegas

We started our day in Twin Falls, Idaho where we had stayed the night at the La Quinta. Kerry insisted that if we were going to stay in a place called Twin Falls it was important that we actually see the falls. The name of the falls is the Shoshone Falls and they were more spectacular then I was expecting. The whole area of Twin Falls looks incredibly flat until you drive up the the canyon where the falls are. The water has carved quite a deep hole over the years and the falls were big enough for a major power plant and multiple waterfalls.

After our quick stop to see the waterfalls we were on the road to Las Vegas. It was going to be about an 8 hour drive and the temperature was going to soar to 43 degrees by the end of the day. A long drive and heat starts to play with your mind. In a town called Jackpot we got stopped for some road work and we opened the window to get some fresh air. It was at this point that Fred the fly joined us for our journey. We watched him fly in and didn't get a chance to get him out before the traffic started moving. It was at this point that we named him and started to wonder what would happen if he made it all the way to Las Vegas with us. We're happy to report that he did and we had great fun predicting what kind of trouble he would get into when he arrived. The picture on the right is Carter feeding him some coke bottle gummies. Fred was very well behaved for the full trip.

We arrived at our hotel in the early evening and were a bit confused when we drove up to the front desk. It seems they offer free valet service so all we had to do was get out and check in. At least I hope it was free valet service, otherwise someone has stolen our car. Our hotel room is excellent. We got a good deal as I had stayed her previously for work. The first two nights are $119 and a slightly higher rate for the third night. They even threw in a $150 resort credit for us to spend on at the hotel. Every room is a suite with a king or double bed and a full living room.

Once we had checked in we made our way to Margaritaville for dinner. Kerry enjoys coming to this place in every town we go to that has one. We got good seats in the back of one of the fishing boats and proceeded to have a mix of Cheese Burgers in Paradise and shrimp. We also had some overpriced drinks. Everything was great but it was definitely more expensive than I was expecting. I might have to rethink having that Bahama Mama next time we come.





After dinner we spent a bit of time walking up and down the strip. Our goal was to make a quick trip to the M&M Store and the Coke Store. They were a bit farther down then Kerry and I remembered and it was getting late so this was more of a scouting mission. We'll spend more time on Wednesday. One thing I should mention for parents is that the Las Vegas strip is pretty tame until about 8:00p. It got much more risque after that. Tomorrow we head to the Grand Canyon. It was 43 in Las Vegas today so hopefully it's much cooler. The heat hits you like an oven. The air conditioning bill with all these open casino doors must be enormous.

Summer Odyssey - Western Idaho State Fair

It started as a simple trip to see Ed Sheeran in concert in Seattle. It soon morphed into a 10 day journey through a province and 5 states. We started our trip with a stop in Oliver to drop off Oliver. (For those that don't know, we named our dog Oliver after the town and the book.) We had escaped the bulk of the smoke for most of our summer however things got really bad as we moved in to Peachland and got worse overnight in Oliver. The smoke continued through most of Washington and only started to dissipate when we got into Idaho. I may have to rename this trip the Western North American Forest Fire tour.

Once we had decided we would be stopping in Las Vegas Kerry mentioned that she had always wanted to go to a traditional American state fair. A quick internet search later and we had our first destination. Our ultimate day one destination was Twin Falls however that path took us right by the Western Idaho State Fair in Garden City just outside of Boise. Based on the number of food options it looked like it was exactly what we were looking for. I would say it's at least as big as the PNE but with a much cheaper entry fee. Free parking and $33.00 for the whole family.

Our goal was just to stop for dinner and a treat and take in some of the fair. Our first event  was the Splash Dogs. It started out a bit shaky when the lead dog playfully bit the entertainer on the arm. I'm not sure if perhaps that distracted him a bit because he seemed to be off on his comedic timing.  I was amazed at how much the dogs enjoyed jumping in the water. We'll have to try this with Oliver. My favorite was one named Little Buddy who was not exactly little. He was a black lab and very well trained. He brought his ball into the crowed for someone to pick up and then ran back to the platform. You had to be quick to get the ball to the water for him.

We spent some time checking out the country fair art and food competition, a crazy high diving penguin event, BBQ ribs for me for dinner, darts on the midway, a ride we got for free because someone gave Carter his wrist band and finally an Idaho Ice Cream Potato. From a distance you really could not tell it wasn't an actual potato. It's a beige colored vanilla ice cream shaped like a potato covered with a dusting of cocoa powder followed by whipped cream and Oreo cookie crumbs. Our goal for food was to get something we were unlikely to get anywhere else and this fit the bill nicely. Tomorrow we are off to Las Vegas.

BC Hydro Go Karting

BC Hydro offered to spend some effort on employee engagement this year and has set aside a modest budget for managers to do something fun with their employees. I could technically have taken myself and my two staff to do something but things get more fun when you go in slightly larger groups so my manager organized an event. We all got to make suggestions and then voted. Options included golf, horseback riding, an escape Room experience, go karting and several others. The resounding winner after the vote was go karting and we choose TBC Indoor Kart Racing in Richmond. The track is indoors and the karts are capable of going up to 70 km an hour. There were enough karts so that the 12 of us could ride in the same heat which made things much more fun. It's way better passing someone who's normal role is sending you spreadsheets to fill out. It was a hot day and I don't think I've ever sweated as much in my life but it was a lot of fun. Hard to say if there was a 'winner' but I will say I did quite well in several of the heats.

After racing we went to the downtown condo of one of our colleagues. He owns a place on Granville Street and there is a roof top patio with vistas in all directions. Food was purchased at Costco so there was plenty to BBQ and eat and I think everyone had a great time. It helped that we've had yet another sunny summer and at least for this event, no smoke. (That came a few days later.)