Saturday, May 31, 2025

 

Day 3 – Sunday, May 25

We weren’t up exactly early …. But I think we are all “lazy” when we are on holiday!! Toby, Keri, Annabelle, and Sebastian were all up doing their own thing – with Alanna, Annabelle, Toby and Seb sunbathing around the pool! After breakfast, Ray and I went for a long walk on the beach, enjoying the beautiful waves, the plovers, and the sun! Bliss!!! After eating lunch Toby, Seb, Ray and I went to the “Foodline” a huge grocery store in a small plaza not too far a drive from our house. We bought the largest pile of food I could imagine buying!!! But, I guess when there are 7 of you, including two very active, athletic, “teenagers” you need to!

In the evening, Ray and Toby barbecued dinner, and we all had a good time catching up on our lives since we had last seen each other.





Friday, May 30, 2025

 

Day 2 - Saturday, May 24, 2025 - Vancouver to Duck, North Carolina

The one good thing, we had lots of time at the airport to eat breakfast and try and stay awake. Security, border crossing, etc. were friendly and smooth.  And after an hour’s delay sitting on the tarmac, here we are at 10:55 a.m. flying high over the snow packed tops of the Mountains on flight into Atlanta, an hour’s layover, and then on to Norfolk in North Carolina.

The delay on the ground reduced our time in Atlanta to get to our second flight, but thanks to a very helpful and kind guy welcoming us off the plane we got directions, followed them to a T, and after a short train journey ended up in the right terminal at the right gate with no fuss at all. A big “Thank You” to that kind and thoughtful person!! Our second flight was short and once on the ground we headed off to find our rental car. So, there is always some little trick to trip you up. Neither Ray nor I could remember any particulars about the rental company, and we didn’t have any of that information printed out, nor could we find it on our cell phones. Only one way to do it: I went to the first car rental company that was open and free and asked if they had a booking for Gillis. No luck ! Meantime, Avis came free and Ray and Alanna went there..... bullseye! They had our booking! Phew. A scary moment or two!! We had a busy, but easy, and direct couple of hours drive from Norfolk to the OBX …. Outer Banks of North Carolina! We found the rental house with no problem and about 10 p.m. opened the doors to find Toby still up and the others in bed! He showed us “our” bedrooms, we had a quick chat and a cup of tea and then off to bed.

We are staying in a fairly large rental house called “Peaceful Breeze” which is about 468 yards from the biggest beach I have seen in a while.  There are 5 bedrooms, and a 32’ x 16’ private pool … oh, and a hot tub! So the 7 of us have lots of room to spread out. Here are some pictures of the house from the outside.





HOLIDAY IN NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 24, 2025 TO JUNE 7, 2025

 2025 - HOLIDAY IN DUCK, NORTH CAROLINA

On May 24, Alanna, Ray and I fly to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. This holiday was conceived one night at dinner when Alanna said "why don't we take a trip to Duck and bring back some memories from the past?" We spent several summer holidays in Duck with Sherry and Lloyd and JoAnna and Jeffrey when JoAnna and Jeffrey, and Alanna, were young. We had some fabulous times: playing in the Ocean and avoiding the rip-currents, fishing in the Sound, seeing the wild horses, going deep sea fishing from near Cape Hatteras, and learning about the Wright Brothers first flight out of Kitty Hawk. It is a fun and beautiful area. And so, Ray and I jumped on it. Ray also contacted Toby and Keri, his son and daughter in law, in England, and asked if they would like to join us. So, we are all headed to Duck for two/one week shortly. I will try to keep you updated .... but if we are having soooooo much fun, my posts may be a day or too late!! Stay tuned!! 


Day 1 - Friday, May 23, 2025

So ... on our way! We left home around 1.00 to pick up Alanna, but we didn't get too far. Chun and Sangeun (neighbours) were just getting out of their car and Betty and Luna were passing by on their walk and of course all had to give us a hug and wish us "happy holidays". When we finally got in the car and ready to move, Ray asked me if I had my US credit card! Well, I had completely forgotten having one! So, I had to go back in the house. A fun time. I managed to punch the wrong code into our alarm system and the sirens went off. I couldn't turn them off and Ray had to come to my assistance and sort it out with the alarm company!!  Finally, we were able to take my card and leave. We picked up Alanna who had been patiently (or maybe not so) waiting... and we were on our way down the 99 highway to Vancouver. It is considered one of the best scenic drives in the world: beautiful ocean sound dotted with little islands on one side, and rugged rocks and mountains held together with coniferous trees and brush on the other, while above the sky played different scenes from bright blue and sunny, to dark grey clouds and rain .... and don't forget the railway paralleling the road, only a few feet from it and perched on the edge of the water. 

We had an uneventful drive down to Granville Island. Granville, is an eclectic village nestled in False Creek a short narrow inlet in the heart of Vancouver, separating the Downtown and West End neighbourhoods from the rest of the city, and which forms one of the four main bodies of water bordering Vancouver. In Granville, there are theatres, artisans,  restaurants, outdoor entertainment, boat rides, beautiful flower displays and seagulls! All colorful and fun. Inside the market there was every food you could imagine, displayed in colorful and artistic patterns. We went to Bridges for a very late lunch,  and sat outside enjoying the beautiful evening views. Finally, it was time to leave and find our way to our overnight stop, the Best Western Plus Vancouver Airport. We realized we had a 5 am rise the next morning so hung out in our respective rooms and tried to go to sleep early. Well, the going to sleep came easy, with a wake up at 1.00 am ... and you got it .... tossing and turning and checking my alarm till rolling out of bed at 5.00 am.