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Note: I would like to share with you through these few words, photographs and hyperlinked websites, a 3 Dimensional experience as though you were actually there with us. Click on any photograph and it should enlarge to a different size (view image in cursor list) ….. at least half screen or size full screen. It will be clearer in detail than the photo on the post. It will be as if you were really there looking at the actual scene. You are an arm chair traveller with us.
If you would also like to see the post in a larger or smaller size, I suggest you follow this procedure: If you right-handed, with your left hand, press down continuously on the Control Function Key with your left hand and with your right hand, move the little cursor wheel either forwards or backwards to make the text in the post larger or smaller.
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We went overseas from Brisbane, Australia in May 2008 because of our 28 year old daughter Claire. She is a primary school teacher who has a special gift with small children. She had been overseas in Canada from July 2007 till June 2008. She came home three days later than us on the 3rd of June on a different plane to prepare for her teaching work. She initially went over as a volunteer leader to the Ontario Pioneer Camp which is 1200 acres in extent and has several lakes on the property. One lake is several kilometres across. It is a Christian Adventure Camp which has small school groups coming into camp for a week a time. Claire did an Outdoor Education Course and became an instructor with her team to groups coming in … Sailing, Kayaking etc. See the website for Pioneer Camp.
After we had stayed at the camp for two days, Harriet, I with Claire slowly drove for the next two weeks up the eastern side of Canada to Princess Edward Island (PEI) and slowly down on the coast and eventually back to Toronto.
Claire wanted us to go to Princess Edward Island as it was the 100th anniversary of the publication of the beloved novel ‘Anne of Green Gables‘. We found a Bed and Breakfast place at ther The Serendipity Bed and Breakfast Inn (http://www.serendipitypei.com/) to stay that was very central to looking at Anne of Green Gables anniversary. ‘Serendipty’ as a word by the dictionary means the faculty of making happy discoveries by accident. We sure had that experience as we explored Princess Edward Island over two days and three nights.
See the photos and post of Serendipity below:
We stayed in the Barn behind the main house where we could make our food, keep house and come and go as we needed. The barn looked over adjacent farmland with brown ploughed fields and emerging green crops. It was wonderful on the second morning we were there to be invited into the main Bed and Breakfast place to have breakfast with people staying in the main building. We were from Australia and to be having breakfast with people from America or else where was really amazing.
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Overall Details of the Trip:
On the 8th May we flew from Brisbane down to Sydney which is a one hour flight. Then we boarded a plane which flew straight to Vancouver in Canada which was a 14 hour flight …. A long trip!! This was a lot simpler than flying to Los Angeles (USA customs etc.) then flying to Vancouver
- We had three days to walk the streets of Vancouver ……. taking lots of photos
- On the second day we caught a taxi to the waiting ship for a week long cruise to Alaska and back again. We cruised right up to the Skagway in northern Alaska and back finally to Vancouver
- We then went to Vancouver airport and flew to Toronto …. A five hour trip. One of our friends, Yolanda actually met us at us at ‘Arrivals’ as we are on e-mail with her. She then acted as our personal assistant in getting possession of our hire car and getting us to our hotel. Then she took us out to dinner. It was wonderful in seeing a friend after 25 years. Yolanda (a former Canadian) and her former husband Paul, had moved to Canada in the early 1980’s. We all lived at Chambers Flat on acreage in the mid 1970’s.
- As we said we wanted to see Niagara Falls, Yolanda contacted friends on her mobile phone who lived up there to meet us and ferry us around for the day.
- From Niagara Falls, we drove up to Ontario to stay and pick up our 28 year old daughter Claire. She is a primary school teacher who has a special gift with small children. She has been overseas in Canada from July last year till June this year. She came home three days later on the 3rd of June on a different plane to prepare for her teaching work. She initially went over as a volunteer leader to the Ontario Pioneer Camp which is 1200 acres in extent and has several lakes on the property. One lake is several kilometres across. It is a Christian Adventure Camp which has small school groups coming into camp for a week a time. Claire did an Outdoor Education Course and became an instructor with her team to groups coming in … Sailing, Kayaking etc. See the website for Pioneer Camp.
- Over the next two weeks, Harriet, I with Claire slowly drove up the eastern side of Canada to Princess Edward Island (PEI) and slowly down on the coast and eventually back to Toronto. We even spent three days on the USA side of the border in Maine and New Hampshire. We particularly enjoyed the travel hospitality of the Philbrook Farm Inn in New Hampshire. See the website:
- http://www.philbrookfarminn.com/ The place was 5th generation, originally built in 1834. It became an inn in 1861. It was truly finding genuine hospitality on the road less travelled
- We then flew from Toronto and back to Vancouver. From there we had another 14 hour flight back to Sydney. We then had another one hour flight back to Brisbane. We arrived back Sunday the 1st of June at 11.30 a.m. where our son Anthony met us at the Airport with our car and drove us back into Brisbane as he lives at West End. This meant that we could then drive ourselves home to Chambers Flat = 35 kms. out of Brisbane.
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See the next post: 17. CANADIAN HOLIDAY in May 2008 …. Lunch with the Zielonkos: Post 18 ….. A post for Claire our Daughter