Port Hardy, Vancouver Island, BC

 We were disappointed today because the road we really wanted to take got closed by a logging company. Arghh...so we didn't get to find the lake we wanted. Instead, we drove all the way up to Port Hardy. Long day full of rain and clouds. Rats.

Check out the fishing nets on this rig. Hmmm...looks like too much fun!

Dax and Isaiah Port Hardy, BC

Dax and Isaiah Port Hardy, BC

Backroads and Bear Spray

Good news is that we didn't need to use bear spray today. It rained all day, but we still had fun. We only saw deer and eagles, oh, and also some slugs. Isaiah likes those. :) I'm having problems uploading pictures to our blog, but will continue to try to do so. Today we took back roads to explore. Soooo much fun. We went to where the road ends and got some beautiful photos. Hopefully they will upload soon. Tomorrow, another day of exploring back roads. 

This was the view at the end of the road. So worth it.

We hung out with these two eagles for a while.

Another end of the road view. So peaceful.

Day 1 and part of Day 2 (Pacific NW)

Yesterday we flew from Kansas City to Seattle and then rented a car and made way to Port Angeles. We enjoyed our ferry to Bremerton and a wonderful drive around the Hood Canal--we cut over on 106 to 101. We stopped off at Belfair State Park for a picnic and "shelling"--a beautiful evening. We swung by Walmart on the way to our hotel in Port Angeles to stock up on picnic stuff for our time on Vancouver Island, BC. We were in bed way after midnight and were up at 6 this morning to catch the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria, BC. Enjoyed our drive to Courtenay, BC. All settled in our hotel and looking forward to pizza and a family swim tonight. Can't wait for spontaneity and adventures together tomorrow. 

Flight from Kansas City to Seattle

Picnic at Belfair State Park

Looking for shells while the tide is out at Belfair State Park

Dax and Isaiah Belfair State Park...soooo windy.

Isaiah's find at Belfair State Park

This picture should be AFTER the next picture. This is on our drive from Victoria to Courtenay, BC.

Ferry Station Port Angeles, WA

Canada Bound

Dax, Isaiah and I leave for Canada in a couple of hours. We will be updating the blog with pictures and short stories. What a wonderful summer we have been so blessed to enjoy. 

The Bund, Shanghai

Approaching the Bund. The Bund is the waterfront area in Shanghai. It's on the western bank of the Huangpu River and faces Pudong (the eastern part of the Huangpu District). You will not only see pictures of Pudong across the river, but also of the other buildings behind us on the street. These once housed numerous banks and trading houses from the UK, France, Russia, Germany, Japan, Netherlands and Belgium. You will notice the western/classical/modern style with the a Communist flag on top of each building. 

Becky and Isaiah in front of the wall at the Bund in Shanghai.

Isaiah and Dax at the Bund.

Looking over to Pudong across the Huangpo River from the Bund.

A little later view of Pudong.

And finally, the night view of Pudong.

At the Bund. I'm sitting in the back having a "conversation" with a lady. We used my handy dandy Mandarin/English dictionary to communicate.  People would come up and sit right next to me and have their family take a picture. They kept motioning the person to scoot closer to me so I would be in their picture without me knowing it. It was kind of amusing to me since I knew what they were doing. Funny stuff. 

The western style buildings with Communist flags at the Bund.

A later view in the evening. 

And, at night. 

Shanghai Random

This boy was begging in the Nanjing train station. We were waiting for our train to go back to Shanghai. We did not give him any money. We gave him a piece of bubble gum and let him watch cartoons with Isaiah. His feet were totally black from dirt. His clothes were stinky and filthy. We noticed a man that stayed within 25 yards of him at all times. On occasion the boy would bring change to him that he had found/collected. We just hope the man was the boy's father. 

This is our view out of our Shanghai hotel window. This was at about 6 in the morning and traffic was light. Usually it is bumper to bumper. However, at midnight, I looked out and I did not see ONE car. Dax and I watched for a bit and then we saw a truck with a water tank driving slowly on the road. A man was walking by the truck holding a hose spraying off the roads. I'm sure glad I don't have to do that for a living. Wow! So, we suppose they close the roads for street cleaning by hand/hose at night. 

The closest things to pancakes in Shanghai. Isaiah never put his plastic fork down!

Isaiah playing pokemon in Starbucks on his DS. 

Ahhh! Junk food from McDonald's! Whew!

A must have to get around in the cities.

This is actually an electric bike. They are the most common form of transportation in my opinion. I saw more of these than anything. There were some mopeds/small motorcycles, tons of taxis, and other public transportation, but these electric bikes are everywhere. I think I need one of these!

Just an alley on our LONGGGGGG walk to the Bund.  All of these pictures were taken on the way to the Bund. 

Sugar Cane Juicer Bike.  He put the cane in the "machine"--turned the crank, and wahlah! Sugar Cane Juice.  I did not like it. Yep, too sweet. 

This pictures does not do this woman's work justice. I have a video of it, too. She had these big frogs and some would still hop around. So, she would grab a frog and throw it as hard as she could on the pavement over and over until it quit hopping away. Then, she would cut it all up with scissors, sort the parts in the pans of water to the side and keep on going. Fast process. Again, I wish I could have somehow posted the smells on my blog, too. 

Notice bamboo poles sticking out of apartment windows drying clothes. 

This man walked with this crutch. Since his left leg was much shorter, his foot would fit on that small pedal in order to walk. We noticed lots of different types of crutches, particularly in People's Park. 

More food. 

Cutting up seafood and stuff. 

We saw snake, eel, and all kinds of things like that. 

Just an alley...

My mom would have gone nuts in all the art supply stores. We saw as many stores selling paint brushes as we saw  stores selling chicken feet. 

Big brushes. 

People's Square/Shanghai

Before 1949, People's Square was part of the horse racing course of Shanghai. After gambling and horse racing were banned by the Communist government, a part of the race course became People's Square. 

Note, despite the banning of gambling, the park is packed with cash and cards. We even noticed government officials watching the gaming. Go figure. 

Isaiah looking for fish.

Getting our food out for Isaiah to share with the homeless and hungry.

Dax, the best photographer ever.

Watching locals do some fishing.

Just hanging out people watchin'.

It is sooo hot. Fans everywhere. 

Note the two men sleeping on the ledge. Isaiah gave them some food.

Fishing.

Isaiah believes the next best thing to fishing is watching others fish.

Hanging with the locals.

There are some old rides at People's Park. Isaiah was the ONLY one on the swings. That is just how old they are, no one rides them. :) Isaiah and I both did the old bumper cars. Dax video taped the entire ride. Oh we had fun!