Islands and the far North

We finished up our time in Canada with a couple of weeks based in Victoria with Joel's parents. We both took some short trips that we staggered so there was always one of us plus grandparents on hand. Joel took his two unavoidable work trips (Atlanta and NY) and I took my annual solo trip to recharge. Last year I went down to LA for a couple of nights to stay with our friends there and this year I went to Yellowknife for three nights to meet up with two of my best girlfriends who live there.

The boys enjoyed being enrolled in daily private swim lessons at the rec center down the street. This is one of the glorious things about the amazing Canadian rec centers. Everything is so organized and so CHEAP. They swam every day and I had them out on the ice skating twice too.

My trip was exactly what I needed. A few uninterrupted nights of sleep, wine, good company, glorious Northern sunsets and steaming plates or Arctic char. What's not to love? I almost bought mukluks and then I decided that was perhaps the most silly thing a Californian could possibly bring home.

Once we were all back in Victoria we drove up the island to Campbell River to do one last family visit up there. The boys got to go out on a fishing boat with their great uncle and they absolutely loved it.

Our drive home was another three day haul ending with our a/c unit exploding when we went over the state line into California and finally hit Summer weather. So we drove home with cups of ice and lots of respect for that really vital part of our car. The boys did great, they showed great resilience in the face of lots of adversity on the last leg. That's why we travel anyway! Personal growth, resilience, adventures and memories.

This is where we lost our a/c. It was 104 degrees outside.