Brenna's Prom

Brenna had her prom yesterday.  Here are a few pics:

Luna Arrives in Kenmore

We picked up Luna today from the breeder.  Forte isn't 100% sure of her (I think he knows he needs to be careful around her and she keeps chasing hiim).  Everything is great.   I will post a few youtube videos next week, but here are some pictures.

Princess Tiger Lily

Got a good picture of princess hanging out on the porch

Las Vegas Day 9 - Zion National Park

Today we hiked in Zion National Park to Observation Point.  Total distance was 15km and the vertical distance is 640m (2100 ft).  Climbed through lots of different vegetation and ecosystems.  Part of the walk takes you through the echo canyon and then you zig-zag up to the top along a narrow-ish trail (about 4 feet wide ... cliffs on one side, death on the other).  We were on the trail for about 5.5 hours in total.  The view from the top is spectacular.  Lots of chipmunks grabbing our lunch crumbs.  We had a bit of cloud cover (first time on the whole trip) and it definitely made the temperatures at the top much more manageable.  It is autumn here so the trees are turning colour (oaks, striped maple and something else).  The colours of the rocks goes from red to white and also yellow.  Because there is moisture on this trail, there were lots of tiny "rock gardens" along the way with small flowering plants.

Other than that, we stopped at a few places along the road for a look at the scenery.  Zion definitely warrants another visit as there is much to see (and Stewart wants to hike up the narrows trail along/in the river).

Las Vegas Day 8 - Grand Canyon Day 3

Happy Halloween!

Garbage truck woke us up at 6:50.  Again.

We packed up our stuff and headed off to Zion National park.  On our way out we stopped at some of the lookouts.  Things get progressively less hazy as we travel east.  View is nice from the Grandview lookout.  The trail that decends from there is interesting -- much more rugged than South Kaibab. Continue east to the desert watchtower where we get a decent view of the canyon.  It is impressive.  Took us quite a while to leave the park with all the stops.

The drive around took us through The Painted Desert which is very beautiful.  Then we went past the Echo Cliffs. Then we took the 89A scenic route which goes past the Vermillion Cliffs.  Then over the Navajo bridge over the Colorado. Stopped and walked on the bridge.  We saw a condor sitting on the bridge and then flying off.  Then up through the Kaibab National Forest (we stopped for a geocache) to the pass at 8000 ft.  Then back down into the valley and the stopped for dinner at a local mexican restaurant in Kanab Utah. Drive from Mount Carmel to Zion National Park.  That is one a amazing drive.  Sun was setting and you drive around these Mesas and through tunnels.   I would definitely recommend both the drive between Zion and Mount Carmel and highway 89A in Arizona.  Very very scenic both of them.

Checked into our cabin (fire place, internet, no tv) at zion and we need to plan out our day.

Las Vegas Day 7 - Grand Canyon Day 2

Garbage truck woke us up at 6:50AM.  Alarm was set for 7AM.

Ate breakfast in our room and made lunch and prepared our bag for the trail (4L water, lunch, snacks).  Looked out at the canyon.  Disappointed how bad the visibility is.  There is a controlled forest burn on the north rim which is pouring smoke into the canyon.  You can't even really make out the far side.

Took the shuttle to Kaibab South Rim Trail.  You can see what is close, but visibility of the wider area is still hazy.  We left at 9:15.  Temperature was cool.  There are definitely other people on the trail, but basically you are by yourself.  Went past ooh aah lookout, down to cedar point and then to O'Neill Butte.  Probably about 11:30 at this point and definitely quite warm out now.  We are now about 3.5km out and 450m below the rim.  Still a long ways from the Colorado.  Hard to imagine taking this trail all the way back to the North Rim.  On our way back up, we had to let 5 groups of mules go by.  We arrived at the top at 2:30 with most of the water consumed.  Fall seems like a great time to be hiking ... can not imagine doing this during the summer when they say temperatures can go over 100F.

Back to the room ... took a break, then took the shuttle to one of the points to see the sun set.  Again, kind of hazy ... apparently normally is is much more spectacular.  Dinner at the El Tovar restaurant.  Definitely a step up from the arizona dining room.

Las Vegas Day 6 -- Grand Canyon Day 1

Left the Trump Hotel.  Kind of sad to leave it to be honest.  It was a great place to stay.

Took about 6 hours to drive to the canyon (we stopped for groceries and a geocache in some woods near Williams). 

We took some pictures on the way, but it is mostly pretty gravelly type desert. Although our hotel room here at Thunderbird lodge is more expensive than the Trump, it is not nearly as well appointed.  However, it is less than 100 seconds from the rim of the Grand Canyon.

We had an ok dinner at the arizona room of the bright angel lodge.  Walking back from dinner, the moon was shining on the canyon walls, the elk were grazing on the lawn (except for the one that tried to attack Stewart).

Las Vegas Day 5

Off to the Hoover Dam today.  Took the short tour and walked around outside on the dam.  Amazing piece of engineering.  Craig would love to see it.

Water levels are low (54 feet below maximum).  It was actually hotter at the dam than in Vegas.  Did a cache on the way back in a local park in Las Vegas.  Park is like a desert ... definitely not what we are used to.

Had dinner at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill in Caesar's palace.  Good southwest cooking.  World series ending happened while we were at dinner.  Mesa Grill overlooks the big sports book at Caesar's (sports betting hub at Vegas), so lots of cheering from over there.

Walked back to our hotel.  Saw another watershow at the Bellagio (In The Mood).  Then saw the volcano at the Mirage.  Then saw the end of the Treasure Island show from the pirate side (where the ship sinks) ... still tacky.

Las Vegas Day 4

Got up late (for us -- still early by Vegas time) and went shopping today at the outlet mall (we definitely beat the crowds).  Actually found some nice pants that fit Stewart for about $20.  Margot shopped for a purse, but no luck.  She liked one at Salvadore Ferragamo which was deeply discounted to $700.  Sorry Salvadore -- no sale.

We had early dinner at Verandah's (italian restaurant in the four seasons hotel).  Another nice meal.  We were outside on the patio by the pool with lots of plants around.  Had to kill some time, so played the slots again.  After going nowhere on the penny slots, we moved to the $0.25 slots.  We won $16.26

Then we went to the Mystere show (cirque de soleil) at Treasure Island.  Seriously seeing Halloween costumed people wandering around Treasure Island Casino.  Mystere show was lots of fun and some definitely amazing acts.  Margot really liked the clowns.

Afterwards we saw the tail end of the super-cheesy pirate show outside Treasure Island.

 

Las Vegas Day 3

Today we went hiking in Red Rock Canyon.  We started off at the Calico 1 parking lot.  We did a geocache (multi-cache) that took us from the bottom to up on top of one of the ridges.  Cache was back in a box canyon hidden by some trees ... felt like a "secret" spot.  That took us more than two hours.

Then we drove around the rest of the park (stopping here and there for pictures).

Back to the hotel.  We then went to "Le Cirque" at the Bellagio for our anniversary dinner.  We had a bit of time to kill so we saw a water show out front (classical music) of the Bellagio.  Water show was so good Margot almost cried.  Then had to kill more time ... lost $5 at the penny slots.

Le Cirque,  like Fleur-de-Lys in San Francisco, is another top french restaurant ... maybe we will go to another one for our 30th anniversary  Definitely not the type of meal you can make yourself at home.  Everything was amazingly good and a work of art.  Margot had lobster saffron risotto appetizer, arctic black cod on mashed fingerling potatoes with grapefruit sauce, and meringue pear white-chocolate gold-leaf masterpiece for dessert.  Stewart had heirloom beet salad (that was a work of art), venison with huckleberry and quince, and coconut gelato type thing served in a hollowed out coconut.   To be honest the price for what they serve ($98 per person + wine) is pretty resaonable especially given the level of service.

Margot Day 2

Stewart worked until noon (doing a presentation).  Margot had breakfast and packed up.  Then we put the luggage in storage.  Once Stewart was done, we met up and walked around that part of Vegas.  From Luxor to Excalibur to New York/New York and to MGM (no lion any more).  Walked to the Bellagio and ate lunch (noodles -- good).  The fountain was being maintained, so no show.  Then over to Planet Hollywood to pick up the car.  The desk was empty so we killed off time by playing the penny slots and made $0.27.

Car rental is a Nissan Altima.  Good size for us.  Holds the luggage without being too big.  Drive back to Luxor to get bags, then over to the Trump International Hotel.

Room at the trump are pretty swanky.  We really loved it.  We had a 44th floor room looking over the Wynn, Encore on the right and Circus Circus and Stratosphere on the left.  Room had a fridge, microwave, cooktop, sink and some dishes, cutlery and cookware.  Bathroom had a huge shower and a separate huge tub (with jets -- FYI Brenna).  Staff were all super friendly.  Non-smoking hotel.  Would definitely go back.

We went to the old part of Vegas (Fremont Street) in the evening and had dinner at the Flame Steakhouse in the El Cortez casino.  Reasonable priced meal (for Vegas).  Fremont Street is a bit seedy and not really the same as it was during Diamonds are Forever.  Zip lining down the middle of the street and an overhead light show.  Worth seeing.

Margot Arrives in Las Vegas

Margot arrived in Vegas today and met up with me.  We had pre-agreed that I was working until noon tomorrow, so she was on her own.  Mostly that consisted of having dinner, reading and looking at the Luxor.  Margot would describe the Luxor hotel as having very dark rooms (bathroom was nice though).  The hotel's overall decor is as if from a movie set in ancient egypt.

Margot's first impressions.  Too much smoking, lots of lights and what's with all the open containers of alcohol.  Definitely a different place.

Easter Bunny

Easter bunny arrived today.

You'll be hearing from us for sure by May long weekend

Today was a day dedicated to Kingston. we started the morning by grabbing a quick breakfast, and hopping on to a shuttle bus to Queen's (as they have no real parking near the campus). The drive was lovely and full of picturesque prisons that happen to look like castles. We\re talking turrets and everything. Then we arrived at Queen's. It's a fairly nice campus. The only major issue is that the biggest residence actually looks like prison itself. We were then welcomed in a 40 min presentation in side Grant Hall, which is kind of tacky. We discovered the school's colours are the primary colours, and everyone else hasn't heard from Queen's yet. They ended the presentation by bringing in part of the band, dancers, cheerleaders, and the tour guides so they could end of the show with the school song (which is Gaelic). We then went on a big tour of the campus. Other then Victoria hall it's fairly pretty. We had lunch in the cafeteria, which was really nice. We then hopped on a shuttle and headed back to our motel.

Pros for Queens:
It's student population is very friendly and enthusiastic
The cafeteria is really nice
The class sizes are fairly small (the biggest being 200 less then at McGill)

Cons for Queen's
Wifi is only in common rooms (in residences) and inside classrooms
Cars are allowed on the main road

After we relaxed in our room we went and saw The King's Speech. It was a really good movie. We looked like we were the only ones under 60 in the theater. :D Afterwards, we went out for supper at a really good italian restaurant. I had some chicken, and it was absolutely delicious. I'm not sure how I felt about the decorations though. Beside us on the wall was a cow hide on a canvas. After dinner we returned to our motel.

You thought dress shopping was hard, wait until we get to the shoes

Today was our day in Montreal. We started the day off by shopping on Rue St. Catherines. We spent some time in H & M where Brenna tried on a few dresses. We then ended up in Le Chateau where we bought my grad dress! It's so pretty. We decided to have lunch afterwards, and to kill some time we looked at shoes. We weren't expecting to find anything, but surprise! We found the perfect shoes. We then headed to McGill University for a tour.

The University is gorgeous. Everything is really old, and gothic.
Pros for McGill:
Everthing is very old
Behind it is a mountain
Cars are not allowed on the roads
There is wifi everywhere on campus
Montreal is right outside
There is a lot of French

Cons for McGill:
Everything is really old.
Montreal is right outside.
Some of the residences are a little... well... sketchy.


We then drove to Kingston. Where we are currently staying in a cute motel.

The elevator to your rooms are that way (x3)

Today is the start of the grand university tour. After I got home from my NLS exam, (which I passed) we had a delicious supper of homemade hamburgers. Then we loaded up the truck and Mom, Brenna and I were on our way. Our first stop Montreal!

We arrived without any issues, and found the traffic wasn't that bad at all. We navigated quite well thanks to the belkin navigator (with a terrible french accent). Our hotel is very nice, but unfortunately we're only here for one night.

Stay tuned...

Halloween Pumpkins

Finnigan's Visit

We have put up a video the girls made during Finnigan's visit.

http://www.winterfamily.ca/unleashedv2.html

(NOTE: you may have to refresh the page after waiting a bit for the video to load the first time)

Frontenac

August 26 to 29
Started at campsite #3 (best sites 3A/3B)
Second and third nights at campsite #10 (best site 10D) -- there is no swimming at this campsite (You need to paddle out pretty far)
Hiked to campsite #9 (best site 9D) -- very weedy swimming and silt stirred up
The hike via the hemlock lake loop was a nice hike.

The Finale!

Now, the moment you've all been waiting for... The finale of our vacation!

On Monday morning we headed off to Universal Studios. We got there before the park was really open, and so we had to stand around for a while. But the opening was funny. It was someone telling us to act like a crowd at the opening of an amusement park over a loud speaker. We then got our super cool special access passes, and headed off to the Universal tours. It was really fascinating, and although we didn't see anyone famous, we got to see where they shoot movies. We were also treated to several special effects.

I can't really remember the order in which we saw everything else. We went to the animal show where they showed us some tricks they have animals do. It was pretty cute. We saw Terminator 2 in 3D. I really enjoyed it. It was a mix of live acting and an actual 3D movie screen. I have been inspired to actually watch terminator now. Then we got lunch. We had hot dogs, and they were pretty good.

We then went and watched Shrek in 4D. Now I know the 4th dimension is time, but that wasn't what they meant. Our seats moved, and there were a few other special effects. I didn't enjoy it as much Terminator, but it was still good. Then we headed down to the lower section. We all watched backdraft, which was basically a bunch of fire effects, and then we split up. Dad and Brenna went on the Revenge of the Mummy, and then on the Jurassic Park rides. Mom and I went and saw a show about different movie effects. It was lots of fun. They showed us the green screen, makeup, and sound effects. Then we had delicious ice cream.

As we headed out we decided to go to the Simpson's ride. Everyone was saying it was great. So we lined up, and as we waited we noticed a warning sign that told us this was a highly aggressive ride. We asked the lady at the front what that meant, and she said we'd all be fine. She turned out to be wrong. You are put in a roller coaster cart in a room. The entire room is a movie screen, and your cart moves with the screen. It jerks around a lot. I had my eyes closed, and my ears plugged the whole time. Brenna had to tell me when the ride was over. Dad (who was excited for the ride) felt really sick. He spent the ride staring at his shoes. Mom and Brenna (who were both worried) enjoyed it. Brenna enjoyed it the most. I pretty sure she loved it. Dad still felt really sick after, and I wasn't feeling great either, so we decided to go catch our shuttle. Unfortunately, the shuttle picked up in a different spot then it dropped off so we missed it twice. (It was full both times) So we went and had supper in a restaurant near by. Mom and Dad found it cold, so they both got Universal sweaters. the meal was pretty good, and then we went out to catch the shuttle again. It was full this time too! So we wandered around the small tourist town near by, until the guy came back.

The next day of course we flew home. The flights were fairly uneventful, although this time we had private tv's in each chair. Dad rocked the plane at trivia, until someone else came and beat him. We were glad to get home.

It's been hard adjusting back. Life has been pretty busy, and Brenna had a lot to catch up on after missing two weeks of school. I think we're finally caught up.

Stay tuned for more updates... (Although probably not as excited as these past few)