In honor of Graham's visit to the Pacific NW and Alberta, we will attempt to convene.

Proposed date: Saturday Aug. 26
(otherwise we wait until Sept. 17 -22 when they come through this way again, but those are M-F week days no weekends in there)

Time: Lunch

Place: Somewhere on the north shore, maybe Horseshoe Bay, so that they can continue up the Sea to Sky Hwy to Whistler

Sheena and I are in. Anyone else?

[GTG date added to title]

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Colleen,

Count us in! No worries though if it doesn't work out on this date. We'll catch the next one!

That's great Anne. I was hoping you and Scott would make it.

I suspect Graham and his wife will have some interesting travel tales.

...and while y'all are sitting there waiting for Graham and Annette to arrive, remember me in my cute little apartment in Jasper!

I've decided to take a few extra days and go there early, to have the weekend for myself. I'm going to hike into the back country, paint a little at Medicine Lake, take my camera and walk around the lake at Jasper Park Lodge hoping for some lovely photos out of that little hike...sounds like total bliss to me, spending time in that stunning part of my country! Have a glass of wine for me, ok?

Graham and Annette, see you in Jasper, after the party with Sheena, Ann, Janie and all...they're such amazingly good people, and I know that you'll have a spectacular afternoon with these ST'ers!

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go.
Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts,
and we are never, ever the same." ~ Unknown
Brenda

Brenda -- be SURE to meet up with Graham and Annette. I"ll be sending along something with them to make up for those melted goodies from the last GTG.
Now, are you suuuuuuure you can't come out West for this one?

Hi all,

We'd like to come too!! In fact we're quite excited about meeting people we've corresponded with for so long.

Thanks heaps Janie for setting this GTG up, and we are very happy to carry something to Brenda, but could be risky, if the weather's hot we might be forced to dispose of them appropriately on the way!!!

We hope you can make it, Ann, as we won't see you on our way north later. And just to clarify the week we are in Vancouver later (Sept 18-22), we will arrive about midday on the Monday from Anacortes and will leave on the Friday (in the morning probably) for Victoria. I suspect that week is not going to suit anyone anyway, and won't be necessary, especially as it looks like Aug 26 is a go. However those are the details if anyone is interested.

Sheena's sugestion of Horseshoe Bay sounds ideal from our point of view, providing it is not too far for others to travel. We will plan on getting there by about 11am all going well and will have to go by about 2pm I expect to have time to appreciate the trip to Whistler and have a look around when we get there.

I'm sure we won't forget you Brenda, and will look forward to possibly seeing some of your handiwork (painting and photos) that you've achieved in our absence.

We plan to produce our trip diary on line this time as we go, rather than filling up notebooks, so if that succeeds it will be on our website (given below), so if interested, you will be able to keep up with our travels after leaving you. I don't expect we will get much on line before as our first week is on a boat in Alaska, and I doubt if we will get any internet access. Never know though. The diary could be fairly short at times as this trip is to see the sights not spend time on the internet, however we (that means Annette) always write it up daily anyway, so should be quicker!!?

Cheers for now,
Annette and Graham

quote:

Brenda -- be SURE to meet up with Graham and Annette. I"ll be sending along something with them to make up for those melted goodies from the last GTG.
Now, are you suuuuuuure you can't come out West for this one?

ummmmm, Janie, would that be the luscious and to-die-for Thomas Haas chocolates???

OMG!
You are simply the best!
Let me tell you, the ones you gave me at our GTG in June might have been melted by the Granville Island sun, then solidified into one solid block of chocolate, but the taste? Divine!

I wasn't planning on missing Graham and Annette, but this is just a little more incentive for me to show up.

"If you are not feeling well, if you have not slept,
chocolate will revive you.
But you have no chocolate!
I think of that again and again!
My dear, how will you ever manage?"
~ Marquise de Sevigne, February 11, 1677
Brenda

Re lunch on the 26th. I think it would be a good idea to get Graham and Anette over the bridge before lunch - just in case! I think we would all prefer to be outside, with ocean view if possible??

Working East to West we have:

Park Royal: (all have patio but no ocean view)
Cactus Club
Milestones
Keg
SteamworksThe Keg

Ambleside:
The Beachside Cafe
Saltaire


Dundarave:
The Fish Market - patio no view
Red Lion - patio no view
The Beach House - on water at the pier

off Upper Levels there is the Salmon House (I always forget how appealing this is to visitors)

Horseshoe Bay:
The Boathouse - on the water
Trolls - across from water

Or... if you want an outing there is the Furry Creek Golf Club part way up the Sea to Sky Highway on the way to Whistler!

For some reason The Keg and The Cactus Club url's will not post - but they are easy to fine on line. Trolls does not have a website for the original Horeshoe Bay location - just franchise info. No website for The Red Lion - but for those who know the area, it is now owned by the folks who used to own the Park Royal Hotel.

Sheena & all --

The Salmon House on the Hill lunch selections of $20 or less and probably less than that if you go for meal size salad with seafood. For our visitors' sake I would vote for this location because the view is so staggering -- the entire harbour, the UBC peninsula and Stanley Park, Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands on a clear day. (so now that I've said that, it's going to pour on that day). And heck, you're in BC. What do you force feed the tourists if not salmon?

Mind you, Furry Creek is pretty stunning as well. I've never eaten there but am willing to give it a shot.

Brenda -- yup, that's what I had in mind, more chocolates and I'm hoping the NZers will have a/c in their rental car and keep them cool for you all the way to Jasper.

Graham, very appreciative of your chocolate courier services. I may need to get your family a little box just so you don't dive into Brenda's gift.

-- janie

Just wrote a long response re the SAlmon House .. and decided to make a reso so that we could get a window table (thinking I could cancel if others were not agreeable to the restaurant). Anyway they are CLOSED on the 26th for a wedding!!

So cross that one off guys and start again.

Hi all,

I have just sent a PM to Sheena saying I'll leave the venue decision up to her and everyone else, as we are happy to go wherever you decide.

Janie, no problem acting as a courier to Brenda. We will have a/c in the car and we always carry a small insulated bag (we call them chilly bins) with us for meltable items. One hint, if you get her milk chocolates they will be quite safe, we much prefer dark chocolate and have never understood why anyone would want to dilute good chocolate with milk!!! Incidentally we do not expect any for us for carrying Brenda's, your presence at lunch is all we need to make our day.

Must go to bed,
Cheers, Graham

Bummer about Salmon House.
Next best viewpoint is Furry Creek for sure. Howe Sound is so spectacular.
I looked at the menu and it's quite reasonable with seafood options that look good. Whaddya think Sheena? So far no one from Richmond or Abbotsford is offering to come so it's not such a bad drive for us in the city/north shore.

As for chocolates ... Graham, Thomas Haas is just one of those "best of Vancouver" things you have to experience. I know all about chilly bins, sometimes we still say that and our friends here look blankly at us, and we quickly say "coolers".

I happened to hear from Laura the other day about something else, but she mentioned that she is not able to come -- just wants us to have a glass of wine for her!

I imagine Ann and Scott will be downtown, and I suspect they will be happy to go to Furry Creek unless they have other plans that would keep them closer to town. Ann can you confirm.

Yes! We WOULD be happy to go to Furry Creek. I haven't made any reservations yet, but we will probably stay downtown. Thank you both so much for arranging another GTG.

We need to schedule one here so that I can return the favor!

OK I'll make a reservation tomorrow. Looks like eight of us. How about if we head up there for 11:30 with a table booked for 12 noon?

Don't worry Ann, we will all be down there soon!

well, it looks like will be missing out on this GTG as well as Jasper... My daughter's soccer team placed first in regular season play and next week they start playoffs followed by Provincials Aug 24 - 27. I would have loved to come! Raise a glass of vino to me, OK?
- Marie

Sheena, thanks for making reservations for lunch.
Wow, is the ST Pac NW group going for a record on most frequent GTGs this summer ? Where's that Pauline?

No problem. Just to confirm:

Furry Creek Gold & Country Club (directions)
Saturday August 26 at 12 noon for eight of us
They do not take reservations for the terrace, and eight people involves putting two tables together - so if the weather is good, and two adjacent tables on the terrace are free .... then we can move outside!

This is about 40 minutes from downtown, and then Graham you are just an hour from Whistler.

I look forward to seeing you there!

(Marie you just have to get out here one day)

Thank you very much Sheena for organising that. We have the location marked on the map and we will be there.

Really looking forward to meeting everyone.

We leave in 3 days and are hoping we don't get held up with all the current airline issues. I suppose my only real concern is damage to fragile equipment if we have to check in our hand luggage. Baggage handlers seen quite adept at destroying normal baggage so what they will achieve with soft hand luggage doesn't bear thinking about. Still there's nothing we can do about it!!

Regards to all

Annette and Graham

Sorry folks, here is the correct directions

I am beginning to feel completely inept! If you did click on the URL I posted incorrectly you probably found the link on the left to the directions!

No problem, Sheena, I found it in the original link you gave.

Graham

Graham and Annette,
I just spoke with my friends in Jasper again, and we are putting together a pretty snazzy list of goodies for you to choose from!
Here's the info as of this moment:
1. Maligne Canyon - We can walk over the first 2 bridges at the canyon...that is an easy walk, and gorgeous scenery. If we arrive there around noon, that will get us to Maligne Lake around 2:00 P.M. for lunch and a 3:00 - 3:30 P.M. boat cruise out through the glaciers to Spirit Island. Henry's a professional photographer and he recommends arriving around that time for the best light for photos.

2. Lake Annette - We can drive there and then take a really relaxed walk around Annette's lake, Graham! There's a paved and wheelchair friendly path around the lake, so we can walk as little, or as much, of it as you like!

3. Mount Edith Cavell - Again, we can drive up to the park there, take a short walk to the creek, and we'll see the icebergs floating in the water, as well as the most beautiful views this side of heaven!

4. Jasper Park Lodge - lunch on the huge outdoor patio, overlooking the lake...the best place for a yummy bite to eat.

5. Whistler Mountain - A tram to the top takes a few minutes, and there is an easy-peasy 1 hour hike to the top, if you like, so bring good hiking shoes, if this is something that you might like to do. There's a restaurant way up there, if we are hungry or need a cup of tea, before heading down. If the walk is a little more than you'd like to bite off, we'll just sit and look at the gorgeous scenery!

Hopefully, this will be a lovely and interesting few hours for you! Please know that you can do as much or as little of this as you like...there's no timetable or schedule that we have to adhere to...this is just a little 'menu' for you to consider.
I'm looking forward to meeting you and spending some time showing you my corner of paradise!

"Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life."
~ Mark Twain
Brenda