EASING BACK AFTER EASTER

IGUANA ELEMENT

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We had a very nice Easter weekend! We left home in the late afternoon on Thursday and spent the very first night camped at the Stemwinder Provincial Park, about a one hour drive from home. Miles had marinated thick T-bone steaks and he set about grilling them shortly after we arrived. While he was cooking we heard a single gunshot - that was a little unsettling! There was an RV two doors over and the owner dropped over and said hello, a Grandpa-type, so we were comforted that we were not all alone there. Miles steaks were fabulous and we enjoyed a quiet evening. In the morning we pulled up stakes (no, not steaks! ) and stopped next door to the park at Doug's Homestead where Miles bought some of their fabulous beef jerky. Promise us that if you drive highway 97 you will treat yourself there - its second to none.

We had to take a drive past the old hotel in Princeton, well, what is left of it after it was razed by a fire recently. Having seen this as an icon since forever, it is strange to see a pile of smoldering rubble in it's place.

Topping the hills above Princeton we began to see some snow. There was an accident we alllmooost got a picture of - a jeep hanging over a dropoff on a sharp corner, being held in place by only the back wheels! Can't imagine how the driver got out of that one without tipping it. We took lunch at Manning Park Lodge (the pictures in the slideshow are all from this trip - thats Miles with the bear statue at the Lodge) Now...perhaps I just have too high of expectations, but the food at the Lodge was totally overpriced (9 bucks for a plain ol' burger - frozen patty, frozen fries) the food plain and the menu very limited with only 9 items, five being burgers. The atmosphere was very plain. The service was ok. In my thinking, this is our National Pride...Miles and I thought up a completely innovative menu without even trying...like Beaver Pat Patty hamburgers (and use real meat) and for dessert Moose Do's in a Snowdrift (chocolate almonds in vanilla ice cream) and tons of other ideas...perhaps someone could suggest us?

Mom had food waiting for us when we arrived - don't tell her we barely had time to digest our mangy Manning burgers! She had prepared a big helping of her wonderful stuffed pork chops as she knows they are a favorite of Miles. I swear she bakes for a month prior to a visit. Her love is expressed in cookies, tarts, roasts and somehow her love hangs on us for a while after we get home, if you know what I mean. Our sister Michelle and our nieces Rachel and Karly were there from Surrey and Karly immediately claimed Miles to wrestle and play with. Rachel showed off her splendid volcano that she and Grampa built for a school project. As you can see, they used Miles to create the newest in hairstyles - a lego - rasta updo!

On Saturday morning I was chauffered all over Abbotsford with Mom and Michelle and two of the other women from Mom's complex as we took in yardsales. Its so luxurious to be driven from place to place and not have to worry about the traffic. We all managed to find some treasures! In the afternoon Miles and I drove into Vancouver and enjoyed a visit with our Aunt Rose and Uncle Bob. They laid out a veritable feast for us - a bit of this and a bit of that! Our favorite was the smoked salmon with capers and cream cheese sandwhiches made with a specialty dark bread they purchase at Cobb's Bakery near Vine in Vancouver! Delish! Before we left Aunt and Uncle pointed us to Meinhardt's Fine Foods, a store they assured us was a 'must see'! They were absolutely correct, and we did see it indeed. Though we controlled ourselves ( a very difficult task I assure you!) we did take some pictures which you can see in the slideshow. We ended up bringing home a single package of Tarragon, passing over the Dried Black Olive Tapenaude for a future visit.

We went for good workout on Sunday morning and a swim at the center in Abbotsford. We knew Mom would be stuffing a turkey and we would be stuffing the turkey into ourselves. She again made a special effort for Miles with homemade Yorkshire Puddings!

Mom and Dad also gave us two sweet gifts - a set of 8 exotic whole salts and an electric crepe maker. I will show you more on that later when we make our first batch.

We came home laden with Mom and Dads generosity, stopping in at Hope to chat with Aunt Jane and Uncle Colin. Aunt Jane is the one to thank for allowing me to take pictures in her garden. Her flowers attract folks all summer long and she sells fresh cut bouquets too. I am green with envy at her green thumb.

This sums up our trip. I hope you have enjoyed coming along.