ATLANTA – 11 MAY

PHOTO : Luc with his Field Day Team.

Back to school for Luc, who really struggles to get up and does not want to do to school. In the end we are very happy that he went. It is the annual Field Day at school, where they play fun sports and games. The parents have muffins and tea to start the day with. I go home and promise to come back a bit later. In the end (after a nice lunch with Liz and more boutique shopping!), I get there right at the end of all the events! But Luc is very happy to see me (and I hope he still has no sense of time!). I go to the classroom with them and hang out until it is time to go home. He refuses to go with me – it is the bus for him! Friday night is girls night out and Liz has organized for us to go to a Gwen Stephanie show. I show my age by not really knowing who she is, but don’t feel too badly about it when I realize that Claude also doesn’t know who she is. Luc is histerical when he realizes that he has to go with Mike (without his mother!). It takes some negotiation and then Mike, Michael (in the pram) and Luc (hanging on to Mike because he insisted on wearing his Heely’s!). We go off in Heidi’s convertible for tapas and sangria. We only get to the concert at 9. Heidi and Liz goes off to the front (VIP’s) and the old ladies (Claude and myself) to the grass section. It was raining, so this area is not very full. We get good seats, high up and chill out on the grass. The show is very young! Dancing is great and her back-up singer fab! It starts raining right at the end and we crawl in under our “illegal” umbrella (which the security failed to detect!). We then go to the most decadent coffee shop, with some really amazing desserts to choose from. So we all get a decadent cake dessert and chat (will rather not reveal more info on the very interesting conversation we had!!!) until late. When we finally get home (3 in the morning) we find Luc and Mike in front of the television, fast asleep! I struggle to sleep after all the sweetness of the cake!

VANCOUVER/ATLANTA – 10 MAY

We spend the whole day traveling. It is very early start, but we are in time at the airport and managed to get a quick breakfast in. We fly from Vancouver to Dallas and from there to Atlanta. Luc really loves the sky train at Dallas Airport and is by now a seasoned user! Finally on the flight to Atlanta and all the time changes are busy confusing us a lot. When we get ready to leave the plane, the black man in front of us turns around and asks us where in SA we are from! Turns out that he is from Pietersburg, came to the States 20 years ago on a scholarship and never went home. He was really happy to speak Afrikaans! We are very happy to see Mike at the airport and chill out with Liz looking at Hanlie Kotze artwork the rest of the evening. Eventually realizing that my watch is still behind and that it was already 10:30 – and long past Luc’s bed time!

VANCOUVER 9 MAY

PHOTOS : Luc with Vancouver mountains. View tower.

Today we take the Hop On Hop Off bus again. Luc wants to go to the aquarium in Stanley Park. It is a long slow drive and we get there at 11. The aquarium turns out to be wonderful entertainment. We start off with a “scuba diver” show. I am not interested in the diver but in the most interesting fish (some that I have not seen in 14 years of diving!). The beluga whale show is stunning. We opt to sit downstairs in the underwater viewing area – they are really amazing animals! The displays are very interactive and I have my hands full to get Luc out of there. We take the bus around the city to our hotel stop. We need to get a suitcase and the shop is directly across Luc’s favorite sushi shop, Tsunami sushi, and we end up eating sushi again. We get back to the bus stop and after 45 minutes of waiting (should be 15 minutes!), a bus arrives. We flash our tickets and get on – to realize with a shock that we got onto the opposition’s bus!!! It takes us through Chinatown and Gastown, were we quickly jump off – just in time to see the famous Gastown clock reaching the hour. We go home and get dressed quickly. Tonight we are meeting Kristi, who just flew in from SA, for dinner. We find a stunning Italian place and after great company and food, we finally get home.

VANCOUVER – 8 MAY

Today we are planning to take the Hip Hop bus around town. We walk to the stop at Canada Place and manage to find place on a trolley. The ride is a lot of fun and we see most of the great spots and even take an extensive drive through Stanley Park, situated at the point of downtown. It is a massive park/forest and we can see the devastation of the storms they had in December. It is a long ride and it takes us 1 and half hour to get to our get off point – which is the ferry to Granville Island – a little island with great shopping and food market. By this time Luc is hungry again and we eat a very traditional fish and chips. I take him to the Kids Shopping mall – and it takes hours to finally get him out of there! Very happy as we got him his first Heely’s shoes. We eat a pastry from the famous pastry shop on the square and discover a really good singer – Luc so taken we have to buy a CD. Luc also creates some entertainment, as he tries on this shoes with wheels and everyone is in stitches! We take the promenade walk to the Vancouver Maritime Museum, with the real life size exploration antique boat. Once again I struggle to get Luc out. Lots of miniature replicas of all kinds of boats. We take the ferry back to the market where we get some good wholesome dinner to take to the hotel. We have to run to make the bus and once again dead tired when we get to the hotel. Luc put on his “wheely” shoes (as he calls it) and falls asleep with it!!!

VANCOUVER - 7 MAY

PHOTO : Room at the Victorian Inn Hotel

We are out in the streets early in the morning (9:30). And hit the best shopping street (by accident – not planned!!!). Luc is hungry early in the day and has been asking for Sushi for a while. We discover one of the most popular sushi restaurant in town – beautiful little boats circling from where you can choose your food. Luc loves this and cannot stop eating!! He charms two ladies sitting next to us and by the time we leave they know all about South Africa! We take the Skytrain to the Science Museum (and get harassed again by the druggies). This stop is an instant hit! We do the Omnimax – big Imax but with round screen that goes around you! Luc does not know where to look. And then hours of playing with all sorts of stunning gadgets – even mother is entertained! The next stop is the Vancouver Lookout tower - all 50 stories of it! Vancouver is a really beautiful mix of city, water and mountains full of snow. It reminds me a little bit of Cape Town and I can understand why people love the city. The downtown area is really small in comparison to the downtown areas of other cities and is clean and nice to walk in. We walk back and end up in the Pavillion shopping centre (not planned!), but Luc is hungry and feeling miserable, so we have Thai and salad in the food court. Early night again – Luc is exhausted!

WHISTLER & VANCOUVER - 6 MAY

We are up early to have a last bath – with the jets working! At 9 we are at the ticket booth for the ski lifts. The lady behind the counter hears the two of us speaking and the next thing we are having an conversation in Dutch and Afrikaans (she is from Holland and so happy to be able to speak her language!!!). Going up is not as scary as the first time. This time we go up the second slope and on our way up Luc spots 3 brown bears in the forest below us!! All I can think is imagine coming down the slope on your skis and the next moment there is a beer family in front of you!!!! Now I know why I don’t ski! We get to the top and decide not to go higher as it starter raining softly. Luc runs around in the snow and then it starts snowing softly!!! This is our first time in falling snow!! Luc moans because we cannot go up the next ski lift – which is a little open car. Eventually I feel really bad – and also realising that we might not get this opportunity again – so I give in. We are the only two people in Denims and sneakers on the slope and the attendant feels so sorry for us that she gives us two disposable plastic rain jackets. We have no idea of how to get on the car – and no time to think, cause it is jump and go – flying up high in the air and I am trying to hold Luc and get the safety bar down!!! And it is real Strydom luck, as the snow starts coming down and we can barely see in front of us. We are cold and wet and freezing! All that Luc can say is “My hands are dead!!!”. But both of us try to make the most of it and enjoy the moment … HA HA HA !!!! When we get to the top we decide not to get off but to go straight back down. But a little problem with that plan, as the safety bar hooks the emergency stop cable (cause it was down and was not supposed to be down!) and we manage to stop the whole line!!!! Never a dull moment when the Strydoms are around!!). We finally get down – frozen but happy. We go for lunch at one of the pubs – bad food, but great fire! Then it is time to get to the train back to Vancouver. The Whistle Mountaineer is a tourist train and Luc loves it! We get drinks, snacks, stunning scenery and good commentary. It is a really beautiful ride and such a stunning country. The bus driver of the transfer bus is so kind he drops us off right at our hotel (which is not on the route). In the street we meet the first of many, many beggars (most of the drug addicts), begging for money. I was a bit concerned about the hotel and mixed reviews, but we get a really nice room (with microwave and fridge) and great street views. Exhausted by the time we get to bed.
REFLECTION:
I ask the lady at the counter if it is safe to walk in the streets at night. So she tells us where to go and where not to go – and area with “crime”. So I ask her what sort of crime. And she replies “beggars and drug users who will ask for money” (!!!!!). Wonder what she will say about South Africa? WAR!!!!!

WHISTLER 5 MAY

Up early in the morning. We are now ready for the jet bath in our room. First problem – we cannot get the tap open. Finally a young man from reception sorts it out. Only to discover that the jets aren’t working!! We decide not to bother him again and to ask them later to fix it. We take the morning off to stroll through the village. Luc falls in love with the river in town and all the copper artwork around it. We pop in and out of all the little shops and even bump into South Africans (who recognise me!!!!). The jungle gym (that looks like it could come out of Lord of the Rings) is a big hit and I struggle to get Luc away from there! The next stop is just as popular – the Glass Elevator Sweet shop – where poor Luc just cannot decide what he wants. I manage to buy a beautiful swimming costume (in the heart of a ski resort!!!). But then I must add that all the hotels have hot tubs and pools. We grab quick lunch at the local shop and then take the bus to the sport centre. It is time for the local skating club’s annual skating extravaganza. It turns out to be very entertaining!!! From little kids to the University figure skating champion. The kids were so entertaining and the costumes divine! The name is Splash and it is all about the sea – from scuba divers to a big great white shark!! We get back to the village by 4 and then Luc decides it is time to go up the mountain. We see that the notice says the mountain is closed, but the gondola operator tells us to jump in. We go up in a closed gondola and of course there are lots of screams and laughter – Luc because of pure enjoyment and his mother because of pure terror!!! We can only go to the first stop, but I promise Luc that we will go back in the morning.
It is cold so we decide to have nice dinner in our room and just chill out.
THE BATH STORY: When we got back to our room at lunch time, we saw a note that said that the bath was fixed. I try the jet knob on the bath and it is still not working, so when we leave for the show I tell reception this. When we get back to the room in the evening, there is a little note from the maintenance man, informing us that the jet switch is behind the door – and on top of the note a big chocolate!!!! So challenged – these tourists!!!!