Bowes Updates

After the epic party that was Kristy & Peri’s wedding, Des and I headed off for a couple days of recovery on the Whitsunday Islands. These are just into the tropics along Australia’s east coast, and are absolutely beautiful. We went for a nice long bushwalk to the peak of the island (it doesn’t look that high, but in 40º heat, it’s a tough slog!), took a cruise to Whitehaven (quite well named – the beach is an ultra-fine white silica sand that makes a squeaking noise when you walk), and relaxed in paradise for a bit.  Did a bit of snorkeling too…at the time, I thought it was pretty cool (we hadn’t been to the main body of the Great Barrier Reef yet).  

Though worth it, it’s a bit of a pain to get here – the flight and ferry schedules are both infrequent and expensive.  Airlie Beach is an alternative way to get there (we flew into Hamilton Island).  Photos are here, and videos are here

Day 1 in Australia: Lauren met us at the airport, and we drove up to Avoca Beach for Kristy & Peri’s wedding (more on that soon). It was a gorgeous couple of days getting past our jetlag, and acclimatizing to the Australian summer (from the Canadian winter).  Should you find yourself in the neighborhood, Terrigal was a nice town with a great pub.  More photos here.

Jon had a course in Orlando, so we took the opportunity to spend the weekend at Disney (neither of us had been before). There happened to be a food and wine festival on at Epcot, so that ended up being the highlight. Space Mountain was pretty awesome, too!  The Small World ride fully delivered the kitschy awesomeness we expected. The rest of the photos are here.

A few of the Stantec crew (and Jon) went out to Niagara-on-the-Lake for a short tour of the Tawse winery and the wine college (plus a nice brew pub for lunch).  Pictures here

Erin adn Al got married in Saskatoon. The ceremony was lovely and the reception was a great time for seeing old friends..  Photos here.

After a company celebration on Friday, we spent the weekend touring Chicago.  Tried some famous pizza…while tasty, the pie crust just doesn’t work for me.  The architectural boat tour is an absolute must-see and the Cloud Gate in Millenium Park is the only installation that I’m willing to grant is clearly “art”.  The Magnificent Mile…meh, its just a mile of chain stores – you’re better off online.  Photos here

What did we do for Canada Day?  A 4 day canoeing trip, complete with portaging, felling trees, and pooping in the woods in the Canadian shield.  Doesn’t get much more stereotypical than that!  More photos here

Headed down for a weekend in Vegas with some old (and new) friends from London for Sheena’s birthday.  Stayed at the Bellagio, fired off the biggest handgun in the world (S&W .500), went for a couple rides on the Stratosphere, visited a couple clubs, and generally had a great time! 

Full photos here

Took in some Olympic action in Vancouver.  Spent a night in Seattle before heading up.  Had hockey tickets to see the Latvians against the Czechs and the Belarusians against the Swiss, then curling tickets to see the Canadian women take on the US.  Turns out, the curling had even more atmosphere than the hockey!  Watched the first US-Canada game in an old theatre converted with an HD projector.  Heck of a show, shame about the outcome…of course we all know how the rematch went!  Caught up with some old friends and wandered around the city.  Vancouver really put on a good show! Photos.