Category: Uncategorized

McCaulay Point

Moving back to Victoria has proven fruitful in the realm of play and exploration. Some of my best childhood games of “hide and go seek” and “war” had McCaulay Point as the stage; a great day trip location for a boy.

In truth, McCaulay Point provided coastal defense to Victoria and Esquimalt harbors between 1870 and 1950, with the time around 1910 being the most active as the militia was being built then. Nowadays the park remains open to the public (adventurous families, bird watchers, dog walkers, etc.). With only a few areas fenced off to protect indigenous plants, the rest is free to roam.

It is certainly a neat place to take the kids as the (safe) gun turret are fully accessible/ climb-able.

– Jimmy

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3 7This is the tunnel which was built in 1895. It provided controlled (protected) access to supply sheds within the fortification. Nowadays is good for a spooky echo and a mild scare as it is just long enough to feel weary of your exit lies.

  8Here are the kids back in rainy January atop of the old battery command post/observation point.

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Transition

Ever since our return to Canada in December 2013 our life has been a whirlwind of activity.

We have been renting a furnished condo in Victoria since our arrival. We decided to move to move into a non-furnished house which we recently acquired. On top of those two properties we were still paying for our condo in North Vancouver! Also having our vehicle and two storage lockers our life was literally spread out everywhere. Proof is in Jimmy’s key chain – see below!

We are happy to report that we have recently sold our condo in North Vancouver…finally! and we have moved into a nice house in Victoria and no longer have ties to the furnished condo rental here. We actually have all our belongings under one roof for the first time in years. Other good news… I just received permanent work status in my government geology job this past Friday. We are now officially Victorians again 🙂

We have a lot to catch up on friends and we do miss having our blog as a method to share all our wonderful photographs and adventures.

Stay tuned!

 

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blog absence…

Sorry for our three-month absence from posting on our blog. It has been quite the reintegration process for us all. It sure has been fun rediscovering old haunts in Victoria and it has been great to come back to where it all began.

More to come as we get settled in a new home and we sift through our vast collection of photographs 🙂

 

 “Holland Point” just five minutes from where Jimmy grew up in his childhood:

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Australia 2013 – Sydney!

Rerouting our recent trip back home gave us the chance to visit some good friends as well as relatives. Tim & Sarah live in Sydney, Australia with their dog Kione and we scheduled a visit -albeit a fleeting one.

We left Perth late in the evening and arrived very early in the morning. Our awkwardly timed flight found us circling high above so as to burn off time due to the Sydney Airport Curfew Act. By the time we checked into a stupidly-expensive hotel we were exhausted. We agreed to sleep for a few hours to mentally regroup but not defeat the day.

Thankfully, Tim was gracious enough to take groggy-us around once we were properly roused. He took us to many tourist hot spots in record time; the Sydney Opera house, lunch downtown, some famous skate spots, and finally Bondi beach. The kids had a brief nap at the beach so Tim & Jimmy went to skate the famous Bondi bowl while I hung back and did some people watching.

We later met up with Sarah after her day of work and we had fun catching up both in their cute little house and at their neighborhood playground. We wrapped up our full day by visiting one of their favorite local pubs which was kid friendly, had yummy food and tasty beer.

Although it was only the one day that we had in Sydney…it really was a satisfying one full of sunshine, fun friends and fulfilled kids 🙂

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Australia 2013 – Perth!

At times it felt like our global story would never end regardless of chapters ending. Due to travel agent error our previously arranged flights home required re-booking. No longer stuck to a European route home, we opted for a slightly longer path; one via Australia.

Visiting my Uncle Mike and Aunt Christine in Oz has always been on my personal to-do list. I recall discussing a potential visit with my Mom (Mike’s Sister) as far back as high school -as a post grad course of action. Alas, fate finally set the course.

Our flight from Johannesburg went great and the kids once again proved their traveler-prowess. We departed during an electrical storm so the first 20 minutes of our flight was very bumpy which Deanna did not like at all. We arrived in the early evening into Perth after an eleven hour flight and some extra customs grind. We were greeted with warm temperatures similar to Jo’burg and hugs from Mike & Christine.

We spent our time in Perth on the beach, adventuring around parks, a Christmas festival downtown, the Aquarium etc. We went to a lot of places and got a good feel of the city thanks to Mike driving us around our whole stay. The kids really earned their gills as Mike & Christine are avid divers and their personal pool and passion certainly rubbed off. Incidentally, Rhys is also more comfortable around dogs now too. Seems their dog Mitchy left a great impression as Rhys still mentions/misses him to this day.

Even after a ten day visit, Mike and Christine remained gracious hosts. Normally we’d cut any family related visit to a week at maximum for everyone’s sanity, but we were at a loss for flight times due to Aussie schools being let out for the busy Christmas holidays. Rest assured we escaped with necks narrowly un-wrung and hugs still shared upon departure… all the while unsure when we’d be down-under again.

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Visiting Reabold Hill and its view of downtown Perth:4First playground visit of many, just a few steps from our door:5

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Visit to Kings Park:8 9

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Perry Lakes played host to a skateboard demo/ reunion with Jimmy’s cousin Michael-David and his family:17 18

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Mandatory ‘Roo & Koala photo-op at Caversham Wildlife Park:24

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Claire has no fear and loves snakes!39

Our best family photo ever!… ? Complete with wombat:40 41 42

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Day trip to Fremantle aka Freo:47

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Playing in the surf was a favorite activity:52

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“Aqua” aquarium in Hillarys:57 58 59 60 61

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Quick visit to downtown Perth’s chaotic Christmas festival:69 70

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Saying goodbye is never easy…74

Merry Christmas!

We are very behind on our blogging! We left South Africa at the end of November and traveled to Australia. We had a great 9 days in Perth with family & 1 day in Sydney with friends.

We have now made it to Victoria, BC where we will be situated for the next four months. So much change in such a short time! We will update our blog in the New Year with our Australia travel story.

Annual Santa photo wise, we attempted to get one with the kids when we were in Perth. We waited for almost an hour in a line-up before we gave up due to zero progress. While hastily running chores in Vancouver we happened upon a Santa photo booth that had no line-up -imagine that! We were able to get a 2013 photo and the kids were so happy.

We wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and we will catch-up with you all in the New Year!

Love, the Millers (now back safely in Canada)

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Last Africa trip! Clarens, SA

Last weekend we adventured on our last trip in Africa. We decided to go to Clarens which is situated in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains in the Free State province of South Africa. The sandstone mountains were really pretty and reminded us of the drumheller region in Alberta.

This town is an artists haven with so many cute shops, restaurants etc. that surround a town square. It also has a golf course which draws tourists in. The weather was overcast and rainy but it was a fun little get-away that the kids enjoyed.

We are now getting ourselves organized and packed as we leave South Africa at the end of November to begin our journey back to Canada. We will be traveling through Australia to visit friends and family- fun!

Stay tuned for our parting thoughts on our time in South Africa as expats & for more travel/ life stories….

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Whether it’s falling asleep with a lolli stuck in his hair or general hi-jinx, Rhys kept us entertained:2 3

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Claire & Rhys stoked on the 4×4’s sunroof (whilst parked):18

Golf Village

Since our arrival in Johannesburg, we have had a list of things to do and places to visit. Golf Village was on our list and with only weeks away from our departure from Johannesburg back to Canada we finally found time to visit.

The morning we visited golf village it was fairly sunny but once on the greens it turned to wind and rain. We had fun anyway and both realized we were really out of practice.

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