Travels in Beautiful BC and Kenya

Hi everyone,

I trust you all had a great weekend and are looking forward to the week ahead. I have a little of this and that to share with you today. It has been a busy time in so many ways.

My niece was here visiting me in Vancouver, British Columbia, all last week.  We had a very nice visit together and managed to make it out to a few scenic spots in town where we enjoyed the scenery and beaches, went to the movies, visited her brother and had a small birthday party with pizza and cake. She always looks forward to the birthday cake.

Downtown in the West end of Vancouver near Davie St.& Beach Ave. People everywhere were enjoying ice cream. There was a nice breeze at the beach.

A view from the beach to the west. There are ships and sailboats everywhere!

The Honda barge being readied for the Celebration of Lights (Fireworks) competition which begins July 25/15.

 Saturday we travelled home together and I had a chance to visit with my mom for a few hours too.

On my last visit with mom I took her one full slip but she needed a few more. I finally got around to making them and two long flowing dresses last week (I didn't get any good photos).  These will take her through the Summer and into the Fall seasons though I will probably make her another dress and a few more slips before winter arrives.

 We also took her a mini CD player. It was hard to find one that was just the right size and which came with a remote control. My brother finally went across the border to Bellingham, Washington to find one.

On the map you can see Bellingham in relation to Vancouver, and also Kamloops to the north where we travelled on Saturday.

The skies were overcast and very gray when we started our journey.  Our final destination was Kamloops which takes between 4-5 hours driving one way (this includes restroom stops and lunch or dinner stops).
The temperature was about 24 degrees Celsius on departure.   By late afternoon in Kamloops the temperature had soared to 34 degrees Celsius.

I'm posting a few scenic photos taken from the moving car. We travelled on the Coquihalla Highway

Big farm and silos in Chilliwack.

 I've posted scenes of this route before in several other posts.

 I always find the scenery very beautiful and ever changing depending on light of day and the seasons of the year.

Cornfields of Chilliwack. Hot weather is playing havoc with this year's crops.

Rocky mountain and babbling brook between the City of Chilliwack and the town of Hope.

Getting close to the town of Merritt. The landscape changes to sand and desert spaces.

Leaving Merritt and a view of the lake to the east.

Getting closer to Kamloops

The descent into Kamloops

View to the north.  I brightened this photo a bit so you can see the town better.

I took a few photos of the flora and fauna along the way. I think this photo was taken between Merritt and Kamloops.

This is actually a view from the mountains on the highway travelling south to Vancouver just after dusk.

While I was travelling a few hours north to see my mom,  one of my Kenyan friends was also travelling north in Kenya.

This was Jonah's monthly missions trip to the Pokot people.

The volunteer missions team makes a quick weekend trip to these people in the very dry desert area of Kenya.
It takes about 12 hours one way travelling from Kericho to Marsabit area.

I found a map which doesn't have too many places marked on it so you can easily find the start of the route and the destination.

The drought in northern Kenya is very bad this year and the people are very hungry. 

 I am sharing these photos and a short video in hopes some of my readers will feel inspired to help with the regular missions to these dear ones in Pokot country.

This video of the women singing and dancing really touched me.
I know the harsh conditions they live in and yet they can sing and dance in the sweltering heat.

Photo & Video Credits: Pokot photos & video by Jonah, Kenya Missions of Hope

Joining in with Lady Fi and others at Our World Tuesday

Thank you for your visit.

As always I love receiving your comments or hearing from you about the missions.x

 ~~~~~~

If you can help, kindly send your donations via Pay Pal to kerichojoy[at]gmail[dot]com 

 You can write also write me at the same address if you have any questions,
or if you have any problems viewing the video.

Scenic Sunday in Kamloops

Kamloops, British Columbia is a very different place from where I live in Vancouver. Kamloops is about 4 hours drive north and is located in what is called the Interior of the province. It is cattle country and for years this small city was more like a frontier town.

[Panoramic shot of the North Shore, Kamloops]

I'm happy to say that in the past decade or so things have changed a lot. New commercial buildings have gone up aplenty. New areas of the city have seen significant residential development and there are new facilities and services to be used such as the new downtown library and the one that will open on April 19, 2010 on the north shore. There are also new hotels and restaurants.

[Photo of the newest hotel opened in February 2010]

If you are a golfer there are numerous golf resorts. If you are a mountain biker, the city is known for it's mountain bike trails. If you love the outdoors the entire region is known for fishing and camping. If you like hot weather you are also in luck as the summer temperatures can frequently get over 30ºCelsius. So you will likely want to hang out in one of the city's many beautiful parks just to stay cool and relax. Or you might participate in a community or national event like Canada's birthday on Canada Day, July 1st.

[Collage of photos taken at park on Canada Day 2009. 
Click on photo to enlarge]

Whatever you want to do, you will likely be able to do it in Kamloops. But you better hurry. Those real estate prices have been going up, up and up.

Here now are a few photos taken downtown in February 2010.

[Plaza Hotel, a landmark in the city centre]

[Zack's Coffee shop, a long time business in downtown core]

[City sidewalks are nice and wide downtown and planter pots await Spring]

[Traffic is not exceptionally heavy]

[Buildings downtown retain their history. Big malls are on the hill & across the river]

[This mall has undergone about 3 complete renovations in last 40 years]

[One of the local radio stations]

[Bus routes are extensive and run every 15-30 minutes depending on time of day]

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Day Trip to Kamloops, My World Tuesday

Driving to Kamloops, BC. We are at the highest elevation of the mountainous highway.

Passing by Merritt, BC.  One hour left to go before we get to Kamloops.

Today my brother, my cousin and I took a day drive to Kamloops to visit my mother.  We left around 7:45 a.m. and arrived in Kamloops at 12:30 p.m. after a leisurely drive and several stops. I only took a couple of photos along the way.  After stopping for some lunch we arrived to visit mom. She was waiting in the dining hall anxiously keeping watch for us and was so happy when we arrived.

We visited for a time in the dining hall and I showed her the shawls and dresses I had brought for her. She loved them all.  After visiting for awhile my brother went to pick up my niece who lives about a half hour from where mom now resides.  When he returned, we left my brother to visit my mom in private while I took my cousin for a look around the facilities and took my niece to see the new rose garden that is now open at the facility.

As soon as we opened the door to the garden, the fragrance of the roses was heavenly.  I took a few photos as the blossoms were so lovely.  There were about 6 or 7 varieties of roses in the garden but I took photos of these beautiful red blossoms only.

Afterwards, my cousin and I took mom to her room where we tried on her dresses as best we could given she was sitting in her wheelchair. My guess is that the staff will cut the new dresses up the back to make them easier to wear. Hopefully they won't wash them. I will have to retrieve them later and sew some seams up the back.  She loved both dresses but I think the red one particularly caught her eye.  While we were trying on her dresses my brother drove my niece back to her home.

We visited awhile longer with mom and took her back to the dining room for dinner before calling my nephew to come and meet his auntie for a quick visit. We visited with him briefly in the parking lot before we departed at 5:45 p.m. for the drive back to Vancouver. He usually wants a real quick visit so we were careful to take little of his time. This time he asked why the rush, lol. We may seem him this weekend when he makes a trip to the big city.  Soon he will be moving to my city permanently as he has given up his job to return to university and complete his Bachelor of Arts degree.

We made it home at approximately 9:45 p.m.  We were all very tired as none of us slept well last night but all in all we had a fruitful and pleasant visit.

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More Images of Kamloops

It's been a week or so now since I returned home from Kamloops. I didn't get a chance to post some of my photos when I was there. I am always too busy when there to do much sightseeing or blogging in the way I would like.

Hopefully these snap shots I captured on my errand days will give you a good sense of the area. Maybe I can get some photos of different areas next time. You can click on any of the photos to enlarge.

I also found this wonderful and short video tonight. I am not a mountain biker but Kamloops is a well known area for mountain biking so for those fans, you might really like this. I think it also gives a good view of the surrounding terrain. Isn't it beautiful?

Click here to learn more about the city and surrounding area.

Click here to visit some Kamloops webcams

Click here for a map to see where Kamloops is located.