We were warmly welcomed by the Langley Club at their lunchtime meeting on Wednesday 8 May. They were hosting Wally Buono, general manager of the BC Lions rugby team and he drew a decent crowd! Our presentation also went well and then it was time to get settled with our host families. We were hosted in the evening by Linda and Hans at their home for some welcome drinks and outstanding food.

Thursday was our vocational day and once again everyone was well-hosted and well-matched with Canadian counterparts. A pub dinner Thursday night was another chance to catch up with members of the Langley club.

The lovely weather has continued and on Friday we headed to Grouse Mountain where we finally got to see bears! They were in an enclosure but they were grizzlies, they were close and they gave us reason to celebrate with a Grizzly Bear cocktail (lager, Jack Daniel’s, lemonade and ginger ale). Also reason to celebrate was Dan’s birthday and we took every opportunity we had to sing happy birthday – up the gondola, down the gondola, in the carpark, at the restaurant. Everywhere. We enjoyed coffee and cake (and some more B.C wines!) at Dan’s host house and it was an early birthday shout for Bruce as well who celebrates on Monday.

Saturday the sun was still shining and we headed to Fort Langley for a tour. Well set-up tourist attraction, although they should probably make the chairs a little bigger……
Following lunch at the Fort Pub we headed to Domaine de Chaberton, an award-winning winery formerly owned by Nadia’s host. We were treated to a full tour and tasting – outstanding! Our thanks to Inge for arranging this. Then it was on to Township 7 winery for more tasting and soaking up the sun. Our farwell bbq was hosted by Bruce’s host and we enjoyed our first taste of moose meat, 90-year-old port and the Rotarians were treated to a haka courtesy of our boys. Thanks to Dan’s hosts who then hosted the after-party!

Sunday was a relatively quiet day and most of the team joined in on Mother’s Day celebrations. Monday was time for farewells and it was time to head Stateside for a couple days’ rest before we meet the Monroe Club on Wednesday.

We are all having an absolutely wonderful experience and learning new things about ourselves, our vocations and each other all the time. The Group Study Exchange is a fantastic opportunity for international collaboration. On that note it is with sadness that we read of the sudden death of Toni-Lee Hayward who was three weeks into her Group Study Exchange trip to England. Our thoughts are with Toni-Lee’s family, team and the multitude of friends she had no doubt made on her tour.

We finished off our stay in the Tri-Cities area with our vocational days which were hugely beneficial. Our thanks to everyone who made these possible. Thanks also to the wonderful host families who set the standard very high.

Our trip to Chilliwack detoured via Sandpiper Golf Course – an absolutely stunning setting where we enjoyed coffee and watched the planes land on Sandpiper’s own airstrip. Then it was on to Chilliwack where we met our wonderful guides Donna and Walter who took us for a delicious lunch and then on to Cultus Lake. We were lucky to enjoy a bit of a heatwave and took in the lake scenery as temperatures hit 28C – definitely not typical May weather. Stopped in at Earl’s for a drink then met our host families at the Rotary happy hour.

Saturday we headed to Hell’s Gate Canyon and Harrison Lake. It was another picture-perfect day, topped off by a ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’ event where the team split up to be wined and dined by local Rotarians in their homes. Fantastic nights – and some interesting conversations! – had by all. The generosity (and wine collections) of Rotarians is overwhelming.

Sunday was a rest morning and then it was on to the Blue Heron Reserve and Rotary River Trail in the afternoon. A record high of 31.5 was recorded that day so there wasn’t a lot of activity happening in the reserve but it was nice to be outdoors. We made good use of Marie’s pool that evening (she is bravely hosting BOTH Dan and Stephen) and enjoyed some Cinco de Mayo fare.

Have collected so many photos and so many stories and we haven’t even been here a fortnight! Very thankful to be part of this amazing experience with a fantastic group of people.

First for me – playing full round of golf at Cultus Lake Golf Course(golfcultus.com).  Teed off at 6.20pm & finished 8.40pm with my hosts Don & Dorothy Field.  What a stunning course, had 6 pars & 1 birdie!! Not bad using hired clubs & not playing for a month.

Having lunch at Dockside in Granville Island and the beer list has the alcohol percentage and the acronym IBU = international bitterness unit. How interesting!

This wine tastes like red wine and chocolate all mixed in together!!!! Amazing!!!!

Had the most delicious lunch.

Watching the ice hockey game at the pub.

The Trans-Canadian railway used to terminate at Port Moody. So the Rotary club of Port Moody is also known as the ‘golden spike’ because when they finished the railway they used to take a golden spike and nail it in to the ground to commemorate the end of the line. We have just been given some – they aren’t golden but they are real railway spikes and painted gold. Thank you Port Moody!!!

At the museum of anthropology

Greg and Clive are our Rotarian hosts for the day, and Bruce gets cozy with the locals.

This place is PACKED with artefacts hundreds of years old.

The carvings here have some similarities to Maori carvings, but no where near as detailed. The head dress on the right of the picture looks amazing.

Real headdress … Awesome!!!!

The Raven and the First Nations People. This statue is very big, and represents 2 cultures coming together. Not sure how, but incredible sculpture none the less.