Things have been settling into a normal routine as we wind down from our trip. The weekend after we returned our friends Jaki and Dale stopped in for a visit. They had been in  Idaho for a conference and drove on up to see us,   Vancouver Island is after all on the way back to Minnesota. 

We took them around so they could take photographs. Fortunately the weather was spectacular. They met Barbara, and had fun playing with Geiger and Momiji. We all had a great time.



Speaking of Momiji and Geiger, they have settled into their normal routine of eating, playing and sleeping.  The outdoor wildlife has also settled into their routine as well, much to Geiger's delight. That reminds me, on the way back from Vancouver we flew low over a tiny island with a single house on it. I told Marsha that if we lived there we could let the cats outside. It sounded interesting but she figured the commute would be a real hassle.



The following weekend we went up to Parksville to the sandcastle festival. The theme was the upcoming Olympics. (You did know the 2010 Winter Olympics are in Vancouver and Whistler BC didn't you?) We've only been to a couple of the sand castle events but we're always amazed at what they can do with sand and a little imagination. 




This one titled Olym-Picture we found quite funny



Thin Ice was another one that we laughed at. 



It Has A Ring To It was the 1st place winner. It had an amazing amount of detail and the craftsmanship was exquisite.