Trip Report

The Bus Committee conducted, from June 24 through June 29th, its most extensive 2007 trip. 42 riders visited Canada's, City of Vancouver, Sunshine Coast and Sea to Sky Region and Everett, Washington. The six days of activities, blended natural and man made sites.

Among the riders, we were fortunate to have three family groups: five Baldwin, four Beard, and four Hack relationships.

Vancouver's attractions were: <ul> <li>Buddhist Kuan Yin Temple, second largest Buddhist Temple in North America, an exquisite example of Chinese architecture, classical gardens, large murals and impressive statuary. <li>A visit to Steveston, an attractive, historic fishing village. <li>1894 Gulf of Georgia Cannery, a national historic site and a AAA "Gem, must see point of interest" depicting the fishing industry, 1870 to present, through tour and film. <li>VanDusen Botanical Gardens, another AAA "Gem" ... 55 acres, 7,500 plants. </ul>

Days three and four, spent on The Sunshine Coast, included an enchanting mixture of rural settings, waterways, land projections, islands, unique small towns and four scenic ferry rides. We proceeded north to the tiny, isolated community of Lund, and the head of Hwy. 101. Our overnight was at the 1905 Lund Hotel. We enjoyed a delightful four hour dinner cruise into Desolation Sound, "British Columbia's most beautiful cruising ground". One highlight was the large number of eagles close at hand.

Retracing our path, now south on Hwy 101, we stopped at Powell River, a National Historic District with its company town of 400 craftsmen houses. Our step-on-guide, the former coordinator of their Historic Society and owner of the oldest movie theater in Canada, led us on a fine two hour tour. At her theater, we were treated to outstanding performances from three professional entertainers of our own group. Kathy Madden, a veteran of many stage productions, sang "He has the whole world in his hands" and husband Ron, an opera performer, sang "The Impossible Dream". Both were ably accompanied by pianist Paul Beard. Nice to have these folks drop in from New York City and New Port and share their impressive talents.

Further south, we visited the Shishalh Museum of Hewhiwus or House of Chiefs. The curator shared many accounts of tribal history and today's efforts to maintain their culture. A stop at the Landing in Gibons provided the charm of a beautiful, small, water front setting.

Day five we were in the Sea to Sky Region where we saw: Stawamus Chief, second largest granite monolith in the world (2,139 feet high, with 200 climbing routes); Shannon Falls, six times as high as Niagara; and the B.C. Museum of Mining, a national historic site that was once the Commonwealth's largest copper mine. Most of us enjoyed the mine's underground train ride and tour. We were fortunate to have the supervisor of the Museum as our guide, a very knowledgeable presenter.

Day six, we toured Boeing's Future of Flight Aviation Center with its many interactive displays. We also visited their assembly plant, the largest building in the world. From our perch of five stories up, we had a great view of several planes in various stages of assembly. It turned out that our two hour Boeing schedule was not quite enough for many of our riders.

The Hospitality group, as usual, prepared outstanding fare for our coffee and treat breaks.

Riders were members: Don Baldwin, Ewart Baldwin, Neal Baldwin, Rosemary Baldwin, Barbara Beard, Paul Beard, Paula Beard, Pat Bitner, Kent Christoferson, Mary Ann Cougill, Sharon Cutsforth, Rose Mary Etter, Rachele Fiszman, Barbara Flanders, Dennis Flanders, Jeannette Forsman, Virginia Gilbreath, Bette Hack, Dora Harris, Mary Ann Holser, Marjorie Jackson, Ben Jeffries (leader), Pat Jeffries, Rosella Jones, Verna Kocken, Dorothy Leland, Kathy Madden, Ron Madden, Barbara Payne, Don Payne (co-leader), Virginia Prouty, Liz Reanier, Dorothy Sistrom, Julia Snell, Bonnie Ward, Christy White and Vera Wooley; and nonmembers: Pene Ballini, Ron Baur, Sharon Clark, Mary Reynoldson and Lucille West.