Monday, January 11, 2010

Victoria

Victoria has a latitude and longitude of 48° 26' 0" North and 123° 21' 0" West

Victoria has a population of 78,057 people

Victoria has a population density of 3965.5/km2

The landforms in Victoria are mostly mountains and forestry

During the middle of July, the climate in Victoria was around 19 °C and it was very dry, although we did once get a little bit of rain

Victoria is a part of the Pacific Maritime ecozone

Victoria’s closest national park is a historical national park called San Juan, but the Pacific Rim is the closest nation park

• Victoria's industries include of logging, forestry, fishing, and hunting

• Victoria's tourism is very good

We finally reached our final destination, Victoria. It only took a couple of hours, including a boat, to get here, but it was worth it


When we arrived, the sun had set and the dark clouds covered the skies with blackness. We pulled over to a hotel called the Brentwood Bay Lodge, which over looked the Pacific ocean. In the morning, you could see the odd killer whale jumping above the water in the distance.










After we ate our breakfast, we hopped back into the car to visit the Royal B.C museum. At the museum we saw different exhibits and galleries, one of them was a look at the First Nations cultures before and after the Europeans had arrived. One of the cool galleries was the Natural history gallery. There you got to go through the changing environments of Victoria.




Few days later, my mom wanted to go for a drive around Victoria's, very popular, scenic drive. The drive started at Dallas Road and went all the way along to Cattle Point. Along the way, you could see sail boats sailing in the ocean and the different sizes of the mountains. When we finally reached Cattle Point, we walked to the very end to get a glimpse of the Cattle Point Lighthouse, which is located on the San Juan Island Nation Historic park. The lighthouse was very beautiful, it kind of looked the lighthouse they used in the movie, the ring. The lighthouse was very tall and was bleech white.


We later walked back to our car to drive back to the hotel, for tomorrow we would be leaving back for St. John's to return our rental car and catch our flight back home.


So, I guess this will be my last blog on my family trip because next time, I'll be home.




Sites Used



http://www.travelmath.com/city/Victoria,+Canada



http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-550/Index.cfmTPL=P1C&Page=RETR&LANG=Eng&T=302&SR=1&S=1&O=A&RPP=9999&CMA=0&PR=59
http://arbutushillbedandbreakfast.com/Viclimate.htm



http://canadianbiodiversity.mcgill.ca/english/ecozones/pacificmaritime/pacificmaritime.htm


http://www.victoriabc.com/main.php?area=113


http://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/MainSite/default.aspx


Sites Used for Photos




http://www.gazebo-victoria.com/victoria-maps.html


http://www.davidsuzuki.org/_Email_Archive/email10140801.asp

http://www.victoriabcguide.com/images/Prbcmuseum.JPG


http://i.pbase.com/u34/mgmoogk/large/22479598.PacificNorthwest2CattlePointLighthouse.jpg

Kelowna



Kelowna has a latitude and longitude of 49° 54' 0" North and 119° 29' 0" West

Kelowna has a population of 106,707 people

Kelowna has a population density of 504.1/km2

Kelowna’s landforms had a lot of mountains and the area was filled with forestry

During our journey in Kelowna in July, the climate was over 23 °C, with the sun shining high above the sky.

Kelowna is part of the Montane Cordillera

Kelowna closest national park is North Cascades

• Kelowna's industries includes of mostly forestry, urbanization, agriculture and fishing

• Kelowna's tourism is steady


Welcome to Kelowna. Population of 106,707. The sign read as we drove past it.
I looked out through the right window of the car to see mountains taller than the hotels we have been staying at, and forest greener than the grass covering my front lawn. Kelowna was absolutely beautiful.

We parked the car in front of the Okanagan lake to swim and maybe, even search for the famous "sea monster", Ogopogo. We changed into our bathing suites at the beaches restrooms. My sister and I raced into the lake jumping as high as we could into the water, and boy was it ever cold, but we adjusted to it...quickly.
Dad would always grab our ankles pretending to be Ogopogo, but the only person he scared was me. After all the fun in the water, day became night and it was time to get our binoculars out and search for Ogopogo. There was a group of tourists all gathering together to do the search, so we joined in with them. At one point, I thought I saw the head of something, but turned out it was just a rock out in the lake. After an hour of searching, we decided we would go check into a hotel and order room service.

The next couple of days we visited some of the wineries, for my mom and dad. One of the wineries we visited was called Gray Monk. The Gray Monk wine estate is located near the Okanagan lake, and in front of Kelowna's hills and mountains, giving the winery a breath taking view. We joined other people on a tour of the winery, which they gave mom, dad, and my sister five samples of their wine, while I got their homemade grape juice, which, might I say, was delicious.

The last activity we did before we departed for Victoria, was a hike in the mountains. With so many trails to choose from, we choose the Knox Mountain trail. The Knox Mountain trail was filled with chirping birds, and had a lot of steep hills, but I thought the steep hills made it more challenging. When we had finally made it to the top of the mountain, the view was spectacular! You could see the Okanagan lake with the forest and towns surrounding it, just beautiful. As we were walking back down the mountain to the vehicle, I knew I was going to miss the scenery and the chance to actually find Ogopogo...if it even did exist.

Well, time to log off, for I will be traveling to Victoria, the final piece of our Journey.

Sites Used

http://www.travelmath.com/city/Kelowna,+Canada


http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-550/Index.cfm

http://canadianbiodiversity.mcgill.ca/english/ecozones/montanecordillera/montanecordillera.htm

http://www.graymonk.com/

http://www.tourismkelowna.com/visitors/thingstodo/trails.php#Knox

Sites Used for Pictures

http://gocanada.about.com/od/canadatravelplanner/ig/CanadaMaps.0v/BritishColumbiaMap.htm

http://www.bestwesternwinecountry.com/images/CommanFile/EVTOkanagan_LakeOkanagan_Lake.jpg

http://www.ogopogomonster.com/photos.htm

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/MyE30m_ZpU/SpLbDUMwDHI/AAAAAAAAAXY/BVILFSSEZic/s400/Gray+Monk.JPG

http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/photo473771.htm

Thunder Bay



Thunder Bay has a latitude and longitude of 48° 24' 0" North and 89° 14' 0" West

Thunder Bay has a population of 109,140 people

Thunder Bay has a population density of 332.3/km2

The landforms in Thunder Bay are very hilly and has lots of steep hills. There is also an island, located in Lake Superior, which looks like a giant laying on its back, it is called the sleeping giant.

During our stay in Thunder Bay in July, the climate ranged between 18 ° C and 20 °C. There wasn’t any humidity, thank god, because of being so close to Lake Superior the climate is cooler in the summers.

Thunder Bay is a part of Boreal Shield

Thunder Bay’s closest national park is called Isle Royale, or the sleeping giant
• Thunder Bay's industries include fishing, hunting and forestry
• Thunder Bay's tourisms is good because of the famous sleeping giant is there

One moment we were home, the next moment we were in St. John's, then we were in Quebec City, now we were in Thunder Bay. Where does the time go?

When we arrived in Thunder Bay in the early morning, giving us more time to see the attractions of the area, I thought it would be cool to wander around the famous sleeping giant. The sleeping giant is a peninsula close to Thunder Bay. The only problem was we had to find the boat that would take us to the peninsula. Lucky for us, a local citizen pointed us the way to find the boat, which would take us to the sleeping giant. When we got to the boat, the guy checking the tickets said that in order to buy tickets you would have to order them a week before time, therefore, we could not aboard the boat, so we went out for dinner, then back to the hotel called the Prince Arthur Waterfront. The beautiful thing about the hotel is that it overlooked the sleeping giant.

In the Morning, it was off to the land of Gouda! Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10am the cheese farm, Thunder Oak Cheese, allows you to watch the process of how the cheese is made. Thunder Oak Cheese Farm is the only farm in Ontario that makes Gouda cheese. When we reached the farm, we entered the building to a strong scent of Gouda cheese. The workers gave us a tour of the farm and showed us the process of making good cheese. Near the end of the tour, my mom bought a small, very small package of Gouda cheese to take on the trip, but as soon as she opened the package, our rented Toyota smelled like Gouda cheese for the rest of the day.

Thunder Bay was fun, but we cut our trip short to only three days instead of six, so we could get to Kelowna sooner and climb up mountains!

Kelowna, here we come!


Sites Used

Sites Used for Photos
http://grannyrantson.blogspot.com/2008/09/my-favourite-view-in-canada-sleeping.html
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyjohn/1/1250911785/tpod.html




Quebec City




Quebec City has a latitude and longitude of 46° 48' North and 71° 15'0" West.

Quebec City has a population of 491,142 people

The population density of Quebec city is 1081.2 /km2

Quebec City’s landforms are small hills, but mostly flat grounds

Quebec City’s climate during the month of June was around 25°C every day. There wasn’t much rain during our stay, but there was a lot of humidity, which would make the temperature feel as if it were around 30°C

The ecozone Quebec City is a part of is known as, the Mixedwood Plains

Parc National de Forillon is Quebec City’s closest national park, the park is can be located in the Gaspe Peninsula

Quebec City's industries includes mainly of business in tourism, manufacturing, public transit and industrial powerhouse
Quebec City's Tourism is and will always be strong because of all of the historical sites it has

After hours of driving, we have finally reached our second destination, Quebec City.

Still driving in our rented car, we drove to a comfortable hotel known as Hôtel Quartier. The best thing about the hotel is that is has an indoor pool, with a hot tub. But, before we could leave to go swimming we had to eat some food, to feed our hungry stomachs. We left our hotel and drove to a restaurant, known as Casa Grecque, recommended from a friend. The restaurant serves nothing but Greek food, and boy, was the food ever tasty. After our food had time to digest, it was time to hit the pool and swim, but the pool was closed, so we decided to watch a movie in our room. Seeing as we were in Quebec City, all the movies where french movies with English subtitles, so we just went to bed.

During our stay, we visited the Village Vacances Valcartier, the largest water park in all of North America. With over 20 water slides, my family and I were constantly running from slide to slide. When we got back to the hotel, we fell asleep as soon as we hit the beds. The next couple of days we visited some museums, one of the museums was called Musée de la civilisation. It was a museum based on civilization, but unlike any kind of museum, this one was different. The museum had activities that we could do and it allowed us to interact with the exhibits, which to me, was very cool.

Before we left Quebec City, we stopped at d'Arbre en Arbre Duchesnay. This is a place to climb and walk from tree top to tree top. My mom chickened out because of how high you were from above the ground, but she didn't know what she was missing. The view was beautiful, you could see the birds nests below in the tree branches, and the squirrels poking their heads out of the holes deep into the tree trunks.


Quebec City was a lot fun, but i just can't wait to get to Calgary.

Sites Used

Sites Used For Photos



St. John's






  • The Latitude and Longitude for St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada is 47° 37' North and 52° 45' West


  • St. John's has a population of 100,646


  • St. John's has a population density of 225.6/km2


  • St. John's has some small hills and cliffs leading off to many of the beaches, but otherwise, St. John's is mostly made up of flat grounds

  • St. John's climate during the month of June was around 15°C and 18°C with a ton of rain. Everyday it was either rainy or dark clouds with a bit of sun
  • St. John's is part of the Boreal Shield ecozone

  • St. John's closest nation park is Terra Nova National Park, which is located across the Trinity Bay

  • St. John's industries include mining, fishing, and forestry

    St. John's Tourism is slow


    Finally, summer vacation. No more school. No more waking up early. No more homework. I finally get to stay home and just relax, with no one to bother me. Well, that was the plan I had to spend my summer vacation, until my mom got off the phone with my sister and decided we would all go on a family road trip. So, when my sister got home, mom and dad booked a flight to St. John's, packed up the car and we were off to go catch our flight. When the plane landed, we were not Ontario anymore, we were in St. John's, Newfoundland. A local citizen had told us a good place where we could rent a car for our six week journey, the convenient thing was, the airport had a car rental dealership called thrifty . So, we rented the only car available, a Toyota Matrix for 59 dollars per day.

    We were starting our journey early, approximately at 8:30 am, mom and dad always said it was easier to start the day off earlier than later. So, we got in our rented car and drove to a park known as Pippy Park. We stayed at Pippy park for three days in a tent
    . During those three days, we went hiking and camped in the forest, one of the nights a calm storm had rolled with rain pouring over and each of the sides of the tent. In the morning we took our fishing rods and attempted to catch some fish, but we failed...big time. On our last day, my mom, being a fan of golf, stated that we should go play some golf, but we had no golf clubs, nor did my sister and I even know how to play. However, we walked to their golf course, to find out it was a mini golf course, not a big kid course, so they provided us with mini clubs and we played some mini golf. in the end, I ended up beating everyone, with four whole in ones.

    Before I knew it, it was already time to leave St. John's and continue on with our journey to Quebec City.

    Sites Used


    http://canadianbiodiversity.mcgill.ca/english/ecozones/ecozones.htm

    http://www.stjohns.ca/visitors/information/index.jsp

    http://www.kayak.com/r/KoBdff

    http://www.campsource.ca/parks/default.aspx?parkid=245

    http://www.bcca.org/misc/qiblih/latlong_ca.html

    http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/9550/Index.cfmTPL=P1C&Page=RETR&LANG=Eng&T=302&SR=1&S=1&O=A&RPP=9999&CMA=0&PR=10
    Sites Used For Photos


    http://www.greenwoodguides.com/maps/map.aspMapRequest=12a&Country=Canada

    http://www.pippypark.com/index.phpoption=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=14&Itemid=1