June/July 2011In June 2011 Alex’s synchronized swimming team traveled to Seattle for a national competition, and Fran and I came along as spectators. We took advantage of some free time between swimming events to visit friends and relatives and make a side trip to Vancouver and Victoria, BC. There aren’t too many pictures of Alex here – mostly she stayed with her team while Fran and I were traveling around.
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It wasn’t easy to get good photos of the synchronized swimming competition with my point-and-shoot camera, so here’s a montage of some low-resolution images of Alex and the rest of her team. In case you were wondering, the whole routine including lifts and jumps has to be accomplished without anyone touching the bottom of the pool. - IMG_8629.jpg
On our flight to Seattle we had a nice view of the Liberty Ridge on Mt. Rainier. - IMG_8635.jpg
Sally Mizroch and Fran at the Ballard Farmers’ Market in Seattle - IMG_8638.jpg
Martin, Andrea Joubert and Fran at Andrea and Roy’s house in Issaquah, near Seattle - IMG_8649.jpg
Fran and Martin at the Vancouver waterfront - IMG_8655.jpg
Fran and Martin at Coal Harbour, Vancouver - IMG_8662.jpg
Martin and friends at Coal Harbour, Vancouver. The red figures are part of an installation called “Meeting” by the sculptor Wang Shugang. - IMG_8667.jpg
Fran and Karen Woo at Stanley Park, Vancouver - IMG_8674.JPG
Totem poles at Stanley Park, Vancouver - IMG_8679.jpg
Martin at Stanley Park, Vancouver. We rented bikes and went for a leisurely cycle around the waterfront. - IMG_8682.jpg
Karen Woo and Fran at Coal Harbour, Vancouver - IMG_8695.jpg
Fran in front of the Empress Hotel, Victoria, BC. The Empress is one of a chain of grand hotels built about a hundred years ago by the Canadian Pacific Railway, and is rather more imposing than the BC parliament building next door. - IMG_8717.JPG
Fran on the ferry from Victoria back to Vancouver, BC. - IMG_8737.jpg
Fran and Martin at Fremont Peak Park, Seattle, with the Olympic Mountains on the horizon. - P5221709.jpg
Alex (centre right), her coach Elizabeth (wearing black) and the rest of her synchronized swimming team at our home before the trip. - P6051715.jpg
Alex taking care of our lawn before we left home for a week. She was filling in for Rick who had a summer job at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. - P6291721.jpg
Fran and I made a rather rushed day trip to Victoria, BC. Here’s the inner harbour and the BC parliament building. - P6291731.jpg
Here we are doing the most touristy thing possible in Victoria, namely afternoon tea at the Empress Hotel. The sandwiches, scones and cakes were very nice, but the tea, alas, was made from rather ordinary tea-bags. And it’s best not to think of the price. - P7011756.jpg
Martin at Discovery Park, Seattle. - SAM_9060.jpg
Fran and Martin at the Ballard Farmers’ Market in Seattle