Tag Archives: movie

Off to Calgary

October 28, 2014 Maurice Leave a comment

After returning from Bonaire, we loaded up the car and drove to Calgary. Both of our families live there, and it was also my Dad’s birthday, so it was a nice time to go for a visit.

The first day we took it easy, driving to a place called Chase, just at the north end of Little Shuswap Lake, only four hours from home. Bailey was amazing in the car, but she just didn’t want to sit down. She would brace herself against the door, and put her chin on Pam’s shoulder using the seatbelt for something – support maybe? – and ride away the hours!

The place we stayed in near Chase was called Quaaout Lodge and Spa at Talking Rock Golf Course. They really welcome dogs, even letting them walk through the lobbies and hallways. Want to take your dog in the lake? No problem, just give them some time to dry off before coming into the units! Very very lovely place.

Bailey has always loved water and the Little Shuswap was very warm and very shallow for a long way so we were able to go for a swim. She even jumped off the little dock into the lake!

Bonaire, Vacations

Thursday at the Divi

August 15, 2014 Maurice Leave a comment

Not much done today. We had a lazy day around the resort. Dove in the ocean and paddled around out front of our room. That is a great thing about the resort – the walk to the beach is about fifteen seconds, and the only traffic you need to avoid is the stampede of people rushing to pet the cat!

We decided to eat out for dinner and decided on the Ribs Factory. On Curacao, the Ribs Factory is one of our favorite places to go. The one here on Bonaire is not connected with it, but we had to give it a go. It’s right on the downtown Boardwalk, up on the second floor. It’s a rickety walk up those steep steps, but the food was worth it!

The ribs were very good, served with salad, fries or a baked potato. And the view was tremendous. The sun set as we dined. It’s not a glamorous place, kind of reminds you of a Senor Frog’s type of place. Prices were ok, about twenty dollars for a full rack, (Pam’s choice) and the same for a half rack/chicken combo (my choice).

Service was good, although the waitress was a little shy. Total bill was 49 bucks, with a beer and a pop. Pretty cheap deal.

While driving downtown we saw this sandwich board sign up… if you can figure out what is not open, please let us know!

Here is a short video of a couple of birds of Bonaire. A Lora Parrot and a warbler, much like you’d see in North American cities.

Bonaire

Back to the Captain’s

August 14, 2014 Maurice Leave a comment

Nice relaxing day today – a long sleep, then a late lunch. We really enjoyed being in the ocean around Captain Don’s so we figured, why mess with a good thing? It’s easy to get in there, and the water is wonderfully clear.

And it didn’t disappoint, with a terrific snorkel. We saw a couple of snooks cruising the shallow water. We saw another couple of tarpons, large mostly slow moving behemoths.

Pam spotted a big crab, certainly enough for a couple of sandwiches! There were lots of coneys and hinds and parrotfish. Just a great swim.

And of course, there were turtles, turtles, rah, rah. This picture is of an unusual coral formation we saw. The circular shaped coral is called brain coral, and it’s growing on top of a type of “stove pipe” coral… kinda neat shot I thought.

We had dinner at home, watched the sunset, and spent a couple hours in the casino. And guess what? Pam won a big (biggish?) jackpot. Nice.

Here are a few clips strung together to give you an idea of what we saw today. Enjoy.

Bonaire, Vacations

Back to the Captain's

August 14, 2014 Maurice Leave a comment

And it didn’t disappoint, with a terrific snorkel. We saw a couple of snooks cruising the shallow water. We saw another couple of tarpons, large mostly slow moving behemoths.

Pam spotted a big crab, certainly enough for a couple of sandwiches! There were lots of coneys and hinds and parrotfish. Just a great swim.

We had dinner at home, watched the sunset, and spent a couple hours in the casino. And guess what? Pam won a big (biggish?) jackpot. Nice.

Here are a few clips strung together to give you an idea of what we saw today. Enjoy.

Bonaire

Our anniversary

August 13, 2014 Maurice 1 Comment

Not to be deterred we went down a few doors to Captain Don’s place, and they welcomed us with open arms. The water was super clear and we saw just tons of stuff. Highlights included several large tarpons, a couple of turtles, various eels, and some ginormous rainbow parrotfish which were well over four feet long.

We had dinner at the Patagonia, an Argentinian steakhouse. To say it was fantastic is to understate the experience. The restaurant itself is impeccable, clean crisp and welcoming. There was light jazz playing at a quiet level, quite nice. The waiter was impeccable. The food was divine. The experience was wonderful. We could not have planned a better dinner!

We had a three course, dinner special. Soup or salad, steak with caremelized onions, fresh veggies, superb mashed potatoes, and a tiramisu Pam said was the best she ever had. Total price was 79 dollars, including two beer and pop. When the owner discovered it was our anniversary, he treated us to a complimentary after dinner aperitif. Very cool.

Here is a brief movie, using several clips from various movies we took of some fish we saw today.

Bonaire, Vacations

Our anniversary

August 12, 2014 Maurice 1 Comment

Today (August 12) is our 36th wedding anniversary so we had a nice relaxing day. We slept in, had a late lunch then headed to place called Black Durgon Beach, but the owner of the inn would not let us use his dock. That’s the first cranky Bonairian we’ve encountered. (Beaches are all public in Bonaire, but using someone’s dock requires permission.)

Not to be deterred we went down a few doors to Captain Don’s place, and they welcomed us with open arms. The water was super clear and we saw just tons of stuff. Highlights included several large tarpons, a couple of turtles, various eels, and some ginormous rainbow parrotfish which were well over four feet long.

Here is a brief movie, using several clips from various movies we took of some fish we saw today.

Bonaire, Vacations

First day on Bonaire

August 9, 2014 Maurice Leave a comment

We had a nice flight into Bonaire last evening. We had no one sitting beside us, so we were able to stretch out and grab a nap. We had a bit of trouble finding our single night residence, but found it.

It’s a lovely single family home, right on Bachelor’s Beach, called Renaissance by the Sea. It had a wonderful view out the over the large deck, with a private dock to boot. The room was large and cozy, with a very comfortable bed.

We had a nice first snorkel. It was great to be back in the ocean. Nice and warm and lots of fish to see.

Our photography is not great so I won’t bore you with second rate pictures. We saw some unusual things today. One thing that we’ve seen once in a while is an eel, being shadowed by a fish or two, while the eel is digging in the ground. The lurkers quickly grab anything that might be tasty. Today we saw that scenario at least a dozen times! And most of the eels had a barjack, a schoolmaster and a Spanish hogfish hanging around!

Our movies are not great, but I’ll try to edit a couple together and get it posted. BUT – my computer is in trouble – it seems to have blown the fan, and the computer is running super hot and and is vibrating like crazy. Hopefully it will make it through the trip…