Lots to report on our passage through Vancouver Island, where we met up with our friend Ruth and her daughter Lily from Milano, Italy. We had about three days of constant chatter, none of it trivial, especially given the backdrop of the latest Israel/Hezbollah war, and all of it stimulating. After three days, they returned to Vancouver (or, Van City) and we moved up north to Qualicum and Hornby Island (see photo).

Vancouver Island and coastal B.C. in general has some of the most stunning geography in North America. For a long time it has been left unspoilt, neglected in a benign way that allowed us to get this far into the 21st century without seeing it all paved and strip malled. Now, economic growth is changing everything. So my advice to intrepid travelers is, go now.