I recently drove to Vancouver with my younger son Cody and his kids Naz and Charlie. He will be going to Rhodes Wellness College to take six semesters in counselling and coaching SA国际影视传媒� the same training Jean and I got. Woohoo!

Cody spent a couple of weeks looking for a place to stay and went through the frustrations of getting close to renting a place and then having it rented out to somebody else. Then starting all over again on another place SA国际影视传媒� a couple of times. Eschia (take it easy eh?).

Then, hallelujah! Cody landed a place and moved in on Sept. 1. Luckily, he has relatives in Vancouver and surrounding area. He was able to stay with them, so he didnSA国际影视传媒檛 have to use a hotel.

Finding a place was made a lot harder because Cody wanted to get his kids into a school that had Aboriginal students. In Vancouver, the schools have catchment areas around them, which means your kids are placed in the school whose catchment area you live in.

So, Cody had to look for a place close to three schools that had lots of Aboriginal students. Luckily the schools were close together which made a larger area to live in and he was able to find a unit there.

The kids are registered in a school with an excellent Aboriginal program and is one bus ride away from Rhodes College. So, Cody can drive the kids to school, park for free, and take the bus to his school. This is huge because parking downtown is around $5 an hour.

Memorable events

Every trip has unforgettable moments. Here are some from the drive down.

The trip was like a new experience for me, because I hadnSA国际影视传媒檛 travelled with kids in ages and I had forgotten what it was like. The first thing we did as we took off was explain that it would take two or three days to get to Vancouver.

After about a half hour Charlie asked SA国际影视传媒渁re we close to Vancouver yet?SA国际影视传媒� LOL. Yep, yep, yep, we continuously heard, SA国际影视传媒渁re we there yetSA国际影视传媒� or SA国际影视传媒淣az is bothering meSA国际影视传媒� or SA国际影视传媒淚 need to go to the bathroom.SA国际影视传媒漎es indeed, I needed patience, patience and more patience. Lol

Of course, we had to answer a lot of questions too, like SA国际影视传媒渨ill we be close to Disneyland?SA国际影视传媒� Another good one was SA国际影视传媒渁re there alligators in Vancouver?SA国际影视传媒� And near Providence we heard, SA国际影视传媒淲here are all the cows and horses?SA国际影视传媒�

Something we all noticed was that the farther we went, the taller and greener the trees got. And naturally, Charlie wanted to know why. Kids make you think.

And the farther we went the hotter it got. It was 14 C when we left Yellowknife and it was 34 C in Penticton, B.C., the day we got there. Thank goodness we arrived in the evening when it had cooled off. Well, yaaaaaaaa!

So anyways, we were in High Level, Alta., and it was 27 C. Cody said, SA国际影视传媒渋t finally seems like summer for me,SA国际影视传媒� so that gives you an idea of what summerSA国际影视传媒檚 been like in Yellowknife.

Right after that Cody and I were talking about going to TimmySA国际影视传媒檚. All of a sudden Naz points way to our left and says SA国际影视传媒渙h yeah, Tim HortonSA国际影视传媒檚 is over there.SA国际影视传媒� Apparently, he had been to High Level before and remembered where it was. The kidSA国际影视传媒檚 amazing.

A first for me was hearing there was no honey for my tea at Timmy HortonSA国际影视传媒檚, as a waiter in Scotland called it. ISA国际影视传媒檝e been to many, many Tim HortonSA国际影视传媒檚 and ISA国际影视传媒檝e always gotten honey. Weird man.

And guess what? I canSA国际影视传媒檛 remember where, but I grabbed CodySA国际影视传媒檚 cup and had a mouthful of coffee for the first time in four years. My God, my taste buds exploded SA国际影视传媒� but, I didnSA国际影视传媒檛 swallow the coffee. Just like Bill Clinton when he smoked marijuana but didnSA国际影视传媒檛 inhale. Too funny.

ISA国际影视传媒檓 thankful my wife Jean suggested I drive to Vancouver with Cody and my grandkids because this trip strengthened my bond with them. Before this trip we communicated regularly, but thereSA国际影视传媒檚 nothing like being together in a car and in hotel rooms for nearly a week to rekindle a relationship.

In short, this trip helped me to reconnect with my son like before he moved into his own house. ISA国际影视传媒檒l never forget it.

So, best of luck in your new digs and your new schools Cody, Naz and Charlie. Remember to take the time to enjoy your stay in Vancouver without the -40 C temperatures.