Late 1950’s & Early 1960’s
In 1965, we made our first overseas journey. The tour was sponsored by the United Church of Canada and left from Calgary and landed in London. We spent three days looking around London and then left on a bus tour that covered eight or ten European countries.
At that time, England was still recovering from the effects of the war. Consequently, there was considerable reconstruction going on but the economy in general was depressed. In general, other European countries appeared to have recovered more quickly from the war. Their tourist facilities seemed to be better.
The bus tour lasted for two weeks and then we returned to London for three more days before flying back to Calgary. On these flights there was a refueling stop in Greenland; in later years the planes would make the flight nonstop.
EXPO 67 IN MONTREAL
In 1967, we borrowed my brother’s truck and rented a camper body to put on it. The truck required additional springs and new tires but after that it worked well. The children spent most of the time in the camper amusing themselves. Occasionally they would come up into the cab and look at the scenery from there.
We drove from Edmonton to Ottawa in three long days. We left the truck with friends in Ottawa and continued on to Montréal by train. The Expo was very enlightening and impressive; we had never seen anything like this before.
After spending four days in Montréal, we went back to Ottawa and picked up the truck. We crossed into the United States at Detroit and continued west from there. On one occasion we arrived at a campground late in the evening and found that there was no one on duty at the gate. We looked around and found an empty parking spot and went to bed. Later in the night, we were awakened by gunshots. We had no idea where they came from but we left the campground early the next morning still wondering about the gunshots.
The rest of the trip back to Edmonton was relatively routine, and since we travelled fewer hours per day, was less tiring. We were glad to be home where we could rest with fewer concerns.
BRITAIN AND IRELAND
In 1969, the whole family went on a trip to Britain and Ireland. This was my first experience driving on the right side of the road. The traffic circles were a problem at first, but after a few days I became accustomed to the change. However, London traffic and one way streets were a continuing problem.
We spent a few days in London and then drove to Edinburgh, where we visited some of the historic castles. We went to Loch Ness and some of the other well-known sites in the area before returning to England. On the way back to London, we visited the Cathedral in York, which was under reconstruction from wartime damage. We felt that the recovery from the effects of the war was well underway and that the economy had significantly improved from the time of our previous visit.
We then proceeded to Ireland, by train and ferry, landing at Dun Laoghaire. From there we drove to the city of Dublin, where we spent a day. And from there proceeded to Cork , the main city in County Cork and about 25 miles from Clonakilty, the closest town to the farm where my father grew up. We found our way to the farm and met my uncle and aunt for the first time.
The farm buildings were essentially the same as when my father left in 1908. The barn and house were attached, basically as a single building. Part of the farm land had been sold. We stayed in Clonakilty and spent two days visiting at the farm.
The first manned moon landing was being shown on TV at the time, but my aunt said, “That has nothing to do with us”, and turned off the TV. They were having an argument about who had let the cows get away and we realized how foreign to us the Irish language is.
NEW ZEALAND, AUSTRALIA AND HAWAII
In 1976, Nora and I made a journey to New Zealand and later to Australia. Our children met us in Hawaii and we spent the Christmas season there.
Our first stop on our flight from Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand, was in Tahiti. We were there for is three days and found the French-based atmosphere very different from what we expected. The lifestyle of the people was extremely relaxed and carefree. We spent one day on a bus tour of the island and the rest of the time in the capital city, Papeete.
From Tahiti, we flew to Auckland on a relatively obsolete plane operated by Air France. In Auckland, we rented a car and proceeded to Wellington. There we visited some friends whom we had known in Edmonton. The man had been a classmate in the MBA program. He was very interested in hearing about the latest news and rumors from Edmonton. We spent three days in Wellington and visited the local tourist attractions in addition to having a social evening with our friends and some of their friends.
One of the attractions that we visited near Wellington was a cave inhabited by millions of butterflies. Since the cave was dark, the butterflies could only be seen because they were luminescent. It was very interesting watching them flying around in the dark.
Another attraction was a visit to a Maori village at Rotarua. Maoris were the original inhabitants of New Zealand. It seemed that they have integrated into modern society better than the aboriginal people in Canada.
We then took a ferry to the South Island and continued driving south along the west coast. This is a scenic part of the island with mountains on one side and the sea on the other. About halfway down the island, we crossed over the mountains and into the city of Christchurch.
We then went to visit some people who had been to Edmonton to visit Nora’s parents. They operated a dairy farm and it was interesting to see the difference between a dairy in New Zealand and one in Alberta. They had no barn for the cows and the milking was done in an open corral, using milking machines.
We found the people in New Zealand to be friendly and living a relaxed life style. They did not seem to be under a great deal of pressure in their work. The wages are much lower than in North America, but prices are also somewhat lower.
From here we continued back to the North Island and flew from Auckland to Sydney, Australia.
In Sydney, we again used a rental car. An interesting feature was a sign in the rear window that said, “FOREIGN TOURIST”. As in New Zealand, the cars travel on the left side of the road. By now I was getting used to this and did not find it to be a serious problem. We spent four days in Sydney, visiting the local attractions. These included the Sydney Opera House and the zoo among other sights.
The Koala (top) and the Kangaroo (bottom) are two animals unique to Australia
From Sydney we drove south towards Canberra and Melbourne. The road passes through the Australian Alps; this was the first time I was aware of mountains in Australia.
In Canberra, the national capital, we were very impressed with the National War Memorial. This is a museum commemorating the part that Australian Forces contributed in the two World Wars.
In Melbourne we spent two days exploring the sights before continuing on. This is a view of some of the trees in the impressive Botanical Garden in Melbourne. These particular trees are not native to Australia, but are elms that were imported from Britain. Other displays feature native trees and plants.
We headed west along the coast toward Adelaide. A professor from the University in Adelaide had visited the ranch at Byemoor and my brother suggested that we look him up. When I phoned his residence and asked to speak with him, the woman who answered said, “That will be difficult because he died two months ago”. She then inquired as to whether my wife was with me, and when I said, “Yes”, she invited us to visit her the next day. Her son and his wife, who operated a ranch nearby, also came to visit.
We had an enjoyable day discussing the differences between ranches in Canada and in Australia. The basic operations are similar but the climatic conditions are different. Since there are no winters such as we have in Canada, there is no need to store feed because the cattle can graze the year round.
After two day looking around Adelaide we turned in our rental car and flew back to Sydney. We obtained another rental car and drove north along the coast towards Brisbane. When we reached Surfer’s Paradise, which is some fifty miles south of Brisbane, we were so impressed by the beach and the surroundings that we stayed there for three days, enjoying the beach and the warm water.
We then set out for Sydney, using an interior road. We soon encountered an unexpected problem: forest fires. The flames were up to the ditches on the sides of the road, but since there were no large trees close by, we were able to drive through the fire area. There didn’t appear to be the sort of warnings that are provided in Canada when there is a fire problem.
From Sydney we flew to Fiji, where we spent a day, before continuing on to Hawaii. We met Dale and Cindy in Honolulu and went to a motel on the northwest coast of Oahu. We spent the next week exploring the island by jeep, and enjoying the warm weather and the ocean surf. Among the unique sights was a visit to a pineapple plantation, where the harvest was in full swing. It was then time to head back to Edmonton so the children could return to university after the Christmas break
HAWAII AGAIN
In 1978. Nora and I visited Hawaii again. This time we went to Maui. Maui is the largest of the islands and was relatively undeveloped. A principal attraction was the large volcanic crater, Haleakala, shown in the picture. The volcano has been inactive for more than three hundred years. The Hawaiian Islands have been formed by a series of volcanoes that were formed as the Pacific plate moved over a “hot spot” in the earth’s crust.
We stayed for two weeks enjoying the warm weather in the midst of the winter back home.
THE FIRST CRUISE
In 1982, Nora and I went on a cruise from Vancouver to Skagway, Alaska. The ship, the Prince George, was a fairly small one that had been converted from a ferry to a passenger ship. This was its maiden voyage as a passenger ship and the crew were learning their jobs. Since there were only 60 passengers, we had very attentive service.
Since this was a relatively small ship, we were able to enter small inlets to view the glaciers moving down to the ocean. This is a view of one such glacier, the Mendenhall, near Juneau, Alaska.
We left the ship at Skagway and spent some time looking around the town. Skagway is much smaller and less developed than I had expected. Many of the buildings are from the gold rush days. Probably they try to retain the appearance of those days as a tourist attraction.
There is a railroad from Skagway to Whitehorse, Yukon, but it had not started operating yet when we were there. We made the trip to Whitehorse by bus; the road follows, more or less, the route that the prospectors used to make their way to the gold fields. Since it has been developed more recently, Whitehorse is a more modern city than Skagway. It is, as the capital of the Yukon, also significantly larger and less touristy.
From Whitehorse, we flew back to Vancouver. The flight over the mountains in northern British Columbia was an interesting experience. I had never flown over mountains as large as these before and they were very impressive.
In Vancouver we picked up our car and drove home.
EPCOT CENTRE
In 1983, we flew to Washington and visited some of the sites there. Among the more notable were the U.S Capitol, which consists of the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate , the White House, and the Smithsonian Institute. Of these the museum, the Smithsonian, was by far the most interesting. One could easily spend two or three weeks there and not see all of the exhibits.
The White House 
U.S. Capital Building
We then drove south through Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia into Florida. Our destination was the Epcot Center in Orlando. The Epcot Center is intended to be a very futuristic and space oriented. This is the IMAGINATION! Building. After one day we felt we had seen enough, so we continued on our way.
We then visited my mother’s cousin in St. Petersburg. He was a dentist in Toronto who had retired to Florida and we had never met before.
We then drove northwards to Montgomery, Alabama. Here I went to an auto wrecker and purchased the used parts necessary to install air conditioning in my car at home. This sack of car parts was unusual baggage but did not cause any serious problems.
Continuing northward through Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia, we returned the rental car in Washington and flew home.
EUROPEAN BUS TOUR
In 1984, Nora and I took an extended bus tour in Western Europe. We started in London and went next to Paris, then to Geneva. From there, we then crossed the Alps into Italy and visited Pisa and Rome before returning northward to Vienna, Berlin and Amsterdam.
This was our second trip in Western Europe and we visited many of the same major cities.
In Paris, we spent two days looking at the various sites. Some of the more spectacular are shown in the pictures.
The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 as the entrance to the World’s Fair held in Paris that year. At 324 meters, it is one of the tallest structures in Europe. It is a major tourist attraction as well as a site for broadcast antennas.
The Arc de Triomphe was built in 1806 as part of a major thoroughfare connecting some of the most important sites in downtown Paris. The arch is 50 meters tall.
We then continued on to Geneva and through the Alps into northern Italy. This spectacular water park, located on Lake Geneva, is not what one would expect to find in a landlocked country like Switzerland.
The major feature of the city of Pisa is the Leaning Tower.
Rome is famous for many old architectural masterpieces, two of which are pictured.
We continued northward through the Alps into Austria, where we spent two days in the capital, Vienna.
In Vienna I visited the National Museum and was surprised to see that there were no exhibits dated later than 1938. It was as though time had stopped then.
Our next stop was Berlin, where the Berlin Wall was still effectively cutting the city in two parts. We were unable to enter East Berlin.
Leaving Berlin we continued on to Amsterdam, in Holland. It is a port city, although not as well-known for this as Rotterdam.
Our bus tour ended in London and from there we flew back to Edmonton.