July 19,2026

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This little red squirrel (or similar looking relatives) frequently crosses our path in the morning as we head to breakfast…please note the chip in his mouth.

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We met Chef on the path back to our place…he was heading to his kitchen. We chatted briefly and I took “one more photo”. I hope it’s clear by now that we love this man. He has the sweetest, most gentle nature…and is humble beyond words…which in my experience is rare for a person at his level of culinary expertise.

We packed our bags (took all of two minutes) then spent the remainder of our morning on the deck…enjoying this view for the last time…😢 …at noon we walked back to Tyee.

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We parked ourselves on the restaurants’ lower deck and one by one said our sad goodbyes to the wonderful staff…and once again, I failed to take photographs of Geo and Lucas…I guess we were too busy exchanging contact info and love…lots of love.

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And so much love for…Chef Lupe and Chef Jin ♥️

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I love this candid photo, because it captures Timmy and Jin sharing a smile.

Photo credit to Rhi …pronounced “Ray”

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Rhi and Timmy

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I stayed in the sun and Timmy watched the World Cup final from the lounge in Tyee Lodge. I joined him just as regulation time ended…and enjoyed watching the end of the game. I’ve always liked Messi, but was rooting for Spain. At 4:15 we headed to the helipad and we were off.

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I asked ChatGPT what this is…it’s the Island Copper Mine…it was operated from 1971-1995 and produced Copper, Gold, Silver and Molybdenum. The terraces caught my attention and are called “stair-step benches” and according to Chat…typical with open air mining.

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💙

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45 minutes after taking off we were back in Vancouver at Sky Services…I spent a good five minutes searching for our luggage claim check…only to be told…”oh we don’t give claim checks…we just tagged your luggage and entered it into the system”. Okay then.

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Is this an insane amount of luggage? If you answer “no” …we can be friends.

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Re-packing…emptying the duffels and re-filling the mid size luggage. Our room at the Fairmont Airport is large, comfortable and features a peek through window from the bath. The best feature of this hotel? It is right smack in the terminal…just exit the hotel and there was bag check for United and Air Canada…very cool.


Why not?

We dined at the Globe restaurant inside the Fairmont.

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A White Port Tonic for Timmy …some yummy rum concoction for me.

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Halibut with Gai lan…sometimes called Chinese broccoli…

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Timmy had a Birds Eye view of the kitchen…he was in his glory.

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The cheesecake with apples and caramel sauce was entirely unnecessary…but YOLO.

We turned in shortly after 11:00 and were awakened several times by my electric toothbrush…like a demon…it would begin vibrating …I’d get up, turn it off and just as I’d drift off…the toothbrush would start again…loudly (really loudly) calling for me to turn it off…upon the third incursion into my slumber, I wrapped the offensive demon in a towel and placed it in the shower and shut the bathroom door…you guessed it …20 minutes later…blasting away. Now I get up, triple wrap it, lock it in the toilet, shut that door, shut the bathroom door, wake up Timmy as I shut the cute little peek through doors and lay awake for a long time…very looooong time, waiting for the sound. I guess I eventually fell back to sleep…I did have some weird dreams.

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We left the hotel…walked 20 steps, created our luggage tags, dropped ‘em off, skipped through security, hopped on the buggy and settled in the lounge. Taking the buggy removes all temptation as we passed by the shopping malls.

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Okay, so this contraption fascinates me…it’s a conveyor belt to toast bread, muffins and bagels…when I excitedly showed the photo to Timmy, he just shook his head. Apparently it’s not a new invention. Whatever.

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We boarded and left on time.

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At first my screen said “Hi Kathie” and Tim’s said “welcome 2B”…before I could snap that..it switched to the current screen. Oh well, that could have been an amusing pic.

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Currently enjoying nuts and drinks before lunch…and really enjoying this Wi-Fi…best Wi-Fi on a plane in years. Not a lie. I cannot remember the last time I could upload photos and write the blog on a plane. We had no expectations of Wi-Fi …our initial United flight out of Newark, also promised Wi-Fi, but only connected to on board service.

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The roll, potatoes and dessert were fine..

Going to close out our trip here…and what a trip it’s been…from the first two days in Vancouver, to our fabulous Alaskan cruise, back to Vancouver, and finally our week at Sonora Resort…every day has been a joy. We know how lucky we are to have each other …and be able to travel to so many wonderful places.


Next up? Summer in NY with the Bugs then some time in Evora, Portugal (wine country) and Lisbon before we sail on Serenity from Lisbon to FLL. One day in FLL then we board Symphony for a spin around the Caribbean. Back home for Christmas. 😊

Thanks for following along. ♥️🦅♥️.