The BIG Field Trip!

We are getting excited.

Next week (barring H1N1) we will be taking the kids out of school and travelling to Vancouver Island. We have booked a tour and a night's accomodation at OUR Ecovillage, located between Victoria and Nanaimo. http://ourecovillage.org/ Chris was quite delighted to be told to bring biodegradeable toiletries because otherwise "the worms don't like it". Worms! They use worms in their sustainable living system! We are pretty stoked as we have heard a lot about OUR Ecovillage over the last few years but have had little time to wander to the Island to check it out.

We are also spending a day and night in Victoria. I have found a fairly inexpensive hostel and we will check out the sights and take a tour of the Legislature. Henry and Lee-Ann's daughter, Lana Popham, is the MLA for Saanich South http://www.bcndpcaucus.ca/en/mla/lana_popham and we hope to find her in Victoria the day we are there. She came to see our house earlier this fall on her way to meetings in the Cariboo, so after hearing so much about her for years, we finally met her. She also owns an organic vinyard http://barkingdogvineyard.blogspot.com/ on the Island and one day (when she's not busy being a politician) we also hope to see her farm, too.

While in Victoria we are going to look up Josh and James, two of the "fab four" from the summer volunteer crew. My mom's childhood friend, Lucille, lives near Victoria and I hope to see her for the first time in five years.

Then, Chris has asked and been invited to see the aquaponic work that Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo is working on. He is pretty keen to see this. Not only worms and fish, but worms and fish all in one weekend! My cousin James first put us onto this by sending us this link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/my-backyard-fish-farm/article1218280/ but Chris stumbled on it from another source at almost the same time.

Then on to visit with the Robinson's and hear all about their plans for their land and for their cob/earthship hybrid. The kids are looking forward to finally meeting them; they were all away the week the Robinsons were here. http://canadianfamilyrobinson.com

And, maybe I can squeeze in a visit with my cousin Janna and her family in Nanoose Bay!