Splash Pad, Mini Golf and Swimming Pools

Today we decided to let the kids choose what our activities would be for the day.  We had a lazy morning, making our way to the breakfast buffet shortly after 8:30 and then heading to the Kamloops visitor information centre.  Kamloops has the best map of the city for children.  It listed all the parks in the city, which ones had splash pads, where all the kid oriented activities were located and there was even a search and find of different animals to locate throughout the map.

The kids playing at the water park

The kids decided they wanted to play mini golf and spend some time at the splash park and playground.  We made our way to the splash park first because the weather forecast was a chance of thundershowers in the afternoon.  We stayed at the park for about 2 hours - the kids spent the first hour in the splash park and the second hour playing on the park equipment.  

We had a quick lunch at the water's edge in Kamloops.  It was so quick the seagulls didn't even have a chance to swoop down and see what was on our menu.

While the kids play we read about our next stop

David flips on the rings

The family enjoying mini putt

After lunch we played mini golf.  It was a great course with lots of challenging holes.  The kids had a great time and were happy with the activities they had chosen.  The wind began to pick up as we ended the golf game, and after a quick referral to Environment Canada we began our journey westward to Vancouver.  The drive from Kamloops to Hope, BC was very intense - there was a short incline and then approximately 30 kms of decline.  There were lots of notices on the road for the truck drivers to check their brakes and there were areas along the highway where they had to pull in and check the brakes.  Once we began our descent I understood the importance of brakes - it seemed like we were travelling downward at rapid speed - cruising around the twists and curves.  There were even areas for runaway vehicles.  This means if you lose your brakes as you are heading down the hills you can drive off the highway onto these roads that have a sharp incline and hope your vehicle will stop before the road runs out.

The new Rambo

We stopped in Hope, BC which is famous for the filming location for Rambo movies.  It is also famous for chainsaw wood carvings throughout the town.  The best one we saw was the Sasquatch.  The lady at the Tourist Information Centre told us we should journey to the Othello Tunnels to experience the best view of some canyons.  She said it was a 45 minute hike, but well worth the journey.  Francois asked if there were many bears near this area?  She said there have been many bear sightings, but just make a lot of noise and that usually scares them.  The kids advised her that Mommy was scared of the bears and we passed on seeing the views of a canyon.    We did stop for supper in Hope and let the kids play at the park.  The temperature gauge on our van read 14 degrees and it felt cool in the air.  The wind began to gust some more and there were splatters of raindrops.   We ate our supper and continued on to Abbotsford, our final destination for the evening.  The forecast called for a chance of showers and thundershowers and it was still pretty windy so we decided not to camp and stay at a hotel.  Trip Advisor is a great way to find out what are good hotels to stay at and which ones should be avoided.  This hotel has a pool, which the kids love and a free continental breakfast, which we all love.

The Sasquatch

We tried to get the kids in bed before 10:00 as we have an early and busy day tomorrow.  We want to be on the road early so we can make the most of touring around Vancouver.  We are meeting up with Francois' university friend for supper tomorrow night and then see my university friend and her family on Saturday night.   They both gave us lots of great suggestions of things to see while in Vancouver and we hope to make the best of our next two days.


Have a good night
Tanya