We bid a special welcome to Miss Misaki Usuzawa, winner of the Japanese new singer of 2012.
Miss Usuzawa, a student at the Ootusuchi Junior High School, encouraged people along the coast with her songs following the Great Disaster of 2011.  (Link to Times Colonist article)

Welcome Friends from Japan

We begin this week with a visit by several friends from Japan who made our 2013 tour to that country so memorable. Mr. and Mrs. Rioichi and Ayako Taguchi were enthusiastically greeted at the airport on Saturday.  Although it is not their first visit to Victoria, it is such a pleasure to have the opportunity to share our city with them.

Sadly, Mr. and Mrs. Yocihi and Rieko Sakashita, who also graciously hosted us during our recent visit to Morioka, are now unable to make the journey. We shall greatly miss the opportunity to return their kind hospitality and will look forward to seeing them again in the future.

Also attending later in the week will be Mr. Toshinori Suzuki, Principle of Ootsuchi Junior High, the West Coast school devastated by the 2011 tsunami and which we visited last year. He will be introducing one of his students, Miss Misaki Usuzawa, a folk singer who won the grand record prize as the Japanese new singer of 2012.

The young artist, just now entering her mid teens, comes from one of the areas devastated by the Tohoku quake. She is considered a genius singer, excelling in the traditional style. Her mother, Mrs. Nakoko Usuzawa, will also accompany her daughter on the trip.

Others being welcomed to Victoria include Mr. Osamu Hirano, President of the recording company working with Miss Usuzawa  and Ms. Miwa Ishiganki, a Director of the Iwate Broadcasting Company.

During their stay, the group will attend a number of functions, including a courtesy visit to the Victoria City Hall where they will be welcomed by Mayor Dean Fortin.  Miss Usuzawa will perform a mini concert at City Hall as well as during a later visit to St. Margaret’s Junior and Senior Schools.

As a special treat the young singer will perform in a concert at Christ Church Cathedral on Saturday, February 21, from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. The general public is invited to attend.

Bill and Rita McCreadie and other friends of the Victoria-Morioka Society will host the group at a number of private functions over the coming week.

Harold and Lynn McNeill

Links below for video and photo albums:

1. Misaki Usuzawa You Tube Video

2. February 2014: Arrival in Victoria in Victoria Link Here  (This link provides a full set of photos from the visit)

3. Japan Trip 2013: The Journey Begins

4. Japan Trip 2013: The Adventure Continues

5. Japan Trip 2013: A Trip to the West Coast (Slide Show)

6. Link to February, 2014, Times Colonist article

More links are provided in the stories linked within the above albums.

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Photo:  Taken at the end of trail leading from Zajac Ranch to the South Arm of Stave Lake. The ranch is approximately 20 km North-East of of Mission B.C with the last 10 km  on a high quality, all-weather, gravel road. The facility boasts excellent camp style accommodation and an array of facilities that easily caters to the interests of the young and “the young at heart”.

It was out of China one day and off to the Zajac Ranch the next for a West Coast reception with our friends Carl and Julie Joosse (nee Fennema).  Because many of their West Coast friends were not able to make the July wedding, the couple decided to throw a second reception at this end.

Photo:  Carl and Julie arrive in style on the back of one the camp limousines.

The Zajac Ranch for Children, situated in pristine wilderness on the west side of Stave Lake, north of Mission, B.C, was chosen for the reception as both Carl and Julie along with many family and friends, both from the East and West, have made a strong commitment to helping ensure the future of this incredible adventure center for children.

With the draw of a West Coast wilderness adventure, many Carl and Julies family members and friends who live within a stones throw of each other, decided to make the trek to help continue the celebration in style and to meet some of the crazy West Coasters with whom Carl and Julie have spent so much time in recent years.

For those not familiar with Zajac Ranch itself, it was founded by Mel and Irene Zajac as a legacy:

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Barry, Ryan, Harold, Ashley and Ross display their catch of Pink Salmon.
Piled on the blue box is a feed of Dungeness Crabs that were pulled out of the Inner Harbour
Photos of the Fishing Adventure: Link Here

Other Davis Family Victoria Trip Albums

Photos of the City Adventure: Link Here
River and Lake Adventures: Link Here
Ocean Shore and Biking Adventure: Link Here

Victoria Summer Fun Slideshow 2013-Mobile

 July 11, 2013 Victoria, BC

While there are many adventures to be found on and around Vancouver Island, a salmon fishing trip on the rolling, fog-shrouded waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca has to be in the Top 10.

When my brother-in-law, Barry Davis phoned from Spruce Grove, Alberta, to tell us that he, along with his wife, Nancy and three of the grandchildren, Ryan, Ashley and Ross, were heading our way, we were absolutely delighted. As part of our conversation Barry, who is an avid fisherman, wondered if we might squeeze in a few hours of fishing. He felt the “kids” would really enjoy that type of a West Coast experience (he, he).

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In Praise of Volunteers

The Purple Team strain toward a Gold Medal Finish as the crowd in the background go wild. The other winners on this day were the individuals and organizations who depend upon the efforts of Volunteers to raise awareness and funds for those whose lives have been affected by the onset of Epilepsy.

Victoria International Airport
Sidney, British Columbia

Have you ever suffered from a debilitating illness? If not, it is almost certain a family member or close friend has faced or is currently facing a serious medical challenge. The fight to eradicate the many forms disease can take is one that requires not only continuing dedication to the cause, but tremendous amounts of money – far more than can be provided by government and business through direct funding, research and other grants.  To make up the shortfall, individual volunteers, often those having a close connection to a specific disease or medical challenge, devote thousands of hours of their time and tons of energy towards helping fund the battle.

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Photo: Off to the Rodeo

Above is one of the many photos that Grandpa snapped as we travelled from the
Battleford Campground, through north-central Saskatchewan and finally south-west to Calgary, Alberta.
In this photo, taken at the Medicine Hat Rodeo (Chapter 43), the cowboy looking down was perhaps thinking he should rope his partner instead of the steer.  The flag (held by the other cowboy to the far right)
came down at the very moment the first cowboy had completed hog tying his partner. I’m not
sure whey the decided to change from one event to another, but, I suspect, these two will have
to work out some of the kinks in their roping routine before they try again. I bet that steer had
a good laugh as he stormed by the fallen and hog tied rider.

This Book is Only Available On Amazon

Photo (2012): Grayson gazes out over the North Thompson River and the
mountains beyond:  “Grandpa, we need to go see what’s beyond those mountains.”
(Cover Photo Arrangement by Alysha McNeill)

Link to KDP Book (make sure you order on the January 4, 2025 edition)

Dear Reader,

The following chronicles were written during the magical summer of 2012 when five-year old Grayson Edward Walker, along with his Grandpa, Harold David McNeill, his brother, Jay Wesley McNeill and a close family friend, Bjorn Oscar Simonsen (Uncle Bjorn) completed an exploratory expedition through British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. While the trip through British Columbia was relatively peaceful, once they hit the Alberta border, they entered a new and perilous world. After visiting family and friends across the Province they hit out for Saskatchewan to visit the places where Grandpa was born and where Uncle Bjorn and his family first landed when they emmigrated to Canada from Norway in the early 1950s. In this Province they would again be faced with many hurdles as they visited the many farms and historic sites that were part of the family history.

The 200 page book is filled with dozes of full colour photographs of family, friends, events and special places in the lives of the intrepid explorers. Dozens of Chapters are written from the perspective of Grayson.

Cheers,

Harold, Grayson, Jay, and Bjorn

Contact Harold at: lowerislandsoccer@shaw.ca

Introduction

Part IV of the Grayson Chronicles is now complete.  In this part we will continue our trip through Saskatchewan and back into Alberta.  Along the way we shall attempt to rescue a down and out relative from the clutches of the Saskatchewan Penitentiary, travel to Birch Hills to visit the farm where Bjorn’s father worked after emigrating to Canada, then, while on the highway back to our way campground, pass a woman just as she drove her car into her boyfriend the fled the scene.

After getting into all this trouble in PA, we head south to again follow the trail of Louis Riel to Batoche, his famous last stand. From there we head to Rosthern where we will buy Taber Corn that isn’t from Taber and BC Cherries that are not from BC.   Following this we continue south to a beautiful section of the South Saskatchewan River known as Diefenbaker Lake were we set up camp for a couple of days of R&R before heading onward to the Cyprus Hills Provincial Park, an immense section of land that straddles Saskatchewan, Alberta and the State of Montana.

After taking in a block buster rodeo in Medicine Hat, the final stop, after visiting a number of Stonehenge type monuments in the fields east of Calgary, we will drop in for a wonderful visit with a number of family members who call Calgary home.  I wonder if they know about these monuments?

We hope you will enjoy the 14 Chapters of this section.

Links to Calgary Family Photos

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Photo: Our first stop in Saskatchewan is at the farm of two of Grandpa’s cousins, Leonard and Helen Pylypow in Glaslyn. Helen is one of the daughers of Denny and Hazel Dewan (McNeill), (one of grandpa’s dad’s sisters).
Here you see me sitting atop one of the bales of hay in Uncle Leonard’s field. We were only there a few days but we did so many things I have no idea where to begin. Well, actually, I do know, I just need a little bit of Grandpa’s help to get me going. My story involves ‘love’, and love, as I once heard someone at playschool explain, is unfathomable.

This Book is Only Available On Amazon

Photo (2012): Grayson gazes out over the North Thompson River and the
mountains beyond:  “Grandpa, we need to go see what’s beyond those mountains.”
(Cover Photo Arrangement by Alysha McNeill)

Link to KDP Book (make sure you order on the January 4, 2025 edition)

Dear Reader,

The following chronicles were written during the magical summer of 2012 when five-year old Grayson Edward Walker, along with his Grandpa, Harold David McNeill, his brother, Jay Wesley McNeill and a close family friend, Bjorn Oscar Simonsen (Uncle Bjorn) completed an exploratory expedition through British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. While the trip through British Columbia was relatively peaceful, once they hit the Alberta border, they entered a new and perilous world. After visiting family and friends across the Province they hit out for Saskatchewan to visit the places where Grandpa was born and where Uncle Bjorn and his family first landed when they emmigrated to Canada from Norway in the early 1950s. In this Province they would again be faced with many hurdles as they visited the many farms and historic sites that were part of the family history.

The 200 page book is filled with dozes of full colour photographs of family, friends, events and special places in the lives of the intrepid explorers. Dozens of Chapters are written from the perspective of Grayson.

Cheers,
Harold, Grayson, Jay, and Bjorn

Contact Harold at: lowerislandsoccer@shaw.ca

Snippet:

20. A Young Man Falls in Love (by Grandpa)

Nothing can warm a grandfather’s heart more than seeing his five year old, well, almost six, grandchild fall in love before your very eyes.  About mid-way through our prairie adventure, we were hunkered down on a cousin’s farm in Northwestern Saskatchewan in the small community of Glaslyn. After a day of baling hay, target shooting and feeding the buffalo on the farm of another of another cousin, we were just getting ready for dinner and it was at that moment — love struck.

Link here for pictures: Battleford Campground

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Cover Photo (from Web). No this is not Mount Albert Edward, this is the Golden Hind, viewed from Morrison Spire (photo by  Dave Ingram). The Golden Hind, at 2200 meters (7217 feet), is the highest peak on Vancouver Island. This photo is placed here as it will serve as a challenge to Dianne and Michel who will surely stand on that peak in the not to distant future. Perhaps, just perhaps, I shall stand with them. The mountain we set about to challenge on this trip is the somewhat lessor (although not by much) Mount Albert Edward. a respectable 2100 meters (6900 feet). The twists and turns of the trip are documented in this short story of our three days in Strathcona Park.

Link Here for the Mount Colonel Foster Adventure

I am most fortunate to live within an extended family whose quest for adventure has motivated me in every decade of my life. In the recent decade, since joining Facebook, never a week goes by that the details of new adventure by some family member or friend is posted. It is the posts about real life experiences and adventures that serve as constant motivation too challenge life at every turn, not the memes and platitudes that seem to come with such frequency.

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Hiking Travelogue by Dianne McNeill and Michel Payeur

Link Here for the Mount Albert Edward Adventure

This weekend we did a backcountry hike we’ve been wanting to do since we first moved to the island…an overnighter into Mt. Colonel Foster. We loaded 30-35 lb gear/food into our backpacks and off to the mountains we headed.

I wondered how I was going to cope with the pack…but my strength, agility and endurance were well up to the task. And what a wonder-full weekend it was! Glacier fed waterfalls and lakes, beaver engineered ponds, SNOW!, forest scented by giant cedars, jagged mountain peaks, the green only seen in sun thru the rainforest canopy, tumbling/rushing rivers.

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