Back in the day (when I was but a child), I visited Niagara Falls, Montreal when it hosted the World's Fair (Expo 67), and maybe even Quebec City. We also were out west in British Columbia and Alberta, visiting some of the national parks like Banff and Glacier National Park. But that was all a long time ago.

With my recent travels all over the United States and even the Caribbean, it was time to include Canada in the mix. So in August 2003 we headed for Ontario and made it up to Niagara Falls for the first time in probably 40 years. I can report that the falls are still there! Then it was a short drive to check out the cosmopolitan city of Toronto for the first time ever.

But these were just the appetizers for our big trip out west to British Columbia. We made first visits to both Vancouver and Victoria. Both places are nice towns with just unbelievably beautiful scenery and mountains surrounding them. It's big, open country out in the northwest! This may have been my first time out there, but it definitely won't be the last.