Winter Followed Us Home

Escaping the long winter and cold temperatures of Harbin was not a easy task. We arrived in Vancouver to the remnants of a snow storm.  Single digit temperatures seem to follow us as we moved from Vancouver to Victoria, landing in Penticton 8 days later, where temperatures dropped, again into negatives.  Cold weather in Penticton creates a situation we call Valley Fog. The fog is an almost permanent, low level cloud cover that forms over the lake and is caused by the lake's water temperature being warmer than the ambient air temperatures. The fog creates difficulty for the landing of planes and resulted in the cancelling of four flights into Penticton requiring us to spend an extra night in Vancouver and eventually flying into Kelowna. Thanks to the Warners for picking us up.

Home only for a week, we religiously watched the weather in Ottawa in preparation for our visit with the grandkids. The day before we arrive, Ottawa reached a high of +8 C. Looking good.

Not to be. The day after our arrival, Ottawa was hit by a snow storm dumping around 15 centimetres. ( 6" for you Americans)

But being good Canadians, we made the best of it enjoying Ottawa, walking on the frozen Rideau Canal, eating Beaver Tails and writing our names in the snow. Boys only!











Tobogganing. (Sledding to you Americans)

Shoveling snow, Harbin Style. Please note, the shovel was made in China. Our littlest fuyuan supervised.

We are heading to Phoenix, Arizona after our Eastern sojourn, so we are sure to see some toasty warmer climes and finally shake off this Harbin winter jinx.  Stay tuned.