26 ~ Sunday, August 7, 1988 ~ North Shore News MOST OF our summer visitors are former locals who have moved elsewhere, but like to return to renew old friend- ships. They would look at you funny if you tried to enter- tain them as tourists. Our friends from California would also look amazed should we lead them towards suspension bridges or skyrides. They’ve been visiting British Columbia regularly since they were kids and probably know more about the province than we do. But, their remark that they might want to purchase property in B.C. for a future retirement home led us to a perfect afternoon. Con- sider it if you’re entertaining out- of-towners. Indian Arm is one of the most beautiful short expanses of water- way in the world. It has clean water, tidy little beaches, towering cliffs and even the odd waterfall. A round trip by boat can take as long as you like — we spent four hours — but I was told that the Arm can be navigated in some- thing less than 13 minutes in an emergency. We lucked-out when we hap- pened to be referred to the Deep Cove Water Taxi. For $75 we spent most of a Sunday afternoon cruising the Arm. The owner, Jim Patterson, knows more about the area in terms of geography and local history than any library could offer. His comfortable boat wiil house 12 people easily and he has no objection to picnics, It was a beautiful day, warm but not scorching. I'd recommend the trip even if it were mid-winter and drizzling. Our friends returned to Califor- nia with indian Arm high on the list of potential second residences. For anyone who is entertaining out-of-towners you can’t do better than call 929-1311 and pack a pic- nic. net Travel story department: A gentleman was riding the train from Los Angeles to New York. He discovered that his berth had some unwelcome guests in the form of roaches. The train crew couldn’t do a whole fot to fix the problem and the traveller wasn’t impressed. When he reached his destination he fired-off a nasty letter to the president of the railway. He received a wonderful reply, personally, from the head honcho. It commended him for drawing the matter to their attention and ex- plained that the problem had never occurred prior to his experience and that it would be dealt with immediately. The traveller was totally elated until he read a small memo that was attached to the back of the let- ter. It contained his name and ad- dress with the words, “Send this bird the bug letter’’. ean Misplaced your passport? If you own and have lost a current pass- port, it’s a pain in the neck to get a replacement. In addition to re-fil- ing all the original documents in- cluding photos (and $25) you must also fill out Form 203, obtainable only at the downtown office at #240-757 West Hastings Street. However, simply filling out the form and signing your name is not enough — the declaration must be travel wise Barbara McCreadie notarized, adding considerable cost and inconvenience. Keep this in mind when you put your passport into storage. tee Back to our California friends — when they first cailed to say they wanted to visit us, they plan- ned to fly from Los Angeles to Seattle, rent a car and drive to North Vancouver. They assumed that the flight would be con- siderably cheaper than the $450 plus they had paid the last time they flew directly to Vancouver. I suggested they give a thought to flying into Bellingham using U.S. Air (formerly PSA). They in- quired and found that a return fare Los Angeles-Bellingham was just $220 (US), a hefty saving. I haven’t flown with the airline since the takeover, but PSA was a treat to fly. Their staff was outstanding and their meals perfectly adequate by airline stan- dards. An additional benefit, the Bell- ingham Airport, just north of the city on I-5, offers acres of free parking. There is a seven-day advance booking requirement, but even business travellers should be able to work that into many of their programs. Phone 1-800-638-8550. tne The French government mails me a chatty little newsletter now and again. Generally, 1 don’t give a damn that there’s a pottery festi- val in Vallauris or a garlic fair (honestly!) on Aug. 24 in Hyeres. One item, though, will certainly be of interest to readers heading for Paris. Decent hotels in major Euro- pean cities can be outrageously ex- pensive. The news is that eight Paris hotels have joined to market their premises under the name TIMHOTEL and have a central reservation service: Timhotel Cen- tral Reservations, 3 Rue de la Banque 75002 Paris, Telex: 215 350, Telephone: 42.96.28.28. Their newest hotel charges just $78 double (kids under 12, free). The eight hotels are all located in the tourist areas of the city such as the Louvre, Montmartre and Montparnasse and the government brochure vows that the rooms are “comfortable though not lux- urious’’, Who cares? They all have baths. a ak When my dear 80+ year-old Aunt visited us many years ago, See Consider Page 27 HASTINGS TRAVEL YOUR TRAVEL CENTRE WITH “SWISS EFFICIENCY” TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS - WORLDWIDE FOR BUSINESS OR PLEASURE 744 WW. HASTINGS VANCOUVER, B.C. VEC 1A5 Prompt — Personalized — Multilingual Service cat: 689-0464 VERENA FURRER — Owner — Ord you know that just as a matter of principle theres no adut wn the world that we cant fit in a Tiley Hat? We also Make more s:7e8 in Tilley Pants and Shorts than anyone we know of including sizes 4, 24, 37 and $2! “tbope your clothes are endurable as you suggest since | have at feast another 8 years ta serve. Ray € Ray. who wites “my thing is shooting up bars’, 1s a guest of Her Majesty in Alberta. Along with Tilley Drawstring Pants, we sent him a git ceribcate fora hacksaw. Drop in, Phone or Write Alex T Barbara Tilley 1537 West Broadway Vancouver, B.C. V6d 1W6 Hours: Mon-Sat 10-5:30 Ph. 732-4287 or SEA-HATS FLIGHT TRAINING rat soniye, ee ASAP, A Private PHot Licence ~ Ground School ‘Glasses sturting Thursday, Aug. 11, 7:00 pin-9:30 pm commercial Pliots’ Licence — Accelerated Ground Schoo! — 40 classroom hours over 2 weekends starting Rug. 13, 1883 Professional Pilots Program — Starting sept. 6, 1388 For a Oven 7 Days a veck AVIATION LTD. = WIN A TRAVEL PRIZE EACH DAY! Wednesday Aug. 10 further dotalis call 465-5414 Pite Meocows Airport Mon. Aug. 8 Sun. Aug. 14 Draw '% hour before close, each day. A weekend for two in Vancouver courtesy Delta Hotels A double pass through the Rockies courtesy ViaRail. 2 rail passes: 1 ~ 15-day first class Eurorail Pass, courtesy French National Railroad. 1 first class trip for 2 on Britrail courtesy Britrail. You and 19 of your friends can go to see Aussie Football at BC. Place (value $600.00). A trip for 2 on a regularly scheduled helicopter flight to Vancouver Island courtesy Helijet. A ski weekend for 2 at Whistler (value $500.00). Our grand prize a weekend for 2 in Reno with deluxe accom- modation, courtesy BainsTravel. FREE PARKING Sun. 12 mooe-5:00 pas