Author: Anne Yeadon-Jones
ISBN: 1570613532
New Prices From :- $64.99 (last updated 16/08/2010@19:08:20)

Product Description

The Pacific Northwest is well known for its spectacular world-class cruising grounds. Authors Anne and Laurence Yeadon-Jones have combed every nautical mile of this area in their 36-foot sailboat, Dreamspeaker, to sketch and write about the true gems in this watery region. Key features include the best anchorages and marinas in each region, unique hand-drawn shoreline plans for each destination, detailed sketch charts, and color photographs. There are also details on approach, hazards and cautions, where to anchor, marina contacts, and US/Canadian customs. In addition, you can find out where to drop a crab pot, pick huckleberries, find a freshwater lake, discover a hidden beach, watch otters at play, or simply take a hike.

Author: S
ISBN: 1570610312

Product Description

From the Best Places editors comes this handy guide, featuring these popular Northwest islands within a stone’s throw of Seattle and Vancouver. From beaches and parks to art galleries or produce stands, no element of this destination is left unexamined. Includes rated restaurants and lodgings.

Average Customer Rating

If your goin get this book !

Keep this book at the top of your pack. All the information is concise and up date. Even though this book is published in ‘95 the best places are still there. We refered to it during both our trips and found it a must have. Please have these guys get out to our next destination. They saved us stress and time from where to by dinner to where to sleep they covered it all.

A previous post (Portland Island) covers the history and visiting information for the island. Words don’t do Portland Island justice however so here are some more photographs.

Portland Island, Southern Gulf Islands, British Columbia, Canada

Portland Island, Southern Gulf Islands, British Columbia, Canada

Kayaking at Portland Island, British Columbia, Canada

Hiking Trail on Portland Island, British Columbia, Canada

Hiking the Gulf Islands: An Outdoor Guide to BC’s Enchanted Isles  Author: Charles Kahn Binding: Paperback ISBN: 1550173154 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

Hiking the Gulf Islands: An Outdoor Guide to BC’s Enchanted Isles by: Charles Kahn

Editorial Review:

Nestled in the rain shadow of Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands bask in the mildest climate in Canada, a mini-Mediterranean that fosters an abundance of plant and animal species seen nowhere else. Throw in panoramic views, inviting beaches and friendly hospitality – all just a short ferry ride from Vancouver or Victoria – and you have a hiker’s paradise. Whether your visit lasts a day or a week, Hiking the Gulf Islands is the best guide to exploring the islands on foot. It is the only comprehensive guide with up-to-date information on the recently created Gulf Islands National Park – 33 square kilometres scattered over 16 islands and more than 30 islets and reefs. Separate chapters cover each island – including the often-overlooked Texada, Lasqueti and Thetis islands plus Bowen Island at the entrance to Howe Sound – and even hiking trails in the area’s marine parks. Hiking the Gulf Islands includes: * Maps showing trail locations. * Distance and time of each hike. * Accessibility and degree of difficulty of each route. * Lists of shore and road walks. * Paddling suggestions for kayak or canoe. * What to bring and what to look for.

Similar Products:

British Columbia’s Gulf Islands: Afoot & Afloat by Marge Mueller, Ted Mueller (Paperback)

Frommer’s Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands & the San Juan Islands by Chris McBeath (Paperback) - Usually ships in 24 hours

We also have our 2011 Pender Island wall calendar highlighting the scenery and views of North and South Pender Island.

Ango Retreat, Salt Spring Island

Ango Retreat is an enchanting waterview haven: 20 gorgeous acres of sunny meadows, orchards, woods and gardens nestled privately at the end of an idyllic country lane.

‘Ango’ means ‘Peaceful Dwelling’, as both an action or state of being, as well as a place to be.

Here, birds and frogs sing, tall fir trees dance in the breeze, the water reflects ever-shifting light, bright dragonflies flash over the pond, the air is fresh and sweet. Here we breathe deeply, drink in beauty, and forget for a while the busy world beyond.

With fully self-contained guest suites and a variety of facilities for group activities, Ango offers an extraordinary setting for your vacation, class, workshop, personal retreat, ceremony or meeting.

And within this beautiful locale, the resident Ango team offer a range of healing and creative arts services, to further delight, restore, inspire and nurture you, body, mind and soul. (Full details on the About pages.) We’re especially excited that the fabulously talented pianist Don Conley is now in residence, ready to entertain or teach you in the lovely new separate music studio.

For a uniquely memorable experience we invite you to book Don for your very own program of musical magic, played on his magnificent Steinway concert grand piano!

Ango Retreat is wheelchair accessible, and environmentally friendly; we clean with ‘green’ and fragrance-free products, raise all our crops organically, and maintain diverse wildlife habitats.

No matter the season, or whether you visit for a few hours, days, or weeks, we know that the beauty of this land will touch you deeply, and you will leave feeling nourished and revitalized.

Ango Retreat
340 Lepage Rd.
Salt Spring, British Columbia, V8K 1N1

Phone: 250.537.0022

www.angoretreat.com    email: angoretreat@telus.net

Our Gulf Islands books are obtainable through Amazon.com at www.gulfislandsguide.com/gulf-islands-books.

We are featuring an assortment of more than 10,000 2011 wall and desk calendars through our affiliation with Calendars.com at www.gulfislandsguide.com/calendars. A few Gulf Island calendars and Pender Island calendars will be available in the next couple months. I’m hoping to have a calendar for Salt Spring Island available as well.

Our poster selection is courtesy of AllPosters.com, the planet’s largest online poster retailer. The posters are available at
www.gulfislandsguide.com/travel-posters. A few of my Gulf Islands posters are available through Artist Rising at http://www.artistrising.com with more on the way in the next couple of weeks.

Portland Island, Gulf Islands National Park Reserve of Canada, Southern Gulf Islands, British Columbia

British Columbia’s Portland Island is a much-loved location in the Southern Gulf Islands for both boaters as well as kayakers. The island is a wonderful destination for a day trip or multi-day boating and camping adventures with a pair of protected moorages and three campgrounds available. Portland Island is part of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve of Canada.

First Nations people utilized Portland Island going back 3,000 years as is verified from the middens that can be found on the island. These middens are classified as archaeological sites and are protected legally. As such these middens must not be disturbed. Subsequently the island ended up being inhabited by Kanaka (Hawaiian) immigrants and was utilized primarily for farming purposes. An ecentric owner in the 1920’s was Frank “One Arm” Sutton, a retired British army officer. Frank Sutton acquired the island with funds he had won gambling on horse races within China. The plan was to raise & train thoroughbred race horses on the island. All evidence of the old horse racing track and a golf course have now vanished.

In 1958 the island was presented as a gift from the Province of British Columbia to Princess Margaret to commemorate her visit to the province. It was apparently expected that the princess would accept the island and immediately return it but apparently she had other ideas for the next 9 years! Princess Margaret finally returned the island to the province of British Columbia in 1967 to be used as a park and it became known as Princess Margaret Marine Park. The Canadian Government bought the island from the Province of British Columbia and it became known once again as Portland Island and became a portion of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve of Canada.

Portland Island is located around 4.5 kilometers from Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island making it a well known day destination for kayakers and boaters. Even though it is not a very lengthy crossing, it may occasionally get quite rough during poor weather conditions so plan your trip accordingly.

3 campsites are available on the island; Shell Beach Campsite is situated on a gorgeous shell beach directly across from Brackman Island (Brackman Island is an ecological reserve and visiting isn’t permitted). The beautiful shell beach is partially sheltered by Brackman Island and does not get hit directly by ferry wake. Arbutus Point Campsite is located on a small peninsula on the northeast end of the island and provides excellent views of the surrounding islands. The beach for the campground is situated on the north side of the peninsula. Princess Bay campsite is situated above the bay and has a wonderful view of the scenic bay, the most used overnight stop for pleasure boaters. Pit toilets can be found at each of the campsites on Portland Island.

In addition to Princess Bay, boaters have an option of staying on the northern end of the island at Royal Cove.

BC’s first artificial reef, the sunken freighter G.B. Church, is situated off the northeast shore of Portland Island. The scuttled ship now serves as a haven for marine organisms and is an attraction for divers from around the world.

Shell Beach at Portland Island, Gulf Islands National Park Reserve of Canada

The moorage at Princess Bay, Portland Island, British Columbia

Grasses at Portland Island, Gulf Islands National Park Reserve of Canada

Jellyfish at Portland Island, Gulf Islands National Park Reserve of Canada

The 123 of Digital Imaging interactive learning suite

The 123di interactive learning suite was first developed in 2001 by Vincent Bockaert to bring up to date photography information to both amateur and professional photographers in an interactive format. Here we are almost a decade later and the 123 of digital imaging is as up to date as ever, something not easily accomplished in the fast paced digital photography world. This is the beauty of the product, and shows the true dedication that Vincent and his crew have in keeping this amazing product up to date. No wonder the imaging suite is popular with schools and government bodies such as police departments and the Armed Forces. As well, many of the industry’s top manufacturers such as Intel, Nikon, Epson and others use 123di for internal training. High praise indeed!

I purchased my first copy of 123di (version 2) about 6 years ago, moved up to version 4 a few years back and just recently updated to their most recent release, version 6.2. Digital imaging has changed incredibly in this short period of time and while I found these earlier versions to be very well done I felt it was time to see what Vincent and his crew were up to with the latest version of 123di. I purchased the latest version a few weeks ago, here’s a quick review.

The unique aspect about the 123 of Digital Imaging is that it’s an ebook with so much more than what most of them give us. Beautiful illustrations combined with animated sequences and an interactive interface make the product a true joy to browse through whether you are a beginner photographer or a professional. Over 5,500 pages cover topics ranging from understanding digital imagery (light, sensors and more) to lens and camera selection, exposure, composition and image editing. An extensive section on RAW editing is available for advanced users and I would recommend even for the novice to explore. One unique concept is 3 levels of learning; starter, essential and advanced. This makes it possible to select a topic and work your way through the information based on your knowledge at the time, proceeding to more advanced techniques as you feel more comfortable.

View the entire table of contents.

The 123 of Digital Imaging

While the 123 of Digital Imaging primarily covers the use of Photoshop and Photoshop Elements the workflow procedures and editing information is valid for almost any photo editor out there so even if you don’t use an Adobe product this section still offers plenty of useful and relevant information. Adobe Lightroom and ImageReady are also well documented.

Of interest beyond the scope of the actual photography is an extensive section on managing, viewing, sharing and printing your photographs. The section on managing your images should be a “must read” for anyone that values the work they do. Backing up images and organizing your photos so you can find them is covered in detail. How many of you are up to date on this?

For Nikon users there is a special Nikon edition containing a few hundred additional extra pages of coverage of Capture NX 2.2, Capture NX 1.4, Nikon Capture 4.4, and Nikon Scan. Being a Nikon user this is the edition I purchased and I found the Nikon NX2 information (my RAW editor of choice) very well laid out and extremely informative. I find that I reference the section often as I’m working on images and it’s infinitely better than the official NX2 user manual. Once again, the use of numerous illustrations really made understanding many of the concepts far easier than just reading a typical book or e book. I don’t use the other Nikon programs but expect the information contained in 123di would be just as good.

123di is available in a standard edition and extended edition. The extended version is well worth the additional purchase price regardless of whether you are buying the regular version or the special Nikon version. For an additional $10 you gain the ability to bookmark pages, add notes to pages, search for multiple keywords and a host of other benefits. With over 5,500 pages of information available I found this to be a must have feature to keep track of what I was learning and exploring.

What’s my verdict on this product? As a professional photographer with over 30 years experience I like to think that I have a good grasp on photography technique. I have also been doing digital photography since the dark ages about 10 years ago and have taught many photography courses over the years. With this in mind I am amazed at what I have learned from this digital photography guide and can see using The 123 of Digital Imaging as a teaching aid in future courses. For the beginning photographer there is years worth of learning potential here and the great user interface makes the information available in seconds. For the seasoned pro there is lots of valuable digital photography information available as well.

RATING: 5 stars

Additional information may be obtained at The 123 of Digital Imaging web site. A FREE demo is available.

The Villas at Vesuvius

Relax and take in the famous vistas and sunsets of Vesuvius from Salt Spring’s newest and most unique vacation accommodation, just a short stroll from store, restaurant and the island’s warmest swimming beach.

Set against a wooded hillside overlooking Vesuvius Bay, the Mediterranean style Villas contain 12 independently owned, tastefully furnished one and two-bedroom suites ranging in size from 900 to 1,300 square feet. The upper floor suites are accessed by elevator and covered breezeways.

All suites feature an open plan kitchen/dining and living area with fireplace, opening onto a large shaded porch or balcony. In addition each of the four terrace level suites has a private garden/patio area. Facing southwest, the balconies and terraces are bathed in sunlight from morning until sunset.

Each suite has a fully equipped kitchen, including full size fridge, range/oven, microwave, dishwasher and attractive table settings for dining indoors or out, as well as extra changes of linen and towels and its own washer and dryer.