Nitobe Garden is considered to be the one of the most authentic Japanese gardens in North America and among the top five Japanese gardens outside of Japan. Each tree, stone and shrub has been deliberately placed and is carefully maintained to reflect an idealized conception and symbolic representation of nature. There is harmony among natural forms - waterfalls, rivers, forests, islands and seas - and a balance of masculine and feminine forces traditionally attributed to natural elements.

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Rudy and Al are taking the stepping stones across the stream which represents the potential perils of infancy.

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We are all celebrating our 49th anniversary this year so we thought it appropriate to have our picture taken at the Marriage Lantern.

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Lunch found us at the Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot. The food was yummy and plentiful and the company fantastic. The last time the four of us had the hot pot experience was on our trip to China.

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The next stop on our itinerary was the University of British Columbia Botanical Gardens which was established in 1916. It is the oldest botanical garden at a university in Canada. The garden is approximately 110 acres and includes over 8000 different kinds of plants.

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This garden included medicinal and pharmaceutical plants used during the Tudor and Elizabethan periods in England. It was certainly interesting seeing how some of these plants were used!

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We took a quick drive through White Rock just before crossing back into the United States so we could see the pier and the rock that gave this town it's name. The large 486-ton granite boulder probably migrated south to this place during the last glaciation.

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There are several metal sculptures gracing the main street in Blaine. I found this fish and couldn't resist taking a photo of the marina through it as the sun was beginning to go down for the night.

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As we went around Drayton Harbor on our way back to camp, we saw a couple of herons perched on boulders in the water looking for their next meal.

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Today found us taking the back roads to the small town of Ferndale. While there, we visited Pioneer Park which was established in 1901 along the Nooksack River. The park is home to the world's largest collection of cedar slab log cabins.

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The Centennial Riverwalk Park commemorates the City of Ferndale's centennial year (2007) and also pays tribute to Ferndale's most prominent natural landmark, the Nooksack River. The Lummi Indians were the original inhabitants of the Ferndale area, and although forcibly moved to reservation lands in 1855, they continue to share their culture and art. The House of Tears Carvers from the Lummi Nation created three totem poles for the Riverwalk Park telling stories of the Nooksack River.

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The Hovander's were a prominent pioneer Ferndale family who immigrated in the early 1900's from Sweden. Hokan Hovander was a well-known architect who did substantial architectural work for the city of Chicago after the 1871 fire.

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Hokan designed the house and barn based on traditional Scandinavian architectural features but also incorporated building techniques he learned while working in the U.S. The family occupied the residence until 1969 when the last of the children went into a senior residence and sold the property to the county.

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We went to Peace Park today which is located right at the US/Canadian border. This is the only place where there is a pedestrian crosswalk on a freeway!

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We were lucky that the Ballard Sedentary Sousa Band, a non-marching marching band, was playing at Peace Park. They play the greatest hits of band music and rousing classics by John Philip Sousa, Henry Fillmore, and more. This spirited brass and wind band comes with a colorful array of band uniforms collected from across the United States. Edith Farrar, the world's only Sedentary Majorette, performed seated baton twirling and then led the Sedentary Sousa Band Drill Team (the audience) in a number. Needless to say, we did lots of hand clapping and sedentary marching during the hour long concert. What a great way to end our stay here in Blaine.

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