I spent the last week in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island with my immediate team at work. It’s been a few years since I’ve travelled had a small team meetup due to Covid. It was long overdue! And it was extra special to host the team here in Canada!

We rented a house through Airbnb. It was a big house, with three bedrooms, two baths, and two big living rooms. Three of us stayed in the house, and three stayed at a nearby hotel. This worked fairly well – so we had all the space of the house (inside and out) for working and relaxing during the day.

And this was a perfect low-key meetup. Just 6 people, all really easy going personalities. We didn’t have too many activities or work-related tasks scheduled. It was ultimately most important that we just got to know each other better because that is key to working better together once we’re back home and working remotely. We were a good mix of long-time coworkers who knew each other well, and newer team members who were hired in the last couple of years when we weren’t able to travel.

One day we took a whale-watching cruise for 5 hours! We saw a few orcas and a few humpbacks! And a few seals of course.

We had free time one evening, so I was able to meet up with my good friend Colette who was nearby! We ate a Mexican meal and then caught up for a few hours.

One day after working together we decided to go bowling. On the way to the bowling alley, I asked, does anyone know if this is 5-pin or 10-pin? They looked at me blankly. Turns out Americans have no idea about 5-pin bowling! You should have seen their reactions when they saw the pins, and better yet, when they picked up the ball and there were no holes for their fingers! One even thought it was similar to a Pokemon poke ball and wanted to throw it at the pins! HA!

They just weren’t satisfied with 5-pin so they needed to redeem themselves on a second night at a 10-pin bowling alley! Personally, I grew up with 5 pin and prefer it – sticking your fingers in the ball is just so weird and it is too heavy!

On another day some of us walked around Bowen Park and then played Uno on a picnic table.

We had a delicious final dinner at a Greek restaurant.

I was able to travel all the way home in one day!

Back to Dawson where there was flooding again along the Klondike River, evacuations, and sandbagging while I was away. The highway to Whitehorse was closed most of the week due to washouts! And it keeps raining!

Update: Photos of the whales and seals we spotted while on the whale watching trips have been posted by the tour’s naturalists on their website – https://www.vancouverislandwhalewatch.com/recent-sightings/2023/5/28/may-25-2023