COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS TIL WE HEAD SOUTH

So what do you think this is? The leg of a departing leopard?

Chicory flower

A little aster like wildflower along the roadside

Thimbleberry leaf

Closer shot of Thimbleberry leaf

Calla Lily leaves

Calla Lily leaves

Not a leopard leg, its a yellow leaf with a water droplet hanging off the end

All today's images are HDR creations with the exception of the asters which are a straight shot

It was Jacquie’s 65^th birthday on Friday. Her next older sister, June, and Eric arrived about 11 from Hope bringing the cake and birthday greetings. I spent the morning rearranging all the motor home basement compartments and only managed to get a little bit for storage. I did get Aileen’s scooter loaded in the CRV including the seat. I was worried about the seat but it fit in with no problem. I still have the left rear seat usable for Mitzy or another person. Aileen cooked turnips and stove top dressing for Jacquie’s lunch. Jacquie and Jim are living in their motor home right behind us so they also have limited resources. The six of us had a nice lunch and the cake June brought was excellent. No candles but we sang happy birthday. After lunch we all went to Jacquie and Jim’s church to get a few pears then to their new house for a tour and a few big plums. It began raining just as we left here and got harder as the afternoon progressed. June and Eric headed home about 2 or just after and we came home. Aileen had a much needed nap and I puttered on the computer which was tiring as the signal kept fading in and out. After taking Mitzy for a stroll, I took my macro lens and did some HDR macro. Some turned out well when I processed them after supper. I read during and after the processing.

We went off to town Saturday morning. Stopped at storage first to put some stuff in and grab out the stuff to take south as I wanted to get it packed rather than waiting for the last minute. Dropped off a bit of recycling then went to Canadian Tire where I bought an outside temperature gauge for the Terra. They had a mini weather station for $8 that included an altimeter. Ken from Grand Junction was really looking for one last winter so thought we’d take this and see if he had one yet. After lunch while Aileen slept, I rearranged the basement storage again and got everything in. I also installed the thermometer. Aileen went down the road aways when she got up and called her friend in Victoria, Bev for a chat. Our Daughter Bev came to supper and brought her newest ward, Frosty, a week and a half old male kitten who has frost bite like damage to his feet and will probably have no claws on his front and likely no toes either. My Aunt Eleanor called inviting us for supper Saturday night then Sunday night but Aileen had a meeting at 7 so now we are going Monday night. Such a busy schedule! Today was a pretty pleasant day here. I read that Port Hardy (where we lived a few lives ago) had been declared a disaster area. They had high winds and 200 mm (that’s 8 inches!) of rain Friday and overnight. It sounds like quite a mess. We’ve had no word yet from Aileen’s sister Anne who lives near there, but there isn’t usually on the weekend. It looks like we’re in for a wet day today.

We’re thinking of leaving Thursday but no later than Friday morning and heading to Penticton to visit our friends Carole and Bev for a couple of days. We will be having a regional photo club meeting while there to decide whether to remain operating on an occasional basis or wrap things up. Our appointment for the remaining work on the motor home has been put off to Tuesday now as the wrong parts came in.

BACK IN THE SHUSWAP FOR A FEW DAYS

We started the departure preparations about 7AM on Saturday the 17th and it took about 30 minutes or so. I pulled outside the gate and got the CRV attached with supervision by Chas and Sheila as well as Aileen. We headed out the gate about 7:50 well ahead of schedule. Just as we were turning onto the freeway, the phone rang. It was Sheila who had just found Aileen’s only jacket hanging in her closet. Chas brought it down to the weigh scales for us. I took the opportunity to weigh the Terra since the scales were closed. The Terra came in at 19,646 lbs which is well under our gvw of 22,000. The breakdown was 3160 kgs front and 5770 rear. Adding the CRV (about 3600 lbs), we should be nearly 3000 lbs under our gross combined weight limit. We arrived at Duke Point at 8:48 so less than 50 minutes driving time. The lot was nearly empty when we arrived. They charged us 55 feet so $240.15! The ferry left on time at least. We stopped at the end of the causeway for Mitzy who really needed to pee as she wouldn’t go at Duke Point. We arrived at Hope mid afternoon and selected #85 campsite at Coquilhalla Campsite, $28 full hook up. I gave Mitzy a good walk up and down the river and all around the campsite. She was pooped for the rest of the evening. Aileen went off to bed right after supper so I went for a looong walk around town. I made it down to the highway along the river on the far side of town. I called my Aunt June to see if we could come by in the morning and she said okay.

On Sunday my alarm rang at six am again (still on from the day before) but we happily ignored it. We had a slow start finally getting on the road at 9:30 when we drove both vehicles over to June’s. They had a tour and we visited outside awhile then I hooked the car up and we departed. We stopped for lunch early at the Britton Creek Rest Stop and read awhile plus Mitzy and I wandered around a bit. Some old guy was recording us on his video camera while we were eating then all the way out the road I could see him still filming us. Weird! Then dropping down into Merritt, some tourist was videoing us as he went past. Not sure what that as about, there were many other RVs on the road today. We unhooked the CRV before driving into my Aunt Jacquie’s (and Jim’s) yard. I just drove up by the garage then backed up toward their motor home and we were in position. It didn’t take much to get level either, just lift the right side a bit. I had to plug in to an inside plug in as the ground fault outside one kept tripping as I plugged in. We had an early supper of soup and toast as we were both hungry. Jacquie and Jim had a tour after we got set up.

It was quiet here during the night, no road noise of any kind. We went off to town before 8:30 Monday to get Mitzy for her bath and grooming appointment at the SPCA where our daughter Bev did the deed. Next stop was Tri Crown to talk to John about the solar power transfer to the Terra. We got an appointment for Thursday morning. From there we went to the storage yard where I left 8 postdated cheques. We hope to empty or at least downsize the contents next Spring. I retrieved the big Fantastic Fan cover which had been pushed quite far back. I installed it late this afternoon. I was lucky to be able to borrow Jim’s cordless drill which was in the front of his truck and not already moved to the new place. We picked up Mitzy then came home for lunch as Aileen was whacked. After supper I took Mitzy for a walk down the road and also called Terasen Gas to request a refund of the credit owing from out last statement. She said it had already been sent as of September 8^th.

On Wednesday, I helped Jim and his friend Rick move shop stuff to the new place. Three big loads with his flatdeck with sides on and two loads with our truck almost got it all moved. He still had a load of lumber, plywood etc to take when he figured out where to put it. We took the last load over after lunch.

Aileen went off to town Wednesday morning for her doctor’s appointment. She carried on from there to Val Nakazawa’s for a haircut and visit. She got her prescription for thyroid med filled and found we had been removed from the government plan for some reason so we had to fill out an application. She and Bev went for lunch at Choice’s as Bev had today off.

I went to town mid afternoon to see Tracy at TAC Mobility. She didn’t have the loaner she had planned to give me as it went out the other day. When I researched buying my contract out I found I would have to pay $380! No more contracts with Telus! I decided I’ll buy an aircard outright and wait for the contract to expire then go on monthly. I went to the Holiday Inn and pirated their signal so I could pay a bill that needed attention. I met my old former coworker, John Randall, down town and we had a good chat. He has the dry type macular degeneration and the specialist told him he may get 3-5 years of sight, maybe less. I went to storage and dug out Aileen’s scooter. I managed to get it loaded using the ATV ramp and the help offered by a guy living in his 5^th wheel right there.

I helped Jim load all the bits and pieces of lumber from his shop Thursday morning before we went off to town. I went to Telus and bought another aircard outright. I also picked up our C- PAP machine cards from the technician who had them to download the stored data. We had lunch at PJs with Bev then went out to the storage locker and tore it apart. We found my leather coat which I wanted to have with us but no luck with the blood pressure monitor or TENS machine. I think we accessed 90% of all the boxes but no luck. We did get rid of a few things to the thrift store and Bev took all the snow shovels and the treadmill. We got the storage stuff put back and it is less crowded at the front and more efficiently stacked at the back. We were close to three hours at storage.

We headed for town with the car and Terra just after 8 AM this morning. Dumped the tanks first then delivered the motor home to Tri Crown where they had it for the day installing the solar panels, digital charge meter/regulator etc so the panels are actually charging. We are to take it back on Monday to have the inverter and auto switch installed. We took the laundry to the Shell Station facility and Aileen took care of it while I took Mitzy for a short walk. We couldn’t get her computer to get online so she used mine. We went to Choices for soup and sandwich for lunch then Aileen walked around the block and I had a quick Art Gallery tour. Next, we went to My Aunt Eleanor’s. Aileen took over the canning Eleanor was working on and I helped Eleanor on some computer issues. I set up Gmail for her, transferred way over a year’s photos to a thumb drive and showed her how to defrag. Uncle Ron goes for his eye operation tomorrow. Tonight I figured out what was wrong with Aileen’s computer and the internet. It was set on VPN and needed to be on Telus ISP or something. However, the signal was so bad it kept kicking her off and frustrating her so she finally went to bed. This was another day where she didn’t get a nap so really needed some rest anyway. My baby sister Becky, I’m the oldest of 8 and she is the youngest, turned 49 today. Time is moving along so fast! We had a rather nice day yesterday but every other day has been mostly cloudy and some rain since we arrived here.

WE PREPARE TO DEPART VANCOUVER ISLAND

The new calf

He found a sheltered spot out of the wind

The big fat Mama

Mitzy has found a new favourite resting spot

I went to the local Old Time Fiddlers jam and open mike last Saturday afternoon and it was great. It cost me $5 and I listened to music for over 4 hours. I headed off to Nanaimo about 8:15 to pick up the girls. The bus arrived at 9:28, three minutes behind schedule. It was raining nearly all the way there and back. We had tea and tarts when we got home.

On Sunday we had a leisurely morning visiting with Anne before she headed homeward. Logan arrived home about 8 PM with all his tools. He stayed in Revelstoke the night before and said it rained almost all the way from Fernie the day before until he got here. He started his new job Monday morning and seems happy with it.

We had a slow start Monday morning then Aileen went for a few groceries. I puttered around scheming up a plan for the rock guard mounting. When Aileen returned, I took the water bottles for filling then went to Demex where I looked over the available used angle iron. I settled on two pieces, one was 92” and the other 42”. They cost $4. I managed to get them in the Honda. I spent awhile working on the pieces then went to Home Hardware for bolts, screws and paint. When I returned, the Pengelly’s, my aunt and uncle, were here. Ron and I went back out to the shop and did some more on the bracket. Bolted it together then took it to the Terra where I held it in place with vice grips and drilled the holes in the frame. It would have been a hard job but Ron used a shovel to pry up on the drill so it went quite well. Then we had to quit for supper. I went off bowling in Chas’ place after supper. Ethel, Gary and Roong were my team. I started the first game with a strike and ended with 169. Started the second with three strikes and a 201 but third game was only 155. It was fun anyway.

On Tuesday morning Ron and I went for coffee (V8 juice for me) and I got Chas’ and Sheila's mail. Ron and Eleanor went to see Mom and Dad late morning. Apparently Dad was dozy and Mom just sad. At least she wasn’t angry.

We had lunch on our own then I attached the aluminum brackets for the sweeper using Chas’ impact drill. It sure has been nice having a drill press and cordless drills etc to work with. When I finished doing that, I mounted the finished product onto the motor home and then Aileen helped put the nylon screen in place and suddenly we’re finished. I must say it looks every bit as good as an RV tech would have done and I’m sure I saved lots of money.

I just finished that when Wendy and Randy arrived. We visited an hour or so outside then in the house. They hadn’t known Pengelly’s were here. They plan to head south about November 1. My sister Sue and John arrived not too long after Wendy and Randy left. Sue bought scalloped potatoes, beets and beans and Aileen made meat loaf and a peach and berry cobbler. Logan joined us for supper also as he got home earlier tonight. It was close to 9 when Sue and John departed.

It was after 10:30 Wednesday morning before the Pengelly’s were ready to go on our planned ride. Took them to see Becky’s and Tom’s places, neither of which had anyone home of course. We went to the little restaurant at French Creek (the Wheeelhouse Café) Janet told us about and had the recommended fish and chips which were pretty good. However, note to self, order the one piece as the two piece is huge. We went by the A&W and picked up Aileen’s MS event prize. Since they still didn’t have the actual prize in, they made up a box with two large and two medium sized genuine A&W mugs. Aileen thinks this is far better than what she would have received. At the time she bought the ticket, she said she hoped she didn’t win as it was just stuff. Now she has something useful.

The Pengelly’s went off to visit Mom and Dad mid afternoon. Aileen went for a long nap which was sorely needed. We went and visited Sam and Sharon for awhile then went to Roong’s Westhill Restaurant for supper. It was pretty good.

The Pengelly’s got away shortly after 8:30 Thursday morning heading for the 10:15 ferry. Aileen and I went to town mid morning and filled several water bottles at Coombs on the way home. We finished off Roong’s food for lunch and it went down well. Aileen napped awhile. After a bit, I went and saw my parent’s for a few minutes. I find it all so sad! Mom wasn’t really angry but didn’t make a lot of sense either. Dad was busy eating two cookies and drinking his tea mostly with his eyes closed which didn’t slow him down at all.

Aileen put a roast in the crock pot and it turned out great. There was just her, Logan and I for supper. Chas and Sheila arrived about 7, I think and had leftovers. I supervised Sheila downloading her camera card and later we transferred the pictures to my thumb drive then Logan played them on his laptop on the big TV. There were some really good shots and they had much better weather than we thought they were having. They had a one sailing wait this afternoon as it was very busy at the ferries. Sue had stopped by this afternoon and suggested to Aileen that we not try the ferry tomorrow as it is usually very busy on Friday’s. I made a large print of Cathedral Mountain at Sedona and the blacks were pale gray. It turned out the photo black was empty even though it was still lit up saying it was fine. When I replaced the cartridge, the picture came out great.

Today was final packing for departure. I wrestled my big printer out and into the bedroom closet. It was much easier than putting it under the bed like in the trailer. I rearranged several things in the storage bays to make it all work. I managed to get my ATV ramp in as well so I have it along should it be needed down south with my other ATV (which I plan to buy when we arrive). It’s difficult to foresee what will be. I went for a final adjustment on my new glasses and took in a photo exhibit by a local photographer I know at the Old Schoolhouse Gallery in Qualicum Beach. I admired the other art work on display also.

I have to park the CanAm ATV in a secure spot here yet this afternoon. We hope to get the 10:15 ferry tomorrow so that means we’ll have to get started pretty early in the morning since we don’t have a system worked out yet for a speedy departure. We will have that figured out by the time we make Arizona, I’m sure. Our plan is still to go to Salmon Arm til about the end of September then head south taking about a month to get to Caliente.

Charlie came by this morning to ask if we saw the new addition in the field. We hadn’t but the cow had calved yesterday or last night and there was a chipper looking whiteface calf frisking around the meadow. Talk about saving your bacon. The cow was destined to be sold this Fall as it wasn’t known she was bred, so now she will make the Winter for sure. The day before yesterday, she and her last calf had eaten three wheelbarrow loads of grass clippings in one session. They are both gluttons. The first two loads were already cleaned up when I took the third one over. Maybe all that food pushed the calf out?

THESE IMAGES GO WITH THE POST BELOW

Approaching Gabriola Island

Aileen at our table inside the Silva Bay Pub with the bay reflected in the window

Looking directly at the bay

Sandy Bay on Gabriola Island

Lots of erosion in the sandstone

Low tide

Character rocks

I called this Clown Rock

A couple of Jelly Fish

A VISIT TO GABRIOLA ISLAND AND COWICHAN EXHIBITION

I thought this critter was a muskrat but the fluffy tail leads me to believe it is actually a mink. This was the original image shot with a 400 mm lens from across the inlet

This is the above image cropped a lot

I was impressed with the colour of the growth on the rocks - this stuff likes the salt water

Rock art naturally eroded sandstone

Returning to Nanaimo harbour from Gabriola Island

My deer barricade

Getting the team ready requires lots of help - at the Cowichan Exhibition

My Dad's brother Mac and his daughter Sharon - my cousin

They were watching the tractor pull

An old Massey Harris

This is for my Iowa friends

Some Berkshires pigs

A display of all the different types of honey from Vancouver Island

We woke listening to the raindrops on the roof Monday morning. I presume Chas and Sheila were out the gate about 4:30 AM heading for the first ferry but I sure didn’t notice. Logan came by for a visit in the morning and we discussed options for mounting the sweeper rock guard on the rear of the Terra. I got the Sirius radio hooked up and also fixed Aileen’s CPAP machine. She couldn’t get her humidifier to work. I managed to see that she had crossed her wire connections last time she put it together so it was good that I could compare it with mine. I did some routing of our trip south using Good Sam’s program. Nothing carved in stone of course, we reserve the right to totally deviate for any set course!

It rained quite heavy at times during the night and again Tuesday morning. Aileen contacted the sharpener in Courtenay to see about getting the SPCA pet grooming blades sharpened and he was going away again in the afternoon so we ran them up right after breakfast. We thought about visiting our friend’s Perry and Lynda but Lynda has a nasty cold courtesy of the grandkids so we weren’t going there.

Later Tuesday while Aileen was napping, I went to town and stopped in to see my parents. Dad was sitting in the window area near the office and was quite lucid. He pointed out Randy’s and Wendy’s apartment right off. Mom on the other hand was not having a good day. I found her in the hall outside her room in her wheelchair trying to pull herself along with her feet. One of the neighbour ladies indicated Mom was not behaving very well. I took her to see Dad and she wasn’t impressed. I then took her around the inside loop and she grumbled the whole way mostly not making sense or even sentences. I took her back to her room and gave her a drink of juice or something that was waiting for her. I opened the curtains when she said that would be okay and turned down the TV volume. She has such sensitive hearing I don’t know why they have to have the volume so high! It was cartoons on. Dad was asleep when I went back so I left.

We fired up the Terra Wednesday morning and installed the drop hitch which seems like it will do the job of getting the towbar closer to level. I also measured for the stone guard. We went to the Co-op and filled the propane tank. Last step was dumping the tanks at Charlie’s. We got backed in to the same position quite easily and then it was lunchtime. Later it was discovered that the deer had made a major raid on the garden the previous night eating green tomatoes, all the beet tops, all the strawberry plants and the kale. We covered much of the garden tonight with plastic and tarps and moved dog Belle’s bed around that side of the house. Logan helped me carry the bed. After supper, we went for an ice cream at Whiskey Creek then over to Mike and Shaunee’s in Alberni. After visiting awhile, they sent us home with some wild sockeye salmon and a package of moose sausage. We watched a bear in their yard for awhile.

The deer did more damage to the gardens Wednesday night. Logan reports they were led by a large buck. Thursday night I strung a rope for the 100 feet or so between the garden shed and the gazebo then strung tarps all along it and propped up the rope with 6 and 8 foot poles.

We went to Gabriola Island Thursday morning. We waited an hour or more for the ferry in Nanaimo and went down South Road checking things out. We had lunch at Silva Bay Pub which was pretty good. The weather wasn’t all that great over there although we did get some sun mid afternoon. We went up the North Road then Taylor Road but we headed back to the ferry early so we didn’t have to wait for a later one. I got Jelly Fish pictures and a Mink at the dock that I wouldn’t have otherwise. Next time we’ll have to plan on staying later in the evening.

We BBQ’d corn and sockeye salmon for supper and Aileen picked the last few beans then pulled the plants for the cows. Logan arrived just as we started to eat and seemed to enjoy the fish. He got a job starting Monday in Parksville but has to retrieve his tools from behind the picket line in the East Kootenay. I was going to drive him to the airport in the morning but then he couldn’t find a Budget rental truck so managed to borrow a Toyota T100 from a friend and headed off late evening to catch the 10:45 ferry at Duke Point. He’ll probably have to wait until Monday as he talked to someone up there who told him the mine would be locked and empty Friday and all weekend. I told him if the new company couldn’t take that into consideration then perhaps it isn’t a good company to work for.

Aileen and her sister Anne have been planning a visit to their Cousin Richard in Vancouver Saturday. They’ll take the 8 AM bus and Richard and Sandy will pick them up at the depot. Richard has been battling cancer for some time.

I spent some time Friday morning editing photos while Aileen did laundry. Later we decided to head down to the Cowichan Exhibition at Duncan. We went to Parksville where I got cash from the bank and bought bus tickets for the girls for their Vancouver trip. We had lunch at Ricky’s in Nanaimo. Aileen wandered a bit at the Fair then sat in the car. I spent an hour and a half or two hours wandering about. I met a guy, Doug, at the ATV display and had a good chat. I knew him in school at Duncan in the late 50’s. I also chatted with Cousin Dale A and Uncle Mac Pickard and Cousin Sharon H. It was pretty quiet at the Fair and easy to see everything. My great Grandfather, William Herd, and a brother and sister who were on their way to New Zealand in 1884, stopped off to see the earlier Cowichan Exhibition and were so impressed with the quality of the produce and the friendliness of the people that they didn’t get back on the ship. Instead they became pillars of the community and 126 years later there are many descendants still in the area. And yes, I admired Paulette's quilts entered in the Fair. She is the wife of Rick, who blogs from Cowichan Bay just south of Duncan. I see he left the Fair just before we arrived yesterday.

We went over to Cousin Garry and Barb P’s after for an hour or so. We heard lots of details about Luke’s near fatal accident. They heard today that the other guy will likely be charged with impaired driving. It seems he was driving at a very high speed and came around the corner by the old Saville farm and veered across right at Luke. We saw pictures of Luke’s injuries and the damage to the car.

Anne called at 5:30 PM to say she was leaving Port McNeill and called again at 8:50 to say she was in Coombs so I gave her directions and stood at the driveway with a flashlight. She has the big house all to herself for the night. Belle, the dog, was home when we returned tonight. Guess her stay at camp was cut short for some reason.

We were up before 6 this morning. I drove the girls down to the Nanaimo bus depot where they caught the bus through to the Vancouver terminal. That way they get a ride right onto the ferry. I’ll pick them up tonight at 9:30 or so. I hope to go to the local Old Time Fiddlers jam and open mike this afternoon.

A QUICK TRIP TO SALMON ARM AND A BUS RIDE BACK

At the petting part of the Fair

Fancy parts under the MG hood

A classic old Morgan, one of more than a dozen British sports cars on display

This owl was part of the Wildlife Recovery Centre display

The dahlia garden

I cleaned more windows Monday and that’s it for the outside windows. This motor home sure has a lot more windows than the trailer did. I helped Chas a few times during the day, mostly with windows in the cabin. I spent quite a bit of time removing stuff from our truck and trailer. It was a bit of a challenge removing the Sirius antenna but I finally figured it out. I pumped up all the tires as well. I removed the quad rack mount from the truck bed and will contact the local ATV clubs next week to see if I can sell it here.

Aileen cut my hair in the morning then gave Mitzy a bath. I also picked up transfer papers and got Aileen’s signature on everything. Aileen was down to the Post Office this morning and renewed our mail forwarding for another year so we get all our income tax stuff etc.

Sue was in to see the parents Monday afternoon and found them in excellent spirits. Mom had fallen Sunday night about 11 and it almost seems like it knocked something back into line. She was very cheerful and bright, even asking questions. Dad was also in fine form apparently. He was wide awake and had been freshly shaven and had a haircut.

I left Tuesday morning just before 8:30 to catch the 10:15 ferry at Duke Point. I arrived over an hour early, which was fine by me. I dropped one link on the trailer hitch torsion bars as I was having trouble spinning the truck tires on takeoff from stop lights. It was very windy on the crossing and on the other side. I took old #10 rather than driving down the 99 into the wind at higher speed. Traffic was very slow all the way out to Chilliwack. I managed to make good time on the Coquilhalla. It was only 7C at the top of the snow shed hill and just past there I found the first dry road of the day. It was even sunny and 16C in Kamloops. I stopped only three times, gas at Abbotsford, the rest area just past the old toll booth site and the travel center in Kamloops for gas. I arrived in Salmon Arm a little after 6:30. I left the truck and trailer at Piccadilly Mall which allows overnight RV parking and Bev came and picked me up. I had a leftover supper there and got in the hot tub later.

On Wednesday, I spent most of the day cleaning and washing the trailer and truck. I did take Bev to Eastside Mario’s for lunch. Later in the afternoon I took the trailer to TriCrown RV on consignment but they wouldn’t take the truck. I’d been out to storage in the morning and chatted with the new manager. I called my Aunt Jacquie and Jim later and was able to take the truck and park it at their place for the time being. They have sold and are busy packing. They bought a 55 year old house on .57 acre at Little White Lake and will be fully moved by month end. Bev came later and picked me up. We couldn’t line up the online bus info with the schedule in the depot window so finally about 11 PM I booked tickets on the phone for the 6 AM departure.

So it was another short night. I had a wee kitten in my bed both nights. Bev is fostering it from the SPCA. I was up at 5:15 and Bev got me to the depot in time. The bus left right on schedule and stayed that way until taking a longer breakfast stop in Kelowna. Then we had an alternator issue on the Coquilhalla Connnector and had to spend some time at Merritt depot. It went downhill from there and the bottom line is we arrived in Vancouver 1.5 hours after my connecting bus to the Island which would have taken me to Parksville. I waited nearly 3 hours in Vancouver for the next bus going to the ferry. Chas came down to get me in Nanaimo at 9 PM.

I sure slept well Thursday night in my own bed. It must have been about 8 hours or more. I had a slow start Friday morning but did replace the bathroom fan with a new Fantastic Fan and it is sure much nicer. It went slowly but it looks as good as any RV shop would do and I probably saved $200 or more doing it. I went and bought some silicone to finish sealing up around the new fan. Aileen had a nap while I was shopping. I brought another dozen corn home too and it was tasty at supper. I took the ATV out back for some exercise for it late afternoon. Chas and Logan both had a go at it too.

I had a slow start again Saturday morning letting the dew dry off the roof then got at the other fan. It went much better as it was already a Fantastic Fan and they had mounted it on the supplied foam so much easier to remove. I did have a puzzle to solve in regards to which was the hot wire but I did it. I had just enough silicone to do the job. It was looking like we were going to have to buy another tube for a bit there.

I was just putting my tools away when Aileen’s cousin Bill arrived. He had called earlier. He and his friend Maynard had repaired the slide motor. So much for the Arbutus guy saying it was impossible to get into the motor. Bill said he was into it in a couple minutes! All that was wrong was a broken wire which Maynard soldered. So now we have a spare slide motor for free. Bill joined us for lunch with Charlie and Sheila after a tour of the suite. He then left to go to an open house at the motor cycle dealer on Errington Road who had a new Norton bike on display.

Aileen went to have a nap while Chas and I went to the Lighthouse Country Fair. It was a neat affair with lots of arts and crafts and many displays. Chas found several friends to chat with. I puttered on the computer for awhile then cooked pork chops on the BBQ. Sheila’s parents and brother were here plus son Logan so the table was full with eight of us. Chas and I went to the Errington coffee house in the evening, which almost didn’t happen since there were only two musicians for awhile and hardly any audience. However, it did come together and turned out quite well in the end. Aileen had wanted to go but in the end didn’t have enough energy.

Today was another fine sunny morning but the clouds rolled in later in the afternoon. There is rain in the forecast much of the coming week. A phone call this morning alerted us to the fact that my Cousin Sherry’s daughter Lauren Rosser, had won a Gold Medal in the Junior Women’s World Downhill Mountain Biking competition in Quebec. She is 16 and the first Canadian to win Gold in this event.

Aileen and I went for a little drive around the local area this afternoon. We had been told about a great Dahlia garden near Qualicum so we found it and grabbed a few pictures. The couple who own the patch have put a lot of effort into making it such a display of colour.

Charlie and Sheila have been packing much of the day for their very early departure tomorrow for their canoe trip on Clearwater and Azure Lakes in Wells Gray Provincial Park. We will be looking after the place for the ten days or so they are gone and on their return we will go to Salmon Arm for the rest of the month before heading south for the winter. Charlie and Sheila popped in to see our parents this afternoon and report they were both doing well and seeming happy.