PICTURES WITH APRIL 17TH POST MORE FOLLOWING

Mitzy fresh from grooming

Deep Bay Marina

Lots of sailboats at Deep Bay

Old shed at Joan C's

Trilliums

Worm tracks where the bark has fallen off a long felled Douglas Fir log

Skunk Cabbage

Oregon Grape

SOME VANCOUVER ISLAND RAMBLING

Cousin-in-law Bill, Cousin-in-law Irene, Aileen, Cousin Pat (Sydney Arthur)

The big house with Pat and Irene's attached

The in floor heating system for both houses starts here

The deck of the main house is the roof of the small house

The main house deck

Mitzy and Pat having a conversation

The next few pics were at the plant sale - rhododendrons and azaleas

Pansies

Picking up where we left off last week, we did get to the model railway show and it was quite a large event with groups from all over and several retail shops selling their wares. We visited with Cousin-in-law Bill and his son Tony, also Barbara and Gay & Doug, train friends we met at Gloria’s service last year. I also got a card out and a note written to Ed J, our ATV leader in AZ. He is home in Oxbow, Sask undergoing radiation on his spinal tumour.

On Monday morning we packed up the trailer and got hooked up early so we could continue on to the dump station after dropping Mitzy at the groomer. This is two weeks since we last dumped the tanks so not too bad. We parked in the beach lot at Rathtrevor and had ham and pancakes for breakfast. It was about 9:20 by then. We visited a couple from Sask. at the sani dump who had just returned from wintering in Yuma. It was their third winter in AZ also. They leave their motor home here in Parksville at a son’s place so are staying in it now. The sani dump fees at the provincial parks have gone from $2 up to $5 now, a 250% increase. The camping fees have also risen by up to $6 per day. Combine that with the April 1^st ferry increase for over length RVs and I’m sure lots of people will reconsider even coming to Vancouver Island with rip offs like that in place. I have calculated it is going to cost us $40-50 more to leave the Island than it cost us to get on and that was $193.80! It’s a popular misconception that if you have an RV, you’re loaded with dough!

On Tuesday we took our lunch and went for a drive north of here exploring side roads. We went down to the wharf at Deep Bay and wandered around then had tea at the café. We had more fires here at Charlie's Wednesday and Thursday, Thursday being the last day open fires are permitted so we’re done fire bugging.

I took Mom to art at Joan C’s on Wednesday. I thought I might try some art but Joan thought I should take a former member of the art group, who has just returned to the area, and explore the property. She was an interesting person and we did get along well as she is really into nature ie. plants, rocks, trees etc. We went down to the bottom field, up to the power line and out to Allsbrook Rd to the north of Joan’s. The ladies were starting to wonder if we were lost when we got back. After tea and goodies, I returned Mom just in time for her to slide into her seat at the supper table at 5:02. I had left Dad soaking up the sun in the window area when we went to art. He really enjoys his sun. Maybe that’s where I get it from.

Aileen gave me a haircut Thursday morning then she went to Qualicum to the MS Self Help Group meeting. She reports it was quite interesting and a good turn out. On Friday, cousin-in-law Bill took us to Victoria in his van and it was nice to be a passenger all the way. We had alternating sun and light overcast all day so that was great. We visited with Aileen and Gloria’s cousin Pat at his new house until Irene came home then we went to the Howard Johnson Hotel on the Pat Bay Highway for a nice lunch, courtesy of Pat and Irene. After lots of chatting, we went back to their place and had a tour of their daughter Lorene’s main house which is attached to theirs. It was very high end and of course has a great view of the ocean and Mt Baker, barely visible through the haze today. We headed homeward at 4 PM. We stopped at the Old Farm Market south of Duncan for veggies then in Ladysmith for a Chinese smorg.

This morning I went to Parksville with Charlie to the big plant show. There were lots of Rhododendrons on display and sales were brisk. We’ve had showers overnight and this morning and now we are getting a heavier shower so it’s a good day to be sitting inside. My sister Wendy called a few minutes ago with an invitation to supper which we accepted. I might get to see all my siblings eventually this trip. Can’t rush these things, you know.

WORKING FOR OUR RV SPOT OR ARE WE JUST BORED?

A little rooster Finch taken from the trailer window

Mitzy likes snow

Daffodils don't like snow

The rhubarb handles it well

The pile on the right is the first load with the second trailer load parked beside

Starting to pour concrete

Getting further along in the process

We spent a rather pleasant few hours at Janet’s last Sunday and got to see two nieces and a nephew and a great nephew. In addition, the food was excellent. Our parking hosts, my brother Charlie and Sheila, arrived home from Alberta about 1:30 AM Monday morning. On Monday night, I went to the Oceanside Photographers meeting in Qualicum. There were between 30 and 40 people and a fairly interesting mix of activities/presentations.

On Tuesday, we went to Nanaimo (the birthplace of the Nanaimo Bar for you dessert aficionados) for a few things. I bought a new pair of hiking/walking boots made by Oboz. I wanted a little higher topped boot than I’ve had and these were the first I found that didn’t rub my shins. We went to the Bay for some items for Aileen and also wandered around Wholesale Sports, a humungous hunting, fishing and hiking store. Tuesday night we went to Sheila’s parent’s for supper. It was a combined birthday party for Sheila (Mar 31) Charlie (Apr 1) and their son Dan (that day Apr 6). Dan was in Vancouver so we sang happy birthday to the phone. It was another good feast.

I’ve been having an online discussion with Greg at AZCI.Net, our internet provider in Arizona. I went through his correct procedure when we left by applying for summer vacation, turning off the modem as required etc and asking to be disconnected on the correct day. The following week I was billed for the next month. When I inquired about that he said he had erred and would credit the payment to the $25 disconnect/reconnect fee and leave a credit in my account for the first bill in the Fall. Fine. Then the other day when perusing my Visa statement online, I noticed another billing from AZCI. They had charged me again for the vacation fee and used up my credit. This time it took two emails, with my explaining it in minute detail, before I got a reply saying “well gee, we screwed up a second time” and that the money would be credited to my Visa. I’ll have to check in a couple days and see.

On Wednesday, we had our second annual “clean up Charlie’s barn and shop yard” with a huge fire managed by Aileen. He tends to accumulate a lot of construction debris over the course of the year. We got pretty wet as it rained quite hard for much of the time. This was combined with clearing a 22x24 or so area to put down a cement slab for a work area for his carpentry projects. Charlie and his crew leveled then built forms at the same time as the fire and cleaning was proceeding.

Thursday was a nice sunny day, although we had a dusting of snow up here, so we all worked on another project while waiting for the cement to arrive. The big storm the other day knocked down a couple big cedars at Chas and Sheila’s son Garrett’s place down in town so we hauled all the debris up here to burn. Three large trailer loads and four pickup loads later, it was all up here. We burned it as we brought it. Aileen, Sheila and I worked the fire while the others poured the concrete when it arrived and did we ever smoke them out. I don’t think the guys and specially the concrete truck driver, appreciated it. We have had a few small cleanup fires since then and this morning Chas said he would let Aileen clean up trim ends around his cabin. Do you think he read Tom Sawyer? Chas is converting Dad’s old cow barn into a rental suite so there was lots of debris lying about. Chas and Sheila took us out for supper Thursday night to her Thai sister-in-law’s Westhill Restaurant. The food was delicious.

Aileen talked to her cousin Allan, from Nova Scotia, who is visiting his Mother, Anne, in Sechelt. He’s been staying with his step brother, Richard in Vancouver (who has cancer) so was quite up on his medical condition. She is hoping to talk to cousin Richard this morning. Cousin Allan has discovered two more cousin’s in England that no one was aware of. It seems the uncle who stayed in England after the war was married twice and everyone here only knew of the second one.

We went and visited Mom and Dad Friday morning. We saw Mom way down the hall getting a hug and then returning it. She didn’t look at us when we caught up but did start to pet Mitzy although she didn’t seem to recognize her. When I spoke, she recognized my voice and gave me a really big hug. We visited in the window room then after a bit, someone wheeled Dad along to us. He recognized Mitzy right off but dozed much of the time.

We are going to Port Alberni this afternoon to see Aileen’s nephew Mike and Shaunee and two little girls. We’ve been invited to stay for supper also. Tomorrow we are going to Nanaimo for Aileen to visit a church and then to check out the train show where cousin-in-law Bill from Campbell River will be.

HIKING AND VISITING

Honeysuckle vine wrapped around a mature Douglas Fir tree trunk

An otter with his lunch

An old tree stump weathered by the ocean winds

Trunk of a young Arbutus tree. They tend to shed their bark until they get old and the bark becomes thicker

Base of a large Arbutus tree

An Arbutus tree. The branch on the left is how the young tree looks, changing to the mature bark on the main stem

John and Sue with a very old Arbutus

Arbutus trees have leaves year round and are called a deciduous evergreen. These trees are leaning reaching for the light and possibly affected by prevailing winds also. We are right on the ocean's edge

Yesterday morning I went for a hike with my sister Susan and her hubby John. They showed me a neat area along the ocean not far from here which is seldom visited by many people. There were many interesting arbutus trees and we saw some seals, a couple of sea lions and an otter having his lunch. It appeared to be some type of fish he was devouring but there wasn’t enough visible to identify. Since the trail had some rough scrambling involved, Aileen declined joining us. She did instead walk down to the post office to get our hosts mail. Mitzy really had a ball rushing back and forth keeping track of the three of us on our hike.

We received word last night that one of Aileen’s cousins, who is her age, is dying of cancer and not expected to last out the year. We last saw him at Aileen’s Mom’s celebration of life two years ago when he and his younger brother made the long drive from Vancouver to be there.

We were invited to my sister Sue’s for supper the night before last and are going to my sister Janet’s for lunch today. It’s nice to have family and get together once in a while. We are hoping to leisurely visit quite a few of our family and friends over the next few months. We have no idea how long we will remain on the Island and have no set plans.

SETTLED IN ON VANCOUVER ISLAND

The Skunk Cabbage, a sure sign of Spring

The "used to be" Lower Falls. The water comes under rather than over like it used to

Trunk of Arbutus tree

A clump of Arbutus

A Maple among the Alder trees

Western Red Cedar bark

Englishman River Top Falls

Upper Falls on Little Qualicum River

Little Qualicum River, the three images above

Wild Currant in flower

We left the Shuswap Monday morning and ran into our first storm about 20 kms down the road with heavy rain mixed with hail. After another 20 or so kms, we were in sunshine which mostly stayed with us for about 150 kms. We did, however, have some really nasty wind which Aileen was afraid would tip us over like what happened with our neighbours down south. I had to reduce our speed considerably in order to maintain control. We were very glad when we got past the wind storm. Aileen drove much of the Fraser Canyon section where we had lots of rain mixed with both hail and sleet. The temperature dropped from 12C to 3C in minutes when we hit that storm and dropped further to 2C for quite awhile. It was a good thing we decided to take the Fraser Canyon rather than the Coquilhalla which gets up over 6,000 feet. The canyon route high point is about 1,200 feet and the snow wasn’t far above that. I think the Coq would have been ugly! We parked at Hope in my Aunt June’s (and Eric) driveway for the night. June had put a roast on and invited us for supper. We had a good visit over the evening and I showed some of our travel images until they fell asleep. Well, til their bedtime, anyway.

On Tuesday, we hit the road about 9 AM heading for the ferry. Good thing we left early as there was a rather long tedious stretch of construction at Clearbrook with stop and go, merging two lanes of freeway into one. We still arrived at the Tsawwassen terminal nearly an hour ahead of our 12:45 sailing. That gave us time for a leisurely lunch in the trailer. It cost over $193. for the ferry to Vancouver Island and I shudder to think what it will cost when we leave as the fares are going up a lot on April 1^st, I have heard. There were lots of snowbirds with their RVs on board but very few other people so very quiet and peaceful for the ride. We stopped at a park to top up our water tank then moved up to my brother Charlie’s (and Sheila) place. We hope to hang out here for awhile with short trips here and there. We have the place to ourselves as they are in Alberta visiting #2 son. We took over the chores from Sheila’s brother Terry. The chores are pretty straight forward, dog and cat and hay to the cow and calf.

Wednesday was a rest day for Aileen, mostly. I took my cameras and went for a walk at Englishman River Falls Park. I was pretty surprised to discover there is no longer a lower falls. Apparently during a huge storm last year, the big rock creating the falls moved enough so that the water now flows under it except in really high water. Or perhaps a chunk of rock eroded from underneath. The whole thing is pretty amazing since the lower falls have been the same since first recorded by the white man. While I was at the park, I received a phone call inviting me to an open house on April 23 of the new sawmill where I retired from. I spent over 30 years there, much of the time involved with the safety end of things, so I was very familiar with the old mill and would love to see all the new technology etc. However, it would mean a special trip and cost plenty so it won’t happen.

Today, I went to Little Qualicum Falls Park for the afternoon while Aileen and the girls napped. I got rained on a couple times but with the rain the light was better for water pictures. Again, I was surprised how busy the park was although not as many people as yesterday at Englishman’s.