Monday, May 26 to Tuesday, June 10, 2014 (Brae Island Regional Park; to North Saanich; then back to Brae Island Regional Park, Fort Langley, BC)

Well, I guess it's time for an update...again, the past couple of weeks have just flown by! Monday and Tuesday (May 26/27) were spent doing more odd jobs around here.
Steve spent a good part of one day giving the barbecue a good cleaning...






...and I took a couple of pictures of the pool on my way into town to pick up a few groceries...


Wednesday, after a very lazy morning doing "odds and sods" around the trailer, we packed up our suitcase and headed to the Tsawwassen Ferry terminal to catch the 3:00 ferry over to Vancouver Island (aka, "the island")...time for another visit since we both have appointments scheduled. Besides...we're way passed due for some cuddle time with Conner!

It was a beautiful day for a ferry ride! As usual, we parked the truck at the 'Park N Go' and went over as foot passengers. This picture is taken at the waiting area before boarding the ferry...that's the ferry coming in...


I opted to sit in some nice comfy seats inside and read my book while Steve went outside on the deck and took pictures...


 The tide line shows where the silty waters of the Fraser River meets the clear waters of Active Pass...








The ferry docked at 4:40 and by the time we walked off and retrieved our suitcase, we had a short wait for Rob...he picked us up after picking Conner up on his way home from work. We both received big smiles from Conner when we got into the truck! Once home, he had a great time pushing our suitcase around while we received a warm welcome from Angie...

Thursday morning we were up early and after dropping Conner off at daycare, we went with Angie to her work, dropping her off so that we could have the use of her car for the day. We had a bunch of things to take care of in Victoria...that took up the rest of the morning, then we went for a bit of a drive around Victoria before going to see Steve's dad (we wanted to be there at 2:00, in time for afternoon coffee service).
Parakiter on the cliff waiting for the wind...Clover Point area on Victoria's water front...

He never did get into the air while we were there...

Cruise ship at Ogden Point...



Hippo Amphibious Tour Bus...

 Victoria Legislative Building  (Victoria is the capital of BC)...

Fairmont Empress Hotel...

After a visit with Steve's dad, we stopped at Mark's Work Wearhouse Store to spend the gift certificate Rob gave Steve for Christmas last year. He ended up with a new jacket...perfect!

Friday I was up and out bright and early with Rob...dropping him off at work so that I could use his truck for an appointment I had with my "knee doctor" at 8:30. The doc said that I didn't need the prescription injected yet (good thing there is a long shelf life on the $330 prescription I picked up yesterday)...so I'll see him again in September.

It was another gorgeous day, so Steve and I went for our favourite walk...along the Sidney waterfront. That's the Sidney Pier behind me...






Sidney Marina...




We picked Rob up from work at 4:00 and after picking up Conner from daycare, we enjoyed some deck time before dinner...

Then it was time for dinner...
Pasta! Yummy!

Chris and Angela were coming over (from Burnaby) for the weekend, making it a wonderful family get together. We were expecting them on the 7 pm ferry but just after 6:00, we received a text saying that they had managed to make the 6 pm ferry...which arrives at 7:35. I volunteered to go pick them up.

Rob's birthday is Tuesday, so Saturday we had a family birthday party for him. Angela, Angie, Rob and Chris with a special cocktail that Angie made...

Conner having snuggles with mom after getting up from his afternoon nap...

Steve's sister, Nadine, and her family came over for the party...a birthday present for Rob...

Who needs toys when you have a bowl and spoon to play with?

Left to right...Matthew, Angela, Amanda, Nadine and Mike...

There were even belated birthday presents for Conner (the t-shirt Rob is holding says "Chicks Dig Me")...

Rob finishing up his fabulous ribs on the barbecue...

Dinner time! It was delicious!

Conner, the little tiger, ready for bed (although he didn't think it was a good idea)...

Emery and Glenda (on the left), Angie's uncle and aunt from Campbell River, were also at the party. Here we all are relaxing around the propane fire after a fabulous dinner...

Angela, Chris and Matt...

Time for birthday cake...a DQ ice cream cake, of course!

It was a great afternoon and evening...so good seeing everyone and catching up!

Sunday we went for hike at Thetis Lake Regional Park with our good friends Rob and Nancy...












It was a great hike in a beautiful park...it had been ages since we had been there! Thetis Lake is a very popular spot for hiking or just lazing on the beach. And, of course, it was great catching up with Nancy and Rob!

Back home, we said goodbye to Chris and Angela....they were catching the 3 pm ferry. Rob and Angie dropped them off and then went out for a little "alone" time while Gramma and Grampa babysat Conner. He was down for an afternoon nap but about an hour later, he was up entertaining us. He wasn't at all concerned that mom and dad weren't there!

Monday (June 2) afternoon Steve went to his dentist appointment, we had a quick visit with his dad and after picking up Rob (and then Conner), we had a quick dinner and then Rob dropped us off in time for 7 pm ferry. As usual, we had had a wonderful visit...we had our "Conner fix" and loved our time with Rob and Angie...thanks for all your hospitality!

Leaving the Swartz Bay ferry terminal...

The house we built is up there in a valley...no water views though...

This paddle boarder is miles from shore!? Guess he couldn't afford the ferry fare...


We arrived at the ferry dock at 8:40 and after grabbing the shuttle back to the truck, we were back in Fort Langley at 10:00.

The next week went by in a snap....spent getting things done in preparation for leaving. Wednesday, Rob and Nancy stopped by for a visit on their way back to the ferry after a mini-vacation at Harrison Hot Springs...

Thursday, was a major work day...washing the trailer and then waxing the front and rear cap...



Friday, we drove into Coquitlam to the BC Backroad Maps office. We had received an email advising that a new version of the map was available, however, the SD card would have to be sent back to their office for the update. Well, that wouldn't work for us since we are leaving so I called them and they said that it would only take a few minutes if we wanted to bring the card to their office. After that was done, we made our way back to Langley for lunch and shopping at Costco...and then onto a follow-up doctor's appointment.

Saturday, Chris and Angela drove out for a last visit with us before we leave. They arrived at about 3:00 and we relaxed outside in the shade chatting.

Angela's birthday is Tuesday, so we had a little birthday celebration for her...


A digital photo frame (from Chris)...

It was going on 9:00 when they decided it was time to head back into Burnaby. We had such a wonderful visit with them and it was great being able to spend so much time with them over the past couple of months while we have been here. We'll see you next September!

Sunday, we went for what will likely be our last bike ride. We had originally planned on leaving here Monday but decided to postpone until Wednesday. We still have some shopping to do on Monday and the forecast isn't that great for Tuesday...so with a small window of good weather before more rain, Wednesday it is!

As mentioned, Monday was a major shopping day...time to get stocked up as much as we can before we hit the interior of BC. We were back home around 2:00 and after unloading the truck, I made us a quick lunch and then I put the groceries away while Steve worked outside. He had purchased new rubber tubes to replace the worn out foam ones on the bike rack. After that, he continued with his chores while I walked into Fort Langley to pick up a prescription and a couple of more things from Lee's Market...yes, there were a few things at this quaint market that were cheaper than the big chain store!

We woke to the pitter-patter of rain drops on the roof this morning...yup, the weather forecasters were correct! It was just after 5:00 when the rain stopped, so not being able to sleep anyway, Steve got up and went outside to hose off the trailer. After spending the day washing and waxing last Thursday, it was now covered with dust (even though Steve has been wetting the roads around us trying to keep the dust down). With the rain, it was just going to be a mess again...so out he goes spraying it all off while it was still wet.

The rest of the day was spent getting ready to leave tomorrow...all that fun stuff...vacuuming, laundry and enjoying the last of our full hook-up site. I'm going to have to get used to conserving our water again...no more free-flowing water...yikes!
Steve decided to wash the truck, flush the black water tank and then generally puttered around putting stuff away. With the bikes secured onto the rack and the cover on...the work was finally done!

Tomorrow we are hitting the road after being here since March 28th! We're not going far, though...only about an hours drive to Tamihi Creek Rec Site just outside of Chilliwack. I plan on getting back to my daily blogs now that we are "hitting the road" again...however, we could be in areas with no internet signal. If that's the case, I'll post just as soon as I can.



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