Three weeks have slipped by since our last update. As usual, we have kept ourselves busy with everyday chores, morning walks...and a few "outings".
Monday (Feb. 16) was a cloudy, rainy day but we did get out for a short walk along the river and saw this beauty...
Wednesday morning (Feb. 18) I was at the hospital by 8:30 for a colonoscopy. The procedure itself is no big deal, it's the preparation beforehand that is not much fun. But I made it through it all, Steve picked me up afterwards and we were at Fluid Bar and Grill by 11:30...needless to say after nothing but fluids yesterday, I was starving. I wasn't particularly concerned about my diet at that moment!
We're going through a cold spell right now with cold temperatures along with some occasional mixed precipitation and Friday morning (Feb. 20) when we got up, it was a chilly -2C/28F.
We decided to stay away from the cold breeze off the ocean and go to Nymph Falls Nature Park for our walk. Steve took this 53 second video of the falls...
Saturday morning (Feb. 21) we woke to a dusting of snow on the ground...and the whole day was cold and wet.
Short 15 second video of a hummingbird at the window feeder....
It was a good day for Steve to do a little maintenance on the electric fireplace. The 3 light bulbs for the flame needed to be replaced. It required a total disassembly of the fireplace!
Sunday morning (Feb. 22), we were up at 5 a.m. to watch the Canada/US Men's Gold Metal hockey game. Both the women's and men's games were great to watch...just not the outcome we had been hoping for.
We were back to sunshine and warmer temperatures Monday (Feb. 23)...a nice change after all the precipitation we have had! Tuesday (Feb. 24) was no different...Steve took a 50 second video of Comox Glacier while on our morning walk...
Thursday morning (Feb. 26) we made a last minute decision to take the shuttle bus up to Mount Washington Alpine Resort. We don't ski but after the big dump of snow (108 cm/42.5 inches) they had in 24 hours last weekend we wanted to check it out and have lunch up there. Steve wanted to go last Monday but the resort had put out a notice that they were overwhelmed with snow. Parking lots and roadways still had lots of abandoned vehicles blocking snow removal equipment, so we decided to delay it a few days. Up until now they have been having a terrible ski season with the lack of snow.
We caught the bus at Driftwood Mall just after 10:00 a.m...
1:40 minute video....
We went into Ted's Bar and Grill just after 11:30 to ensure we got a window table...
We were back at the car around 2:30...a great day!
Saturday morning (Feb. 28) on our walk at the airpark/riverfront, we noticed a couple of racoons sleeping up in a tree...
Sunday (Mar. 1) was a beautiful sunny day...so we decided to go for a walk along the oceanfront at Point Holmes...
Steve's cousin, Bev and husband, Rob came over to the island from the mainland for a few days to visit friends that also live here, so on Wednesday (Mar. 4) we met them for lunch at the Blackfin Pub.
Left to right around the table...Bev, me, Steve, Maria, Wayne and Rob...
Afterwards, Steve and I went for a walk along the Fisherman's Wharf Boardwalk...
Thursday morning (Mar. 5) we had the truck packed and were on the road just after 9:30. We are heading down island to Lake Cowichan to visit Ray and Deb...they invited us down so that Steve could join Ray in the Frostbite Fishing Derby on Saturday.
On our way down, we stopped to visit Don and Rhonda (my brother and SIL). We had a nice visit and about an hour later we were back on the highway with our next stop at the Shady Rest Pub at Qualicum Beach, our favourite stop for lunch...especially on a beautiful sunny day!
Friday morning (Mar. 6), Ray and Steve launched the boat...it had been stored in the garage, so they got it ready for fishing by adding all the required paraphernalia. They towed it to the nearby boat launch and after launching it, Steve towed the trailer back to the house while Ray brought the boat to the dock...
We had to make a run into Duncan for a wire extension for one of Ray's downriggers so decided to have lunch at the Red Arrow Brewery...
Back at the lake it was a socked-in rainy day...
Resume position under the gazebo!
Ray's photo...
The fishermen came back in around 11:30, and we all enjoyed hot soup and biscuits for lunch...delicious! No fish yet...so within the hour they were back out on the lake trying to catch the illusive fish!
Steve here...Unfortunately fishing was a bust! Ray had even contacted a local a few days before and was shown the tackle to use and locations to fish. He was also told that fishing wasn't very good this time of year...great! Why would you hold a fishing derby at the wrong time of the year. Oh well. 😁
Our tickets also included the weigh in at the Legion as well as dinner. Shortly after our arrival they announced the winners. The top winner not only won 1st ($250) prize, but also 3rd ($100) prize! The 2nd place winner won ($150) I was disappointed that they never announced how many entries there were and how many fish were caught. Were we the only losers? 😕😕The beer and desert was good but dinner not so much. They had lots of door prizes from local merchants. Ray won a pair of boots and I won a hooked fish club. All in all though it was a great day and evening...thanks Ray! I think we'll have better luck in May when all the hatches are happening...
What a change in weather Sunday morning (Mar. 8)...blue sky with fluffy white clouds! Ray, Steve and I took Olaf for a walk at the park next door while Deb made a quick trip to the local market for a few groceries.
Lunch today was at the Youbou Pub. Youbou (pronounced You-bow) is another small community on the other side of the lake and further west. It is famous for all the Elk that visit the community. We saw 5 Elk cows in town but had traffic behind us and couldn't stop for photos. Deb and Ray had raved about the burgers served and apparently Steve totally agreed. I didn't partake this time but will on our next visit!
Snow was in the forecast Monday (Mar. 9) and we thought we might wake up to a little but it didn't start until a little later. Steve had showered and was packing up the truck and I was drying my hair when I happened to notice big white fluffy flakes in through the window behind me in the mirror. Yikes, I better get moving!
With the truck packed, and after big hugs to Deb and Ray, we were on the road by 9:15! Thanks so much for a wonderful time, as usual!
Snow as we leave Lake Cowichan...
Steve took a 28 second video combining the snow at Ray and Deb's along with our drive as we head out...
As we got closer to Duncan and our turn north onto the Tran-Canada highway, the snow stopped, the roads were dry and the sun even peeked out! And we had a lovely drive home...amazing how quickly it can change.
It was a very chilly start when we got up Tuesday morning (Mar. 10th)...only 14C/57F in the trailer! To top it off, both propane tanks ended up being empty, so no furnace! This surprised Steve as he thought one had plenty but apparently not! Luckily we also have the BBQ tank, so he quickly hooked it up!
Our first order of the day was to get the propane tanks filled at Costco...then we went to the airpark and froze our butts off walking. It was 3C/37.4F and the wind was brutal! Needless to say, instead of our usual 4km walk, we cut it short at 2 kms.
And that brings us up-to-date again!
