Wednesday (April 23), we went for a walk along Tavistock Trail here on the island...making sure we had our umbrellas with us!A busy tug boat on the Fraser River...
Rain was the order of the day on Thursday...we got lots of reading and TV watching done that day!
Friday, I went out for an early morning walk. This picture is taken as I crossed the bridge, looking west...
That evening, Lisa and Neil invited us to join them for their anniversary celebration. We walked into town and enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Lampliter Gallery Cafe. Happy Anniversary, Neil and Lisa...thank you for including us in your celebration!Saturday, we enjoyed happy hour in the sunshine with Lisa and Neil...
Sunday, Steve and I got out for a beautiful walk along the Fraser River. On the way I made a pit stop at the washroom and when I came out Steve was talking to a fellow. He had approached Steve and asked...are you Steve? He was from Victoria and said he follows our blog..cool. Nice meeting you Bill!This is a look at the residential area on the other side of the riverside walkway...it's a lovely area (too bad there's a train that runs on the other side)...
Chris and Angela arrived for a visit at about 3:00. The clouds were looking a little heavy but we decided to grab our umbrellas (just in case) and go for a walk down Tavistock Trail to the end of the island...
When we got back, the sun was actually out for a bit, so we sat outside...
We enjoyed dinner and a great visit...and then they headed back into Burnaby, about a 35 minute drive.
Monday afternoon, we had an appointment with a new family doctor in Langley. Since our doctor in Victoria had closed her practice last December, we decided to try and find a new doctor over here. There are not many doctors accepting new patients...actually, there was only one in Langley. We weren't impressed with the wait to see him...when we arrived, the receptionist said he was running about 25 minutes behind. Well, it was well over an hour before we finally got in!
Tuesday, Steve was up and out bright and early...the truck had an appointment at Gold Key GMC. We thought it was for a new manifold that was diagnosed as being cracked at the GM dealer in Phoenix. We were out for a nice long bike ride when Dave from Gold Key called to say the truck was ready...it hadn't been a cracked manifold after all. The EGR Cooler had an exhaust leak as well as a coolant leak. Steve has been complaining for about 3 years about an excessive coolant loss. Between the dealer in Phoenix and here in Surrey they have done 3 pressure tests for the coolant leak and have never found it until now. Sheesh!
We rode our bikes about 4.5 miles along the river to the campground at Derby Reach. This is a rest stop along the way...beautiful view of the snow-capped mountains in the distance and the river...
We stopped at one of the campsites for a break. As we've said before, this is a lovely campground with sites right on the river but few would be big enough for us, plus they want $24.00 per night for no hook-ups.The river is still quite low...
After we got back from our bike ride, a fellow from Gold Key GMC picked Steve up. When he got back, he quickly changed into shorts...we are looking forward to the forecast for the next few days...yes, a heatwave is coming through! Ahhhh....so good to be back in shorts and flip-flops!!
Wednesday morning was spent at the medical lab...along with 50 million other people waiting their turn. Okay, I exaggerated...but when we arrived at 7:50, we each took a ticket...we were numbers 42 and 43...they were currently serving number 21. It was after 11:30 by the time we got home....absolutely starving since we had to fast before the tests.
After lunch and relaxing with a cup of coffee outside, Steve packed a suitcase and we headed out. He is heading over to Victoria for a dentist appointment tomorrow. Steve had suggested that there wasn't really any reason for me to go since Rob, Angie and Conner were away in southern California, so I was going to stay here. It was shortly after 2:00 when I dropped him off at the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal...in plenty of time for the 3:00 sailing.
On my way home, I stopped at The Bay at Willowbrook Mall in Langley to do some shopping. This Sunday is a Bridal Shower for Angela, so with the help of a great sales associate, I chose a few items from Angela and Chris' gift registry and was soon leaving the store with lovely gift-wrapped boxes.
Once home, I changed into my shorts and flip-flops...such a beautiful day...and walked over to Neil and Lisa's place to say goodbye. They are leaving tomorrow for Thousand Trails campground at Cultus Lake where they will spend the summer. Neil works as a ranger there and Lisa works part-time in the store. Well, they were sitting outside having a cocktail, so they invited me to join them for a glass of wine (really had to twist my arm...haha!)
Thursday (May 1) was a gorgeous day with temperatures reaching 27C/81F. I had a lazy start to the day and then decided to get out for a bit of a walk along Tavistock Trail and do a little geocaching. I found a couple and then headed back...Steve and I can go in search of the others together when he gets back. I basically just enjoyed my alone time, deciding to go for a wander around Fort Langley.
I was inside reading (escaping from some annoying black flies) when I heard a "Hello?" from outside..."you don't know us, but we know all about you!" Ray and Deb follow our blog and are staying at a site at the end of our loop. We chatted for a bit and then since they are going to be here for a couple of weeks, decided that we would get together for a happy hour sometime before they leave. Sounds great, Ray and Deb...looking forward to it!
Friday morning was another gorgeous start to the day so I headed out for a walk. Today, instead of taking the trail that goes along the river, I decided to just walk straight up Glover Road, the main road that runs through Fort Langley. I took a bunch of pictures along the way.
The Historic Railway Station/Museum...
Fort Langley Community Hall...
As I approached the railroad tracks, the bells started and the barriers came down...
...and The Rocky Mountaineer went by. We'd love to take a trip through the Rocky Mountains on it but it's a little out of our budget...maybe sometime though...
Once the barriers opened up again, I continued walking past The Fort Pub, across the bridge and home...a lovely walk on a beautiful morning!
Steve was catching the 11:00 ferry from Swartz Bay back to the mainland which means I'd have to pick him up shortly before 1:00. The ferry actually gets in at 12:35 but I wanted to avoid the heavy "pick-up" traffic while driving the truck, so I was going to make him wait for a bit until I arrived. All went smoothly on my drive to the ferry...about a 50 minute drive...and he was waiting for me. He had a busy day yesterday running a bunch of errands, visiting his dad, and of course, his dentist appointment...he even managed to get a walk in along the Sidney waterfront. He had his 2 new crowns put in but one didn't fit right, so he'll have to go back in when we are on the island at the end of May. He also had a tooth pulled from an old root canal that has failed. He ended up not needing a bone graft, so is finished with that until September when he'll have to go in for an implant and then a crown a few months later. From now on I think we'll be getting our dental work done in Los Algodones, Mexico!
Before heading back to the campground we had to make a pit stop at the Honda Dealership to drop off the 30 amp receptacle for our generator Steve picked up at an electrical wholesaler in Victoria. Honda wanted $126.00 and Steve got it for $52.00. To the credit of this dealership they suggested to Steve that if he shopped around he might get a better price.
Saturday, we decided to go geocaching. There is a string of them along the river trail that we walk all of the time. We ended up finding four but had to turn around and head home when the rain started.
This one is called "Take the Dog for a Walk"...we were able to leave one our travel bugs from Arizona in it (this particular travel bug originated in Portugal)...This plastic frog had the geocache canister in its mouth and was hidden under a log...
There is supposed to be a geocache hidden on this narrow trail off the main trail...we couldn't find it but we did find the remnants of a tree fort...
The recent warm weather (which is gone now...of course, it's the weekend) must have melted lots of snow up in the mountains because the Salmon River spillway is really running fast....
Found another geocache! At this point, we decided to turn around because it was raining...good thing we had our umbrellas with us!
There's the bridge in the distance that we have to cross over to get home. By the time we got home, we were pretty wet...
After listening to the pitter-patter of rain on the trailer roof all night, it continued throughout the morning...not a very nice day! Chris was here at 11:00 to pick us up and take us into Burnaby/Coquitlam...I had Angela's Bridal Shower to attend and Steve and Chris were going to go out for lunch and a movie. They dropped me off at the Executive Plaza Hotel & Conference Centre where the Bridal Shower is being held during their Sunday Buffet Brunch. A beautifully decorated cake...
Angela and her mom, Lucy, in the centre with the bridal party on either side...
It was a lovely setting for the shower...with lots of people joining in the celebration...
At about 4:00, Chris and Steve picked Angela and I up at the hotel and we went to Angela's grandmother's house to help unload 2 SUV's full of gifts! We also got to see the basement suite where Chris and Angela will be living after the wedding...very nice! So much fun setting up their new home with all of their lovely shower/wedding gifts!
Chris and Angela drove us home and came in for a visit. It's so great being able to spend time with them while we are here! It was still pouring with rain when they left for the drive home. It actually rained all day! Some rainfall records were broken today!
Monday was another on-and-off rainy day...generally, not very nice. We spent another morning at the lab in Langley. This time we both went through a glucose tolerance test, meaning we had to hang around the lab for 2 hours. Again, no food (other than that syrupy drink) or coffee until we got home just before noon! After lunch, we managed to get out for a walk on Tavistock Trail. We were also going in search of three geocaches out at the end of the island. We ended up only finding one of the three, though...I think we will have to go out for another look sometime. One that we couldn't find was found last month but the logs for the other one indicates that people have been unable to find it lately, so perhaps it's gone missing.
And that brings us to today, Tuesday, May 6...after our usual start to the day, we did our resistance exercises, and after showers and breakfast, I put on a couple of loads of laundry. After lunch, I walked into town to run a few errands and pick up a few groceries, while Steve went for a bike ride.
There is a movie or a TV series being filmed in Fort Langley right now...today, they had the main street decorated with Christmas decorations. Cherry blossoms on the trees and Christmas decorations?hmmm....
Steve took a few pictures while out on his bike ride on the other side of the island. Looking towards the closed down Albion Ferry dock from the Government Wharf.
This small stream runs behind the campground. There is a Beaver lodge in the distance...
I was on my way home when the rain started...thank goodness I had taken my umbrella with me. Steve had taken one look at those clouds and headed home so he was already there when I got home. Well, I no sooner got home and it started to absolutely pour out...complete with thunder and lightning!That pretty well brings us up to date again. At this point, it is going to be June 9 before we leave here and head out into the interior of BC...our follow-up doctors appointments are prolonging our stay here.
Looked like a lot of fun! We're looking forward to doing more geocaching while out on the road. We leave FT during the summer.
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