Friday, November 18 to Monday, December 12, 2016 (Peace Arch RV Park, Surrey, BC)

As you can probably tell, our main focus (and time) since our return has been editing the few thousand pictures taken on our four week trip...and updating our blog. It's nice to have our whole trip documented and although a lot of work, it has been wonderful "re-living" it at the same time.

So I'm going to try to recap as briefly as possible our days since our return...here goes...

Friday (18) was a complete "drool" day as we tried to get used to our new time zone. Steve was wide awake shortly after 3 a.m. and we were up having our coffee around 4 a.m.! Saturday was a little better...being a weekend, Chris and Angela were home.
So we went out for brunch at the local pub...Town Hall Public House have a weekend special...$4.00 for 2 eggs, bacon or sausage, toast and hash browns. It was strange going to a pub and not having a beer. :-)

Later on, Angela and I went out to do a little looking/shopping and Chris and Steve went for a walk around Como Lake...

There's suppose to be some good trout fishing here...

Sunday (20), it was time to pull our rig out of storage and get set up at Peace Arch RV Park. It was absolutely wonderful having a couple of days at Chris and Angela's to decompress and recover somewhat from our trip. Thank you so much for all your hospitality!

We spent the afternoon getting set up and cleaning. The mice had been inside again, so I had to thoroughly vacuum and wash everything. We still have no idea how their getting in as Steve has sealed everything he can see and access. Steve had just managed to snag the satellite signal on the dish when it started to rain again...at least it had held off long enough for him to get set up outside.

After cleaning the inside of the refrigerator, I turned it on...only to hear the constant beeping of the alarm. Great...the fridge doesn't work!

Monday (21), Paul's Mobile RV Repair came out and fixed the fridge...a faulty high limit sensor module. Paul said that this would still be covered under a warranty and he reduced his $60 service call to $30 because he had another call in the park. Sweet! This was a modified replacement we had done under warranty in 2011. There was a recall back then on Norcold fridges to have the high limit replaced as there was a fire danger. If you have an older Norcold you may want to investigate this.
This is the original old high limit switch that was taken out of service in 2011 and replaced with...

...a remote hi limit sensor that got mounted in a different location and connects to a control module. This is the new replacement control module which looks identical to the one that failed ...

With that done we went out and stocked up on groceries...and dropped our Honda generator off for servicing. It has an oil leak and a knocking sound under a load.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (22, 23 and 24)....rain, rain, rain...good inside days to work on pictures and blog updates.

Friday (25), we were up and out fairly early...after running a few errands, Steve went to his doctors appointment (I waited in the truck). Good news...the Echo-cardiogram he had just before we left on our trip showed all was okay with his heart valves. He does have First Degree Heart Block but is non symptomatic so it will be monitored on his annual physical check-ups.

This morning when I emptied the kitchen sink after doing the dishes, the water didn't drain...galley grey tank was full, so Steve went out and pulled the leaver to drain it. After he did that, I noticed water on floor...it was near the hot water tank so we thought it was leaking.
Steve pulled the cupboard apart and dried the floor (and cleaned up the mice droppings...apparently they don't care about steel wool blocking the openings...they pushed it right out of the way) but he couldn't find any spot that was leaking. He figures it was the Anti-Siphon Trap Vent Device failing. We've also occasionally had a foul smell in the rig and this is another sign that this device needs to be replaced. So it's on the to do list and we'll just have to watch how full the tank gets in the future. Once the clean up was done we headed off to buy some insulation spray foam to plug the holes around the plumbing.

Saturday (26) was another rainy day...I did a few loads of laundry. The laundry room is close by (bonus) and the rates are very reasonable ($1.25 for washer and $1.00 for 40 minutes in dryer).
Chris and Angela came out for dinner...

...and a few games of Rummikub...

Sunday (27)...rain, rain, rain! You guessed it...pictures and blog day! Monday (28) we were up and out by 9:30 to get to Costco for opening. The parking lots are so busy these days that the only time we seem to be able to get a parking spot big enough for us is to go there first thing when they open. After a couple of other errands, we stopped on our way home to get some exercise. It wasn't raining (for a change) so we stopped at the Serpentine Wildlife Management Area to walk some of the trails. It felt good to get out and walk!

A Heron...

There are three viewing platforms...

Other than mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects and fish, 175 species of birds have been recorded here...

Most of the birds were quite a ways away...

With all the rain there is a lot of flooded fields. The Vancouver area has had approximately 57 days of rain in the last 60!

Cool bird house...

Tuesday and Wednesday (29 and 30)...more rain...more pictures and blog updates...however, we did get out for walks around the RV park.
Steve did take care of one thing, though. Instead of the usual "Dri-Z-Air" dehumidifying crystals, we had tried something new before putting our rig in storage that was highly recommended at Travel Land RV and looks like a small pillow. Well, it didn't work at all (we ended up returning it) and the inside of the trailer was very damp...the bathroom door wouldn't even close it was so swollen. Now that we are heating the rig Steve found a little moisture and mold on the base of the wall on both sides of the bed, so he cleaned it up with an anti mold product, dried it the best he could (using my hairdryer) and set up canisters of Dri-Z-Air crystals on the floor on both sides of the bed. The mask is so he doesn't breath any mold spores if they are present...

Thursday and Friday (Dec 1 and 2)...again...more rain! Friday also included quite a bit of wind...consequently our power was out for a couple of hours and the rig got cold.
We met Chris and Angela at Big Ridge Brewing Co for dinner...and an early birthday celebration for me!

Thanks for dinner, Chris and Angela....and the beautiful flowers!!

Saturday (3) was a blustery day. We decided to take a drive to White Rock...a community nearby that we have never been to. It's a beautiful spot right on the ocean but we drove through rather than stopping...mainly because it was all pay parking without any RV parking (that we could find) plus it was very windy and cold out. There was a lot of police activity when we drove by the pier and we later found out on the news that the body of a 52 year old man was found floating face down but no foul play was suspected...

We drove all the way along the coast to another smaller, less-touristy community, Crescent Beach. Parking was free...and lots of room for Buster! So we stopped for lunch at Harbour House Restaurant...

...and then walked down to the beach for a few pictures...brrr....!

These guys are enjoying the weather...

Too bad it wasn't nicer out...looks like a great path all along the beach! Oh well...another time.

Sunday (4) we woke to sunshine! Whoohoo! Steve took the opportunity to do a few chores outside. First I helped him take the boat off the truck in preparation for the appointment to take it into Gold Key on Tuesday...yes, again, for the never ending exhaust brake squealing. Then he emptied and flushed the tanks...cold overnight temps are on their way. He also plans to fill the fresh water tank and put away the outside filters and water hoses.
After the chores were done, we even got out for a walk around the campground...look at all that blue sky! Our site....

Buster is parked just across the way. We can just barely get it parked on our site but it blocks our satellite dish signal...

 They have really gone all out on the Christmas decorations here at Peace Arch...

Too cold for a dip...

 Then we went out a little while later to capture the decorations all lit up...

Monday (5) morning we woke to reports of snow falling in the Greater Vancouver area...but we had nothing here. I guess we're just on the edge of the storm. Well, not much later we started seeing tiny flakes falling...and they got bigger and bigger. It was cold...and it snowed most of the afternoon.

Tuesday (6) ended up being another sunny day...well, until the clouds rolled in later in the afternoon. We made a trip out to get a propane tank filled. We also made some decisions about when we'd return to Canada next April. I called Fort Langley about a site but they have changed their policies so much and it's just getting way too expensive to stay any length of time. They no longer have monthly rates, only daily and weekly and you are only allowed to stay a maximum of 30 days in a calendar year. A month was going to cost over $1000...compared to Peace Arch at $550 (may have a slight increase next spring). So we booked Peace Arch which is a nice park, but there is absolutely nothing to do here unless you drive. At Fort Langley there was lots of hiking and biking plus the short walk into town. We do miss Fort Langley.

Wednesday (7) we took the truck in early...they had a look at it but the truck hasn't been squealing consistently enough to leave a soot trail and they couldn't duplicate the noise in order to locate it. We really haven't had a chance to drive it much lately. It will likely start as soon as we hit the road and are heading south. The truck had also recently started idling rough so they showed us a computer graph indicating erratic fuel delivery, so that faulty part got replaced. There was also a noise in the dash that sounds to Steve like a relay chattering. They had looked at this before and said it was a loose relay and it seemed to be fixed. They found it to still be tight and couldn't duplicate that noise therefore that was that.

Thursday (8)...another cold day! We spent the morning researching travel medical insurance for our trip south. Although Steve has been diagnosed with a heart condition (heart block), it's very minor at this point and the tests show everything is fine, but it still has a significant effect on his premiums. Plus we are both 61 now so that makes a difference. We found the best rates from Manulife through Costco...thanks for the tip, Dennis and Suzanne!

Friday (9) we had another major snow storm...sheesh! And the forecast heading into next week is for a Polar Vortex bringing sub zero temps with highs of -3C/27F and lows of -11C/12F by Friday..

Saturday (10) morning Steve went out to take pictures of our winter wonderland. (These were taken before our latest snowfall.)

Then he spent the afternoon editing pictures while I worked on a knitting project.

Sunday (11), the weather warmed up...to a balmy 5C/41F. It rained (never thought I'd be so happy to see rain!) and by the end of the day most of the snow had melted...lots of puddles around...and slush.
We drove into Coquitlam to meet Steve's cousins and Chris and Angela for a pre-Christmas brunch. Left to right around the table...Bev, me, Steve, Chris, Angela, Cheryl and Grant...

So glad that the weather co-operated...we thought for sure we'd have to cancel. A reprieve from the snow and ice was perfect! It was wonderful catching up. After lunch we all went to visit Bev's husband, Rob. Unfortunately, he suffered a stroke last month within a week of having surgery on his shoulder and is now in a rehabilitation hospital. He has some paralysis on his right side but is doing well. Everyone has wondered if the surgery had anything to do with the stroke. We wish him a speedy recovery.

And that brings us to Monday, December 12! Now, we knew that the cold, cold temperatures were due today but we weren't expecting what we woke up to when we looked out the windows. More snow! The snowfall warning was for the Fraser Valley to our east, not here. A good amount had fallen overnight...at first I just thought it was a couple of inches but then realized we had about 5-6 inches now...

Our neighbours...they have 3 teenagers and 2 small dogs!

That's our rig with the bikes on the back...

I put the finishing touches on a couple of Christmas projects I had been working on...

Steve has an appointment in North Vancouver tomorrow and not wanting to drive, let alone try parking (after checking Google Earth), our truck through the city, we rented a car for a day instead. So just after 3:00 we walked down to the office to wait for Enterprise Car Rental to come pick us up. The inside of the office is also decked out...apparently the owner of the park absolutely loves Christmas and decorations. Every year he adds and rotates his decoration collection...

Well, how was that for a recap of the last few weeks? We did it...we're finally all up to date! Whew!