Friday to Tuesday, April 14 to 18, 2017 (Peace Arch RV Park, Surrey, BC)

The next few days started off fairly uneventful...Friday morning we finally got our blog up up-to-date and then after breakfast and showers, went out for a brisk walk around the RV park. After that, I did some cleaning inside while Steve took care of some chores outside...emptying the tanks and flushing the blank tank.

We pretty much chilled for the afternoon...watching an old movie on TV. It was actually quite sunny out but with the tall trees, our site was in the shade and it was chilly. Ray and Deb, however, have sunshine at the front of their site and were sitting out basking in the warmth. Once the movie was over, we joined them to enjoy what was left of the late afternoon sunshine.

Saturday morning we headed out to run a bunch of errands. Ray and Deb had gotten new cell phones and had given Steve their old Samsung 6...quite an upgrade from the old flip-style one he has been using! Thanks, guys! So our first stop was at Telus to pick up a new sim card for it. After a few more stops...liquor store, bank and London Drugs...we were home.

Later in the afternoon, we joined Deb and Ray again to enjoy a drink sitting in the sunshine.

Easter Sunday we decided to spend the day out exploring some of the parks in the area. We started off at Elgin Heritage Park...on the banks of the Nicomekl River and headed out for a walk on the nature trail...

Spring is definitely late this year...

Daffodils and Cherry Tree blossoms are usually out in January/February...

The park's most important ecosystem is its wetland which features a tidal river, a salmon-bearing creek, and many ponds and marshes...

(Click on any photo to enlarge)

Back at the truck, I rested my foot for a few minutes and then joined Steve who had walked over to the Historic Stewart Farm...time to check it out...

Historic Stewart Farm is a picturesque site telling the story of the Stewarts, an early Surrey pioneer family that lived on the site from 1880 to 1944. Complete with a farmhouse, sprawling farm grounds and outbuildings typical of early Surrey farm life, it is as if the Stewarts and their animals just picked up and left.

We were told by the tour guide that this house was ordered from the Sears catalogue...

We took a tour inside this beautiful home...

Chinese servants room...

Check out the size of this family Bible...absolutely amazing!

Marriage, births and deaths are recorded...

And then we wandered around the grounds...

The Pole Barn...

The fields on the other side of the river was the farmland...

Orchard...

There is now a marina here too...

Once we were finished at Elgin Park, we continued driving down Crescent Road towards Crescent Beach...couldn't help but take a picture of this beautiful tree in full bloom...

Our next stop was Blackie Spit park.
Blackie Spit Park is a stunning City park located in the Crescent Beach neighbourhood of South Surrey. The park is named after the dramatic spit that extends into Mud Bay at the mouth of the Nicomekl River.

The forecast had called for sunshine but it turned out to be a dull grey day...

Steve put on his telephoto lens to get some shots across the bay...

Blackie Spit has amazing views of Mud Bay and the north shore mountain. Blackie Spit also offers some of the best bird watching areas in Canada, with almost 200 species of birds recorded in a calendar year. The sandy spit, surrounded by tidal marsh and eelgrass beds, is an important stop for migrating and wintering waterfowl and shorebirds, as they make their way up and down the coastline of North and South America. Fall migrants start arriving in late August and September. Spring migrants start arriving in mid-March, and are generally gone by the end of May.
Vancouver in the distance...

The mountains would have looked so much better with a clear blue sky...

Pulling in a crab pot. There was a boy in a wet suit and a girl in a bikini swimming below the dock too...Brrr!!

There are some beautiful waterfront homes but with the crowds of people walking the trails not sure I would want to live here...

Here is a picture from last December when we were at the park in the snow...

We enjoyed a walk along the waterfront path and then it was time to head home....

...and get ready to go over to Deb's Dad's place for Easter Dinner. Ray and Deb had invited us over as Deb was cooking dinner there.

While dinner was cooking, we helped Deb unpack and set up her new inflatable kayak...a late Christmas gift from her dad.

Steve did all the pumping so had to check it...

Deb wants to take Freya out in it too...

Relaxing and chatting before dinner. George has a beautiful home

Beautiful big backyard!

Just before dinner, Ray took Freya out for a walk...Steve tagged along to see if he could find a nearby geocache. Found it!

It was called metamorphosis...see the butterflies...

Ray carved the turkey breasts while the rest of us carried all of the other dishes to the dinner table...

Time to sit down for the feast!

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and after cleaning up the dishes, returned to the comfy chairs where we continued chatting over dessert. It was going on 8:00 when we all called it an evening and left George back in the capable hands of his caregiver...Larney had gotten home after her day off. Thanks so much for including us in your family Easter Dinner, Deb and Ray! We thoroughly enjoyed it!

Once home, there was one final thing to do this evening. Before we left for dinner, Steve had put up the 3M Command adhesive hooks for the metal art we picked up in Los Algodones, MX. The adhesive had to set for an hour, so as soon as we got home, he put them up....a nice addition to our home to remind us of the desert!

Monday morning...after much pressure from Steve and Deb to just get it done...I defrosted the freezer and cleaned the refrigerator. A good job done! (finally)

At noon we walked over to Ray and Deb's and headed out with them to Big Ridge Brewing Co. for lunch. Monday's are their "Burger and Beer" special...so of course, we had to partake! It was yummy...but we were stuffed! Next time, let's split a burger, Deb!

Back home, Steve and I walked around the RV park...to get a little exercise and burn off a little of that lunch.

Just after 3:00 we loaded the truck with our overnight case...and laundry...and headed off into Coquitlam to Chris and Angela's place for the night. We have a follow-up appointment with our doctor tomorrow, so again we took advantage of Chris and Angela's hospitality and spent the night...so we could borrow Chris's car.

After dinner, Angela's parents, Luigi and Lucy, came over for coffee and dessert. We had a great visit...it was really nice seeing them again!

Our appointment wasn't until the afternoon, so Tuesday morning I drove Chris to work and then came back. We enjoyed a relaxing morning watching TV and then battled the traffic into Vancouver to our appointment. The doctor was right on time...how refreshing not having to wait for an hour or two (as was the norm for our old doctor)!

After our appointment, we dropped the car off at Chris and Angela's and then headed back out to Surrey. Thanks again for your hospitality...always like to take advantage of seeing you both as much as possible while we are in the area!