Sunday, May 20 to Saturday, May 26, 2018 (Fort Camping, Brae Island Regional Park, Fort Langley, BC)

Sunday was a cloudy, cooler day. We had our usual start to the day and then Steve headed outside to clean the barbecue while I settled in front of the laptop and got to work on a blog update

Next thing I knew it was 1:00...Steve had finished his chore for today and wanted to go for a walk to the bridge to check the level of the river. I had to go to the market to pick up a few things for dinner, so I joined him.

We took the riverside trail. At the bridge, I continued into town, while Steve took his pictures of the high water level of the river, and then headed back. See the sign sticking out of the water...

I was home about an hour later...Steve was watching "his" shows on TV and I resumed my spot at the table to continue working on the blog.

Monday was pack up and leave day for all the long weekend campers...and we watched as a steady stream of RV's pulled out. Ahhhhh...back to peace and quiet around here! It was another cloudy day but the sun did poke through a few times throughout the day...and it was warmer out than yesterday.

We both got another chore crossed off our lists...Steve washed and waxed the boat and then we loaded it back on the truck. While he was busy washing and waxing, I treated all of the cabinets in the trailer with wood cleaner.

After our work was done, we relaxed for a bit...me, on the laptop researching (and booking) flights home for Christmas, and Steve reading on his iPad. Mid afternoon, we decided to go for a bike ride into town to pick up some much needed nasal spray for Steve. His cold has settled into his sinuses...but his throat isn't sore anymore, so that's good.

Some pictures of visitors to the bird feeder today...Black-headed Grosbeaks...

Male...

Female...

A Chickadee joins in...

Tuesday morning I managed to get up without waking Steve...he continued snoring away for another half hour. Amazing...and I wasn't even trying to be quiet...I didn't even close the bedroom door. At least he (we) had a better sleep than the night before.

We were both sitting in our recliners with our coffee (our usual start to the day) when I realized what day it was...May 22...Happy Anniversary, honey! 36 incredible years...2 kids and 2 grandkids later...and another on the way! Yes, we received word today that it's okay to let the news out...our youngest son, Chris and his wife, Angela are expecting their first baby! They actually told us a few weeks ago but were waiting until she was through her first trimester to make it public. That was a hard secret to keep! We are so happy for them both...a December baby! Congratulations!
Grandpa had started eating his chocolate soother before I could take a picture...




We were back to blue sky and sunshine today...a good day to get out and run some errands.

Our first stop was at Vancouver Axle and Frame...after stewing for a week about the insane amount we paid to have the trailer brakes and bearings checked, Steve called them last week while we were on the island and talked to the owner Ken. He said  that didn't sound right and to call him when we got back on the mainland. Steve called this morning and since the owner was not available, he was passed onto someone else who would call him back. Well, we were on our way out, so decided to make it our first stop.

I sat in the truck waiting and as Steve walked back, he didn't look too happy...I soon learned that was just a put on. "How much do you think they refunded", he asks me as he gets into the truck. I dunno...a hundred, maybe two?? Nope...they refunded the full amount! $709.14 with an apology and a free inspection on our next visit! Talk about making a wrong right and retaining a customer. At best Steve thought we might be credited $350-$400.

After a few more stops...Walmart, Canadian Tire, Traveland, liquor store...we were back home. At 2:00, Craig from Mountain Valley Mobile RV Service arrived...right on time! Steve noticed an intermittent dripping of water coming from the under belly just before we left for the island and arranged for an appointment on our return. Steve believes it's coming from the galley grey water tank.

Steve had made sure our galley tank was full so that the leak would be evident. Craig got to work dismantling part of the under belly that was cut into previously for a repair. It was amazing how much water was being retained in the under belly and as all of us RV'ers know the grey tanks can smell almost as bad a the black tank! Unfortunately Craig decided he would have to cut away a lot more of the under belly to find the leak and would replace a 4' X 8' section. He found that the top corner of the galley tank which was on the opposite side of the trailer from where the water was dripping from had a 4" crack in it. Because we are leaving this weekend there was no time to order in a replacement tank so our best option was for a fibreglass patch. That would have to wait for a couple of days to complete as he had other jobs booked.

After Craig left we sat outside in the shade for awhile before walking into town. We decided to try a different spot for our anniversary dinner...Trading Post Brewing Taphouse and Eatery. We had a wonderful meal and were treated like royalty...making our anniversary special. We were even treated to a free drink and dessert to share.
Dragon Boat practice...as we walk home...

Wednesday was work day...after a bite to eat, Steve headed outside to get started on washing the trailer roof and slide toppers and awning. This has turned into a last minute job because of the road dust in the campground. They've delayed applying the dust control treatment until tomorrow because of the previous flood threat which has subsided for now. I helped him fold up the outdoor mats and then got started on my project for today...defrost and clean the refrigerator.

Once defrosted and before putting the stuff back in the freezers, I tried a trick that I learned from Pam when we were down in Quartzsite last winter. I took a couple of placemats and put them in the back of each freezer...they fit perfectly. This will apparently make future defrosting much easier...

With our work done, we both had our showers and got ready to go out to Abbotsford for dinner at Esther and Paul's. We headed out at 3:30...even though we didn't have to be there until 5:30...we had a couple of errands we wanted to do out that way. Also, it would take extra time to get out there due to heavy traffic as folks head home from the Vancouver area.

Our first stop was at Costco where we had a propane tank filled...and we found out that the other one had expired last March (sheesh!). Fuel prices are also much lower as you get away from the metro Vancouver area, so our next stop was at a Shell Station to fuel up the truck with diesel ($1.35/litre)......first time since we filled the tanks in Ferndale, WA before crossing the border back into Canada.

We thought we had given ourselves a lot of extra time...as it turned out, we arrived at Esther and Paul's at exactly 5:30. Have we mentioned how much we hate the traffic in the lower mainland/greater Vancouver area?!!

We had a wonderful dinner and visit with them...thanks so much! It was lovely seeing them both again.

Thursday was another work day....but before we got started on our chores, we walked into town to the HUB Insurance office. We realized that our trailer insurance expires mid-September and we won't be in BC, and won't be in one spot long enough to receive our tags in the mail...so we have to cancel our current coverage and then re-insure for another year. A costly pain in the butt since, of course, there is a fee to cancel plus we have to relinquish our current plate and pay for a new one...oh well, it is what it is!
More Dragon Boat practice on a very fast running, high Fraser River...

 It was cloudy for most of the day, making it nicer for Steve who was washing the rest of the trailer and waxing the snout today....

We received a text late morning from Craig, Mountain View Mobile RV Services saying he would be here "this afternoon". So Steve rushed to get finished, leaving the back-end unwashed to avoid a wet mucky mess underneath where Craig would be working. Well, "this afternoon" turned out to be shortly before 5:00. At least it's light out late now...so he spent the next couple of hours patching the crack in the holding tank and replacing the insulation and coroplast liner to the underbelly. While he was doing that, Steve and I sat enjoying the late afternoon sunshine...that finally decided to come out.

It was 7:00 when Craig was finished and presenting us with the bill....reasonable at $418 but still frustrating as he still recommends we replace the tank as soon as possible. Something we'll likely do when we are in Elkhart, Indiana this fall.

Friday morning I headed out in the truck by myself for a final shopping trip before we leave on Sunday. My first stop was Costco...where you have to arrive early in order to get a parking spot big enough for our truck. So I was there waiting with the group of other early shoppers when the doors opened at 10.

After Costco, I headed over to Walmart and then Save-on-Foods before finally getting back home...it was around 2:00 by this time. Although I hate having to drive the truck in the all the traffic here, at least the parking lots are big enough for me to navigate safely.

While I was gone, Steve was busy outside. He finished washing and waxing the back of the trailer, loaded the bikes back onto the rack and bleached and flushed the fresh water tank.

Saturday...and time to get all of last minute work done before we leave. So it was a busy work day! Steve started by washing the truck...oh no, it's going to rain now! LOL! After that was done, he started packing up all the outside stuff.

While he was busy with his chores, I started off by doing laundry and then gave the the inside a final good cleaning...vacuuming, washing floors, bathroom...so we are all clean to start our summer travels!

We were all finished our work, showered and ready for Chris and Angela when they arrived at 3:30...one final visit with them. We sat outside enjoying the late afternoon sunshine...although it wasn't really a sunny day, some was making its way through the light cloud covering.

We decided to go out for dinner tonight...one last visit to The Fort Pub! Steve and Chris went right into the pub while Angela and took a walk up the main street and back...and then joined the guys.

After dinner, we wandered back home and sat inside visiting for another couple of hours. Glad we were able to have one final visit with you! See you both...and our new grandbaby in December!

And that's it...our time back home is over and it's time to hit the road again! Looking forward to our summer/fall travels!