Tuesday to Friday, April 23 to 26, 2019 (Oceanside RV Resort, Saanichton, BC)

We were back to sunshine today...and it was actually a fairly nice day but a tad bit windy. I received an email this morning with an appointment date to see an Orthopaedic Surgeon. The appointment is May 1...the process for a knee replacement has begun but who knows when I'll actually have the surgery. Once confirming the appointment, it took me to their website where there were 4 questionnaires to complete. So that is how I spent most of my morning.

Steve renewed his fishing licence (so he's ready for our trip up to Lake Cowichan tomorrow) and just before 11:00 he headed off to an appointment to have his haircut. He arrived home when I was finally in the shower...it was almost noon by this time.

Steve went out to wash the rental car...wants to have it all clean for our trip up island. He came in after he was done and said that he wished the truck only took that long!

Wanting to get out for some exercise this afternoon, we ended up taking the bikes out for a ride around the RV Park. I couldn't do a walk and had wanted to give bike riding a try to see how my knees responded. They were a little sore but not bad...at least much better than walking.

Wednesday morning we were up and packed and ready to go by 9:00....heading up island.

Our first stop was at The Mill Pizza and Grill where we met family friends Doreen and Gerry. They were Steve's family's  neighbour in Courtenay in 1967 when Gerry was posted there with the RCMP. We enjoyed breakfast and catching up...for over an hour and a half. So wonderful seeing you both, and thanks for treating us!

Our next stop was in Cowichan Bay and friends, Jim and Nan. Steve and Jim have been friends since high school. Nan doesn't like getting her picture taken...LOL!  We had another great time catching up with them. So nice getting a chance to get together with you guys...the advantage of spending more time on the island.

As we continued towards Lake Cowichan, we drove along the waterfront of Cowichan Bay...as you can see, it was a beautiful day and the tide was out...

We had one last stop before getting to  Deb and Ray's place...another school friend of Steve's, Dave owns Darling Tire, now OK Tires just as you enter the community of Lake Cowichan. It has been years since we last saw him and we weren't even sure if he was still there. But as we pulled into the parking lot, we saw him sitting at the reception desk. I bet it has been 7 or 8 years since we last saw him. We had a quick visit....great seeing you, say hello to Rose for us! Unfortunately we didn't get a picture...drats!

We arrived at Ray and Deb's just after 2:00...and were greeted with big hugs! Can't believe it's been a year since we last saw you...mind you we have kept in touch regularly via FB Messenger! They took us on a tour of their newly renovated home...it's so nice to finally see it in person! Steve took this picture from the second floor loft...2 bedrooms upstairs with a TV sitting area overlooking the living room on the left, kitchen and dining room on the right...

And then it was time to bring our luggage in from the car...we were given the guestroom upstairs. Even had chocolates on the pillows...fancy, smancy resort LOL!

And then it was time to sit outside with a campfire...

A picture of us taken from the deck...

After enjoying the lakefront and fire, it was time to go up onto the deck where Deb had a turkey on the barbecue...

Steve relaxing...hard to beat that view!

Ray carving the turkey...while Deb puts the final touches on the side-dishes, and I supervise LOL...

Dinner was absolutely delicious! Great job, Deb!

After dinner, we watched a movie...Freya joined Steve and I on the couch...(Deb's pic)

The following map shows the route we took today...

We woke up to thick fog over the lake Thursday morning...after a couple of hours, though, it had burned off and it was a beautiful sunny day. After a lazy start to the day, Deb made "Monkey Bread" for breakfast...yummy! And absolutely no calories, I'm sure!

Steve gave Ray a hand moving lumber and disassembling some shelving in his workshop, while Deb and I headed off into town to run a couple of errands. On the way home, she took me on a little sightseeing tour of the area...quite a few changes since we were last here!

When we got home, Steve was fishing off the dock...he had one hit, but other than that, no fish this time. It was beautiful and sunny down on the dock, so we decided to sit down there...(Deb's pic)

Now that's a pretty nice backdrop for our picture! (Deb's pic)

What a beautiful day!

Lunch today was at Jakes at the Lake...A casual dining restaurant that looks over the beautiful Cowichan Lake and Cowichan River, located right in the heart of the town of Lake Cowichan. 
We didn't get a picture of the building, so here is the street view one from their website...






And the view of the lake from inside. There's a weir on the left  to control the outflow of the lake into the river and a lock on the right to allow boats up to 20' to pass...

Jakes is just a short distance from Ray and Deb's place...actually all amenities of this little community are close by. After a delicious lunch, we went back home for some more relaxing...this time in the hot tub... (Deb's pic)

Happy hour started out at the front of the house where it wasn't so windy...

...and then we moved around to the deck before we headed inside for leftover turkey. Another delicious dinner...excellent the second time around! Steve and I did the dishes...(Deb's pic)

After dinner, we resumed positions out on the deck...with such a fabulous view, do you blame us?! As the sun started going down, Steve took his fishing rod back down to the dock to try an evening fish...no luck though... but he took a picture of the rest of us sitting under the gazebo on the deck...

A lovely sunset tonight...

Now...isn't this a perfect spot to enjoy an after dinner liqueur (The electric radiant heaters give off a red glow)...

Friday morning, Deb treated us with french toast and bacon for breakfast and then made turkey sandwiches to take for a picnic lunch. We had the car packed and were on the road at 9:45...for a drive up the lake to explore areas that we haven't been to for a long time. Prior to retiring, we used to spend all long weekends camping at the tip of Lake Cowichan.

We started by going up the north side of the lake, through the town of Youbou...and carrying onto the gravel logging road. We found that the pavement went a lot further than it used to when we travelled that route.

Our first stop was at Kissenger Lake...a small lake about 10 minutes to the northwest of Lake Cowichan. It's popular with fishermen and was just stocked with trout...

 A shot of the small campground...there are some sites near the lake, but the majority are at the entrance to the campground...

Our next stop was as Heather Campground at the western tip of Lake Cowichan. We parked the car in the site we used to always reserve on the long weekends...

And took our chairs and the cooler down to the beach for lunch...

Steve did a little casting off the shore but had no luck...guess that's why it's called fishing and not catching...LOL!

Haven't seen this fabulous view for many years! Cowichan Lake is about 30 km/19 mi long with a maximum depth of 160 m/538 ft. Fish species are anadromous bull trout, atlantic salmon, brook trout, brown catfish, brown trout, chinook, chum and coho salmon, cutthroat and rainbow trout, dolly varden, kokanee, and western brook lamprey.

Picture taken from the campsite...

We took the gravel road back down the other side of the lake. We had planned on stopping at a number of other forestry campgrounds as we drove the loop around the lake, but unfortunately they were all closed still...likely opening on the May long weekend. We did stop at this pull out across the lake from Youbou...used to be a fabulous view of the little village from here but the trees have grown too tall, blocking it...

We were home around 2:00...this map shows our route...

Now it was time to start preparing dinner. I peeled and sliced potatoes for potato scallop and watched as Deb prepared it. Once the prime rib roast was on the rotisserie on the barbecue, we sat on the deck with the heaters on.

Neighbours, Darryl and Pat joined us and we had another fabulous meal! Prime Rib, yorkshire pudding, gravy, asparagus and salad...yum! Oh...and lots of wine to accompany it!

Left to right around the table...Darryl, Pat, Ray, Deb,  me and Steve...

Fabulous meeting Darryl and Pat...turns out we have mutual friends too! Such a small world.

And that ends 3 wonderful  days! Hate to leave this little piece of paradise Ray and Deb have here but all good things must come to an end. We leave tomorrow morning...but we will be back!