Saturday to Tuesday, May 18 to 21, 2019 (Oceanside RV Resort, Saanichton, BC)

Saturday morning Ray and Steve headed out in the boat to do a little fishing...

Unfortunately all they "caught" was an aluminum boat...they were good Samaritans by towing a broken down boat back to Gordon Bay.

By the time they had done that, quite a breeze had come up on the lake making it choppy...they slowly trolled back home but the jarring of the waves caused major havoc on Ray's back. He'll need some recoup time after that ride!

In the meantime, Deb and I lazed around most of the morning on the deck...it's so relaxing and the view is amazing! And then we decided to make a quick trip into town to pick up some lettuce and tomatoes for burgers for lunch. There had been a logging truck parade this morning...they were now parked in Saywell Park for folks to view...

Saywell Park and the Kaatza Station Museum...

When the guys got home, it was time to grill the burgers....complete with bacon, fried onions and fried mushrooms! Wowza!

They were delicious! But difficult to get your mouth around!

The sun had come out, so we set up chairs on the lawn. When Kristi and Jason got home from their golf game, Kristi put together the ladder ball game while Ray opened the bean bag toss game.

And we had an afternoon of games in the sunshine! Bean bag toss...

Ray's back had enough so Deb took over...

Jason and Kristi...

Kristi and Jason went out for a boat ride...while the dogs watched them leave...

I joined Ray for a hot tub...

After a fun afternoon in the yard, we headed back up to the deck, where we sat while Kristi and Jason cooked dinner...Tomato and Sausage Risotto. It was delicious!

Jason headed back home to Nanaimo after dinner...he is driving down to Victoria early tomorrow morning to golf with this step-dad.

Sunday (May 19) Steve decided to throw a fishing line in the water off the dock while breakfast was cooking. (Deb's photo)

Shortly after 9:00 Steve and Kristi headed off to do a hike at Bald Mountain Park on the other side of the lake. Of course, I can't go and am totally jealous...oh well, I look forward to getting back into it once I have new knees!

Over to Steve...

There was a sign posted that a Cougar had been spotted in the area...glad we're with two dogs! There was lots of Scotch Broom but don't recall ever seeing any this colour before...normally they're just yellow...

It was a beautiful day for a hike...it was a steady climb...

One arm of Cowichan Lake...

The other arm of Cowichan Lake, Ray and Deb's place is at the far end...

Here you can see both arms of the lake, we are actually on a peninsula...

Zeus,  Kristi and Athena...

The dogs have run ahead...

Woodland Shores development below...

We made it...what a view!

While they were gone, Deb, Ray and I popped into town to run a couple of errands...most importantly to pick up some buns for the smokies we decided we're going to roast over a campfire. Once back, Deb got the fire going and we sat enjoying the fire...with a view!

 Perfect way to roast the smokies!

Steve and Kristi got back just in time to roast their's. Sounds like they had a fabulous hike...just over 8 km/5 miles with an elevation of 358 metres/1174 feet...a good workout!

Then it was time for the girls to enjoy Margarita's in the hot tub!

There was an ominous looking cloud hanging over the mountains and we thought we were going to be in for a big downpour...but it didn't happen. Another great afternoon! A houseboat passes by in the distance...

At 3:00 it was time to head up to the deck so Deb could put a pork roast on the barbecue...dinner would be a little earlier than usual so that Kristi can get home early this evening...

Just lazing on the deck...

After another delicious dinner (lots of good food and drink this weekend! So much for the diet LOL!), Kristi headed home, Steve and I cleaned up the dishes and then "resumed position" on the deck until the sun went down behind the trees.

We watched a movie...'Going In Style'...it was good and we even managed to stay awake!

One final look at the lake as the sun goes down...and we all head to bed...

We woke to a totally socked-in, cloudy, rainy day Monday (May 20) morning. I felt sorry for all of the long weekend campers having to pack up in the rain...we did it many times over the years!

Deb and I took our second cups of coffee outside and sat under the gazebo with the radiant heaters and fire on and a warm blanket over our legs...awesome!

But alas, all good things must come to an end and we went inside...I went up to shower and pack while Deb made Steve's favourite, "Monkey Bread". She had made it last time we were here and he requested it again. It is delicious!

It was going on 11:30 by the time we had the truck all packed up and ready to go. Thanks for all your hospitality, Deb and Ray...we had another fabulous time!

Our drive home was uneventful...busy on the road, though, with the holiday weekender's also heading home. But we experienced no accidents along the way and  traffic moved smoothly, only slowing down through the Goldstream area of the Malahat drive.

We did make one stop...in Mill Bay to fuel up the truck. The cost is cheaper up there than it is in the greater Victoria area. We paid $1.37/litre for diesel (that's about $5.19 Cdn or $3.86 US per gallon for all of our US friends).

Once home, we unpacked our suitcases and with everything put away, we chilled in our chairs for the rest of the rainy afternoon.

Tuesday (May 21) was not very exciting. We both puttered the morning away and then went into Sidney. Steve took care of a couple of errands while I did some grocery shopping.

The sun had come out by late afternoon, so Steve decided to do his power walk down to Island View Beach and back. I finished watching the final PVR'd episode of Outlander and then walked down to the beach to meet him.

We sat out in the sunshine for a bit and then headed inside for dinner and our usual evening of TV.