Thursday to Wednesday, May 2 to 8, 2019 (Oceanside RV Resort, Saanichton, BC)

We woke to mainly cloudy sky this morning....but by the end of the day, we had lots of sunshine. Today is the day that we were not looking forward to...we have to return the rental car. That was a fast month!

So just after 10:00 we headed off...Steve in the truck and me in the car. After topping the gas tank off, I followed Steve into Victoria and Budget Car Rental.

After dropping the car off, we started to head out to Home Depot in Langford to purchase new faucets for the kitchen and bathroom. But as we got onto the highway out that way, we could see ominous clouds that looked like rain. I checked the weather forecast and there was only a 20% chance of rain, but it definitely looked like it was raining out there, so we took the first exit and headed back to the highway home. Steve spent 5 hours washing the truck...no need to get it dirty if it's not necessary. We will go out there another day.

On the way home, we decided to go to Island View Regional Park...the park that Steve walks to on his daily walks. The booklet about knee replacement surgery that I received yesterday says that I should continue to exercise as much as possible and to use a cane or two walking poles to take the stress off the joint. I have walking poles, so we went for a walk along the waterfront trail...a nice easy level walk....

When Steve walks here, he approaches from the opposite direction, walking as far as the campground and back. We walked the trail to a point where it becomes loose sand...and then back. A Great Blue Heron is camouflaged nicely in the driftwood on the beach...

 He took off and landed a ways ahead of us...

 We'd catch up and he'd take off again...

I forgot to take any pictures as we drove down the hill to the park, so I took a few as we headed back up. Nice homes overlooking the ocean...

This is the best I could do showing the view the houses have, as the road curves and goes further up the hill...

And now going down the other side of the hill towards the highway...Michell's Farm. The owner purchased our old ATV before we started full timing....

Once home, we had lunch and then Steve cleaned out a bunch of old clothes from his cupboard while I did a little baking. After that, I sat outside in the intermittent sunshine with my knitting while Steve watched his TV shows.

Friday (May 3) started out with blue sky but some cloud quickly moved in. With the morning sunshine, Steve decided to go outside and work on his RC plane...and figure out if it can be repaired once again. He determined that it should be good for one more repair, so he went ahead and ordered the parts.

He had to remove the busted firewall and epoxy from the Styrofoam fuselage...

After lunch we headed into Sidney...in the truck...first full day without a rental car and we're missing it already! Parking Buster anywhere in Sidney is pretty much impossible, so he dropped me off to pick up a few groceries and continued onto an RV store for a look-see at what they have. I wasn't all  that long, so it wasn't long before I was texting him that I was ready to be picked up. We made one more stop...at Peden's RV, where we had purchased our fifth-wheel 9 years ago. We had a chat with the owner, Brad Peden, and then I went to sit in the truck while Steve had a quick gander around their RV supplies.

Back home, Steve headed out on his daily power walk and I sat inside to do a little banking on the laptop. By this time, the clouds had pretty well covered all of the blue sky and it was a little chilly. The forecast for the weekend is for lots of sun with highs around 18C/65F.

Saturday (May 4) morning Steve headed off in the truck to P & R Service. He had noticed grease leaking out of the hubcap on the left front wheel and wanted to get it checked.

I was waiting outside when Angie and the boys came by to pick me up...we're all going to the pool. Bryce has swimming lessons, Conner came along because Dad had to work today...and I'm there to have fun in the water with them...and do some water walking.

A couple of hours later, we were back at our place. Grampa visited with the boys while Ang and I cleaned ourselves up and then we headed to the Prairie Inn for lunch. We asked Grampa if he wanted to squeeze into the back seat between the 2 car seats but he didn't think he would fit and besides, he had some chores he wanted to take care of.

Yes, even with the console up, it would be a little tight in there for Grampa! Bryce on the left and Conner on the right...

We found a table for 4 in the restaurant side of the pub and enjoyed a nice lunch. The boys were well behaved and after finishing their meals (or should I say, eating all they were going to) were curious about the rest of the place. We were seated in one small room of the restaurant, so they had to go peek into the other rooms. Conner was particularly interested in what was beyond the sign "No Minors" so told his mom he would just go as far as the sign. He came back to report that he couldn't see the dart board in the pub but was sure it must be hidden around the corner...too cute! The Prairie Inn was established in 1859...for a history of the building click here.

It was close to 2:30 when Angie and the boys dropped me off. We initially had plans to go to the Boat Show in Sidney but then common sense hit me...I can't walk very well and certainly wouldn't be able to climb in and out of all the gorgeous boats (or should I say, yachts) they have on display!

I found Steve relaxing inside watching his shows on TV...he had had a full day, taking care of chores and he even managed to get his daily power walk in! His view on his walk today...a sand bar appears as the tide goes out. In the distance a tugboat towing a log boom.

We were sitting outside in the sunshine this beautiful Sunday (May 5) morning waiting for friends Rob and Nancy to pick us up. One last chance to see them before they head off on a fabulous 6 week vacation to Europe tomorrow. After a great visit over coffee and breakfast, they dropped us off  back at home. Thanks for the ride! Enjoy your trip!

The rest of the day was pretty well RnR...Steve got out for his power walk...look at all those Great Blue Herons!

And then we both sat outside...Steve reading and me, knitting. I also did a number of rounds of walking "the block" around the campground. We both also took the bikes out for a few loops around all the roads.

We were sitting outside in the late afternoon sunshine when Angie and the boys popped by for a visit. Conner and Bryce had both had birthday parties to attend and they even went and saw dad at work (Rob worked 12-hour shifts all weekend...there is obviously a push to get something ready).

It was after 5:30 when we gave the boys and Angie big hugs and said goodbye...have a good week!

Monday (May 6) just zipped by! We headed out just after 10:00...we've got some shopping to do! After much looking around, we decided on the faucets we found at Home Depot. Along with new faucets for the kitchen and bathroom, we also picked up all the 4 - 10' lengths of PVC pipe, 8 elbows and a few couplings. Steve is going to use these to make something to place on top of the slide toppers to hold the awning material down in high wind. Nine years ago when we were living here prior to retiring and going on the road, he saw other RV's with this....and thought it was a great idea!

We had driven out to Langford, a suburb of Victoria...a growing community with great shopping concentrated in one area. So we took advantage of it by stopping at Walmart, the Canadian Super Store and Canadian Tire...only a few of many stores. By the time we were finished and heading home, it was 2:00!

Once home, Steve got started on his project while I put the groceries away and made us a bite to eat...a late lunch today! He was all done just after 5:00....only took him 9 years to complete this project!

Just before 6:30, we went into Sidney to watch Conner play soccer..so cute watching a bunch of 6 year old's learning to control and kick a soccer ball! It was also nice to get a chance to visit with Rob. His one day of "regular work hours" before starting another stretch of 12 hour shifts...starting at 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning! That means he has to be up and on his way to work shortly after 3:00 a.m.!

Tuesday (May 7) afternoon, even though we had our flu shots, the flu hit Steve like a ton of bricks! He woke up saying he felt congested in his chest and had an annoying cough and was a little achy. He managed through the morning...bottling (or should I say bagging) wine at Wine Kitz Sidney....

 The owner, Derek, pumping wine into the bags that are on a weight scale...

3 bags to a box...

We stopped at a pharmacy to pick up some medication and as soon as we got home Steve immediately went to his chair....where he remained, watching TV, for a couple of hours until he went to bed. He said he hasn't felt this bad since he got sick in the Serengeti while we were Tanzania, Africa! No idea where he picked it up...must have been while out shopping yesterday. (Steve here...we stopped having our daily happy hours about a week and a half ago. Now the number one ingredient in that medicine we got was alcohol. See... I stopped drinking plenty of fluids (beer) and got really sick...no wonder!)

It was an absolutely beautiful day today, so after baking some keto buns and making granola, I sat outside with my knitting. I also did a couple of short walks...I'm trying to keep up some exercise but it's hard.

With Steve so sick, Wednesday (May 8) was a do-nothing day. He got up at our usual early hour, had tea instead of coffee and showered...and then resumed his position in his chair. I puttered around, doing a little cleaning and then some banking on the laptop.

After a small bite to eat for lunch, he took some medicine and went to bed. I watched a PVR'd episode of Outlander (I have 9 episodes to catch up on) and then went outside to sit in the sun and knit...and again, went for a few short walks.

He was up a few hours later, sitting in his recliner again but after a light dinner, he headed back to bed to watch TV in there. Sure hope he gets better soon! And I must say I am really feeling "stuck" here...yes, I can drive the truck but not here! There is no way I would be able to park it wherever I went. So to say I'm missing a car would be an understatement!