Saturday, August 31 to Monday, September 9, 2019 (Oceanside RV Resort, Saanichton, BC)

Saturday started off cloudy with a few sprinkles of rain but by mid afternoon, the sky was blue and the sun was shining. The breeze was still a little chilly though.

Steve got out for his morning walk while I did some work on the laptop...getting a blog update done. After lunch we headed into Sidney to pick up a few groceries. Rob, Angie and the boys are coming over for dinner tomorrow and Thrifty Foods have pork ribs on sale...perfect!

Once home, and with the groceries put away, I took my knitting and went to sit outside. I started off in the shade but quickly moved into the sun...that breeze was just too chilly. Steve took care of a couple of things outside and then decided to watch one of his shows on TV.

We were both sitting outside enjoying a beverage when Nancy and Rob popped by for a quick visit...always nice seeing you!

Sunday (September 1) we had a mixed bag of sun and cloud...but the main issue was the cool breeze off the water. I think I changed clothes 3 times....starting with shorts and tank top; ending with pants, sweatshirt and socks and shoes.

I spent the morning making a Chocolate Coconut Torte for dessert tonight...along with preparing the ribs for the Instant Pot.  We are looking forward  to Rob, Angie and the boys coming over for dinner.



As usual, Steve went for his daily walk and saw a couple of young ladies riding their horses on the beach...
We were sitting outside waiting for the kids...it was about 3:30 when they pulled in. The boys immediately put their helmets on and went out on their foot-pushing scooters...while the rest of us moved chairs out to a little piece of sun. Unfortunately, the sun was short-lived, so Steve ended up getting the propane fire out.

We sat chatting for an hour or so and then I had to go inside to get dinner started, so Rob, Conner and Steve joined me...while Angie and Bryce went down to the playground.

I figured the boys would prefer homemade pizza rather than ribs, roast potatoes, corn and salad that the rest of us were having...well, I was half right. Conner ate pizza but Bryce waited and joined the adults. "You make the best ribs, Gramma!"...I think he liked them LOL!

Having already eaten pizza, Conner relaxed in Gramma's chair watching TV while the rest of us ate...

After dinner, they all headed out for a walk to see the view from the rock bluffs and then down to the beach. Apparently they spotted a couple of deer a few hundred yards away in the field below. I stayed behind cleaning up the kitchen...the dishes will wait until morning...and then sat relaxing with another glass of wine.

It was an absolutely gorgeous evening along the water, calm and warm...

They had spotted five sea otters in the water and before they new it they were running across the beach headed for the bush. The one just to the right of Conner's head had what appeared to be a flounder in it's mouth...

Once they were back, we had dessert...it was good but the crust, mainly made of coconut, is a little too much. The chocolate filling was okay, but with 8 oz of unsweetened chocolate used in the recipe, it could have also used a little more sweetener....bottom line, it looked better than it tasted!

Around 8:30 our company collected all of their things, packed them in the car and after big hugs, were off home. A lovely visit with them...and after all the fabulous meals we have enjoyed at their place recently, we were glad to reciprocate.

Monday (September 2) was pretty much an RnR day. We watched as most of the RV's in our area left...we were the only ones left in the pull-through sites...

I decided I had better go up to the office and pay more $$ on our account...while I was there they said they had a big group coming in today. And sure enough about an hour later, the first of the RV's arrived...and it was a steady stream afterwards. They are a group of Americans from Adventurer Caravans on a 38-day Northwest USA and Vancouver Island Tour. We chatted at length with a couple on the tour parked across from us (had to see our truck)...along with another fellow who was the Caravan tail-gunner. Nice folks.

So other than that bit of action....not much else happened today. Steve got out for his daily walk and I sat knitting...not very exciting! LOL

Angie dropped the boys off just before 8:00 Tuesday (September 3) morning...the start of a full, fun day with our grandkids!

After a bite to eat for breakfast, Steve, Conner and Bryce headed off on a hike...leaving me to clean up the kitchen and do a little housework. It was sunny today but a little chilly with the breeze, so a sweatshirt was required. From the rock bluff...James Island shrouded in fog...

Across the marsh...

Taking the upper trail the boys ran around the sand dunes...

Checking out one of the many forts along the beach...

Checking out one of the tidal pools for sea creatures...

Steve had asked the boys if they wanted to walk down to the campground at Island View Beach and they said sure Grampa. Normally it's a good 25 minute power walk for Steve each way...they were gone almost 2 hours! Time for a little relaxation! After that, we all did some bike riding...and then it was time for lunch #1, leftover pizza from Sunday and some cartoons...

After lunch...more bike riding, including a ride down to the beach at the end of the spit...

Conner playing with his make believe driftwood boat...

Bryce wanted Grampa to go look for crabs under the rocks...

They both now have apposing driftwood navy boats...

Next up was lunch #2...around 2:00...noodles and cheese (similar to KD).

We were all chilling inside late afternoon when dad (Rob) surprised us. He was here to pick up the boys...instead of mom. I guess Angie had gone home early, not feeling well.

Late Wednesday (September 4) morning we headed off into Victoria...Steve dropped me off at the Med Grill in Royal Oak where I met 2 former colleagues for lunch. We enjoyed a wonderful hour and a half catching up...so great seeing you, Gwen and Lynn!

After dropping me off, Steve continued to Mayfair Mall where there is a parking lot big enough for Buster and went into the food court to A and W for his lunch.

Luckily there is a pick up/drop off area in front of the restaurant where Steve could pull over. After a quick hello from Lynn and Gwen to Steve, I got into the truck and we headed home.

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful as Steve went out for his daily walk and I sat outside in the sunshine knitting. Once he got back, I took my bike out for a little riding around the RV park. Unfortunately, I wasn't out long...my knee is starting to not like that motion. That sucks...it was one thing I could do for exercise and getting out and about. I sat with the ice pack afterwards. I'll give it another try tomorrow though.

Thursday (September 5) morning Angie stopped on her way to work to drop off Bryce's foot scooter. The boys also jumped out of the car...they look so cute in their school uniforms! Today is the first day of school...Grade 1 for Conner (on the right) and Junior Kindergarten for Bryce (left). They were very excited!

Bryce only has a half day of school today, so we were there at 11:15 to pick him up and take him back to our place to spend the afternoon with us. This was his first ride in Buster...

Being used to only travelling in the back seat of their car he loved the view from up there...

After lunch and changing out of his school uniform, he and Steve headed out for a walk to the rock bluff...

The rest of the afternoon was spent riding his scooter while Gramma and Grampa rode their bikes, time at the playground and just chilling.

Rob arrived at 4:30 and after chatting for a bit, he and Bryce headed off home...a good day!

Friday (September 6) was really exciting....it was laundry day! LOL!  I spent a lovely morning up at the laundry room...on a brighter note though, I did meet some lovely folks there.

So other than Steve getting out for his daily walk and me riding my bike around the RV Park for about 25 minutes...that was basically it. He saw some wedding preparations at Island View Beach...a pretty setting...

Saturday (September 7) morning Nancy picked me up at 10:30 and we headed into Victoria and Royal Jubilee Hospital. I had an appointment for a series of x-rays of my knee...I also had chest x-rays. Since it was Saturday, it was very quiet in all of the out-patient clinics. I had a short wait before I was taken in for the x-rays...and about 15 minutes later, I was all done.

We went to Starbucks for coffee where we sat chatting at length...and then we headed back out to the Peninsula. It was 2:00 when she dropped me off...thanks for being my chauffeur, Nancy! I thoroughly enjoyed the day and it was so nice spending time with you!

We got home to find Steve sitting at the picnic table working on a broken day/night shade. It was the one he had worked on before but there was still a problem so he was going at it again. No luck...the night shade won't stay in it's track so we will have to see if we can find a blind repair shop in Victoria.

I spent the rest of the afternoon working on the laptop....budget stuff mainly...while Steve watch his recorded programs on TV.

Sunday (September 8) morning Steve headed out for his daily walk while I was in the shower. Luckily he had taken his umbrella with him as the rain started a few minutes before he got back.

Our friends, Rob and Nancy picked us up just after 12:30 and we were off to the Spitfire Grill where Rob had arranged for a group of old school buddies to meet for lunch.

We spent a wonderful couple of hours chatting and catching up. Lots of laughs as they reminisced. After vowing to make this gathering an annual event, we said goodbye. Such a fun get together!
Left to right around the table, Jim B, Dan/Barb, Nancy C, Nan B, me, Steve and Rob C...We've kept in touch with everyone except for Dan and Barb...it's been years so it was great catching up with them.

Rob and Nancy dropped us off at home and Steve immediately started to prepare to take the boat off the truck. Buster is finally getting his front bumper painted this week, so the boat loader will have to be removed.  As we were about to power the boat down, Rob and Nancy returned...to give us a hand with the boat. Good timing guys...thank you Rob for taking over for me!

Monday (September 9) we woke to a cloudy sky and rain. It was a pretty lazy morning as Steve waited for the weather to improve so he could go out and wash the truck. He has always made sure our vehicles are spotless whenever they are serviced. That way he knows every mark on it and hopefully they treat it better. It was noon when he decided to get to work and headed outside.

While he was doing that, I did some baking and then worked on a blog update. By 1:30 the sun even popped out but there were still tons of clouds hanging around.

It was over 3 hours later when he was finally finished. In the meantime, RV's were arriving and right across from us a brand new Montana pulled in. Well, it turned out to be our old next door neighbours! They had moved out of the house about 20 years ago! She immediately recognized Steve...wow, what a small world!

With the work complete, we decided to sit outside for a drink. We don't have any sun by late afternoon, so took our chairs out to a little spot near the road that still had sun. Good spot to meet folks as they walked by...including a cute little 8 week old labor-doodle. So cute!

Well, that brings us up-to-date once again...tomorrow we are heading over to Vancouver for appointments and to spend some time with Chris, Angela and Isaac. Looking forward to it!