Tuesday, September 10 to Wednesday September 18, 2019 (Oceanside RV Resort, Saanichton, BC)

Steve was packing his suitcase and I was just finishing in the shower when our daughter-in-law, Angie called just after 8:00 a.m....our oldest son Rob had just been taken to the hospital by ambulance. Apparently he had sever pain in his back, radiating to the front and had uncontrollable shaking and sweats. We told Angie, we had to pick up a rental car and drop the truck off but would be at the hospital as soon as we could.

We were at the airport picking up the car when I received a text from Rob...he had a CT Scan and they had found a kidney stone that had passed into his bladder. Steve had wondered if that could be the issue...and it turned out he was right. We understand they can be extremely painful. They had given him some painkillers and he would be able to go home. Whew...thank goodness!

I had reserved an intermediate sized car to be picked up at 9:30 but they didn't have any available. Our choices were a Jeep Wrangler or Toyota Sienna (mini-van). When we said we weren't happy with either of those choices, she offered a Mustang GT Convertible...well, okay, that's a no-brainer! LOL The only drawback was that we now had a convertible and there was nothing but rain in the forecast for the next week! Here is a picture of our wheels for the week...(Steve took it when we got over to Chris and Angela's place in Coquitlam)...

After picking the car up, I followed Steve around to the other side of the airport to BMT where he dropped the truck off. They will have it for the week to repaint the front bumper and the bottom part of the boat loader.

Steve's turn to drive the car...WOW...sounds tough, goes like stink, and is very comfortable to drive. So much nicer then driving the truck!

Back home, we loaded our suitcases into the car and had enough time to stop by the house to see Rob before we caught the 1:00 p.m. ferry. We are headed over to Vancouver for some appointments and to visit Chris, Angela and Isaac. Poor guy had been in a lot of pain and was still going through waves of it. After about 4 days and another trip to the ER, he was finally feeling better.

We had an uneventful trip, arriving at Chris and Angela's at about 3:30...and the start of a lovely few days with them! Isaac relaxing on the love-seat beside Gramma...

Wednesday (September 11) we were up and out of the house before 8:00 and on our way to Steve's dermatologist appointment in North Vancouver...reminder for Steve, do not make next year's appointment so early in the morning! It took us an hour to get there with the heavy morning traffic...and once finished, 20 minutes to get back!

I dropped Steve off and then headed out to do some shopping...leaving Steve to enjoy some alone time (since Angela and Isaac were also out).

Dinner tonight was a meatloaf recipe that I wanted to try...it turned out pretty good!

The forecast for Thursday (September 12) was 100% rain all day...so we were surprised to see bits of sunshine here and there and no rain as we headed out to Mission (about an hour drive east).

We picked up replacement self centering rollers from Load It Industries that built our boat loader and instead of taking the Trans-Canada Highway back, we decided to take the more scenic secondary highway #7 that follows the Fraser River for part of the way.

We pulled into The Gillnetter Pub, which is on the Fraser River in Port Coquitlam at about 12:30. Although we didn't get a table on the patio, we still had a view as the restaurant is tier'd with an upper and lower level. Our table was along the balcony on the upper level....not the best picture...

Just as we got back to Chris and Angela's place, it started to rain....and it just poured all afternoon and evening!

As usual we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon visiting with Angela and playing with Isaac. Chris was a little late getting home due to heavy traffic...don't know how folks deal with the traffic here everyday! At least Chris doesn't have all that far to go to work!

Friday (September 13) morning, I was watching the traffic on Google Maps to see how long our trip into Vancouver to our doctor's appointment would take...about a half hour with the current conditions. So with our appointment at 11:20, we decided to leave at 10:30 giving us plenty of time to find a parking spot and a little leeway for changing conditions. It only took us 20 minutes and we got a parking spot right out front...figures!

To top that off, our doctor was a little behind...doesn't happen often, and the wait is minimal compared to our old doctor. But we were done and on our way home, arriving just before 12:30.

Angela and Isaac had gone out...and I decided also, to head out for a little shopping of my own, leaving Steve to enjoy the last few episodes of a series he was watching on Netflix. Kind of crazy going to Costco on a Friday afternoon but I thought I'd see if I could get a parking spot easily...and lo and behold, I did! What luck...or just good timing!

I was back home a couple of hours later....Steve was just watching the last episode of his program and then decided to get out for a walk. The area isn't the best for walking because it's either up or down...pretty steep streets. But he got a good 40 minute walk in.

Chris got home shortly after 6:00 and we sat down for dinner while Angela waited for her friend to pick her up. She went out with some girlfriends to enjoy dinner and drinks, leaving the rest of us to have a quiet evening at home. Issac enjoying a little Grampa time (or should I say Grampa enjoying a little Isaac time?)...

We all enjoyed a lazy Saturday (September 14) morning. Breakfast time...

Isaac refused to have a morning nap...the little monkey! Of course, his mom and dad wanted him to have one because we are meeting "The Oaks Clan" (Steve's cousins) at 1:00 for lunch. Oh well, he was, for the most part pretty good. We spent a fabulous couple of hours at Brown's Social House catching up...it was hard to get everyone in the picture but the server tried! Left to right around the table...Cam, Bev, Esther, Paul, Chris (with Isaac), Angela, Nicole, Nick, Glenna, me, Steve, Cheryl, Grant and Rob. Okay...some of you are going to want to make a wise crack about that sign...it says Moby Dick Seafood and Steaks :)

As soon as we got home, Angela prepared and put the ribs in the oven for dinner...and then we all had a pretty restful rest of the afternoon until Angela's parents arrived.

A delicious dinner and a great visit with Lucy and Luigi...so good seeing you both!

Sunday (September 15) morning it was time to gather all of our things and pack our suitcases. With big hugs, we said goodbye to Chris, Angela and Isaac...thanks so much for all your hospitality! We have one more night before heading back to Vancouver Island...and we're spending it downtown at the Rosedale on Robson Suite Hotel.

We got into our room, a beautiful one-bedroom suite at about 2:00. The bedroom...

 The living room...

 And a small kitchenette...

 And the view looking down from our window on the 8th floor...

We relaxed for a bit and then went downstairs for a beer at Original Joe's Restaurant and Bar. Chris had worked downtown at Microsoft a few years ago and recommended Red Racer Taphouse (across the street from Microsoft) as a cool spot to go for a beer...so we walked the few blocks to check it out...

He was right...the atmosphere was great and the beer good as well! But after our beer, we decided to walk back up to Original Joe's for dinner (and yes, more drinks!). That way when we are done, we just have to wander over to the elevator and up to our room!

We had a great evening...and a perfect date night!!

We were pleasantly surprised on Monday (September 16) morning to find that there was a 10:00 am ferry sailing back to Vancouver Island. After the summer season, they usually just sail every 2 hours on the odd hour.

Our first stop once on the island was to fill the gas tank of the Mustang...not exactly a fuel efficient car but we wanted to wait until we got back to the island for the cheaper fuel prices. I think we were down to about 80 kms left in the tank, at least that's what it said but who knows how accurate it is...but we made it! Whew!

Our next stop was to pick up the truck. It was ready however Steve was disappointed to see that after they had sand blasted the rust off the boat loader mounts, they had just painted over the rough areas that were left without smoothing it out. The foreman agreed those areas should have been filled in so it will be ready the next day...geez! We were supposed to return the car tomorrow, so I called to extend it for one more day. The extra charge is only $15...sweet!

Tuesday (September 17) was a major rain day...it just poured! Everyone keeps saying we need the rain but enough is enough...we want the sun back!

We dropped our day/night shade off at Blind Repairs by Rod nearby that Steve had found on-line. Actually it's a fellow in a mobile home park with a little workshop. This was the blind that was Steve's first attempt at restringing one a few weeks ago. For some reason the night shade keeps slipping out of it's track, so after removing the blind and valance a few times with continued failures Steve had enough. Hopefully he's able to fix it!

After that, since we had the car for another day, we headed into Victoria and Mayfair Mall. I have been wanting a new phone for a long time, so we ended up at a Best Buy Mobile store where I got a new Google Pixel 3a cell phone. Yay!

After a stop at Steve's old office to say hello, we headed home...where we hung out for a bit waiting for the rain to stop. Steve didn't really want to drive his clean truck home in the rain! But it wasn't to be...I dropped Steve off  at BMT to pick up the truck. When they called earlier to say the truck was ready they said to bring our spare key because they locked Steve's in the truck. The foreman grabbed our spare key and checked in the truck and still no key, so the hunt continues...Geez! Once home the rain had let up enough for him to hose the truck off so it still looks fairly clean.

Wednesday (September 18) was a much nicer day than yesterday...the morning cloud gave way to mainly blue sky in the afternoon. But the fall chill is in the air!

I dropped the car off at the airport and once back home, Steve headed out for his walk down to Island View Beach and I got to work on the laptop. I have a lot of "work" to catch up on...stuff to order on Amazon, budget, blog....

And other than a bike ride early in the afternoon, that is basically where I stayed for the rest of the day. Steve did a bunch of odds and ends and then sat out in the sunshine for a bit.

That brings us up to date again! Less than 3 weeks to go until my knee replacement surgery...countdown is on!