Tuesday, December 8 to Tuesday, December 22, 2020 (Oceanside RV Resort, Saanichton, BC)

The last two weeks have slipped by, and again as I review my daily notes, it's been pretty routine...we're getting out for a lot of walks, along with all the regular chores.

Tuesday (Dec. 8) was a very rainy day. It was my turn for an appointment at the ophthalmologist in the morning. Like Steve's appointment, it was a very thorough exam, taking almost 2 hours. My eyes are good, other than being dry (I now have drops and a compress to warm up in the microwave and apply daily for 10 minutes). It's sure nice not having to wear contacts anymore but I definitely need readers!

After lunch, Steve headed off to a haircut appointment and I did some baking.

Wednesday (Dec. 9) started off cloudy but the sun came out in the afternoon so we drove into Victoria to meet Dave and Leslie for a walk. Dave's brother (where they are living for the winter) lives near UVic so it's very handy for walking the trails there. After walking most of the way, Margaret needed a lift...
We were home shortly after 3:00, just in time to watch the BC Covid-19 update. The numbers are still increasing, so they have extended restrictions until January 8, which means no Christmas gathering with Rob, Angie and the boys, and we (again) have to cancel a planned trip over to Vancouver to visit Chris, Angela and Isaac. We're hoping for mid January now...as long as the restrictions are lifted. 

Part of the Covid-19 update also included an update on the roll out of the vaccine...which was recently been approved by Health Canada. By the sound of it, I think Steve and I will be lucky if we get ours by late spring, early summer. Fingers-crossed!

Thursday (Dec. 10) and Friday (Dec. 11) were both fairly cloudy days with bits of sun popping out here and there. We got out for a walk along the Sidney waterfront both days. Other than that, it was chores...laundry, grocery shopping, dumping and flushing holding tanks, etc.

As we passed the Sidney Pier we noticed workers doing repairs...
Saturday (Dec. 12) we had a mix of sun and cloud but it was also quite chilly out. Started out with a pretty sunrise...not like the ones in Arizona, but the best we could do here LOL.
We drove into Victoria to drop Steve's bike off for a service and once home, we got out for a walk around the RV park. On the way back into Victoria to pick up the bike, we met Dave and Leslie for coffee at Starbucks in Broadmead. It was a little chilly sitting outside but it wasn't raining and it's nice to find outdoor spots to meet up where we can physically distance.

Sunday (Dec. 13) and major rain! But by the afternoon, it had eased and we managed a walk around the RV Park. Other than that, it was an inside day. 

Monday (Dec. 14) morning I was up and out bright and early...shortly after 7:30! I wanted to take advantage of the senior shopping hour at Costco. It was a fabulous time to go and I was in and out in less than an hour. After a quick stop at Walmart, I was home by 10:30.

It was an absolutely beautiful day, so after I had all my groceries put away, we headed into Sidney for another walk along the waterfront. 

You never see him without flowers in his hands but today there were a few additions...
As soon as we got home we received a text from Dave and Leslie asking if we'd be interested in a walk...just had ours but we'll meet you for coffee after yours. So we met just after 3:00 at Fresh Cup Roastery in Saanichton, and enjoyed another physically distanced get together with them.

Tuesday (Dec. 15) and Wednesday (Dec. 16) were both rainy, windy days. Such a stark change from the weather yesterday! We managed to get out for walks around the RV Park, but other than that, both days were pretty much inside days. Steve worked on his winter project and I started another project...crocheting this time.

Thursday (Dec. 17) was a beautiful sunny day...so nice after the previous couple of days! We met our friend Nancy (Rob had a sore foot) at 10:30 at Tulista Park in Sidney for a walk on the waterfront. Afterwards, we met Rob for coffee at Fresh Cup Roastery. A great visit with them!
They had a Christmas tree made from driftwood...
With it being such a beautiful day, Steve took a walk down to the beach here. They have eased restrictions, letting folks here in the RV Park access the beach now (Yay!)
Steve saw something swimming towards the rocks...
A family of Sea Otters...
Steve took a couple videos...so fun to watch them!


Friday (Dec. 18) morning we woke to the sound of rain on the roof. Another storm is coming through today with wind and rain....and they weren't kidding! A very stormy day!

Consequently, it was a pretty uneventful day. I went through the contents of our safety deposit box that I had picked up the other day and also did a couple of loads of laundry. Steve worked on his winter project and watched "his shows" on Netflix.

At 4:00 we join in on a Zoom Happy Hour that Earl had organized with our Canadian Quartzsite folks. We enjoyed over an hour of chatting with Earl and Allison (top left), Cec and Jim (bottom left) and Bob and Sue. They claim they couldn't get their camera to work but Steve thinks they were naked...LOL!
Saturday (Dec. 19) started out cloudy and then the rain set in late morning...along with more wind. Luckily, we got out for a couple of laps around the RV Park during a break in the rain. After lunch we decided to go out for a drive (yes, in the rain)...just to get out of the trailer for a bit. By late afternoon, the rain was pounding down. A pretty yucky day weather-wise!

Sunday (Dec. 20) morning, with beach access now open, we decided to walk the beach. We walked down to the border of Island View Beach Regional Park and turned back. It looked like rain was heading our way...
It did rain a bit but it really didn't amount to much. We took the bikes out for a ride around the RV Park and nearly froze our butts off! So other than those outings, it was an inside day. We did have our weekly FaceTime call with Chris, Angela and Isaac...as always, wonderful seeing and chatting with them! So glad we are able to stay in touch virtually!

Monday (Dec. 21) morning we woke to the sound of heavy rain on the roof. It was just pouring! And a couple of hours later, we started noticing some white stuff mixed in...next thing we knew, we had huge fluffy snow flakes coming down! How appropriate for the first day of winter!
A couple of short videos showing our winter wonderland!

At 12:40 p.m. the unthinkable happened...the power went out! Our hopes that it would be back on in a few minutes were dashed as the hours went by. It got pretty cold inside the trailer, so Steve decided to get our propane heater set up. He could have turned the furnace on but it would drain the batteries pretty darned quick. We've learned a lot about power management while boondocking over the years.

Eventually the snow had turned to light rain by late afternoon then stopped. But by 4:00 with no sign of the power being restored, it was time to bring out the generator...we're truly boondocking just like we're in Quartzite, using the generator and propane heater!

At 9:00 we decided to turn everything off, go to bed and watch the little 12 VDC TV and powered our receiver with our plug in 12VDC/120V inverter. Steve had plugged the trailer back into shore power when he turned the generator off...hopefully the power is restored by the time we get up in the morning!

Tuesday (Dec. 22)...and we have power! It wasn't on at 1:30 a.m. when I was up briefly but Steve announced it was on when he was up at 3:30. We later learned from a neighbour that it was restored at 2:30 a.m., an outage of about 14 hours. So glad Steve had decided to plug back into shore power last night! Apparently over 83,000 were without power on Vancouver Island, and the Gulf Islands and for many they won't have power back until tomorrow so we were lucky.

We have clear, blue sky today...but it was cold! 0C (32F) first thing (with the "feels like" value even colder!). So those slushy roads after the snow and rain yesterday are going to be like skating rinks until it warms up! 

By late morning, Steve and I thought we'd get out for a walk on the beach. Unfortunately, we were greeted with this sign at the spot where everyone crosses onto a road that goes to the beach (it's the "unofficial" crossing that everyone uses)....
Well, okay, then...we'll try the "official" trail from the RV park to the beach. Once there, and as expected, it was basically not passible. So the beach is open for those in the RV Park but you have to use the "official" beach access path which is so flooded, muddy and boggy that you can't get through...grrrr.

The official beach trail is behind me, across the foot bridge, to the left...
So we continued our walk around the RV Park. As you can see from the road, it was a rather slow, careful walk...no powerwalk today! See Buster down the road on the right?


Tuesday, December 1 to Monday, December 7, 2020 (Oceanside RV Resort, Saanichton, BC)

We had very chilly, frosty start to the day Tuesday...cold and clear! I had an early appointment in Victoria so had to leave at 7:30...it took awhile to defrost the heavy layer of frost on the car windows! But once the sun took hold, it turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day.

I was back home just before 9:30, so we headed into Sidney to drop Steve's glasses off to have new lenses put in. It was only supposed to take about an hour, so we walked through Sidney and along the waterfront. Unfortunately, once back to pick up his glasses, Steve was informed that they were having trouble and it would take longer. We'd have to return later this afternoon. Well okay then...apparently they had tried phoning us but I had actually forgotten our phone at home. That doesn't happened often!

Wednesday (Dec. 2)...and another bright, clear, sunny day. We met Dave and Leslie at Thetis Lake Regional Park on the outskirts of Victoria at 10:30 for another physically distanced hike.
As you can see from the above map this is an unusually shaped lake...
Cliff jumping is very popular here in the summer sometimes ending in injuries or worse...



Margaret is around 15 years old, mostly blind and deaf but managed to walk a good portion of the trail before hitching a ride...
Steve discovered this in a tree...



Looks deceiving...I really wasn't that close to Dave/Leslie...
Just under 2 hours later (with plenty of stops to admire the views) and 5.8 kms/3.6 miles, we were back at our cars. It has been decades since we have been to this park and it is absolutely beautiful with great hiking trails. The lake and beach is very popular in the summer. 

Of course, after a great hike, we all would have loved to find a pub with an outdoor patio where we could go for burgers and beer...but that wasn't in the cards today. It seems most outdoor patios have been shut down for the season and even if there was one open, we'd have to sit at separate tables as you're only allowed to dine out with your household members.

So 'plan B' was the drive-thru at A and W...a bit of a let down but Dave and Leslie came to the rescue by picking up some beer and after our burgers, we went to Esquimalt Lagoon. We sat on logs on the beach and enjoyed great scenery and conversation...and they even "cheered" my birthday (a day early). Thanks Leslie and Dave, for the birthday wishes, beer...and the bottle of wine!
Olympic Mountains in Washington State and in the foreground a couple of seals swam by...
Another great day with great friends!
We were up super early Thursday (Dec. 3)...neither of us could sleep, so it was just after 5:00 when Steve got up to put the coffee on. No idea why we couldn't sleep...maybe I was excited because today is my 65th birthday! Yup...I'm officially a senior now!

I enjoyed a morning of receiving birthday wishes...via FaceBook, text and phone calls! There was even a knock on the door with Andy dropping off a bottle of wine...such a surprise, thanks, Tami and Andy! Absolutely wonderful, especially under the current COVID restrictions...my spirits were lifted, for sure! 

Beautiful sunrise this morning but what blue sky there was soon disappeared and we had a cool, blustery day.
After lunch, we met our son, Rob, and grandson, Conner at Tulista Park on the Sidney waterfront. Rob is working from home this week (and apparently Conner had a bit of a tummy ache when he woke up...wasn't long before he was fine. Hmmmm...I wonder if dad being home had anything to do with it? LOL). 

This Navy Bomb Disposal truck pulled into the parking lot in front of us for a few minutes. They may be taking part in Trident Fury 2020. It's a joint Canada-US Naval exercise off of Vancouver Island with Canadian frigates and aircraft as well as the US Coast Guard and aircraft. 
They had some wonderful homemade birthday cards for me...thanks guys!
We thought these three boats with flashing lights were maybe part of the Navy exercises...
But overheard one of the guys say that they were from Titan Boats, a local builder here in Sidney...
They were doing sea trials on these new patrol boats before shipping them to Vietnam...
Our good friends, Rob and Nancy, also stopped by the park to say hello. Rob and I share the same birthday, so it was nice to actually see them in person this year to wish him a happy birthday! (Darn...forgot to get a joint birthday photo.) We all stood outside chatting...and getting totally chilled to the bone! Steve and I had planned on walking the waterfront but we were too cold, so after saying goodbye, we were in our car warming up! We even ended up stopping at Tim Horton's for a latte and mocha!

My birthday dinner tonight was Chinese food takeout...they even delivered it! Absolutely delicious, thanks for the recommendation Rob and Nancy!
Friday (Dec. 4) morning we slept in until almost 7:00! Making up for yesterday's early start, I guess. It was nice to see that the sun had returned...back to blue sky, yay!

We drove to Island View Beach for our walk this morning. It's funny...Oceanside RV Resort has re-opened the trail access to the beach but there's a problem...it is too wet and boggy this time of year to use! There's an easier access if you step over the RV parks fence, hop the ditch and walk a short distance on the reserve road but they piled tree branches in the ditch and placed a picnic table next to the fence blocking off the only other access...Sheesh! Oh well...it's just a short drive to the beach.
A beach fort...
Mount Baker in Washington State in the distance...
After lunch, Steve headed off into Victoria to take the car in for a service...the first one since we've had it. Since he had a couple of hours to kill, he wandered down to the Victoria Inner Harbour.

The Empress Hotel...
Harbour Air float plane base...





Whale Watching boats have been idle due to COVID...
He walked approximately 20 blocks and enjoyed exploring and discovering some of the businesses that he never new existed or would normally miss while driving by.

While he was gone, I had an exciting afternoon doing laundry!

Saturday (Dec. 5)...and another sunny day! This week has been a beautiful week, weather-wise, with the exception of Thursday. Since we're now into a weekend, we pretty much stay put...avoiding crowds. So we did 2 laps around the campground...that's about 2.4 kms/1.5 miles.

Steve bought a Merry Christmas flag yesterday while in Victoria...
Steve decided to tackle a maintenance project today...he flushed the hot water tank...
The sacrificial anode rod is 13 months old so should be good for another year...
The wand used to flush out the tank...
After another walk around the campground, we were settling in to watch a little TV when Steve noticed that the carpet near the hot water tank was wet. We emptied the cupboard above it and he pulled out all of the shelving...but couldn't see any water. We managed to get the carpet dry but have no idea where the water came from! The tank isn't leaking and Steve can't figure out how flushing the tank could have produced a wet carpet? The sealant on exterior frame around the hot water tank seemed to be in good shape...it's a mystery!

Sunday (Dec. 6) we had more clouds with the sun and it was also a bit windier. By the sound of it, we have rain coming in for the most of the coming week. Oh well, we've had a nice stretch of sun!  We had a pretty laid-back day today. Other than a walk around the campground, we took Buster out for a run...going over to Rob and Angie's to pick up our mail. We had a nice chat in the doorway with them and Angie's parents, Brian and Linda....they are out from Manitoba to spend the winter.

They were right about the forecast...we woke to rain Monday (Dec. 7) morning. I had an appointment to have an injection in my right knee, so headed off in the clouds and rain just before 8:30. With that done, I made a quick trip into Sidney for a couple of groceries and then was home just after 10. It was a foggy, rainy day...an inside day! Good time to work on some odds and ends...and this blog!

And there you have it...another week has flown by!