The market...where all of the food kiosks and small retailers sell their wares...was closed. Thankfully, the separate building housing washrooms was open. Usually able to kill time by wandering around the market and grab a coffee, we sat in the car reading/playing games on our devices. And once on the ferry, that continued. With Covid-19, Transport Canada is allowing passengers to remain in their vehicles during the sailing rather than having to go upstairs to the passenger area.
We arrived at Rob and Angie's house just before 1:00 and were warmly greeted...especially by our grandsons, Conner and Bryce! So heartwarming!
"Spiderman" Bryce...
Grampa and Conner...
Wednesday (June 3) was Rob's birthday...so Bryce made dad a birthday cake (with just a little help) first thing in the morning. Rob and Angie are starting some renovations to their house, starting with all new kitchen appliances, so the cake had to be baked in the old oven. The new oven and refrigerator were arriving later this morning.
Ready to go in the oven!
Angie came and picked me up just before 11:30. The actual surgery only takes about 20 minutes...and yes, I was awake. Of course, I couldn't feel anything but it was most unpleasant and I am definitely happy that it is all over with!! It was pretty swollen and sore for the rest of the day but after a good night's sleep it felt 100% better.
I had to be at Saanich Peninsula Hospital at 10:00 a.m. for my cataract surgery. The Covid-19 protocols were in full force upon my arrival...no one can enter the hospital unless they have an appointment. The first screening starts at the entrance where an "ambassador" asks all the usual questions regarding symptoms of Covid-19. Once past that, I am directed to wait for the day-care nurse to come get me...she takes my temperature and asks me basically the same questions as the ambassador. Then I am taken down to the daycare area and checked-in by another nurse...and a repeat of the questions. Once all that is done, I am escorted to the surgical waiting room and another nurse takes over...I received 3 different drops in my eye then prepped for the surgery.
After dropping me off, Steve took a walk along the Sidney waterfront and then went home to help Rob prepare for the new appliances arriving today.
The new oven and fridge arrived...Rob and Steve had removed the old one, so in goes the new one (the new fridge is waiting in the kitchen, behind Rob)...
With the oven in, it was time for the refrigerator. When we built the house 30 years ago, all of the cabinets were made for the appliances...styles and sizes have changed a lot, so I guess Rob had a heck of a time finding new appliances that would fit. The fridge was particularly troublesome. He ended up getting a counter-depth one because the regular one would stick out about another 6 - 8 inches. He also had to raise the cabinets above to accommodate the taller fridge.
New oven and refrigerator (microwave yet to come)!
The old fridge goes down to the basement for use when they finish off the basement...
Conner making the icing for dad's birthday cake...
We decided to go for a walk along the Sidney waterfront...our favourite walk and the first time in 2 years that I have been able to walk it. But now with my new knee, all is good and I can join Steve.
To help with social distancing when walking south you have to use the upper path. We are now walking north on the lower path...
Kayakers heading out...
After our walk, we went back to the house and chilled for awhile before heading into Victoria for Steve's dentist appointment. He has been experiencing a bit of tingling and numbness off and on in the same area as a year ago when antibiotics were given for the infection. X rays were taken and it was a repeat of last years visit...a suspected failed root canal with bone loss endangering the implant next to it. To confirm failure of the root canal an appointment with an Endodontist was made for next Thursday, June 11, consequently, we will be staying longer than originally planned.
Conner spent a lot of time with Grampa talking planes, playing games with planes...he is obsessed with planes! It's amazing how much he knows and is able to identify so many planes...he's sure takes after his Grandpa!
He doesn't say much...LOL!
Outdoor aquarium...
Sea Anemones...
No fish included because of sea birds we suspect...
Port Sidney Marina...
The pathway continues to just beyond the grey condos...
I moved with my family to the Sidney area back in 1968, so I have seen a lot of change to this community. It has turned into a cute, touristy little town...they've done a great job!
The afternoon's activity was a family walk on the trails in the neighbourhood...starting on the one that runs behind the property. It was one of a number of walks we did daily...
The hike we did was about 2 kms/1.25 miles but there was a lot of hill climbing, up and down...up and down! So it felt a lot longer.
Before...
Another walk on the trails behind the house and that was pretty much our day.
Sunday (June 7) was a stay at home day for us. Steve captured this picture of deer having breakfast in the yard...it's taken from the family room window...
So they removed the old dishwasher and installed the new one...that seemed to go fairly well...eventually. The old one went downstairs to join the fridge for future use.
Monday (June 8)...Rob has to go into work this week (both he and Angie have been working from home since mid-March). They are working out a schedule having 2 teams alternate weeks going into work...that eliminates the close quarters of all staff being there at once. So he headed off just after 7:00.
Steve did some picture editing while I went into Sidney to pick up a few groceries for dinner. I'm making chicken fajitas...Steve's favourite!
Angie had an appointment in town this afternoon and then had to go into work for a meeting, so we looked after the boys. After a hike on the trails in the neighbourhood, we all played Snakes and Ladders. Conner won the first game and retreated to play on his tablet while the rest of us had another game...Bryce won that one! (and no, we didn't "let" either win)
As predicted, we woke to rain Tuesday (June 9) morning. It started during the night and continued basically all day. So it was pretty much an inside day.
Me and my Brycie...Every morning he'd come down and sit with me for a bit while he woke up...💓
It's a little rough on Angie with Rob not home...she has to juggle Conner's school work as well as her own. I guess Rob was basically playing Conner's teacher, ensuring he watched his school lesson and did the work. We thought it might be easier if we were gone for a while...less of a distraction for Conner. So Steve and I decided to get out for a bit of a drive...it was just socked in, very foggy and cloudy! We made a pit stop at Durrance Lake. It used to be quite the party lake when Steve was a young lad. That trail used to be the road to get here...
Other than that little outing, I worked on a blog update and Steve continued researching cars. Have I mentioned we're going to buy a used car? Yeah, we figured since we are going to be spending the winter up here, it makes sense to get a small car to boogie around in. Yes!! We basically have it narrowed down to a 2012 or newer Mazda 3 hatchback...exactly like Chris's car! We've been trying to convince him he needs a new car...no luck though. So if anyone out there locally knows of one for sale let us know.
Wednesday (June 10)...the rain has stopped, thank goodness, but it's still fairly cloudy. Extraordinarily warm out though, which surprised us.
Steve and I headed into Victoria about 11:00. We are meeting Nadine and Mike (Steve's sister and her husband) at Ogden Point at 12:30 for a walk on the breakwater. But first, we're going to Beacon Drive In to pick up some take-out for lunch. (The last time we ate out was at Silly Al's in Quartzsite!)
The Beacon Drive In is a classic 50’s style diner serving up Burgers, Fries, Shakes, & Soft serve ice cream in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Located at 126 Douglas Street, we are directly across from the 75-hectare Beacon Hill Park — making the Beacon a perfect destination for picnickers and park-goers. Our most popular menu item is the ice cream, which comes in a variety of dips and flavours, and has held the title of Victoria’s Best Ice Cream for 25 years running!Our plan was to take our lunch up to the Beacon Hill Park lookout but unfortunately, the road is closed to vehicles. Next plan was Clover Point, along Dallas Road, a great spot to park and enjoy the waterfront of Victoria...but it, too, was closed to vehicles due to the pump station there being upgraded. So we ended up driving just a little further along the waterfront and just pulling over...still able to enjoy the waterfront view.
We met Mike and Nadine just after 12:30 at Ogden Point for a walk on the breakwater...
The Ogden Point Breakwater is a popular walk near downtown Victoria that follows the cement structure from Dallas Road out towards on the Juan de Fuca Strait to a lighthouse on its furthest end. The area gives people an opportunity to see Victoria's busy harbour traffic as cruise ships, ferries, sailboats, float planes, helicopters and more all pass through the area to reach Victoria. Wildlife is also commonly spotted along the breakwater, from seagulls playfully gliding through the harbour winds to seals hanging around as fishermen cast their lines from the edges of the breakwater.Looking back from the start of Ogden Point Breakwater...
Pilot boats...
(Click to enlarge)
Kayakers...
We really enjoyed the walk and it was so great catching up with them! They are quite the cruisers and had to cancel their trip to New Zealand and Australia due to COVID-19.
I had an appointment at a lab to have some blood-work done so after saying goodbye to Nadine and Mike, we headed there. We were a little early, so we took a drive up Mt. Tolmie for a great view of Victoria...
Thursday (June 11) morning we headed into Victoria for Steve's endodontist appointment. I sat in the car waiting and when he returned, I could tell he wasn't happy. He needs an implant. This is the second year in a row that this has happened when we are nowhere near our dentist in Los Algodones, Mexico! Last year, Steve had to have a root canal and I needed an implant. At least after having the tooth extracted, I was able to have the post put in while down south last January. The only problem I have now is that I was scheduled to have the tooth put in when we went back down this fall...but that's not happening. So I guess I will be waiting another year (hopefully we will be able to go down south in the fall of 2021!). Steve will have the tooth extracted here and hopefully can wait until Mexico to have the rest done.
We were hoping that our dentist would be able to pull Steve's tooth this afternoon or tomorrow, but no such luck. So he has an appointment for June 25. We hadn't planned on going home today but since it was just going on 11:00, we decided to try catching the 3:00 ferry sailing. So we rushed back to the house, packed all our stuff (forgetting a few things...good thing we are returning on the 24th) and managed to catch the 1:00 sailing! Bonus! That got us home just after 3:00.
After unloading the car, I went to pick up a few groceries for dinner and breakfast and then we sat outside...it was a beautiful warm afternoon! Friends that we met down in Quartzsite a couple of years ago, and who happen to stay here, joined us for a drink. We had a great visit with Jack and Fay!
Ahhhh...it's good to be home! We love visiting Rob, Angie and the boys, but there's nothing better than being home and sleeping in your own bed!
| COVID-19 Update: | ||
| BC: | ||
| Confirmed cases: | 2,709 | |
| Recovered: | 2,354 | |
| Deaths: | 168 | |
| CANADA: | ||
| Confirmed Cases: | 98,787 | |
| Recovered: | 60,272 | |
| Deaths: | 8,146 | |
Stay safe and healthy everyone!
Yes nothing like your own bed! I know. Miss our new grandbaby Stella but it was sure nice to sleep in our bed instead of Garrett and Kat's spare one. lol
ReplyDeleteYep, always nice to visit others but great to be back in your own space! I bet you are missing little Stella! She's adorable!
DeleteGosh you’ve been busy!! Fun time with the kids and grandsons! Haircut looks good Steve! Sorry about the tooth. Sure going to miss seeing you in Q in Jan!
ReplyDeleteThanks Debbie! We’re sure not looking forward to grey rainy skies this winter...going to miss all our RV friends in Q. ☹️
DeleteIt is interesting how some rules that were strictly enforced (sitting in your car on the ferry) are now okay. Makes you wonder if they were ever necessary in the first place and how it might change things in the future.
ReplyDeleteI’m sure many things will change for sure. I think it’s a safety issue wanting everyone topside closer to crew and lifeboats in case of an emergency. In 1970 a freighter collided with a ferry in Active Pass killing 3 people including a mother and baby in the car deck.
DeleteSeeing some great sites while you were on the Island! Can you believe the safety guy in me noticed Rob moving a stove in bare feet lol!! Not that you need steel toe boots but c'mon. Good that you were there to help.
ReplyDeleteHad a good"flow" goin withe hair Steve, grow it out and pony it. There's lots on the Island haha. Great post guys, good read and nice pics as always.
Thanks guys! Good point on the bare feet. How about Angie tearing off the plastic wrap while we carry this heavy oven...not the time for that LOL!
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