These next 2 weeks started off with beautiful blue sky and sunshine on Wednesday...a gorgeous day, although by late afternoon, high clouds/haze had moved in.
We met Dave, Leslie and John, Dave's brother, just after 2:00 for a walk around the airport...on The Flight Path, a walk that we have done with them before. There was still quite a bit of snow hanging around, so we thought this would be a good choice as it is a fairly wide, open paved walkway that should be cleared.
Leslie tucking Margaret into the backpack...it's a long walk for her!
By the time we got back to the cars, we were exhausted after the 9.33 km/5.8 mile walk but it was a great couple of hours catching up with them!
Steve called BMT Fleet Maintenance first thing in the morning to find out the status of our truck. After no return call, he called again after lunch. Well, I guess the manager had left the follow up with the painter and he didn't bother to call us...not the first time with this guy! Anyway, the truck is ready to be picked up...finally! When Steve dropped it off on January 11, he told the painter that he was in no hurry, just wanted it done right this time...well he didn't expect it to take 6 weeks! Time will tell if rust appears again.
...and it ended up being a pretty nice day, with the exception of the wind that came up in the afternoon.
There's some nice waterfront condo's here...
Down to the beach...
We walked for several blocks through residential areas to another park and noticed these visitors...
We walked thru Balmacarra Park to Cormorant Point down to the beach...
The rock outcrop is Gordon Head...
After climbing the stairs we were huffing and puffing!
Looks like Rob is about to be beamed up...LOL!
The boys are loading up with pinecones to throw at dad...
Dad retaliating...
If they can climb it, they will...
Sometimes not thinking about getting back down safely without a talking to...
Friday (Feb. 19) started with a nice sunrise...
I headed into Sidney to do some grocery shopping, leaving Steve at home to take care of some chores. He started off by firing up the quads and generator giving them a good run, reloading his tools and other things back into the truck. Then he washed the truck and was still at it when I got home.
We had planned on a walk along the waterfront in Sidney but after his busy morning, Steve was too tired, so I headed off to walk it myself. It was quite blustery, so I had a very brisk 5 km/3 mile walk!
I was home in time to watch the 3pm BC Covid-19 update on TV...at this rate, it is doubtful that restrictions are going to be eased at the end of the month. The daily case numbers are still fairly high (500+) but at least the hospitalizations and deaths seem to be going down, which is good.
Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday (Feb. 20, 21, 22 and 23) were pretty routine days...we got out for daily walks, worked on our winter projects (Steve's blog recap and Di's knitting), and watched (lots) of TV. In addition to the usual daily chores, Steve also washed and waxed the boat then we loaded it back onto the truck. I also met a friend from my work days for a physically distanced walk in Victoria.
Late Tuesday afternoon, we a big hail storm come through...
Wednesday (Feb. 24) afternoon we drove into Victoria to go for a walk along the Songhees Walkway...The Songhees Walkway, also known as the West Bay Walkway, is one of the most pleasant places in Victoria for a run or a stroll. There are great views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the snow-capped Olympics to the south. The path is paved, flat, well-lit, and has lots of benches along the way.
We noticed a family of Sea Otters up ahead...
Built in 2017 the Victoria International Marina has 28 slips for luxury yachts from 65' to 175' and is already up for sale. I guess border closures due to COVID-19 may be partly to blame.
It is a beautiful walk along the harbour but today it was cold and breezy, causing us to cut our walk short and head back to the car.
Thursday (Feb. 25) a wind warning had been issued...haven't we had enough wind? We had planned on meeting Dave and Leslie for a walk but decided to change it to tomorrow when the weather should be better. Consequently, I did laundry and Steve continued working on his blog recap project.
Friday (Feb. 26) we met Dave and Leslie at 10:30 for a walk in a very cool park that they had discovered...Glencoe Cove - Kwatsech Park. This park was once the site of a village, which was home to the Lekwungen people. The Lekwungen eventually became known as the Songhees and spoke the Northern Straits language, a linguistic division of the Salish language family. The name “Kwatsech” is the Songhees name for Gordon Head. This is a municipal park with trails leading to the serene coves and rocky outcrops facing Haro Strait.
We had another great visit with them and after a couple of hours exploring and walking about 4 kms, we said goodbye and headed our separate ways
Steve wanted to get a wireless charging pad for his cell phone, so we went to Best Buy and picked one up that can charge 2 phones at the same time. It works great for his Samsung Galaxy phone but not for my Pixal 3a cell. After some investigation, I learned that Google decided not to include wireless charging on the 3a....sheesh!
Saturday (Feb. 27) we spent a great morning hiking the trails around Rob and Angie's house with Rob, Conner and Bryce. Unfortunately, Angie had an appointment and couldn't join us.
We had an awesome time with Rob and the boys...so good seeing and spending time with them! With the nicer weekend weather, we can at least get together outside with them!
After a nice chat with Angie's parents, Brian and Linda, we said our goodbyes and headed home. Looking forward to getting together again next weekend...weather permitting!
Sunday (Feb. 28) ended up being a cool, breezy day...not what had been in the forecast! We had a chilly walk around the RV park in the morning and then settled inside...Steve working on his project and I did some knitting.
I got out later in the afternoon and did another couple of laps around the park...it wasn't quite as cold, so much more pleasant.
Late afternoon, we had our weekly video call with Chris, Angela and Isaac. Such a great call, Isaac wasn't at all shy with us today!
Monday (March 1) morning Steve went into Sidney for a haircut and was back just in time to watch the BC Covid-19 vaccination plan on TV. Our Provincial Health Officer announced that they are delaying the second dose for 16 weeks, which will allow more first doses to be administered. Everyone in BC should have received their first dose of vaccine by the end of July. The addition of a third vaccine also helps!
Our hot water tank has been acting up. A couple of weeks ago the water got really hot which was nice, but now it is barely 100F. We've been running it on propane until Steve had a chance to deal with it but it too started acting up. There's been a couple of times when it would intermittently run thru it's start cycle sparking but wouldn't ignite. We'd try it a few times and nothing. Steve thought maybe one of the solenoid coils on the gas valve was sticking so he was going to tap on them. After he removed the cover he had me turn the switch on. He was all ready to start tapping and the darn thing would ignite without him doing anything!?!? This happened twice over a couple of days but has run fine since. Anyway, not wanting to deal with the gas side of things Steve decided to just get it serviced so called Rees Mobile RV Repair to come take a look at it. He replaced the thermostat/limit switches and because the element was 10 years old Steve had him replace it too. The tank fired up on propane just fine while he was here so can't fix what ain't broke!
I did a load of laundry and ended the afternoon going into Sidney for some groceries.
Tuesday (March 2) and still the hot water tank on electric wasn't above 100F...so much for the fix yesterday! Rees will come out again tomorrow to have another look.
After lunch we went into Sidney for a walk along the waterfront...not a bad day weather-wise, just not sunny.
There you go...caught up for another couple of weeks!
Love the otters in your video. Looks like you had some great walks with nice scenery.
ReplyDeleteThey were fun to watch! Very entertaining...and had all the walkers on the trail interested.
DeleteSo much fun to get out with you guys for some exercise. By the end of the "flight path" we were ready to stop for sure. So nice with the seat heaters on your back. We have never read the sign at Glencoe Park until today...thanks. Good to have Buster back finally and all washed up, too bad about the water tank. Just like a house, lasts about 10ish years. Great pic of Rob getting beamed up, the dilithium crystals don't have the power captain! Lol
ReplyDeleteAlways fun getting together. Thought that pic of Rob in the beam was pretty cool...didn’t look that way when I took it.
DeleteSea Otters are one of our favorites, always fun to watch their antics!
ReplyDeleteI’ve seen more of them this year than ever before but not even close to the numbers we saw on our glacier cruises in Alaska.
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