Monday (Apr. 18) morning we were on our way to the BC Ferry Terminal shortly after 7:30 a.m. We had reservations on the 9:00 a.m. sailing from the Tsawwassen terminal to Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island.
After the 1 hour, 35 minute trip, we arrived at Rob and Angie's at 11:00...nice that their house is close to the ferry terminal! We were royally greeted by our 2 grandsons, Conner and Bryce! So great to finally see them "in person".
Grampa and Bryce playing 'Connect One'...
I had a few errands to do in Sidney, so I decided to invite Bryce to come with me and give mom some alone time to get some grocery shopping done.
After being on a waiting list for years Rob finally became a member of the North Saanich Rod and Gun Club where they also have a youth program, so Rob, Conner and Grampa headed there in the afternoon.
(Steve here)
It was kind of a miserable cold day so we found the range empty and had it all to ourselves. Thankfully they have heaters above the shooting stations. We all took turns shooting the 243 rifle at 100 yards, maximum distance at this range...
A short 4 second video of Conner shooting...
Dad giving instructions. Conner is a pretty accurate shooter which is a good thing for when he's old enough to hunt with us...
Back home it was time to relax. Bryce, Grampa and Conner...
Tuesday (Apr. 19) morning we met our good friends, Rob and Nancy for breakfast. We were lucky on the third try finding a restaurant open...for various unexpected reasons, our 2 favourite places were closed. We had a great visit...but no picture was taken.
It was my day for eating out...because at 12:45, I met 2 of my ex-coworkers for lunch. Wonderful catching up with Gwen (left) and Lynn (right)! We'll have to do it again next time I'm in Victoria!
While I was gone, Steve spent the afternoon learning a video editing program he'd downloaded a couple of weeks before...a real frustration for him! The program said it was "free" so he worked on it all afternoon and when he tried to save his edited drone videos, you ended up having to pay...grr 😡 Apparently it was free to try for 7 days but he didn't recall ever seeing that listed anywhere.
(Steve here) After more research I found another video editing program called VideoProc Vlogger that's free. Some of it was similar to the one I used previously but I found the 41 tutorial videos mind boggling and overwhelming. I discovered some YouTube tutorial videos from end users much more helpful and less technical.
Wednesday (Apr. 20) was a big appointment day! We started off by both having a dental cleaning, followed by a visit with our financial advisor (news wasn't great with the markets taking a hit so far this year...but he assured us it was just the usual blip as they go up and down).
After a quick lunch, we were back in Sidney and at Peninsula Lifetime Eyecare for a full check up. This took a lot longer than anticipated! We were there just before 3:00...and Steve, with his appointment starting about 20 minutes after mine, didn't come out until 5:10! There was a lot of sitting in an empty room staring at walls which has never happened before. ðŸ˜
We were a little late arriving at Rob and Nancy's...they had invited us for dinner. And what a wonderful visit and dinner it was! A delicious Prime Rib dinner with Yorkshire Pudding and all the fixins'...YUM!
Thursday (Apr. 21)...and more appointments. I headed into Sidney for a full hearing check-up...to see if I had "selective hearing" or whether I really was having problems. Turned out for the most part my hearing is pretty good...just the start of some age related deterioration.
In the afternoon, Steve headed back to our dentist for part 2 of his cleaning. I guess since it had been over 2 years since his last cleaning it was a little more involved.
Friday (Apr. 22) morning I had an appointment with my orthopedic doctor. Before the appointment, I picked up the prescription (Cingal) for him to inject into my right knee...but after he checked out my knees, he said that it really wasn't bad enough yet and to come back in 5 months (or earlier, if it gets really sore). Well...that means I didn't have to spend the $365 for the medication yet. Oh well, it keeps and will get used likely at my next appointment in September.
That afternoon, Steve and I finally got to get out for our favourite walk along the waterfront in Sidney...
Sidney Pier...
Gorgeous flowers...
In front of the Sidney Marina...
Tides out...
Rob and the boys dropped her off at the airport shortly after 8:00 and then met us for breakfast at the Spitfire Grill. One of our favourite spots located on one side of the airport with views of a runway...
We were at the ball park...just on the other side of the airport by 9:45...plenty of time to find which diamond Bryce was to be at by 10:00. Here he is all set for his first baseball practice!
Not seeing anyone else with the same coloured jersey, we waited and by 10:00 a group of kids with various coloured jerseys (including the same as Bryce's) were leaving one of the fields. Well, I guess the time had been changed from 10:00 to 9:00...he had missed his first practice. We now had a very disappointed Bryce on our hands! Poor little guy...he had been looking forward to the practice after the first two being cancelled due to rain.
Back home, Conner challenged Grampa to a game of Jenga. I think this is when Conner had just managed to pull out a strategic block leaving the tower balancing. Good luck with your move, Grampa!
Once back home, Steve headed off with Rob and Conner to the North Saanich Rod and Gun Club for more shooting.
(Steve here)
Rob and Conner like to attend the youth program every Saturday from 2-4 pm. The instructor supplies the 22 rifles, ammo, and targets. They started off at 25 yards...
Bryce and I decided to go into Sidney to the waterfront and check out Glass Beach. There are tons of coloured glass fragments of various sizes...amazing that there is any left as there are always a lot of people collecting...
Crokinole (KROH-ki-nohl) is a disk-flicking dexterity board game, possibly of Canadian origin, similar to the games of pitchnut, carrom, and pichenotte, with elements of shuffleboard and curling reduced to table-top size. Players take turns shooting discs across the circular playing surface, trying to land their discs in the higher-scoring regions of the board, particularly the recessed center hole of 20 points, while also attempting to knock opposing discs off the board, and into the 'ditch'.
A fun game that will take me a lot of practice!
Sunday (Apr. 24) we all got out for a walk on the trails behind the house. So nice having such a great trail system that goes for miles right out your back door!
Monday (Apr. 25) morning we saw Rob and the boys off to school/work just before 7:00 and then started getting ready for our day. We decided to drive into Victoria, stopping at the Royal Oak Burial Park to lay flowers with both of our parents gravesites as we won't be here for Mother's/Father's Day.
We decided on Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub for lunch. Yes, Harry and Vicki, the same place that Steve got 2 pints of Chocolate Stout accidently dumped on him for a free T-shirt when you came over to Victoria for the day April 30, 2019. If you'd like to reminisce about that visit, click here. It was a great day!
Back to now...we were early enough to get a table with a view...we tried the deck, but it was too breezy and cool. Great view of the Victoria Harbour...
Practice was over by 4:15 and we all piled into the car to head home...it was a pretty quiet drive home with 2 tired boys in the back seat!
We leave Victoria tomorrow for a trip north "up island" to visit more family and friends. Although a busy week, we really enjoyed our time with Rob, Angie, Conner and Bryce...and so glad to have had a chance to see other family and friends too! We just missed Steve's sister Nadine and husband Mike as they were on a cruise to Hawaii.
I’ll bet that VR game is awesome! I thought it was illegal to own handguns in Canada? How does that work? Such beautiful trails you have access to!
ReplyDeleteThe VR game was pretty neat for sure. You can own a handgun in Canada which is considered a restricted weapon after completing a firearms course and applying for a license and registration. There is also a background check. Handguns must be unloaded and locked and stored in a safe place at your residence or gun range. As far as I know there is no conceal and carry allowed unless it's required for your profession so it's from your residence to the gun range.
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