Thursday, June 2 to Saturday, June 25, 2022 (Peace Arch RV Park, Surrey, BC)

Wow, the three weeks since we got home from Hawaii have flown by! We have been busy with appointments, shopping, getting out for daily walks, cleaning and organizing the trailer and miscellaneous "stuff"...oh, and not to forget reliving our 2 weeks on the Big Island by writing and updating our blog! Steve even managed to get the truck and trailer washed! The weather has been terrible...and when it was have decent, there was so much pollen in the air it wasn't worth washing anything...huge clouds of pollen!

Sunday (June 5) morning we woke up to rain...it had rained a lot through the night and continued to rain on and off all day.

We were looking forward to seeing our grandson, Isaac, today...so just after 2:00 we headed to Chris and Angela's. And wow! what a greeting we got from Isaac! So heartwarming! He also really liked the "tracing" book we brought him. 

What a great afternoon and evening we had catching up with them...including a delicious feast of Chinese food for dinner. Thanks guys!

Tuesday (June 7) and Wednesday (June 8) were fairly nice days so we got out for a walk at Crescent Beach...

And Blackie's Spit...

Good thing we got out for walks the last couple of days because on Thursday (June 9) we had rain, rain, and more rain! An "atmospheric river" came through...every time we hear that term we cringe after the flooding we experienced during last November's atmospheric rains!

Angela's birthday was Friday (June 10), so Saturday (June 11) they had a family birthday dinner at their place. We arrived at their place at 3:00 and shortly afterwards Angela's parents (Luigi and Lucy) arrived. Nonna (Lucy) bought Isaac a water gun...here he is spraying himself in the face, too funny!

Refreshing!

Nonno (Luigi) and Isaac...

We had a delicious dinner! Steve, Chris, Isaac, Luigi and Lucy...

Happy Birthday Angela!

Monday (June 13) morning we headed into Vancouver...we both had an appointment with our doctor (in person, rather than video, for a change!). Afterwards we stopped at a nearby White Spot Restaurant for lunch and then, since it was such a lovely day, we went right to Crescent Beach for our favourite walk.

We came across a film crew shooting on the beach. After watching for a bit, I asked what the movie was and found out it was a TV series called Cruel Summer. Hmmm...we'd never heard of it so I "googled" it...

Cruel Summer is an American teen drama thriller anthology series created by Bert V. Royal. The first season follows two teenage girls in the 1990s and the repercussions on everyone's lives after one disappears and the other seemingly takes her place.

And...Action!

Cut...that's a rap!

The tide is really out...never seen it this low before. We later heard that it was caused by a wobble in the moon's orbit.

By the time we walked to the end of the beach and back, they had finished filming and were loading up their gear...

Our walk on Thursday (June 16) morning was at Serpentine Nature Trail. Although it is not far away, we have not been on this walk for a long time. It's a very pretty area but quite noisy at either end with traffic as it is bordered by a couple of major highways.

There are a couple of bird viewing towers...

Panoramic view looking back from where we came from...

The view ahead...

We turned around at the second tower...

Didn't see much in the way of waterfowl, mostly just crows...

The path heading back...

Saturday (June 18) Chris, Angela and Isaac arrived just after 12:30. Angela and I are going to a Baby Shower for Steve's cousin, Cheryl's daughter, Nicole. They don't live far from here so "the guys" are spending the afternoon together and then we'll have dinner here .

Just some of the platters of food provided at the Shower...

Mom-to-be opening gifts...mom, Cheryl helping and family watching on...

Meanwhile, Chris, Isaac and Steve went out for lunch at Big Ridge Brewing Co. Three generations on an early Father's Day outing. Thanks for lunch Chris! (Dad:))

And then went to the Historic Stewart Farm and adjoining Elgin Heritage Park. To view our 2017 tour of this historic farm click here...

Checking out the garden Scare Crow...

Low tide at Ward's Marina...

Back at our place, they went to the playground...

They were all sitting outside when Angela and I got home, shortly after 4:00. We had a nice visit celebrating an early Father's Day, and then Steve grilled burgers for dinner. 

When it was time for them to go home, I got the biggest hug from Isaac....💓

Thursday (June 23) we took Buster to Kal Tire in Langley for new front tires. Steve had found lots of cracking on the front driver-side tire and a little starting on the passenger side too. In 2016 we paid $682 per tire plus mounting, balancing, environmental fees, and taxes. (Steve here) When I called for pricing I just about 💩 my pants...$1,003 each plus all the extras!!! We have some mountain driving coming up and I didn't want to chance a tire failure on a steer tire. Especially in a cab over as we will always be the first ones to the accident. 😕

So we wondered how much this big boy would cost!!

We also had them rotate the rear wheels...

It's been a very expensive month for Buster...Steve also took him into Bernhausen Diesel last week for a service and new heavy duty turbo hoses and clamps. (Steve here) I asked them to look for a soot trail which would indicate the most likely cause of our squealing issue. They found a small soot trail at the exhaust manifold gasket. Not a safety issue and nothing $1700 wouldn't fix so that's for a later date.😡

It was just before 12:30 by the time they were finished, so Steve suggested we go to Fort Langley and The Fort Pub for lunch...always full of good ideas!

Funny, because we sat at the exact same table we were at last time we were here...sometime last fall...

The Fraser River (along with many other rivers in BC) is very high right now with the late snow melt and warming temperatures.

That's Brae Island on the right where we used to stay at Fort Camping.

Environment Canada has issued a heat warning for the next few days...nothing like the heat dome we had this time last year but it will be the first hot stretch of weather we've had. So after a cool, wet spring, summer is arriving with a bang!

We basically spent Friday and Saturday getting the rig ready to leave on Sunday. Our one of two excursions this summer is a week up to Logan Lake for the ATV/BC Poker Ride. It's been cancelled the last couple of years due to COVID, last years heat dome and wildfires.

Steve spent Friday crossing off a myriad of things off his "to-do list" while I went grocery shopping and then did laundry. We both had a very busy day!

Saturday (June 25) was another busy...and hot day!  Steve basically got everything ready to leave in the morning. I prepared the inside the best I could and helped Steve when he needed help...but otherwise I worked on getting this blog done!

Today, we also celebrate 12 years of retirement...yup, it has been 12 years since our last day of work! We both remember that day well! We have seen so much and met so many wonderful people over the years! Our decision to retire when we did and embark on a new lifestyle was likely one of the best decisions we have ever made.  It has been a blast! If we had waited until we were 65 instead of 55 we would have been stuck going nowhere because of COVID. June 26th we became Gypsies on the road. 😎😎

We're looking forward to the week in Logan Lake getting reacquainted with friends and making new ones! Stay tuned to find out how our week went! 

Saturday, May 28 to Wednesday, June 1, 2022 (Our Trip to Kailua-Kona, Big Island, Hawaii - PART 6)

Saturday (May 28) was a pretty relaxing day. The High Surf Advisory continues to make for some incredible waves, so we decided to go for a walk in the opposite direction from town and see if we could find access to another beach...and we did!

About a half mile south along Ali'i Drive, we came across a walkway between buildings with a sign that said public access. With a little research, I found that this is called Ali'i Saltwater Pool...Also known under the name Rivi’s Saltwater Pool, this “secret” spot is a man-made saltwater tide pool you can find in Kona. It’s free to use and open to the public, and you’ll probably spot locals hanging out there. It’s also a fantastic spot to watch both the surfers and the sunset from. This is definitely a unique swimming pool on the Big Island.

Looking to the right of the pool...

Wow...watch the surf fill the pool...

Goat herders on our walk home...

More wave watching...this time from our lanai...

We had checked into renting snorkeling gear the other day and found it to be fairly reasonable, so Sunday (May 29) morning we prepared for the beach and headed off to Snorkel Bob's located next to Huggo's. Steve and I both got fitted for masks/snorkel and fins...we also decided to rent beach chairs. We upgraded the snorkels, so for $16 for the gear, plus $7 for a chair...the total for a 24 hour rental was $48.17 for the both of us. If we wanted to keep the gear longer, just call tomorrow morning before the 24 hour period is up. Dave and Leslie already had their own gear...so off we went to our favourite beach, Manini'owali Beach (Kua Bay). 

We decided not to take anything of value with us down to the beach, so our wallets and cell phones were left hidden in the car trunk...consequently, we have no pictures of  our snorkelling/beach adventure today. But here is a picture we took a few days ago when we had our beach day...to refresh your memory...

One thing we noticed was quite a change in the beach. The high surf had certainly changed the shoreline, pushing the sand and leaving higher drifts...there wasn't as much "beach" to sit on with the waves coming in. But we found a spot on the busy beach down at the end we had been at last time we were here.

We spent a wonderful couple of hours in and out of the water....snorkelling, then resting in the beach chairs. With the high surf the water isn't as clear as it was the other day according to Dave and Leslie. Steve and I had both had enough but Dave and Les decided to go out one more time...well, we had been watching the waves coming up closer and closer, but really didn't think they would make it all the way up to us. HA...wrong! One large wave came in right up the beach to where we had all our stuff...leaving us scrambling to grab as much as we could to get it out of the water and not float away! Luckily no water got into the backpacks but everything was a sandy wet mess. A casualty of the high surf advisory!

Good thing we were planning on leaving soon anyway. After trudging back along the beach and up to the wash/change rooms, we got out of our wet suits and managed to get everything back into the car trunk with as little sand as possible...but I think the car rental places must expect to find sand after each car rental.

We were all starving, so once we got cleaned up at home we headed to Tropics Taphouse located in the Keauhou Shopping Center about 4 miles south of us. The burgers and beer were delicious!

Pretty sky that night...

People gather every evening at the pool sea wall to watch the sunset...

Monday (May 30) morning we had already decided to go back snorkelling at the beach, so I called  Snorkel Bob's just after 9:00 to let them know.

We spent another great morning at Kua Bay...this time however, we found a spot well up away from the water. The water was much rougher making it more difficult to get your gear on. The water was even cloudier with stirred up sand from the pounding waves. However it was a great final day at the beach!

On the way home we dropped our gear off at Snorkel Bob's and then spent the afternoon relaxing until about 3:00 when we walked down to On The Rocks. Today we plan to not only partake in their happy hour, but also stay for dinner.

We wanted to sit at the bar for happy hour then get a table on the waterfront for dinner. 

But a table became available not long after getting a spot at the bar. I talked to the hostess saying we didn't mind sitting at the bar longer but she recommended we take the table because she could not guarantee us a waterfront table if we waited. 

It was a great spot in the sand but we had absolutely no shade...so were very happy when the clouds helped us out...

Good drinks, good food and great company...a wonderful few hours! 

More wave watching stops as we walked home...

Our resort condo...

Another great day comes to an end...

Lots of people barbequing just above the pool building...

Tuesday (May 31)...our last day here! Two weeks is up and tomorrow morning we have to leave this piece of paradise. Although it has been wonderful, I think we are all looking forward to getting out of this humidity.

With the High Surf Advisory still on, we watched the waves hitting the rocky beach from our lanai...

And then took another drive to check out other beaches. We stopped at Pahoehoe Beach Park and Magic Sands Beach to watch the surfers...

Dave and  Leslie taking a selfie...

We also stopped at Kahalu'u Beach Park, which generally has calmer water and is great for snorkelling but still lots of waves out near the reef...

Steve combined videos taken at some of the beaches...

Lunch today was back at Tropics Taphouse...we needed to pick up a couple of things at Longs Drug Store that was in the same shopping center. Again, we had another great meal.

That afternoon we were glued to the TV again...this time to watch the first game of the next hockey playoff match. The Edmonton Oilers had beat out the Calgary Flames and had moved onto the next round...playing the Colorado Avalanche. Sadly, we all now know that the Oilers got smacked in 4 games and the Avalanche have moved onto the finals with the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

It's Wednesday again (June 1) and here comes another cruise ship into Kailua-Kona! Unfortunately, it wasn't long before we saw it leaving. We figured that the high surf advisory/warning has made it impossible for the tenders to get the passengers to shore and back safely. There was a hurricane off the west coast of Mexico a few days ago so it's possible that's why we've been getting the high surf advisories...

We were all packed and out of the condo just before 8:30. We wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to drop off the rental car and take the shuttle over to the terminal and grab a snack before our 10:30 flight. 

Dave and Leslie got to board before us...see Leslie waving from the top of the stairs just behind Dave?

Goodbye to The Big Island of Hawaii! Kona International Airport in the distance...

We flew over Haleakala National Park on Maui...

Goodbye Maui...nothing but water and clouds to look at for the next 6 plus hours... 

Both flights went well and actually seemed to go faster than on the way down. We had a 3 hour layover in Seattle, giving us time for a beer and a bite to eat before the final leg of our trip. 

We landed in Vancouver just after 11:30 p.m. and after a very long walk to get to the Customs area, we were through quickly, getting our luggage and out looking for the shuttle pickup spot for our hotel.

At the Sandman Hotel Vancouver Airport...from where we left 2 weeks ago...we said goodnight and goodbye to Dave and Leslie. They are staying the night there before catching their flight home to Edmonton tomorrow. It was a real blast spending our 2 week vacation with you both! Thanks for joining us! But we're going to miss you guys...😞

 After a short walk to our car, we were happy to find it all fine and dandy! It was just after 1:00 a.m when we pulled into Peace Arch RV Park. The security guy even raised the gate without any questions! Not wanting to disturb anyone we parked in the visitors parking and walked down to our rig with just our overnight bags, we'll get our suitcases in the morning.

In bed by 1:30....ahhhh....good to be home!