Sunday, May 7 to Sunday, May 14, 2023 (Puntledge RV Campground, Courtenay, BC)

Well another couple of weeks have flown by! It started off on Sunday (May 7) with a beautiful walk along the Courtenay Riverway, around the Airpark and back...a path that is quickly becoming our favourite 3.5 km/2.2 miles.

A beautiful day with just a few clouds hanging around...

Monday (May 8) was another mainly sunny day. Today, we plan on going to watch the Snowbirds Air Demonstration Squadron practice. The Snowbirds are based in Moosejaw, Saskatchewan but are in Comox for spring training between April 18 until May 12...not many days left, so we'd better get out there!

But first, Steve enjoyed some morning time outside in our yard...

We decided to park along the Canadian Forces Base - (CFB) Comox runway on Kye Bay Road, arriving early enough to secure a spot on the side of the road...it's a popular viewing spot however it's not "show center". Unfortunately today only 6 of the 9 Snowbird jets were practicing. They fly the Canadair 

CT-114 Tutor which was first flown in 1960 and used as a trainer by the RCAF until 2000.

What a shot...Snowbirds and Eagles!

Steve put together this 3:57 minute video...

For those interested you can click on the album to view all the photos...Snowbirds CFB Comox, May 2023. What a fabulous display they put on...very cool!!

We headed home for a quick lunch before heading out again...to check out a local Regional Park. Nymph Falls Nature Park protects 61 hectares (151 acres) of second-growth forest located on the north side of the Puntledge River. The river and falls rage over series of exposed bedrock ledges, from fall to spring, to the delight of white water enthusiasts. In summer, the glacial waters run calm, clear and cool, making the park and nearby Barber’s Hole popular spots for a refreshing dip on hot days.

There are numerous trails, but today, we are just going to take the trail to see the falls...

Steve also took a short 23 second video...

Tuesday (May 9) I spent the morning grocery shopping, getting home with just enough time to put everything away, pack a picnic lunch...and head off to watch the Snowbirds again. Today we are going to go a short distance further, past the CFB Comox runway, and down the hill to Kye Bay. But on the way, we noticed a CP-140 Aurora surveillance aircraft doing touch and go circuits so we stopped to take pictures....

We snagged the last parking spot in the small lot and took our chairs, camera, binoculars and cooler bag to the edge of the beach and ate lunch while enjoying the views...and waited for the Snowbirds to appear.

What a beautiful beach day! Show center is at that point of land in the distance called Air Force Beach which is just over 2 km away and requires a $5 pass. 

With the low tide we could see a distant sandbar on the horizon...

Powell River on the BC mainland...

And now for the show!

With all 9 aircraft it was a much better show...

Bet the passengers on this BC Ferry that runs between Comox and Powell River enjoyed the show too!

A 2:04 minute video...

Wednesday (May 10) morning we walked the Riverway and Airpark paths. Steve took his "big" camera to take pictures from the viewpoint on the hill. Such a beautiful day!

The Comox Glacier in the distance is much closer than this photo shows...

With his telephoto lens and four photos merged together Steve got this close up..

Steve here:

After lunch, Earl was coming over to help me trace the airlines from the hitch airbags to see if we could find the air leak. I had already applied a soap solution to all the air bag fittings before Earl arrived and observed no visible bubbles. So we moved onto the air pressure gauge/switch fittings. No bubbles there either. We tilted the cab and followed the airline all the way under the truck with no luck. Why can't we hear any hissing?! Well that sucks as we're already into this for over $800 due to that misdiagnoses in Yuma, and now I've got to pay to have it fixed by another professional! 

Since they had no luck finding the leak, we took the truck out for a drive to Shields Industrial Services to make an appointment to have the leak fixed. After chatting with the owner for quite awhile, Steve finally re-appeared saying that Bill would take care of it himself Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. Sweet! They are all booked up for the next week so this was very nice of Bill to come in on his day off!

Thursday (May 11) was my brother, Don's, birthday...and he and Rhonda invited us to join them for lunch at the Blackfin Pub in Comox.

We were a little early so after parking, we took a walk down to the marina...

Too funny...looks like a couple of drunken sailors!

We had a great lunch and a wonderful visit with Rhonda and Don. Happy Birthday, Big Brother!

We needed to walk off some of that lunch, so we decided to check out another local Regional Park...Seal Bay Nature Park. Again, it is a park with numerous trails but it is much bigger than Nymph Falls Nature Park. We decided on a trail that went down to the beach. Very densely forested with a deep gully...

Down, down, down...we go...

Finally, we reach the beach...

There's that CP-140 Aurora doing touch and go circuits again...

Time to head back up...Of course, with all of the downhill, it meant we had to climb back up.

 Steve spotted this young deer leading the way on the trail...

That was a beautiful 1.7 km/1 mile hike! We'll have to return and check out the other trails.

Friday (May 12) morning we walked just the airpark path. Once home, Steve washed the car and then got the weed eater out to cut our grass. With all the sunshine, it is growing fast and Terry, the maintenance manager, hasn't been back to mow it (of course, 2 days later, he came to mow). 

While Steve was busy outside, I was busy inside housecleaning...and then I made Trifle for dessert  tonight. Earl and Allison are coming over for dinner and games. 

They arrived at 4:30, we chatted for a few minutes and then decided to get the Core Crash game out. Steve set it up on the empty site across from us. We played 2 games...Steve won the first game of Core Crash and Earl the second game...

Relaxing for a bit while Steve grills the pork tenderloin...

Dinner time!

After dinner, we cleared all of the dished away and brought out the marble board (we call the game "marbles" but it's actually a homemade "aggravation" game..

A great evening of fun ended just before 9:00 when we called it a night and Earl and Allison (and Cedar) headed home.

Saturday (May 13) morning we had to pick up our bikes from the shop where they were being serviced...they were both (especially mine) in pretty bad shape, really needing some TCL. Before picking them up, we thought we'd go for a walk first, so we parked at the Airpark and instead of walking around the runway, we thought we would check out the Riverway Walk that goes north towards downtown Courtenay. We hadn't been on that part of it yet. As we were walking, Steve had a brilliant idea (it happens occasionally, LOL)...why don't we walk to pick up the bikes and ride them back to the car? So that is exactly what we did. The whole Riverway Walk is paved and is for walking as well as bike riding. 

After picking up the bikes, we stopped on the trail in front of The Old House Hotel and Spa (on the right) and 'Locals Restaurant'. Before the hotel was built, the restaurant was known as The Old House Restaurant...

The Old House Restaurant is valued as an eclectic example of Arts and Crafts architecture in Courtenay built during the city’s first post-war expansion. The house features locally-produced wood construction with masonry detailing. Constructed in 1938 as a residence for the Kirk family and converted to a restaurant in 1975, the restaurant is built in an attractive cottage style, and is prominently situated overlooking the Courtenay River.

Although the car was parked at the airpark, we ended up riding our bikes all of the way down to the south end of the Riverwalk and then back to the car. We stopped at the Courtenay Airpark to watch the three planes lined up for take off...

Such a beautiful day! 

The Gladstone Brewery is only about a 10 minute walk from our place but with the heat today (yes, we are having unusually hot weather for May, 31C/88F...about 10 to 15 degrees above normal), we decided to drive.

Gladstone Brewing Company from the front. Most of the seating is outdoors or under the covered patio...

And the side...

We had never been before and were looking forward to giving it a try...we thought we'd also have dinner. But it wasn't what we were expecting...instead of a full-service brewpub, it is really just a self-serve brewery with a very limited food menu. So we settled on just having a pint of their beer...the Porter was very good!  The seating area is very large and very casual...we were seated inside the covered patio that you see in the picture above. The area outside the covered patio looks very inviting if you can find a table in the shade under the trees...

Sunday (May 14)...Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there! I had a text from Chris...we had actually had our "Mother's Day Call" last night as they had a very busy day planned today. A little later in the morning, Rob and the boys called and we had a great video call!

Steve here: 

I left at 7:30 to meet Bill at Shields Industries to hopefully get my leaky air hitch fixed. Bill directed me over the open pit and while he was below with his ultrasonic detector I aired up my hitch. I got out of the truck and for the first time I could hear escaping air. I guess the pit somehow amplified the sound of escaping air. Bill quickly pinpointed a leaky coupling on the airline so once he tightened it my pressure gauge was holding steady. Finally! Bill is a very friendly and personable business owner that loves to chat and I was an interested listener. Even though it only took him just a few minutes to pinpoint the leak on the airline I was there for just over an hour...and he only charged me $50!

While Steve was gone, I put a load of laundry on and was shocked to see him pulling in as I was about to walk down to put the laundry in the dryer. He was barely gone an hour and a half! Thankfully, it was all good news...whew!

Steve showered and just before 11:30, we headed out for Mother's Day Brunch. Being new to the area, I agonized over the right restaurant to try...but was so glad I chose Atlas Cafe. Sundays they are only open until 2:30 and only serve breakfast. Their breakfast menu features a number of Eggs Benny variations (6, I think) plus a number of other items. 

The special today was Citrus Crab Eggs Benny...which both of us ordered. Delicious! 

The temperature this afternoon went up to 31C/88F again, so we spent the rest of the afternoon inside with the A/C running...Steve catching up on some old TV programs while I worked on this blog update.

We are really enjoying our new homebase...the area is beautiful and there is so much to do nearby! Now, we just have to get the truck sold and life will be even better!