Sunday, July 23 to Monday, August 7, 2023 (Puntledge RV Park, Courtenay, BC)

Well, the last 2 weeks have slipped by quickly! For the most part, our daily routine has been getting out for a walk in the morning, and work on picture editing and blog updates in the afternoon...the fun part of taking a 3 week vacation! Catch-up time...well...takes time!

Our resident deer stopped by for breakfast one morning...

A hummingbird and three deer...

On Wednesday (July 26), Steve sold his quad to a fellow from Powell River. Here is the last picture of Steve with his quad. Sad to see it go...

He was very happy with his purchase...

Early Thursday (July 27) morning, Rob, Angie and the boys stopped by for a quick visit on their way up island to a beautiful lake. They are on 2 weeks vacation and I am so jealous! The lake they are going to is our favourite here on the Island and a place that we had spent every summer vacation for about 12+ years before we retired and started our new lifestyle. We would have been joining them had we sold Buster, and managed to purchase a pickup truck and small trailer. We are really looking forward to getting back into the camping we used to do with the kids! Next summer!

While we were out saying goodbye to the kids, Gerry, our neighbour, came over to tell us about all of the excitement around here last night. An RV caught fire at about 1:00 a.m. and completely burned to the ground. Gerry couldn't believe that we hadn't heard a thing...neither could we! At least the lone occupant got out safely...no idea of the cause, yet.

We changed our morning walk routine up a bit on Friday (July 28) by going to Nymph Falls for a hike...love this park! They've opened the gates at the dam and let more water out into the Puntledge River...

There's two adults with a young child walking in the middle of the river...not sure how wise that is!

Nice picture of the "scenery", Steve! LOL (Thanks...I try my best! 😎Steve)

That evening Earl and Allison came over for dinner. We hadn't seen them for quite awhile!

Saturday (July 29) we decided to go out to the Comox Dam Recreation Area on BC Hydro property...a new spot for us to explore. The Comox Lake Dam picnic area is situated on the Puntledge River, at the outlet of the Comox Lake Reservoir. The recreation area offers a parking lot, beach, pit toilet, viewpoint, information displays and a small picnic area. Formal hiking, mountain biking and multi-use trails are constructed in the surrounding forest.

A nice swimming area...

There are numerous hiking trails along with mountain biking trails.

Another beautiful area! More hiking is in our future here but not until we get a pickup truck...Steve doesn't like taking our car on logging roads with the low-profile tires.

Back at the parking lot, Steve brought out his drone. Getting ready for take off...

Here is the 4:54 minute video he took of the area...

Comox Lake as we leave the recreation area...

Sunday (July 30) we took in an outdoor concert...part of the Simms Summer Concert Series. Tonight, an AC/DC tribute band, Rock or Bust, is playing. We parked our car a little closer to Simms Park and carried our chairs to find a spot to sit. We got there fairly early and there was still quite a crowd gathered, staking their spots on the hill in front of the bandstand. There ended up being quite a big crowd taking in the concert. We just happened to end up near some drunks, Courtenay's finest...our pre show entertainment! 😅😏

Lots of folks were up dancing...

Even though he spoke with a normal voice he could really belt out the hits with a raspy voice!

A 1:01 minute video...

The band played for a good hour...Steve enjoyed the music, but other than a couple of songs, I'm not a big fan of AC/DC.

Tuesday (August 1) afternoon, we met Earl and Allison up at Mount Washington to walk the Paradise Meadows Loop Trail...a beautiful 3.6 km/2.25 mile trail. The majority of it on a boardwalk over lush meadows. 

It's quite wet and boggy in the meadows so most of the trail is a boardwalk...

Ski runs in the distance...

Earl checked on his geocache that he has placed here next to the creek...

A gorgeous walk...and much different from our last visit here a couple of months ago when there was quite a bit of snow blocking access. There are a number of trails in Strathcona Provincial Park that extend from this trail, some taking you into backcountry camping. 

After our hike, we took a drive up to Mount Washington Alpine Resort to take a look around. It is a year-round recreation area. Next time Steve wants to try the Zip Line with his GoPro camera...

We were concerned we were going to have rain on our visit up the mountain...luckily, we just had clouds. A great walk and afternoon!

That night as the sun went down, it produced a fabulous sunset...rivaling those we've seen in Quartzsite, AZ!

Thursday (August 3) morning, my brother and sister-in-law, Don and Rhonda, stopped by for coffee and a visit. Rhonda had texted me while we were on our morning walk...they were in town (from Bowser, 30 minutes south of here), are we home? No, but give us about 40 minutes and we will be! We hadn't seen them for quite a while since they had been away...and then we were, so it was wonderful catching up!

And yet another beautiful sunset that night!

Friday (August 4) morning, we headed over to Earl and Allison's. Steve and Earl are going to work on replacing the rotten wood transom on our boat...it has been stored there and Earl has a great wood working shop. Allison and I are going up to Campbell River to check out some stores.  In addition to regular stores, there were a couple of consignment stores we wanted to have a look in. Before we left, though, we helped Steve and Earl move the boat from it's winter storage location at the back of their lot.

Steve here...forgot to take photos but the wooden transom only measures 10" x 48" however, there were lots of bolts, screws and rivets to remove. It only took us about an hour to remove the crumbling transom. Then it was off to Home Depot to by some 3/4" plywood...and of course I had to buy a whole 4' x 8' sheet! We stopped at A&W for lunch, then once back at Earl's, he cut two pieces to size on his table saw, then glued and clamped them together. That was all we could do for now so I headed off to Industrial Plastics and Paints to buy epoxy and hardener. Holy crap...$111 plus tax! 😟

Allison and I had a great time! We checked out a few places...had a light lunch, and were back home by mid afternoon. Thanks for inviting me along, Allison, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

After dinner, Steve and I took a walk around the RV park (we've added evening walks to our morning walks, in our  attempt to loose some weight!). A sight like this is not something you like to see...it ended up being a house fire in Courtenay. Apparently a female firefighter was assaulted by the home owner! 

Saturday (August 5) we are going to the Filberg Festival in Comox...This year’s festival will be proud to once again feature a curated selection of over 100 talented artisans and makers of fine art in a variety of media ranging from metalwork, pottery, toys, woodcrafts, jewelry, paintings, glass, textiles and specialty foods. The Festival is also renowned for its long-standing tradition of featuring exceptional Canadian talent in entertainment; this year is no exception. Its musical lineup is set to feature talent ranging from local to top recording artists. Attending the festival is a great way to discover new musicians or to just enjoy your favourite performers.

We had purchased our tickets online and were there early to get a place to park on one of the surrounding residential streets. While waiting at the gate to get in, this beauty drove by...

Waiting to be let in. The grounds here are beautiful!

Earl and Allison joined us in checking out all of the vendors. There is some serious talent out there! These are Lazy Susan's, cutting boards, and trays done in an ocean beach scene...

These gems were all electrically backlit...

The Filberg lodge...

Comox Glacier in the distance...

There was a section with a variety of food trucks...so we all found what we wanted to eat for lunch...selfie time!

Having heard about the Filberg Festival, it was great to take it in...however, the $25/person admission fee was a little excessive. Mind you, I understand it is a fund-raiser for the Filberg Heritage Lodge and Park...so the admission fee is understandable.

We toured these beautiful grounds with Earl and Allison back in September, 2021, so please check out this link.

And yet, another fabulous sunset to end our day!!

Look at that colour!

After our walk Sunday (August 6) morning, we went to Comox Nautical Days, a “Free Festival of Family Fun” also being held this weekend. 

On stage while we were there was Steve Elliott, A full time Entertainer / Vocalist paying Tribute to the Centuries most Celebrated Entertainer... "Elvis Presley"! We first saw him years ago when he played at Fort Camping in Fort Langley...he even had a pink Cadillac at the time! As it turns out, his mother lives next door to us here at Puntledge RV Park! We met him at his mom's on our walk the other night. We only stayed for three songs. Being a Sunday, he was only doing Elvis's favourite gospel songs. Great voice, but not our thing! 😏😏

Kids spray park...

After checking out all of the vendors...very similar to those at Filberg Festival...we made our way back to the car. We have been wanting to try the Ace Brewing Company in Courtenay, so decided we would treat ourselves to lunch there...

We weren't disappointed...we both had Kitty Hawk Honey Cream Ale...an amber coloured cream ale that utilizes flavourful local wildflower honey. Honey malt is used in the brewing process to create a mouth-coating sensory experience. The honey flavour is well balanced and pairs excellently with the orange and peach flavours from the use of Amarillo hops. 5.2% 15 IBU

We shared a Brisket Burger and it was delicious too!

A few pictures of our walk Monday (August 7) morning...along with a short 1:16 minute video of a helicopter landing and dropping off a couple of passengers. Must be nice to travel that way!

A huge flock of geese flew over...looks like they are getting ready to fly south for the winter already!

This guy was doing touch and goes but had to pull up and do a go around. There were geese on the runway the other day so maybe that's why...

He's successful this time, maybe it was these birds! 

And there you go...up-to-date...FINALLY!