Monday, November 20 to Tuesday, December 5, 2023 (Puntledge RV Park, Courtenay, BC)

The first week and  half started off pretty routine...our usual powerwalks in the morning, followed by various other uneventful type activities. 

Work on the RV Park began on Monday (Nov. 20)...they are adding 18 more sites plus a clubhouse and pool. We can hardly wait to see what it's going to look like once its all done!

Tuesday (Nov. 21) morning we decided to go to the Wildwood Forest for our morning walk. Rain is in the forecast so we hoped to finish our walk before it set in.

Our timing was excellent...heavy rain started just after we got home!

After a quick run to Costco, we settled in for the rest of the afternoon to continue binge watching Season 5 of Yellowstone (we had started it yesterday afternoon).

After such a rainy afternoon yesterday, we woke up to sunshine Wednesday (Nov. 22) morning...but it was also a chilly 0C/32F outside!

A beautiful walk around the Airpark this morning...good thing the city had been out de-icing the paved pathway!

Later in the afternoon we went for a walk to check out the progress being made on the new sites...

Thursday (Nov. 23) was another beautiful, but cold day. We met Don and Rhonda (my brother and sister-in-law) for lunch at the Church Street Taphouse in Comox...a new spot for us!

Afterwards, we went down to Goose Spit to take a walk on the beach...unfortunately, the tide was too high...

So we ended up back at the Airpark...

It was even colder Friday (Nov. 24) morning...-3C/27F. In addition to the 2 electric heaters, we have also put the furnace on just to warm the floors. Needless to say, we took our time, waiting for it to warm up a bit, before heading out for our walk. The car had quite a layer of frost on it...

After lunch, we went over to Earl and Allison's to get a tour of their new camper-van...very nice and it will be great for their trip to Newfoundland next year! Next, we took Earl to show him our new trailer...it was time to check on it again anyway. 

Saturday (Nov. 25) was another very chilly day...but it was cloudy for a change. We decided to walk around the campground and down to the river...

Steve took a 1:13 minute video of the eagles, sea gulls, and a lone sea lion still looking for scraps of salmon...

The next few days were foggy, cloudy, cool and gloomy...are we ever going to see the sun again?! The forecast had been for some sun to peak through but we never saw it. 

We were excited for Wednesday (Nov. 29) to finally come...we are going to Parksville for a couple of nights! Dave and Leslie (our friends from Edmonton) are out visiting family in Victoria and have invited us to meet them at Dave's brother's condo. 

Parksville is just over an hour south of us, so with a suitcase packed, we left just before noon to meet Dave and Leslie at 1:00. We pulled into the Rod and Gun Pub parking lot...and right behind us were Dave and Leslie. Great timing!

We enjoy lunch and a great time catching up...and after a stop to pick up a few groceries, we followed them to the condo at Ocean Sands Resort.

The forecast is for major rain to come in tomorrow, so after unloading the cars, we immediately got out for a walk. We made our way down to the beach and walked the short distance to Rathtrevor Provincial Park...a very popular park and campground in the summer! 

Rathtrevor Beach Park in Parksville is one of the premier vacation destinations on Vancouver Island. Rathtrevor offers majestic old-growth woodland, beautiful ocean sunsets, and a wide, sandy beach with campsites nestled among the trees. At low tide, the ocean recedes almost a kilometre, providing an ideal place for visitors of all ages to play in the sand and explore the shoreline. When the tide rolls in over sunbaked sand, the warmed water is perfect for swimming.

There are a ton of trails to walk in the park...however, we continued along the waterfront for quite a distance before turning inland, through part of the day-use area and up the main road into the park.

How cool is this tree?!

Nice trail...

Rathtrevor has an absolutely huge sandy beach when the tide is out. Unfortunately, we had nothing but high tides during our stay.

We made our way back up to the main road and the resort. A great walk...we were gone just over an hour and I think we walked around 4 kms. Mind you, a little longer for Dave and Steve as they walked to a nearby liquor store while Leslie and I went back to the condo.

This is the view from the balcony. The BC mainland is in the distance...

We sat around the table chatting...with a few adult beverages...Cheers!

And we even played Rummikub...

A great evening full of fun and laughter with good friends! Oh, we also watched Survivor on TV.

Thursday (Nov. 30) morning Steve took these pictures of the inside of the 2-bedroom condo. Even if it's cloudy and gloomy out, the view isn't too shabby...can you imagine what it would be like to have clear blue sky with a sandy beach at low tide that's out a kilometre?!

The living room...

And kitchen...

This morning, we decided to go to Englishman River Falls Provincial Park, about 20 minutes west of here and go for a hike to the Falls. 

Situated along the pristine Englishman River, north of Nanaimo, Englishman River Falls Park features two stunning waterfalls cascading along the descending riverbed into a deep canyon. This picturesque destination, set amid a lush old-growth and second-growth forest of Douglas fir, cedar, hemlock, and maple, is an ideal location from which to explore and appreciate the incredible diversity of south-central Vancouver Island.

Views from the bridge. Dave and Leslie said the water level is lower than the last time they were here...

We made a right from the bridge for some different views before turning around...

A short 15 second video of the falls...

Views from the second bridge and falls...

Dave trying to find the fish Steve spotted from the bridge...

What a beautiful hike! It had started to sprinkle out a bit on the drive to the park but we had no rain on our hike. As we headed back into Parksville, though, the rain started and continued, getting heavier as the afternoon went on.

After a drive through the part of Rathtrevor Campground that remains open year-round, we drove through a beautiful, rather "exclusive" area called Craigs Bay Community...gorgeous homes and waterfront locations. Then we continued to the Rocking Horse Pub. 

We had been there last summer, stopping specifically to see the artwork our grandson, Bryce, had done. He had copied a picture of a building that was hanging on the wall...and the waitress hung his artwork below the picture. We were surprised it was still there!

A lovely English-Style Pub...we're enjoying beverages as we wait for our lunch...

Great food but both times we have been to the Rocking Horse Pub, the wait for drinks and food to be served was quite long. It's not bad if they get drinks to you right away...but it really wasn't the poor girl's fault. She was the only one working until she got help a little while later.

Back at the condo, we sat around the table chatting...I like sitting at the table just to take in the view outside. Once it got dark, though, the blinds were closed...we had a bite to eat and then the guys worked hard on trying to get the Edmonton Oiler's hockey game to stream on the TV. Having no luck, Steve and Dave huddled in front of Steve's iPad watching the game. The Oilers won! Luckily the Vancouver Canucks game was televised so they could watch it on the TV...but our Canucks lost!

Meanwhile, Leslie and I played crib...

Another great day!

Well...all good things have to come to an end...Friday (Dec. 1) morning, we packed up and loaded most of the stuff into the cars on our way out for breakfast. We had a great breakfast at Ricky's All Day Grill, just a short distance away, before going back to the condo to finish up. 

After big hugs, we said goodbye to Dave and Leslie. It was fabulous being able to spend time and catch up with you! Thanks so much for inviting us! 

Saturday (Dec. 2), after all of the rain over the last couple of days, it was sunny...finally! We got out for our walk at the Airpark/Riverway and were amazed at the water level. There is apparently a King Tide with abnormally high water levels...the water is right up to the paved trail at this part of the path...

Later that afternoon we headed to Deep Bay where my brother Don and Rhonda live...they had invited us for dinner and to stay the night. 

We enjoyed a fabulous dinner and evening, watching the Vancouver Canucks/Calgary Flames hockey game...the Canucks won! It was wonderful not having to drive home in the dark, especially after a few adult beverages!

Sunday (Dec. 3) morning we had a slow start to the day, visiting over coffee. After breakfast, we headed off back home. Thanks so much Rhonda and Don, for a lovely afternoon and evening!

Today is my birthday, so I basically spent the day relaxing at home, enjoying video calls, phone calls...and reading all of the birthday wishes I received by text, Messenger and FB. Awesome!

Just before 5:30, we headed out to meet Earl and Allison at Brown's Social House for  my birthday dinner...

We all enjoyed our meals and I received a free brownie for dessert....which I shared with Steve 😊

A great birthday dinner and visit with Earl and Allison!

Monday (Dec. 4) and the forecasted 'Atmospheric River' arrived....Drenching rain, heavy snow, strong winds and high tides are converging on coastal and southern British Columbia on Monday. Warnings have been issued for most of southwestern B.C., where a "potent and impactful" atmospheric river is forecast to make landfall with as much as 150 millimetres of rain falling on western Vancouver Island, Environment Canada says.

 

Although, we didn't have the rainfall warnings like many other parts of Vancouver Island and the Greater Vancouver area, it still poured all day...sometimes heavier than other times.

Needless to say,  it was an "inside day" but I had no choice but to get out to pick up a few groceries. It was very wet! By the end of the day, the "creek" behind us was running high and there were a ton of puddles all over the place.

Tuesday (Dec. 5) morning it had stopped raining and when Steve opened up the blinds, he found all of the sitting water was gone. Whew...good drainage at least!

We had a mixed bag of sun and cloud today but it was much warmer out with a high up to 10C/50F. We decided to go for our walk at Nymph Falls so we could check out the water level/flow there after all of the rain. The park has signs up saying the Comox Dam is releasing more water.

Steve below taking a photo...

Yup, the water is high!

A 43 second video....

And that brings us up to date again!