Tuesday, April 9 to Wednesday, April 24, 2024 (Puntledge RV Park, Courtenay, BC)

We woke up to mainly sunny skies Tuesday (April 9)...a real change from yesterday! Since it was so nice out, we decided to go on a bike ride instead of our usual walk. We had a great 9km ride...and good timing because by the time we got home, the clouds had rolled in. The rest of the day was a mixed bag of rain on and off between spurts of sunshine.

The next couple of days were mixed with sun, clouds and light rain occasionally but we still managed to get out for our morning walks.

Friday (April 12) morning we packed our suitcases and took care of some odds and ends before we took off in the truck down island to Nanoose Bay (just south of Parksville). We are attending the Vancouver Island Outdoor Show...specifically parking there to "show off" our truck in hopes of a sale. 

One of the organizers of the Show who greeted us in the parking lot didn't like where we were parking and quickly figured out we were there to sell our truck. He basically shrugged his shoulders and left us alone. We did have "for sale" signs on it. 

The Show started at 1:00, so we spent until about 5:00 wandering around. At that point, the small crowd of mainly retirees was thinning out so we headed into Parksville and The Tide's Inn where we would spend the next 2 nights. It has a cute patio with a BBQ and sitting areas with fire tables. We were on the second floor in a small room...nothing luxurious but it will be fine. 

Saturday (April 13) morning the Show opened at 10:00, so after stopping for breakfast, we arrived at Arbutus Meadows Event Centre. This time, though, Steve parked just outside the entrance to the parking area. It was a large pull-off on the road and worked perfectly since most of the traffic coming in and exiting would have to pass us. We were also able to open the box up so people could have a better idea of what it was.

We spent the day split between sitting out in the sun on a beautiful, but breezy, day...and going into the Show. 

Outside the front entrance to the Show...

There was parking on both sides of the building...this is the side we were on parked in the distant left...

Inside the Show...some kids were excited to meet the mascot while others were afraid.

The show vendors had OHV's, RV's, boats, hunting, fishing, archery, wildlife tours, campgrounds, survival equipment, and spas, to name a few...

We packed it up around 5:00 again. The Vancouver Canucks are playing the Edmonton Oilers tonight, so Steve was texting with Dave and Leslie. The Oilers are "their team" so there was quite a bit of bantering going back and forth. Cheers to Dave and Leslie, may the best team win! 

The Canucks won 3-1 😁

Sunday (April 14) morning Earl and Allison arrived at the Show just after 10:30. We left the truck parked (in the same place as yesterday) and walked through the Show with them and then went for lunch. The Rocking Horse Pub is not far away and one we have been to a couple of times. We enjoyed a great visit and lunch with them and then they dropped us back off at the Show. Thanks so much, guys! It was a wonderful way to break up our day rather than just sitting at the truck!

This beauty was parked outside the pub...

The Show ended at 4:00 and as it was clearing out pretty quickly, we headed off just after 3:30...time to drive back up to Courtenay and home. Other than lookie-loo's we only had a couple of people stopping for a thorough tour, unfortunately the phone is not ringing off the hook.

Steve took this picture of our beautiful sunset that evening...

Monday (April 15) morning we decided to go to Nymph Falls Nature Park for a hike. It was a cloudy, cool, breezy day.

Skunk cabbage has started to grow...

Looks pretty but rather stinky...

Tuesday (April 16) and Wednesday (April 17) were both beautiful sunny days but chilly in the mornings with temps down to freezing. Both days were pretty routine...out for our walks, shopping, etc...nothing spectacular.

We spent Thursday (April 18) getting ready for our company to arrive...my brother and sister-in-law from West Kelowna are coming for a visit. Dennis and Suzanne arrived around 4:30. After big hugs, we helped them bring in their suitcases...and then it was time to relax and get started on catching up.

Dinner time...

After dinner, we took a walk down to the river...

Friday (April 19) was an absolutely beautiful day...Dennis and Suzanne could not have picked a better time to come out for a 3 day visit!

After changing their bedroom back into our living room (airbed deflated and everything put in our bedroom), we had our coffee, breakfast and showers. Our plan for today is to drive up to Campbell River and show Dennis and Suzanne Elk Falls. The drive north took just under an hour. The Falls were beautiful but not nearly as big as they had been last time we were there.

At the lower viewing platform...

Two guys above the falls...

Look at those crazy guys down there!

The suspension bridge...Steve and Dennis walked across, leaving Suzanne and I safely on the platform. Steve took this picture from the other side of me venturing out a short way (and hanging on for dear life!)...

It was a great little hike in a beautiful park...and the first time for Dennis and Suzanne. Always fun showing off the beautiful area we live in.

On our way to lunch, we took a little detour to Tyee Spit and parked at the end to take a walk...

Lunch was at the Riptide Pub...no picture taken inside, but Steve took one of Dennis, Suzanne and I out front at the Octopus...

View of Quadra Island in front of the Pub...

Our next stop was at the Discovery Fishing Pier Lookout. The Discovery Passage Aquarium is at the entrance...

Unfortunately the ice-cream shop in the blue building was closed...

Large salmon are caught at the pier...

That ended our tour of the Campbell River area. We drove back home, parked the car...and walked up to the Gladstone Brewery. Afterall, we have to show our guests all of our favourite spots! 

We were all stuffed from eating a late lunch, so no dinner was required...munching on some snacks did the trick.

Saturday (April 20) was another day of walking and showing our guests the area. We started with walking part of the Airpark so we could show them the view of the Comox Glacier. It was much cloudier by the time we got there, but at least you could see it. Great shot as a small plane was taking off in the foreground...

Tides out!

From there, we drove to Nymph Falls Nature Park for another great hike...

Next was Cumberland...we drove through to Comox Lake and wandered around the day-use area that's not open yet...

And then stopped in Cumberland at the Cumberland Brewery for a brew. The walls have dozens and dozens of growler jugs on shelves from other brew pubs in Canada and the US...

Cool saw blade light fixture on the ceiling...

There really isn't much of a food menu at the brewery, so after our beer we walked to the bakery...Dennis and Steve had sausage rolls while Suzanne and I, croissants. We had heard how good the pastries are at the Cumberland Bakery...must be the sweet ones like jelly donuts, etc that they are known for. Our savory picks were okay but not great. So we had to go to Love's Ice Cream...now their ice cream is yummy. All made on the premises... 

After all that touring, we headed home. Suzanne and I dropped the guys off and went out to run a few errands. While parked in a lot, we came back out to find someone had bashed their car door into the front passenger door of my car. I just couldn't believe it!  I had even parked in a spot on the end, close to the curb leaving lots of room on the passenger side...ugh! And to top it all off, the person who did it didn't have the decency to leave a note with their phone number....hit and run, thanks! Grrr....

We tried to see if any of the surrounding stores had security cameras that would have captured it but had no luck. Guess we'll be going to ICBC (Insurance Corporation of BC) on Monday and filing a claim.

Dinner was at The Flying Canoe Pub, taking advantage of their $6.95 dinner menu...and $5 sleeves of beer. Steve had a burger with fries...the rest of us had a quesadilla which was very small, more like an appetizer. I have had it before and it was a much larger portion. It was tasty but we certainly weren't stuffed.

We had a very relaxing start to the day Sunday (April 21)...enjoying our last morning together. We are going down to Bowser to my other brother's place...Don and Rhonda's...this afternoon. Dennis and Suzanne will be staying with them for a few days...Rhonda had invited us for dinner. 

After a quick lunch at Fluid Bar and Grill, we arrived at Don and Rhonda's at 2:00 and spent a lovely afternoon catching up with them.

Don, Steve and Dennis...

Such a beautiful view from their sundeck...

Don showing me how well his garlic is growing...

Rhonda served a delicious ham dinner...(me, Dennis, Suzanne, Don and Rhonda)

Don's birthday isn't for another few weeks (May 11) but neither Dennis and Suzanne, nor Steve and I will be here, so we decided to celebrate it early...

Happy (almost) 74 Don!

The NHL playoffs started tonight...our Vancouver Canucks are playing the Nashville Predators. So everyone was glued to the TV...

At the end of the first period, we said our goodbyes and headed home. Thanks so much for dinner, Rhonda and Don...and wonderful having you visit with us Suzanne and Dennis! Enjoy the rest of your trip! 

It takes about 40 minutes to drive home, so we missed the start of the second period. The Predators had been ahead but the Canucks pulled up their socks and ended up winning...Yay!

We had more sun over the next few of days...we didn't do anything special other than take the car into an autobody shop so they could do an estimate for ICBC. Unfortunately, we couldn't get an appointment until May 7 but a fellow came out to have a quick look and gave us a preliminary estimate of $2500...yikes! Glad we have insurance but it cheeses me off that we still have to pay a $500 deductible to repair something that someone else did. 

Other than that, life here was pretty routine...