Wow, darned near 3 weeks have gone by...time for an update on what we have been up to. Most days are pretty routine...i.e. nothing particularly exciting to tell you about...but others we did do some note-worthy stuff.
Wednesday (Sept. 4) afternoon we headed down to Parksville to meet good friends from Cochrane, Alberta, Ken and Charlene. Steve and Ken have been friends since they were little kids as next door neighbours in Regina, Saskatchewan. They are spending a week on the Island seeing some of the highlights. After sitting outside at their motel room chatting with Ken while Charlene got ready, we went to Kalvas the Log House for dinner.
We spent a delightful 3 hours catching up with them over a delicious meal...
Saturday (Sept. 7) was customer appreciation night at Saratoga Speedway in Black Creek, about 25 minutes north of us. The last time we were at the races was in Blythe, CA in 2013. So tonight was the night...it has been quite hot the past few days, so we made sure we had suntan lotion on and our hats. Unfortunately, we forgot the seat cushions for the bleachers...but we made due with our folded jackets.
While the time trials were happening, we went to the beer garden for a beer and a bite to eat for dinner...
A 2:59 minute video...Bomber and Hornet cars as well as crash to pass cars! Steve here: Back in the day it was called hit to pass and I was part of the pit crew for my buddy Jim who had a Demo car...fun times!
A 5:26 minute video of the Della Crew and "The Vanishing Ones" Harley Davidson Motorcycle Stunt Teams. Wheelies, burnouts, so much smoke and fire!
Sunday (Sept.8) I decided to cook the last salmon Steve caught at Cluxewe. As I was figuring out the best way to take the meat off the bone, the butcher knife that happened to be on the counter beside the cutting board, slipped off and fell to the floor stabbing my foot. Thankfully, just the tip went in before it bounced onto the floor but OMG, the blood! You would have thought by the amount of blood on the floor that it had rendered a huge gash! After applying pressure and using a ton of paper towels, I finally got the bleeding stopped and found that it was only about a half inch gash but it looked like it would require stitches. So off to the emergency department of the North Island Hospital we went.
Waiting for an x-ray...
This is the culprit that stabbed me...
Monday (Sept. 9) morning Steve walked by himself at Nymph Falls...my foot was very sore and I was extremely tired all day. Mind you, I did wash the kitchen floor...Steve had done his best to wipe up the blood before we went to the hospital but there was still a reddish tinge that required cleaning.
With the temperatures returning to more moderate seasonal values, Steve decided to start washing the trailer on Tuesday (Sept. 10). Although still tender, my foot felt a lot better so I ran some errands and picked up some groceries.
A beautiful sunrise...
Friday (Sept. 13) morning we were out by 7:40 to pick up the little trailer from storage and take it to Courtenay RV Specialists. Steve had previously purchased lithium batteries but later found out there was more involved than just swapping out our two 6 volt batteries for lithium ones. A DC to DC Charger was required to protect the tow vehicle alternator. We later learned we also needed to upgrade our power converter to a lithium capable converter! This involved replacing the lower main board assy.
Ka...Ching!!!
That afternoon we went for a walk around the campground. There is a big First Nation's wedding being held out in the field behind the campground tomorrow. Unfortunately, the weather forecast is for lots of rain. The structures are being set up...
Steve took this picture of the teepees on Sunday after the wedding...everything is now being taken down. As you can see lots of sunshine the day after the wedding!
The new long-term sites are almost ready...just waiting since August for power to be connected from BC Hydro. Instead of trees between the sites, they have put up metal fencing. They will eventually do all long-term sites, including ours...
The forecast for Saturday (Sept. 14) was for rain throughout the day but the morning wasn't too bad. Steve had an appointment for blood tests in Campbell River at 11 a.m. (Since there were none available here by appointment until October). That didn't take long so we decided to drive to Elk Falls and hike the trail to the suspension bridge.
We certainly lucked out with the weather because it sure poured on our way home and most of the afternoon!
Sunday (Sept. 15) evening we had Earl and Allison over for dinner. They had been away for a few weeks in their campervan so it was nice catching up with them...
After dinner, we played a bunch of games of Rummikub...Earl was the big winner. I think he won all but one game.
Monday (Sept. 16), after getting notification that my extended health benefits will cover most of the CPAP machine cost for Steve, we went to Pacific Sleep Care to give them the approval. (Our reason for lithium batteries) There was a fellow out front of the office with a ferret on a leash...a pet you don't see out being walked very often. Steve asked if he could take a picture...next thing he knew, the fellow was handing the critter to Steve and taking Steve's phone for the picture. Not something I think Steve wanted...apparently it was quite stinky!
Next on the agenda for today was to activate our Starlink account. They had the hardware on sale for $199, regular $499, so we couldn't resist...besides it will be handy having it because we have heard that our ShawDirect satellite will not work down south anymore. We will be able to stream programs and it will be a good backup in case we are in an area with no cell service. Of course, no sooner had we received the hardware when we received an email from Starlink advising the Roaming service had gone from $170/month before tax to $189. Hmmm....now we know why they were on sale for such a good price.
Once that was done, Steve took a walk down to the bridge to check out the fishing situation. Lots of fishers out but there is not the run of "Pinks" in the river that there was last year.
A 1:24 video... A double header!
Tuesday (Sept. 17) we picked up the little trailer from Courtenay RV Specialists at 12:30 and brought it here. We had rented a site across from us so that Dave and Leslie will have their own space to stay while they are here visiting. Dave had run a half marathon in Golden, BC last Sunday and they had decided to come out to the island to visit family and friends, starting with us. They were looking forward to seeing our area...and we were looking forward to showing them!
We spent the next couple of hours getting it all set up for them and had pretty much finished when they arrived just before 3:00...
We sat inside the little trailer enjoying a cold drink (thanks Dave/Leslie!) and then we left them to get settled.
Time for a little exercise...we walked down to the river. We spotted two seals quickly swim by below the surface. There was a total of five seals behind us looking for salmon but couldn't get a good enough photo...
Wednesday (Sept. 18) was a very busy day! We started off with a long hike at Nymph Falls...
After lunch we went for a walk down to the Fisherman's Wharf Boardwalk. Never seen a catamaran like this one...
It was a little breezy!
After a drive showing them more of our area....Goose Spit, Point Holmes, Kye Bay...we returned home and put our walking shoes back on. We then walked up to the Gladstone Brewery...
So we definitely got our steps in today! My FitBit said 18,484 steps! We ended the day with a light dinner followed by the season premiere of Survivor. I may or may not have actually seen it all...as it seems I was nodding off a bit, but I did see who got voted off!
Thursday (Sept. 19) morning we said goodbye to Dave and Leslie...it was a quick visit but always great seeing them! Enjoy the rest of your visit on the island before heading back home to Leduc, Alberta.
We returned the little trailer back to storage but will be bringing it back here in a couple of weeks to prepare for our trip south next month. It is certainly going to be interesting traveling in a small 23' trailer when we are used to taking our home with us! But we're up for the challenge!
The last few days were filled with appointments, shopping and the usual "stuff". As I sit here on Sunday (Sept. 22) it is a cloudy, rainy day...a good inside day to work on a blog update!
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