These next 2 weeks were pretty busy...especially the first 10 days! Sunday (June 29) found us back on the Island Highway heading south to Victoria again. I have my 6 week check-up with the surgeon on Monday. It was just going to be a quick overnight stay at Rob and Angie's, though, since Steve has an appointment back in Courtenay on Tuesday morning.
As we were heading south, we heard on the radio that there had been a "police incident" that had the southbound lanes of the Pat Bay Highway closed (that goes from Victoria up the Saanich Peninsula to Sidney and North Saanich). We would be going north, thank goodness! The traffic slowed down but at least we got through...vehicles going south were diverted to other side roads causing a major traffic snarl for most of the day.
Apparently an erratic driver was reported around 6:15 a.m. and was eventually tracked down and a police chase ensued. Looks like a pit maneuver was used as the badly damaged suspect car is pointed in the wrong direction and is pinned against the cement barrier by two police cruisers.
When we arrived at Rob and Angie's, Dennis and Suzanne (my brother and sister-in-law from Kelowna) had already arrived. Such good timing to be able to see them this trip! Only for the one night but it was better than not at all!
Rob, Angie and boys arrived home a little later...they had been at Bryce's Flag Football Island Competition. As I mentioned in our last blog update, Bryce's team won their league championship. They didn't win the Island Championship but did well nonetheless, winning 2 games.
We enjoyed a lovely late afternoon on the sundeck...Conner, Suzanne, me, Angie, Dennis and Rob...
Happy 40th Birthday Chris!
Pictures never seem to convey how steep something really is...
Beautiful!
Bryce taking a leap!
At some point Angie joined us and took the above and below photos...
A little while later, Marnie and Rick returned to their campsite and Ray and Deb from Lake Cowichan arrived. They were on their way home from an anniversary trip to Pender Island...thanks for making me one of your famous Margaritas, Ray!!
The main street in town (Willow Street) was completely blocked off and turned into a bustling car-free marketplace filled with vendors. Apparently it was the first of this season...good time for us, LOL!
Unfortunately because of the street market many of the murals are obscured for photos but many can be viewed by clicking here...
These furry guys were interesting...
Isaac checking out the bears...
Waterwheel Park...
We had walked far enough, Isaac was getting cranky and we were all hungry, so Chris, Steve and Isaac walked back to get the car and pick Angela and I up. It was quite a long ways away and just too much walking for me!
My appointment on Monday (June 30) wasn't until 1:20, so after a lazy morning visiting with Dennis and Suzanne, we packed up the car. We said goodbye to Dennis and Suzanne...great seeing you both, enjoy the rest of your visit! Rob had left for work early this morning but we said see ya on Thursday to Angie, Conner and Bryce and after hugs to all, we were off.
We had a little extra time so we stopped for a short walk along the Sidney waterfront...it was such a beautiful day! That is Mt. Baker in Washington State in the background...
Before meeting with the surgeon, I had x-rays taken. Good grief, they took enough! The doctor said all looks fine and I am cleared for driving and "whatever"...your knee will let you know if you are doing too much. I will continue with the physio appointments though...but other than that, he does not need to see me for my knee again. I said "my knee" because x-rays of my hips were also taken and show that both hips are deteriorating (damn osteoarthritis!), particularly my left hip. It's not ready for a replacement yet but it will be...hopefully not for a while yet!
It was going on 2:30 by the time we left the doctor's office and were on the Island Highway heading back up to Courtenay. We had an uneventful drive, deciding to stop in Courtenay for an early dinner at Boston Pizza since we had had no lunch.
Tuesday morning (July 1) Steve had an MRI appointment at the hospital for an enlarged prostate and has a follow-up appointment with the urologist later this month. In the meantime he received an email from our family doctor saying nothing unusual was found on his MRI so we'll have to see what the urologist has to say.
To celebrate our son, Chris's 40th birthday on Thursday (July 3), our family is all gathering at Country Maples RV Resort in Chemainus for an extra long weekend. Rob, Angie and the boys had gone up yesterday but Steve and I are heading up this morning, and Chris, Angela and Isaac are taking the ferry over from the mainland this morning.
Our site is really nice but a little ways away from the others since we needed a bigger site to accommodate our truck...
Chris and Angela rented a trailer and had it delivered and set-up on a site just 2 down from Rob and Angie. As you can tell from the pictures, the campground is heavily treed and very beautiful but not good for solar or satellite, neither of which we needed as we had full hookup...
We all gathered at Chris and Angela's site where we feasted on delicious pulled pork sandwiches provided by Rob and Angie...and afterwards, it was time for gifts and birthday cake...
Friday morning (July 4) everyone decided to hike down to the Chemainus River where there are swimming holes and cliff jumping. Well, everyone, other than Angela and I. The trail down is very steep at the end, requiring a rope to hang onto...that is way to hard for me to navigate at this point in my recovery, so I stayed in our site lazing on my gravity chair. I'm not sure what Angela was doing but likely enjoying some alone time!
Isaac and Chris with Rob ahead of them...
Conner and Bryce have already made friends with a couple of girls since they arrived...
A 1:17 minute video...
That afternoon we had a bunch of company drop by for a visit. Nadine and Mike (Steve's sister and brother-in-law) drove up from Victoria to see us along with Mike's niece, Marnie, and her husband, Rick who also happen to be camping here. Left to right...Marnie, Rick, Nadine, Mike and Steve...
Left to right...Chris, Nadine, Mike, me, Ray, Deb, Isaac and Angela...
Angela, Rob, Angie, Mike, Nadine, me, Chris and Isaac...after a great visit, Ray and Deb headed home...
After dinner, it was time for a campfire...
And, of course, S'Mores! Good job on this one, Steve!
Show Grampa how to do it Isaac!
A picture of the pool which is next to the playground...
Across from both Chris and Rob's campsites is a huge field, washrooms/showers (building on the left), the playground behind, along with the playground and pool at the end of the field...
We headed off to Chemainus, a short distance from the campground. We likely picked a bad day to go being Saturday and Street Market Day. We parked a fair distance away and walked into town.
The boys were out and about a lot enjoying meeting lots of kids at the campground (it's a very kid-friendly campground) but would drop by frequently to check-in. Here is Conner being silly...wearing the 'balls' off our ladder-ball game...
Steve took a 51 second video of quail running around our site...
When it was time to get dinner going, Mike and Nadine said their goodbyes...thanks from dropping by, it was great seeing you! Steve grilling 9 burgers on our barbeque...(sorry Bryce, only one burger for you...no more room on the bbq!)
Saturday morning (July 5) Steve and I are going with Chris, Angela and Isaac to visit the quaint town of Chemainus (Shemainus). But first some swing time in the playground (Isaac and Chris)...
Chemainus Theatre...Professional theatre showcasing year-round performances & featuring a dining room & art gallery. The Dinner Theatre shows are very popular...Ray and Deb attend frequently.
Chemainus is famous for it's murals...to learn more and read about the background of this "Little Town That Did!" click here
Nice smile Isaac!
And then it was mini-golf time! Steve, Angela, Isaac and I played together; and Rob, Chris, Conner and Bryce were together behind us. Angie didn't play but came down later to watch and take pictures.
Go Isaac!
My turn...
Bryce...
Steve...
Rob...
We all had a fun time playing! Everyone on our team managed to get a hole-in-one, even Isaac! No such luck on the other team.
After lunch, we picked up a few things at the grocery store and headed back to the campground and relaxed. The cousins in the big chair chair...with the rest of us sitting in the sun in the distance...
The campfire tonight was at Chris and Angela's campsite...
Sunday morning (July 6) after breakfast, we walked down to the kid's campsites. Grampa took Isaac over to the playground...
After lunch, Chris, Angela and Isaac had some pool time...
We brought down the Ladder-Ball game and Core Crash (Molkky) down for some afternoon fun in the field across from Rob and Chris's campsites...
This truck came through the campground advertising their gelato. Apparently they are located in Saltair, a short distance away...
Waiting our turn...
Hey...where did you get those ice cream bars?! 😁
Bros...
Love Isaac's pyjamas! Good night little buddy!
I was sore so headed back to our trailer, missing out on the last campfire...
Of course, after dinner it was Rummikub time! We played 3 games and I won the first 2! Allison won the last blocking any chance of the guys winning!
Core Crash time...
Monday morning (July 7) we were busy packing all the stuff that was not staying in the trailer, into the truck. We are taking it directly to our new storage facility at South Courtenay Storage. By chance, I called last week to see if they had any spots available and low and behold a 25' spot was available July 1st. Good timing on my part! The monthly cost is a little more but it is closer and in a proper RV storage area that is accessible from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. 7 days a week.
We also wanted to take advantage of full hookups to clean everything inside and flush the tanks. So it was just about 11:00 (check-out time) when we left our site and stopped to say goodbye to Rob, Angie and the boys. They were all packed and just had to hook up their trailer. Chris, Angela and Isaac had come by about an hour ago to say goodbye. They had their car all packed and just left the trailer for the RV rental company to come pick up.
After big hugs, we headed off...such a fun four days!
We dropped the trailer off at storage...an easy back in spot with lots of maneuverability room. After emptying the fridge contents into the cooler, we were off home...and that's where part 2 of the work started! A very hot job but we got everything out of the truck, into the trailer and put away!
The rest of the week was pretty standard...I had another physio appointment (the range of motion on my knee is now 119 degrees and should reach 130+ soon as I keep up the exercises). We both took care of miscellaneous chores around the trailer...not very exciting.
Friday morning (July 11) my sister-in-law, Rhonda, dropped off my brother, Don, while she went to an appointment. She was only gone about an hour and we had a great visit with them both. Darn...forgot to take a photo!
Really missing our hikes at Nymph Falls Regional Park, Saturday morning (July 12) we decided to go there for our morning walk. I wasn't up to hiking our usual trails, but we walked to the falls, enjoyed the view, and walked back to the car. Such a beautiful spot!
Before going home, we stopped at the little trailer to pick up a few things left behind.
Just after 4:00, we headed off to Earl and Allison's for dinner. They have sold their house and purchased a small rancher in Courtenay. So they have been very busy cleaning out a big house that they have lived in for over 20 years. It was nice catching up with them and enjoying a delicious rib dinner.
And that concludes a pretty busy couple of weeks...hard to believe we are well into July already.
