Here we are...another couple of weeks have flown by. Life for us bubbles along...we have gone through another heat-wave, had a lot of wind, smoke from wildfires here on the island and even had a thunderstorm!
Thursday morning (Aug. 7) we were at Earl and Allison's new home to help them unpack. They had had movers dropping off boxes and boxes...and more boxes (along with furniture, of course). Allison and I mainly tackled the kitchen...Steve helped Earl and flattened boxes and gathered paper that was used for wrapping breakables and stuffing it into empty boxes. The boxes (for the most part) along with the paper will go back to the movers to be reused.
Friday morning (Aug. 8) Steve started researching new tires for our 2014 Mazda 3 Sports Coupe. He's been a Michelin fan for years but apparently the tires he wants are not available from any of the dealers in town. After days of checking various retailers and researching online, he finally found what he was after at Sidney Tire...yes, down in Sidney. They have to be ordered in and will be there on the 20th. We will be going down, so he has an appointment on August 22.
That afternoon, we invited our neighbours, Darren and Tammy, over to join us for happy hour. We have been trying to get together but either we were away or they were busy. While we were waiting for them (Darren was later getting home from work than expected), we heard rumbling out on the street so Steve went to investigate. Apparently there is a car show in town tomorrow and tonight they were on a run. Steve just caught the tail end of it...
Steve went to the Hot August Nights Classic Car Show last year but didn't go this year as it's been pretty hot out. They were expecting over 500 cars this year. If interested in checking out last years display click here.
Environment Canada has issued a heat warning for the next few days, so our morning walks will be in shaded areas. Saturday (Aug. 9) we decided to go for a hike at Seal Bay Regional Nature Park. We took the Seal Loop Trail...
A 35 second video...
After sitting on a log, taking in the beautiful view for a few minutes, we headed back up the Eagle Trail and then continued on the Seal Loop Trail. A beautiful hike!
Instead of driving straight home, we went for a drive along the waterfront. These folks were in the water at Point Holmes. The Wesley Ridge Wildfire near Cameron Lake is visible in the distance...
Sunday (Aug. 10) was another hot day (into the 30'sC/low 90'sF). We were trying to decide whether this tent was made to reflect the sun and keep it cool inside, or keep the inside warm in cold weather. Very interesting...we have never seen anything like it before...
This morning, we decided to go to the Wildwood Interpretive Forest for our walk, a nicely shaded trail...
That afternoon we went to my brother and sister-in-law's place for a barbeque. They are in Deep Bay, about 40 minutes south of us, and have a wonderful view...
Chrome Island with a lighthouse station, Denman Island and the BC mainland in the distance...
Chrome Island Lighthouse is a light station established in 1891 that assists traffic in the region of Deep Bay, British Columbia, Denman Island, and Hornby Island. It is currently a manned station, though in recent years the Canadian Coast Guard has considered automating it.
Of course, they have a huge sundeck to sit and admire the view...
The heat continued over the next few days so our walks were at Nymph Falls Nature Park. We have had a lot of wind this summer and obviously it ended up being strong enough to knock over quite a few trees. Mind you, the root-rot was apparent so it probably didn't take much to blow them over...
With the heat, we spent most of the days hunkered down inside with the A/C running...reading and watching TV. It was just too hot to do anything outside!
Thursday morning (Aug. 14) it was cloudy and cooler so we decided to walk the Airpark/Riverway trail. As we were finishing our walk, we noticed smoke from the more recent Mount Underwood wildfire south of Port Alberni coming in. We live in a rainforest that's experiencing drought conditions again...
Our friends Rob and Nancy from Victoria (well, Saanichton) are staying in Parksville this week, so called to see if we wanted to meet for coffee. They drove up and we enjoyed a good hour or so at Tim Horton's...a lot of laughs and great conversation, always good to see them!
As we were sitting in Timmy's, it started raining...the start of the forecasted rain we are to have for the next day.
Lots of badly needed rain fell on Friday (Aug. 15)...it wasn't a constant downpour but rain, nonetheless, that helped the parched ground and wildfire situation. So instead of walking this morning, we stayed inside watching Season 1 of 'Wednesday'...actually over the next few days we also watched the first 4 episodes of Season 2. Now they make us wait for the last 4 episodes to be released next month.
To celebrate Friday...and rain...we decided to go out for a late lunch at the Church Street Taphouse in Comox...
Saturday (Aug. 16) we had Earl and Allison over for dinner. I had an abundance of fresh blueberries so made Blueberry Crumble for dessert...it was a hit, as was the Prawn Fettucine Pesto Alfredo, Caesar Salad and cheese buns.
For a change, we played marbles instead of Rummikub after dinner...3 games; Earl won one and I won 2. Another great evening!
Sunday morning (Aug. 17) we decided to walk around the campground for a change. The deer love the apples that have fallen off the tree near the office...
A1:39 minute video...
The next few days were "the usual"...chores, walks, reading, etc. We saw a bunch of people looking up into a tree on our walk at the airpark and on our way back decided to stop to see what was so interesting. I found it hard to see at first, but it was a racoon napping on a branch. Steve managed to get this picture. It sure blends in with the tree...
Tomorrow we are heading down island to our son's place in North Saanich. As I mentioned earlier, we are getting new tires on the car on Friday and then on Saturday Chris, Angela and Isaac are coming over for the weekend. Steve is celebrating a milestone birthday (70!) on Sunday so we are having a small family/friends gathering. Stay tuned to hear all about it!
Oh, and we will also be staying the week to spend time with Conner and Bryce. Angie returns to work on Monday but the boys don't start school until the following week. We always look forward to spending time with them...at least this time I am much more mobile than I was last June!
It's amazing how fast the days are going by this summer. I'm sure Earl and Allison appreciated your help with all the boxes. Have fun next week looking after the boys. Now that you can walk around I'm sure you will have more adventures.
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