Sunday, June 10, 2012 (Return to Fort Camping, Brae Island Regional Park, Fort Langley, BC)

I was up at 6:00 this morning and as soon as I was done in the shower, Steve got up.  We were taking the 9:00 a.m. ferry and I wanted to be up early enough to still have a relaxing cup of coffee before packing the final things into the truck and heading off.

After 6 weeks on Vancouver Island (North Saanich, 30 kms/20 miles north of Victoria), we are heading back to the mainland to continue our travels.  Our time back home was full of appointments and catching up with friends and family.  We want to give special thanks our son and daughter-in-­law, Rob and Angela, for their hospitality as they shared their home with us.  It was really great spending time with you!

As usual, I’m going to give a quick recap of our time on the Island (remember, just click on picture to enlarge)...

My brother and sister-in-law (Dennis and Suzanne) had arrived the day before we did, so we had some really nice family gatherings during that first week.  Rob had just had a brand new barbeque delivered so Sunday he was going to initiate it by cooking a pork roast.  Here he is getting it ready for the rotisserie...

It was a little chilly sitting out on the deck that afternoon but we had a fire to keep us warm...(left to right)...Suzanne, Dennis, me, Angie and Rob...

Rob (and Angie) with his special barbequing apron on...it even has a bottle opener on it...

Suzanne and Angie preparing asparagus wrapped in prosciutto for grilling (yum)...

Dennis and Rob taking the roast off the barbeque...looking pretty darned yummy!...

Dinner time!

What a great afternoon and evening!  Too bad it was Sunday and Rob and Angie had to work the next day.


Monday we were having another family gathering...another brother and sister-in-law (Dwight and Helen) were coming out for dinner and luck would have it that all 3 of their kids were available along with their significant others.  Also Dennis' daughter, Melanie, and her family; and son, Brian, and his family were coming out too...in all there were 22 of us for dinner.  I kept dinner simple...3 trays of lazagne, chicken wings, caesar salad and garlic toast.  Everyone was spread out wherever they could find a place to sit...we had a full house!  It was really great seeing everyone!

 

The rest of our first week was filled with all sorts of appointments and spending time with family.  We even managed a visit with my nephew, Matt and his wife, Bonnie (Matt is my brother, Don's son...yes, yet another brother...I have four of them).  Matt and Bonnie have 2 kids, Logan and Gwennie...

The next week started with lunch with "my girls", fellow retirees that I had worked with for many, many years...

Friday evening we had a wonderful surprise as our son, Chris, pulled up the driveway.  He had come over from Vancouver for a visit...a very nice Mother's Day weekend surprise!!

Mother's Day dinner on Saturday...

Steve goofing off with his boys...

Mother's Day breakfast... Rob made waffles while Chris helped out (nice face, Chris!).  Waffles were served with fresh strawberries, whipped cream and real maple syrup...YUMMY! Thanks, Angie, Rob and Chris!!

Chris headed out just after 2pm to catch the ferry back to the mainland and Rob, Angie, Steve and I went to wine tasting at a couple of local wineries.  It was an absolutely beautiful day.  The first winery was Starling Lane Winery. 

Steve knows the owners...  Sue and Ken Houston former customers retired from the family business Mac's Heating.

The grounds surrounding the winery are just beautiful...a lovely spot for weddings...

Our next stop was at Muse Winery, which happens to be fairly close to where Rob and Angie live.  Many vineyards and wineries have sprung up on the Saanich Peninsula over the years...

 They have a nice little bistro and patio...

The next week started off very busy for me...lunch with a good friend and then off to an early dinner with "my girls"...including one that could not join us for lunch because she is still working but Janet plans to retire within the year though...

We decided to go camping for the May Long Weekend, so Friday morning we headed up to our favourite spot on Lake Cowichan (northwest of Duncan).  Rob and Angie came up after work that evening and our niece, Amanda joined us Saturday morning.

Nice Fish!

Saturday wasn't too bad of a day weather-wise but the rain set in Sunday morning...typical for Lake Cowichan!

Every May Long Weekend a group of women go to Heather Campsite for a "little" partying.  One night during the weekend they go to all of the campsites offering shooters to everyone...they have about a half dozen options...everything from Tequilla to Baha Rosa!

Steve fly fishing from shore...this was the holiday Monday after everyone had left (we decided to stay one more night...we obviously loved the rain!!)

One quiet day while Steve was at home alone, he decided to pull together some statistics regarding our travels...here is what he came up with.... 

We travelled 15,801 km/9,876 miles in a little over 9 months (June 16, 2011 to March 31, 2012).

We averaged 6.91 miles per US gallon/8.3 miles per Imperial gallon/34.04 litres per 100 km.

In the US, the average price we paid for diesel was $4.137 per gal.

                                                       Lowest paid was $3.369 per gal.

                                                       Highest paid was $4.309 per gal.

              (Diesel in the USA always cost more than gas...as much as 10 cents a gallon more)

If I understand the conversion equivalent correctly, I found from the US average that we paid, the equivalent in Canadian would be $4.97 a gallon and in the US, they would be paying the equivalent of just over $1.09/litre. (Note that this was based on our dollar being at par however our dollar was usually fluctuating above par)

Since starting our adventures in late June 2010, we have only had three services done on the truck...required every 12,000 km and are almost due for our 4th in another 3,000 km. The service work done in each case has been virtually identical but has varied considerably from state to state...interesting...?

North Carolina $184.00

Oregon             $326.00

Arizona            $238.00

Averages to $249.33 per service...not bad when I compare it to what my pickup used to cost.

We stayed at 47 different campgrounds (period: May 7, 2011 to April 27, 2012)

Average price paid $27.74

Highest paid           $49.28

Lowest paid            $4.44

Average paid including boondocking at free areas is $25.24 (we had 31 nights of free camping).

The following Saturday after attending the "Celebration of Life" for our friend Donna Whittome, we stopped to see our good friends, Jim and Nan who live in Cowichan Bay.  They were having others over for a barbeque so it was great timing, allowing us to see Wayne and Donna; and Gus Kelly...

For Rob's birthday on June 3, we decided to have a fondue for dinner.  It had been ages since we had had one...it was great fun!  Here I am with my beautiful daughter-in-law, Angie, preparing dinner...

All ready to sit down...

Time to dig in...

A 'Treatza Pizza' from the Dairy Queen (DQ) served as a birthday cake...

We had taken our bikes over to the Island with the intension of riding part of the Galloping Goose Trail...a trail system that runs from Swartz Bay (where the ferry comes in from the mainland) all the way to Sooke (west of Victoria).  Well, we only have a few days before we leave, so on Wednesday we figured we had better do it!

We rode all the way to Mattick's Farm ...

...where we had a great lunch at Adrienne's Tea Garden ...

That's right...we rode a total of 24 kms/14.75 miles!

And that's it for pictures...for some reason, I forgot to take my camera out after this.  We met my brother and sister-in-law (Dwight and Helen) for dinner Thursday night at the pub at Brentwood Bay Resort.  We had a great visit with them and are looking forward to seeing them mid-August when we return for their daughter, Vanessa's wedding.

Friday I had one last follow-up doctor's appointment in the morning and then Steve and I carried on into Victoria to run a couple of errands.  Rob has been home from work since Wednesday with a severe headache and since it wasn't any better, he was going to go to the doctor this afternoon. Once Steve and I returned from Victoria, I drove Rob into Sidney and did some more errands while he went to the doctor and then for blood tests at the lab.  After picking up a prescription for pain meds, we headed home...he is to return tomorrow if he is worse.

That evening we were picked up by our very close friend, Rob Cawsey...Steve has known Rob since grade 8 and they have remained very close.  He and his wife, Nancy are very dear friends of ours that we have summer-vacationed with for years.  Our two families have shared so many good times together!  Well, we were treated royally...from Rob picking us up; to drinks at their place; to being chauffeured into Victoria to The Keg Restaurant for dinner...and being dropped off back home.  We had a wonderful time and a great visit with them.

Come Saturday morning, Rob (our son) was still no better so Angie took him into Sidney to see the doctor again.  The blood work came back okay but a CT scan has been ordered.  Saturday afternoon and evening, Rob seemed somewhat better and I was relieved because we are leaving in the morning.  We said our goodbyes before going to bed because we planned on being up and out early.

As we were about to board the 9:00 ferry this morning, I sent a text to Rob to see how he was feeling...his response..."worse, just threw up"...oh sheesh...that is not good.  The doctor had said that if he gets worse and/or starts having other symptoms, to go into ER at the local hospital.  He assured me he would be going in.

We arrived at Econo Storage in Langley just before noon to pick up our 5th wheel.  After some tricky maneuvering, Steve managed to get backed out of the spot...there wasn't enough room to pull forward and get out that way, so backing up it was.  Whew...did it!  Now it was time to head to Fort Langley and the campground.  We were very pleased to get our favourite site again.  We got checked in and spent the rest of the afternoon setting up, unpacking the truck and putting everything away.

Ahh...it was good to be back in our home!



Wednesday, May 23, 2012....Sad News....

We were up and relaxing with our morning coffee when the phone rang...it was 7:30 a.m.  I glanced at the call display...“Garth & Donna Whittome”...awesome; we were planning on calling them to plan a visit.  They live in Nanaimo so we thought we would drive up and see them next week.

My cheerful greeting as I answered the phone quickly changed as Garth told me there had been an accident.  He continued to say that he and Donna had been walking the trail in Helliwell Provincial Park on Hornby Island with friends when Donna got too close to the cliff edge.  He always keeps a pretty close eye on her while walking because she has balance problems but said he had turned his back on her for a short period.  He turned to see her arms outstretched as she unsuccessfully tried to regain her balance.  He watched totally helpless as she plummeted roughly 20 metres/60 feet to the rocks below.  Such a tragic accident...  Garth was obviously still in complete shock as he described the event...how do you console someone who has just lost the love of his life?  He stood there helplessly 60 feet above her and waited for rescue crews to arrive....how awful would that be?!

So instead of the planned visit with them next week to catch up...it had been just over a year when we last saw them...we will be attending a “Celebration of Life” on Saturday afternoon.

As a tribute to Donna, we’d like to tell you about this wonderful couple...few people have an impact on your life as they did.   After 51 years of marriage (54 years together), they were true soul-mates...totally in love and very respectful of each other.

We first met Garth and Donna when we lived at Oceanside RV Park in Saanichton prior to our retirement.  They were our new neighbours that had just arrived in their fifth-wheel a couple of days before we got back from Rob and Angie's wedding in Punta Cana....that was in early April, 2010.

Like us, they were just moving into their  fifth-wheel to get settled in before retirement and life on the road as "full-timers".  Donna had managed an apartment building while Garth was still working as a truck driver for BC Ferries.  He was retiring at the beginning of June and they would be heading off on their adventures.

We soon became fast friends...so much to talk about...we were total newbies to full-timing...I believe they had done it before and were going to go for it again.  They shared all sorts of tips and tricks with us.  Since Garth was a truck driver, he offered to help Steve with the endorsement he would need to tow the fifth-wheel.  This involved taking a road test with Motor Vehicles...so after going out, with Garth in the passenger seat, and towing our trailer, it wasn't long before Steve was ready for the test.

Garth and Donna became our “substitute parents”...although they really weren’t quite old enough.  I think my fondest memory of Donna was arriving home after work and she would be sitting outside talking on the phone and she would yell... “The kids are home!”  Too funny! 

We were also included in a gathering of family and close friends to celebrate Garth’s birthday.  There wasn`t a lot of room for a large number of people to gather in the RV site, so Garth asked to use the park`s group picnic shelter.  It was a cool Sunday afternoon so having the shelter was great.  We also met their son and daughter-in-law....a lovely couple that live in Victoria.

On Garth’s last day of work he came home with the left-over’s of a going away cake and shared it with us after dinner...it went well with the wine/beer that we were having as we toasted his retirement.  They would be leaving the next day...but needless to say, we would be staying in touch!

Originally from northern Saskatchewan, they were taking the BC Ferry trip from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert and then making their way to Nipawin to visit family before continuing to Orangeville, Ontario...and an RV park fairly close to one of their daughters who lived in the suburbs and worked in Toronto.

We always said that if our journey took us anywhere near where they were going to be, we would get together.  So when we decided to head to Niagara Falls, we made Orangeville a stop along the way.  On September 28, 2010 we arrived at the RV Park and into a site next door to Garth and Donna...just like old times! It was raining so hard we decided to delay setting up and joined Garth and Donna in their rig. We hadn’t seen them for 4 months...and had a lot of catching up to do.  When the rain let up we decided to go out to eat but when Garth opened the door we discovered that our sites were under several inches of water. Before you know it Garth has his shoes and socks off and heads out to his truck....dropped the tailgate and backed up to the door of his trailer and the 3 of us hopped into the bed of the truck...too funny. We spent 3 days visiting and touring around the area.

Donna and Garth...preparing dinner...

We stopped for a bite to eat at a cute little cafe...

And a hike...

We met their daughter and son-in-law at their home then drove into Toronto for a Mexican dinner...

They were spending a month or so in Orangeville and then were going to head south...and Wyoming to visit another daughter and her family.  After that, they would be going to Apache Junction, Arizona where they plan on spending the rest of the winter.

We had no idea what our plans were but, yes, if we are near Apache Junction, we will definitely connect again.  So on March 2, 2011 we again pulled into the RV Park where Garth had reserved a site for us.  This time we weren’t next door to each other but only a few sites away.  It had been 5 months since we had seen them...lots of catching up to do! 

We were treated royally and given a tour of the Roosevelt Dam and surrounding area. The day we left we met their daughter, son-in-law and grandkids from Wyoming that had arrived the night before.

And that was the last time we saw Donna...upon their return to BC, they decided to settle in Nanaimo.  They bought a nice park-model in a trailer park and sold their 5th wheel.  Although they loved the travel, they missed the continuity of a group of close friends.  We spoke on the phone when we were back on the Island last spring and kept in touch via email.  Since we hadn’t seen them in over a year, we were really looking forward to getting together with them this year.

But it is not to be...we will see Garth and family on Saturday.  Rest in peace, Donna...you will be sorely missed....