Thursday was pretty much a "write-off"...I worked on updating our blog and then managed to walk into town to drop a package off at the post office and then pick up a few groceries. Other than that, we were hunkered down inside for the day.
Friday ended up being nicer than originally forecast. We decided to take care of a few more shopping items we need for our trip...power adapter, extra battery and memory card for the camera...I even ended up getting a new phone! My old phone was a few years old and the battery wasn't holding a charge anymore; it was all paid for (as a matter of fact, I even had some credit built up on my Koodo Tab), so I decided to upgrade. I decided on an LG G4...the main reason for choosing it is because of the camera. It is also one that I could afford using the Koodo Tab plan.
On our way home, the traffic was backed up the main street of Fort Langley...for some reason a train had stopped on the tracks, blocking the traffic. We thought we'd be smart and go around the block, down another street that would come out on the other side of the tracks...well, first of all, we got caught up in another closed road due to a semi off loading; when we finally got out of that, we found that the other road also had train tracks, closing it down too.
The train finally got moving...but the damage had been done...a back up of traffic on the "other" road too...The sun was actually trying to shine by the time we got home, so we thought we'd sit outside for a bit...notice that a heavy coat is still needed though!
Instead, we had a productive day staying inside...time to get all of our 'Africa' clothes out, tags off and packed. We also spent a lot of time just getting organized. Not only do we have to get ready for our overseas trip, but we also have the 10 days between putting our rig into storage and leaving that we have to pack for. I've got a mega list going...so hopefully we don't forget anything!
Sunday morning we headed into Surrey to Thrifty Car Rental to pick up a rental for the week. It was not a good experience. To start off with, we pulled into a potholed, water filled gravel lot and went into the office and waited to be served. Then when asked for our driver's licence, I gave her the paper temporary one I had been issued while my new one is being processed..."do you have any picture ID?" No, I replied..."We are unable to rent a car without picture ID...company policy", she replied. You're kidding, right? Nope. After a lot of "discussion", she finally decided to phone the manager and see if it was okay to use my paper ID as the secondary driver and Steve, who has picture ID, as primary driver. Yes, that was okay...whew! So we gave her our ID and she started processing our rental. As she is doing that, she mentions that there is a $13/day additional charge to add an extra driver...WHAT?! We've never had to pay extra to add an additional driver! She continued clicking away on the computer while Steve and I complained, trying to decide what to do. This additional charge was going to almost double the cost of the rental...well, maybe not double, but definitely add over $100 to the bill. We finally decided to say no thank you...and cancel our reservation. We apologized for taking up her time...and walked out. Nowhere on our confirmation email did it mention #1 that picture ID is required (granted, driver's licenses usually have your picture, I just happened to have renewed mine and hadn't received it yet), and #2 that there is an extra charge to add a second driver. I will definitely be sending an email to Thrifty Car Rental.
Back out in the truck, I looked up the phone number for Enterprise Car Rental in Langley and gave them a call. They had a compact car available so I reserved it...we'll be there within the hour. We had a rental car from there last Spring when we had to leave our truck at Gold Key Isuzu...I should have just rented from them to start with. Lesson learned. We picked up a little red Hyundai Accent car from the very professional team at Enterprise.
With half of the day wasted on that fiasco, we were home shortly after noon and Steve got to work right away on his plans for the day. With no rainfall expected tomorrow, he decided to give the trailer a "quick" wash. While he was doing that, I did laundry and cleaned inside, getting ready to put the rig into storage. It was a busy afternoon but by 4:00, we pretty well had everything done...things outside had been cleaned and put away and everything inside was ready for final pack up in the morning.
Monday, October 10...the day had come to put the rig into storage. We would have liked to stay longer but Fort Camping closes down for five days today in preparation for their winter guests. Things have changed so much at our favourite spring/fall camping spot (aka..."our home away from home"). They really cater to the winter guests coming in for 6 months (October 15 to April 15)....with a minimum stay of 4 months. And we recently found out that come next spring, the maximum stay is for 30 days and they will only offer weekly rates...no more monthly. It has become a very busy, popular park during the summer months!
It was just after 11:00 when we pulled out...I led the way in the rental car. We had no issues along the way, arriving at the blueberry farm where we had arranged for storage. As Steve backed into the spot, the passenger side of the trailer sunk into some soft mud...there had been so much rain lately that the ground was getting pretty soft. He ended up pulling forward and moving over onto firmer ground...but the damage had been done...the nice clean tires were now caked in mud. Oh well...
After paying Ron, the property owner, and getting the codes to get in and out of the property, we were on our way to Chris and Angela's home in Coquitlam. The wonderful smell of turkey cooking in the oven greeting us...Angela was preparing her first Thanksgiving Dinner in their new home.
Mom and Dad (Lucy and Luigi) lending a helping hand...Those are Lucy's homemade pumpkin and lemon meringue pies on the counter (beside my glass of wine LOL)...
Steve is supervising from the living room...
Happy Thanksgiving to all of our Canadian friends and family!
