Tuesday July 22nd to Sat Aug 3rd 2013 - Aldergrove to Burnaby

Tuesday July 22^th  to Saturday July 27^th

The rest if this week was spent recuperating from the accident and cleaning the rig. We enjoyed meeting some people around the resort and spent  lovely evening with a group of Sikh men who invited us over for some ‘hot stuff’ and conversation… great evening. They brought out some roti and spicy dip and chicken etc ….  Very nice guys. We also took the opportunity to do some ‘wedding’ shopping and planning and organizing a ‘cyber’ shower for the happy couple. On Friday we went to some friends in White Rock for dinner and they gave us a quick tour of the area. Beautiful! Lovely dinner and it was great catching up with friends from Derek’s work. We will hopefully have them over for dinner when we move to Burnaby.

On Saturday we packed up and moved to Burnaby-Cariboo RV resort (site 34) and were set up around noon, so time to walk to Lougheed Mall to scout around. Decided to get the stitches out off Janice’s  forehead so after a mad dash by taxi back to the RV, pick up the truck, and get to an after hours medical clinic… finally got the stitches removed and Janice feels much much better… just a bit of concealer and nobody will notice the scar.

Sunday July 28^th – Saturday Aug 3^rd

Okay.. you go first Derek

This week we spent some time heading down to Vancouver on the Sky-train to visit good friends Dave and Mark, who made us more than welcome, despite some personal challenges they are facing.  Also saw another good friend Mich who came to the ‘rig’ for lunch. Had a lovely visit and promised to see each other again before we leave.  Also went on a 12km walk around Burnaby Lake and picked (and ate) wild blackberries all the way round… Lovely.!! We had hoped to spend a short time with Evan and Kyle this week, but it was not to be. Quite disappointing, but he is so very busy and stressed, getting ready for the big day, which is the reason why we are here, we are excited ourselves to see our oldest child wed… and to someone we love too!!  How lucky we are.

Blackberries everywhere

We did manage to get a metal storage box for the bed of the truck and we did some more ‘wedding prep’ shopping and some preparation for having visitors in the trailer (first will be Braden and Grant next week and then Derek and Lin in early September).

Janice still suffering some pretty bothersome concussion symptoms, but happy that she is in one piece and on the mend. On Saturday night Dave and Mark invited us to join them to see a Pride week play (Eleanor Rigby, The Untold Story) … it was musical presentation, with dancing and a narrator and was excellent… totally enjoyed it. We took the Skytrain back to the RV park and were both rather desperate for a loo, when we were stopped in our tracks by a huge black bear standing right by our rig…. Not sure who was more shocked, us or the bear. It was a staring match for a few seconds, but yogi decided to just lumber into the woods behind our trailer and we took a nosedive inside, fighting each other to be first for the loo!!! (Janice says it was a close call when she saw the bear!!!!!)

The best ones were always up high

Lovely trees en route

Turtle hanging out in the sun

Got all our ducks in a row

White Pigeon

At the RV site with and ice cream treat

Time to relax on the roof after the walk

Gazebo in front of our RV site

Site 34 Burnaby-Cariboo RV resort.

Friday Juky 19-Mon Jul 22nd - Victoria, bike mis-hap and helmets

Friday July 19-Mon July 22nd - Victoria, bike mis-hap and helmets

Blue... taking a nap

Chico - Hello there handsome!!

We headed to the Ferry in time for the 10am and ended up getting the 9am ferry to Swartz Bay near Victoia on Vancouvef island. We headed straight to see Janice's brother Paul and his lovely partner Guellee. We were made so welcome, and after a lovely visit we headed to our B and B close by (Cottage Pirouette).  We then headed to the Rockland area of Victoria to catch up with long-time friends Norm and Sue who were our first close Canadian friends, when we first arrived in Toronto from UK in 1973. Of course none of us have changed a bit!!! And we had a great evening catching up on all the years since they moved to BC and also spending time with thir lovely girls and grandchildren... what a great evening.

Do I hafta get up??

Outside the Empress Hotel... minutes before the acciden

t

 

Great to catch up/ Paul,  Guellee, Chico, Pablo and Blue

Saturday morning, we planned on a 20+ km ride before heading back to Paul and Guellee's for dinner. Only a few km into our ride Janice was following close behind Derek as they wove through the streets of Victoria along the waterfront, when a woman, standing on the side of the road announced 'free donuts', which created a chain reaction.. Derek braked, Janice did not.... so she crashed into him and ended up knocking herself out in the middle of the road. Medically trained bystanders were great and refused to allow her to move until ambulance arrived and the paramedics took over.  The rest of the day was spent in hospital having stitches, scans etc. A bit sore but not beaten, (as the Elvis song goes she was "All Shook Up!!!) Guellee kindly picked us up,  recovered our bikes, took us back to change, and we headed over to their place for a delicious feast of oysters, scallops, bacon wrapped pineapple, garlic/lemon shrimp and wonderful conversation. They have three of the cutest dogs ever... Chihuahuas: Pablo, Chico and Blue!! Absolutely adorable.

Pikaboo - Pablo!!

Posing - Blue

WHO ME??? NAAA!!!

Great Garden

Sunday morning ... a  goodbye coffee at Paul and Guellee's and we took the Ferry back to Vancouver,  heading straight to the Society Restaurant in Yaletown, to meet three old workmates of Janice's (Bev and Kathy from Vancouver and Tiina from Ontario,  who was visiting Bev. It was a surprise dinner for Tiina to celebrate her retirement and birthday... great fun. A friend of Bev's (Bonnie) also came and she had made an amazing chocolate cake which we enjoyed back at Bev's condo after dinner.  After saying goodbye we drove  back to Aldergrove where Janice was most happy to see her bed. 

Feeding Frenzy!!

Monday her face was swelled up and discoloured, her body ached from head to toe, so she spent the day resting while Derek took great care of her. 
Still feel very lucky to be in one piece and hopefully with enough time to heal up before the wedding. 

On the Deck

Happy times - Newly stitched head! Before it went black!

Janice wanted to steal one!!

Do you think they would notice if I took this one Chico and Janice

Or this one?? Pablo and Derek

Who's there?????? - The whole crew!! Blue is the Dad.. Chico and Pablo are littermates

Time for a nap!

AWWW   ... Pablo

Paul with both hands full

Saying goodbye!!

Docking at Tsawwassen Terminal, Vancouver

Mount Baker looking ethereal!!

Janice, Kathy, Bonnie, Bev, Tiina Derek (Janice trying to hide her stitches with her hat)

Friday July 12 - Thursday July 18th.
This past week is not really much to report on, but  for the sake of completing our 'on-line diary' here we go.

Ellensburg Washington KOA

We left Deer Park, Washington, for our final trek into BC and stopped en-route in Ellensburg KOA, Washington. Just an overnight and we decided to eat out at the local Perkins... not actually too bad (after Janice got a replacement steak for the overcooked one). 

Love this Washington State Rd Name

Port Mann Bridge ... Canada Eh!

We left  early the next morning and continued on to Canada, crossing the border at Aldergrove, BC.... great border guard... friendly, chatty and from Ontario, so we sailed through without incident. Both of us felt a distinct "HOME AT LAST!" feeling as we crossed onto Canadian soil and we sang our way along to the Eagle Wind RV resort in Aldergrove where we have booked for two weeks. As anxious as we are to see Evan and Kyle, Evan is totally immersed in his research work for his PhD, so we have agreed to stay away, and leave him be, until the first week of August... it will not be easy, but a deal is a deal!! 

We needed to get back to Canada quickly to get some warranty work done on the 'condo' and will also use the pre-wedding time to catch up with the many friends and family we have in the area.  
During the first week we did get the work done on the 'condo' and had a bike rack installed on the back of the fifth wheel, so we have the back seats in the truck free to ferry people around and have room to put shopping etc. 
We also had the pleasure of having Kyles Mum, Aunt and Uncle over for a couple of drinks and snack at the 'condo' as they live locally, great to see them. 

Mon-Thurs July 8-11- Deer Park Golf Club and RV Park.. Near Spokane Washington

Mon-Thurs July 8-11- Deer Park Golf Club and RV Park.. Near Spokane Washington

Idaho Again!!

Some great scenery along the way

We were originally booked into this RV park for 3 nights, but when we saw it, we added an extra night. What an amazing RV resort. The drive up on Monday was basically a 220 mile trek along Interstate 90 through the rest of Montana and then across the northern tip of Idaho, before entering Washington State (missed the sign on the road)... Again we were struck by the beauty across this huge country... miles and miles of mountains, valleys, farmland etc. 

Some more views from the car window

The RV resort was further North of Spokane than we expected, (some 50+km) but WORTH IT!!!! This place is a perfect spot for a week or two to escape the city and golf.... the resort is part of a golf club complex. The RV area is set out like a regular community, with HUGE lots, long driveways and lovely patios and street lamps. We were in site 110 and loved it.

SITE 110

AGAIN

On Tuesday we decided to go into town and do some shopping but were surprised to find that prices were not cheaper than Canada, so we didn't get anything, but the day was not wasted as we enjoyed window shopping and as an added bonus found somewhere to get Janice's broken hearing aid fixed... finally. Totally delighted! Also bought a pair of perfect shoes for the wedding. Very happy. We got back to the resort in time to fit in a short round of twilight golf. It is a fairly long course (over 7000 yds) so we only managed to get in 13 holes, also due to the fact that we were taken by surprise when they turned the sprinklers on to water the course!!!!

TWILIGHT GOLF

On Wednesday the RV resort organizes a group round of golf ($20 each plus a cart... so we were off golfing again. Got matched up with some great guys, and enjoyed a full 18 holes, followed by a LONG shower and BBQ'd dinner.... great day.

View from back of RV

On Thursday we had a 'catch-up' day and did several loads of washing, including mats etc and did some emails and basic administrative stuff, getting ready for our final push into BC in 2 days. Really looking forward to being in Canada for a while, especially looking forward to the big wedding and seeing all our kids together. 

Getting ready to leave ... Want to stay longer!!

Our 'Street' in Deer Park resort

Bye Bye Deer Park