We're Home

A glorious sunny day as you can see by the pictures.

and we missed it!  Either in an airport or a plane all day.

We left Greg's at 4 a.m., spent an hour and a half at the Comox airport, two hours flying to Calgary, then six hours at Calgary airport, four hours in the air, and arrived at Pearson at 8:30.  Home by 10 p.m., tired but happy.

A great trip - thanks Greg.

Our Last Full Day

We found out this morning that Freija (Norse Goddess of War) had demolished the top of our Skip-Bo box.  She was appropriately contrite.

Supposedly a mix of Border Collie and Coon Hound, she looks more like a Greyhound from the front shoulders back.  But a great pet for the family.

After Mardi drove Chloe to school, we headed for Duncan to meet Wayne and Judy for lunch.

Spent some quality time getting up-to-date and reminiscing about "the good old days", like when we, at ages 5 and 7, would hike up the escarpment and be gone all day.  And built forts to watch for Germans, as the Harvard trainers roared overhead (when the war ended I was 8 and Wayne was 6).

Or the time we shot a hole through his dad's garage wall with this gem.

Just pop a cannon cracker down the barrel, light it, add a marble, and do some damage!

Wayne offered to let me fly the gun and ammo home to show Roger, but I decided I would rather avoid jail time.  Got away with the original crime - why push my luck?

That gun is over 70 years old.  You have to make another trip west to see it brother.

After saying adieu to Wayne and Judy we headed a bit north to Chemainus, the home of murals.  For those of you who were along for the ride on our Alaska trip this will be a repeat.

The first one we saw was unique.  Three dimensional - the cart is outside the building.

My favourite.

Another three dimensional.

The Goddess of Earth.

Chemainus was bypassed by the highway, but ensured its economy would thrive by having murals on virtually every building, making it a "must see" tourist destination.

On the way back north we stopped in Ladysmith.  Barbara and Jo-Ann spent their hippie days in a communal house here.  Back then the harbour would be filled with logs being shipped to other countries - not any more, just driftwood on the far shore.

We catch our plane at 5:35 a.m. tomorrow.  The early flight allows us to have six wonderful hours twiddling our thumbs in the Calgary airport waiting for our connecting flight to Toronto.  I may, or may not, be in the mood to give you a final update - you might have to wait for late October and our Myrtle Beach/New Bern sojourn.  We'll see.

Pacific Rim

For me this was a highlight day - a return trip to Pacific Rim Park on the extreme west coast of Vancouver Island.  For Mardi it was nice scenery, but too many hours in the car.

If there was a day when we needed good weather, this was it.  And the Gods smiled!

Our first stop, after two hours of driving, was Cathedral Grove.  Probably among the oldest trees in British Columbia.

I found the root structure of fallen trees to be particularly beautiful.  Like works of art!

We carried on to the coast and stopped for lunch in Ucluelet.  Started with a Baileys and Coffee to warm up - a few minutes later the waitress asked if I wanted a refill, before clarifying that it would only be the coffee part.  Damn!  Then, clam chowder (more like stew) and a smoked salmon and shrimp clubhouse sandwich.  Awesome!

Took a couple of pictures while we were there.

Had some fun watching two crows take the menus from the table stands and throw them on the table or on the ground, and then try to lift the tupperware containers out so they could get at the jams.

Next we headed north to the beaches.

And watched some surf board action.

Driftwood was everywhere on the beaches.

Pacific Rim Park has gone to some lengths to recognize our military veterans.

And this next one really got me thinking.

It's on the site of a former radar installation from the Cold War and recognizes Canadian Korean War Veterans.

Greg has commented on how some of the west coast folks have asked him why we need our military.  Greg tends to leave war out of it and concentrates on their contribution to controlling civil unrest, floods, fires, rescues, etc.

The Cold War reference above made me think that if we didn't have our air force patrolling the Arctic, by now Russia would own our northern territories.  It's bad enough that they own the U.S. elections!

Enough of that.
Next up was Long Beach.

And finally, a couple of scenes along the way.

It was a ten hour day, but a great experience.  

Tomorrow we head to Chemainus (the town of murals) to meet Wayne and Judy Hilts for lunch.  Wayne was my first and best friend when I moved to Fruitland 76 years ago.

OK, before we start I have one more bit of information for those who are sworn to secrecy.  While Greg was stuck in the elevator his phone was dead.  And nobody would answer the elevator emergency phone.  Thank God there were other guests in the hotel to rescue him!  Otherwise, who knows?

So, today we headed south to Duncan for a girls' rugby challenge.  Each team played 4 games, of 10 minutes each.

The coach (Greg) fired up the team.

And away they went.

Some more encouragement.

The weather was mostly cooperative, making the fact that I forgot the umbrellas not a big deal.  But it did rain hard for the last game (which Mardi and I spent in the car).

Grandma enjoyed the action.

And the after game congratulations.

Sarah-Eve, who Chloe knows from Borden, traveled with us to the games.  Here, she is recovering from an asthma attack.  Good rescue work coach - she got  back in the game.

A two hour drive back home so we didn't stop to take pictures, but this will give you an idea of the awesome landscape.

We stopped for dinner at The Union Grill and Grotto on the way home.  Excellent food (and wine).  Chloe recovered from the games with a Grotto Shake and a Shirley Temple.

It was almost dark when we got this picture of four young deer.

A busy day, but well spent.  Tomorrow we're off to Tofino on the west coast.

Search and Rescue

Notice: You are receiving this blog because you have been given the highest security clearance according to the Official Secrets Act.  If you were not supposed to receive it, do not read it or severe penalties will result.

We stayed overnight in a Sandman Motel suite.  Very nice.

And everything worked.

As we were leaving the room this morning, Mardi asked Greg if he had his key.  He said "no" - he decided to leave it in the room.  No problem.

So we get to the lobby and Mardi and I exit the elevator and check out.  Greg stayed on the elevator, intending to go directly to the parking garage.  The door shuts.

We wait for the car to show up.  About five minutes later the elevator door opens and there is Greg - you need a room key to get the elevator to leave the lobby and he doesn't have one, right?  So he had to wait for other guests to call for the elevator and deliver him back to the lobby.  Still no key so he can't take the elevator to the parking level.

No problem.  He got off the elevator and headed down the stairs.  Another few minutes went by.  Turns out that when he got to the parking level he was on the outside of the locked entrance doors.  So he had to wait for another (trusting) good Samaritan to let him enter the garage and retrieve his car.

Addendum:  You all remember - he will be training Air Force Search and Rescue personnel on a new aircraft the force will be obtaining.  Hope they don't need a room key!

So....we eventually head out to Whistler.  Another grey day, which turned to rain by afternoon.

Nevertheless, we had a good day.  Checked out the Village Stroll which took us through the whole of Whistler.

Including to the Olympic rings.

Another ski hill, so lots more crazies (who ended up with a chill and dirt splatters up their backs).

The weather didn't allow many scenic photos, but we did get a couple.

After arriving back in Vancouver we contacted Mardi's friend Eric Pontin and had dinner together.  As you can see by the clothes, we walked to the restaurant in the rain.  A great visit nonetheless.

Then it was off to the ferry for a 2 hour cruise back to the island and two more hours on the highway back to Comox, which is my excuse for saying good night now.

Tomorrow we spend the day (likely in the rain) watching Chloe play four games of rugby.  The things grandparents choose to do!