Tuesday, February 27, 2007







Well we were invited for dinner, but we mooched our way into a bed & breakfast too, ha!




Sat. Feb 25 - stayed overnight at Gus & Darlene's, we try not to drive in the dark & certainly not to drink & drive, so, they got us again. Before we know it, it's almost noon, so we're off up the road to meet up with more friends from our Yellowknife days, Armand & Ginette Maisonneuve. They're in a cottage for the weekend, at Seaview Resort, on the ocean. We find our way there & have a wonderful afternoon & evening with them & the cutest puppy we've seen for awhile! Their little American Cocker Spaniel, Toffee, was playful & very good, we are getting to like dogs now... (Of course we LOVE our 2 grand-puppies & they are VERY cute, so don't get jealous, Ubu & Norman!). Lots to catch up on here as we've not seen these 2 for about 5 years. Ginette is in the kitchen & feeds us all night long, pesto & cheese appy's, then shrimp cocktail, then salad, tabouleh, veggies & the guys barbecue pork medallions & then we stuffed ourselves more with fresh pineapple & squares, many burps!

Sun. Feb 26 - Slightly warmer today, 7 or so. Slept in until 9, as usual. The coffee was already brewing, & we enjoyed that with oranges, muffins & cereal. After a relaxing morning of visiting & then packing up before checkout time, we all went to downtown Qualicum Beach to walk around in the shops. Well Toffee & the men walked around outside & Ginette & I shopped, buying pretty little toe rings & doing more spying for pottery & glass ideas. Lots of that here, so lots of ideas! Not to let our stomachs rest for too long, we meet up with Rob & Kathy at Gary's Bistro for a YK reunion lunch. Even after 30 years, we still have lots in common & there's a few more grey hairs, but not many other differences! We say goodbye to all outside in the misty rain & head down island (we're catching onto the lingo here!) to Parksville to the Tigh-na-Mara resort & spa. We have a room booked for the night, its more like a ballroom, all high ceiling-ed logs. We take a walk on the huge sandbar out front, talking to a man digging butter clams (small, but look like the PEI ones). Back to the room, have a snack & head over to "the Grotto", the spa pool with mineral waters, the minerals imported from Hungary. It is very soothing, & the water feels very soft. There is the room temperature mineral pool (similiar to the Temple Gardens spa in Moose Jaw), the icy cold shower, & the hot hot tub. We do several dips in each & then shower up to head to the "Treetop" restaurant upstairs. We are told it is "robe attire" only, unique, there are only a few small groups. The food is "tapis", small portion appetizer style & right now it is "pay what you think it is worth". I think they are just opening & looking for some feedback on the prices. We order 4 items, 2 meats & 2 veggie/salads, all are very delicious & wonderfully presented. They actually bring a bill that has a zero total on it & you tell the waitress what you want to pay. So we rate them out of 10 & price them accordingly (as the prices are thought to be 10 each). We then go to the sitting room by the fire to finish our wine until they kick us out cause they want to close (at 8:30). Go back to our room & find the movie "Primary Colors" about the Clintons - well done.
Mon. Feb 27 - after a light breakfast we go for a run/walk separately in the Rathtrevor Provincial Park then shower & pack up. Gus has called to arrange a golf game with G & Rob, so we drive to Qualicum Beach in the light rain, but by the time they go out it is a lovely sunny afternoon. Darlene & I visit for the afternoon, while I do a load of laundry & we discuss computer programs, music downloads, etc. When the guys are back we say goodbye again & drive to Country Maples RV resort. It is dark when we arrive, so we cook a shrimp stirfry inside & enjoy reading until midnight. No TV, but great radio music.


We found our future home for the winters!

Fri. Feb 23 - G got the list of people who rent their trailers, 5th wheels, etc. out for the winter & we went around & looked at the ones on the ocean. Not too shabby, for 700 - 1000 you can rent a 40 ft trailer with a garden room added on, for the winter, on the ocean, just down the hill from the town of Parksville, looks good to us! So we plan to be back after a few more winters of travelling...Surfside RV resort, here we come. Went for a run/walk up to the town to get the lay of the land, then cleaned the RV out after being camped in muddy areas for the last week, washed laundry & had showers. Then up the hill to park in the town to walk around some more, find a few bargains, etc.

Continuing on the Mooch-a-Thon, we got ourselves invited to Gus & Darlene Gleims' (Mom's stepbrother - their parents got married in their 60's/70's & we inherited a wonderful family of 15 or so Gleims!) in Qualicum Beach. Gus' niece Judy & Heinz, who are spending the winter in Nanaimo, from Outlook, Sask. were also there, so we had a most excellent evening of reminiscing about family whereabouts & activities, and lots of world problems solved! Of course Gus & Darlene had a delish meal of wild pacific salmon, rice, steamed veg's, etc. after the yummy artichoke appy, all followed by Darlene's homemade cherry (from the neighbors tree) pie. Just a bit of wine was consumed with all this, all in all a great evening!


Friday, February 23, 2007







Well, the news this week is the weather & its our right to complain about it!
Mon. Feb 19 - after a breakfast for champions at the Roycrofts, we left for the most westerly of the west coast, to Ucluelet. Our plan was to explore this shoreline by hike & by bike. However, in any 20 minute period in this next few days, we experienced sunshine, hail bursts & rain storms! The drive was windy, some narrow roads with frost heaves, but actually very good compared to some we were on in the mountains in Northern California. Found an RV park on the wharf in Ucluelet, a cute tourist town on the coast surrounded by marinas, inlets & mountains. Checked out the local pub at the park, Eagles Nest, lots of locals there. Walked around town, then in for the night for barbecued chicken & coleslaw from the grocery store.
Tues. Feb 20 - we realized later that this was our 4 month anniversary! Squeezed in a hike on the Wild Pacific Trail around the shoreline in Ukee, inbetween rain storms. Then headed north for Tofino, stopping at Wickeninnish Beach & Radar Hill, again inbetween the weather. Walked around Tofino, a bigger tourist town with lots of shops & restaurants, many closed at the moment, as its inbetween whale watching & the summer season. Visited a glass art shop, learned about Kevin's business, he gave us some tips for fused glass, he has lots of neat products. Checked in at the Bella Pacifica RV park overlooking the beautiful MacKenzie Beach. Couldn't figure out the power, so went without. Cooked salmon steaks, asparagus & salad.
Wed. Feb 21- tried very hard to go for a run on the awesome beach below us, but decided not to get soaked. Gerry did get very wet outside still trying to get power, in to get dry clothes on & then drove into town to use the internet at Cafe Vincente. Window shopped & snooped in other craft shops. Ended up at the Dockside Pub on the lovely waterfront, planned on a drink, but it was lively & cozy, so we stayed for a dinner of curried rice & chicken & a tuna burger, after the Yam fries, delish!! That was energy for our work on our corporate year end, first time in an RV! But while this was going on our power miraculously came on...??
Thurs. Feb 22 - so, it looked like it was very bright sunshine out there when we woke up, but alas it was the sun shining on the @#$% 2" of snow on the ground!!!! Time to get off this side of the island, this is too much like the winter we are trying to escape! The road was wet but bare of snow, rained most of the way back to Parksville where there was no snow, yeh! Had time for a walk around the Surfside RV park after getting settled & met up with a couple out walking whom we got talking to & they invited us in for happy hour, to the trailer they are renting for the winter. We know some of the same people on PEI, small world!! G barbecued lamb chops & zucchini, along with the orzo salad we got in Tofino, another delish meal!

Wednesday, February 21, 2007







Roycroft portion of the Mooch-a-thon...& the crocuses are ready to open up here!

Fri. Feb 16 - left Victoria & another great breakfast at the Scarbro household...we'll be back! Drove north to Rob & Kathy's in Nanoose Bay, after spotting the cheapest gas along the way at Mill Bay, 90.9, thanks to Joanne's info. Parked at R & K's neighbors' driveway as R & K's is very steep, thanks Malcolm & Mary! Great reunion evening, the last time we were in the area was about 2001 with Mom & Dad.
We had copious amounts of rye & wine & sushi, salad, ribs soaked in apple juice for 5 hrs, got that recipe, similiar to the pigs tails Kathy taught me to cook in Yellowknife, yum! Lots to catch up on, kids, houses, retirement, friends, etc. Yes, you were all talked about, ha!! but it's all good!
Sat. Feb 17 - A most stunning day on the island, lots of sunshine. After a great relaxing breakfast, Kathy & I took Bailey the dog (the pre-dishwashing dog - see pic above!) for a walk in his favorite park in Qualicum, beautiful wooded hike. Then we had soup for lunch at Lefty's & checked out a few quilt shops as I was looking for advice, which we found! Rob & Gerry went truck shopping, & touring around the area. Back to their house to get cleaned up & go out for dinner for the crab special at Schooners Cove, great restaurant on the marina nearby. More copious amounts of liquids were consumed as we got into deeper discussions, namely the price/increase of housing in the area, for one...
Sun. Feb 18 - Rob, with his consulting business had to do a workshop all day, poor guy. Gerry went to check out the local driving range, while Kathy & I took a walk around the neighborhood, quite a diversity of houses/cottages, many being renovated. Great view from their house, see pic. they are on a peninsula near Parksville. We later did a drive out to some other areas nearby, even going into an open house in a new subdivision/community. Rob made a greek Saganaki (fried cheese) for an appetizer, soooooo delish! Rob & Gerry barbecued juicy steaks & Kathy made a healthy broccoli salad & twice baked potatoes. We viewed pictures of their trip to Portugal (looks beautiful) & Rob's work trip to Africa. We cooked up a pre-plan for a small group Yellowknife reunion in PEI someday soon...it was a wonderful visit!!

Sunday, February 18, 2007




Happy Valentine's Day!
Wed. Feb 14- spent a quiet day in the motorhome (parked in Westbay in Victoria), in the pouring rain, nice & cozy, catching up on computer/paperwork/reading stuff. Took a cab downtown to walk around, shop, do some errands - Gerry had his ears lowered by Gus, the 83 yr old Greek barber, been cutting hair for 70 years!! We met for a beer & appetizer at a pub, the rain had stopped so we walked back along a beautiful walkway on the waterfront, about 3 km back to the RV park, awesome route! Picked up take out at the nearby Fin & Gill, had our own wine with dinner & a relaxing evening.

Thurs. Feb 15 - another quiet day, but not raining as much. News catchup, then over to Dan & Joanne's to go to the Great Canadian Casino with them. Stayed for an hour, lots of laughs, discovered the Wheel of Fortune, an extra chance when you get a Spin! We all did OK, Gerry's gains covered my losses, D & J came out ahead, enough to buy lunch...:-)
Back to their house for an awesome dinner. Joanne has been reading the blog & thought that the Mooch-a-Thon was a contest & she felt under pressure to up the ante. So she brought out the gold rimmed china & her best cooking skills. She prepared a yummy salad, steamed veggies, baby potatoes & halibut & spinach wrapped in Phyllo pastry, so she gets **** 1/2 stars, she said there is always room for improvement! But really, we don't want anyone to feel any pressure, it isn't a contest & we love everything, it is after all, a mooch-a-thon & beggars can't be choosers!! Our friends/family all know we love to eat & cook, so anything works!
Danny wanted to go to bed before us, so we all went to the bedroom to undress/embarrass him, but he is unembarrass-able, I think? He had some self-inflicted pains, but felt better 24 hrs later....


Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Mon. Feb 12 - Joanne & Dan took us for a drive downtown to see the sights, check out the RV park we were thinking of moving to & then to the grocery store to stock up. We took over their kitchen & made a spinach strawberry salad, stirfry & G barbecued steak & potatoes, oh, it was delicious. J & D's daughter Carrie & Claire (9) & Tom (5) joined us for dinner also, what sweeties!
Tues. Feb 13 - after a relaxing morning of a great breakfast, coffee & visiting, we drove off D & J's ruined lawn from parking the RV partly on it (eek, we'll have to come back & fix it later!)...
:-( Picked up some food & moved to Westbay Marine Village in downtown Victoria, pictures above are our view out our windows. It's tight with the RV neighbors & in front of us are boats that people live in & lots of houseboats. You can get a houseboat built here for 385 -425,000. & lease the land for 16 years for $100,000. That's for about 1700 sq ft. But you live on the waterfront in Victoria, & have a moving house when there is a storm...! Different lifestyle, but good if you have a boat to park next to your house. It was a nice day so we got the bikes down & went for a long bike ride on the Galloping Goose Trail. Excellent paved route thru the city, very well used by people on their way home from work. Even though it is a day early, Thrifty's the grocery store had fresh lobster on special for Valentine's Day, so we got 3 for dinner, so delish!!






















Well, another week has gone by & here we are enjoying the warm BC weather.
I have added pictures to several of the last inserts/posts.

Thurs. Feb 8 - Walked up to Kim's office to see the digs, as it is only 6 blocks or so from Ruth's condo. Back to the nearby mall to see if there are bargains that can't be missed & of course there are! Ruth's daughter Bonnie, Andy & Nathan & son Murray, Sean & Julia come for a dinner of lemon pepper halibut that G picked up at Granville Market. Ruth baked squash with homemade cranberry sauce inside & a greek salad, all was delicious, as usual! Everyone is doing great with lots of news.
Fri. Feb 9 - packed up & Ruth drove G over to Tanya's to get the RV, load up for the drive to North Vancouver to niece Monique, Doug, Danielle & Michaela's. Easy drive in mid-day thru Surrey, Coquitlam, Burnaby on the Trans-Canada. Monique took us on a drive around their area & to Deep Cove, beautiful views, multi-million dollar houses on the water, lots of big trees, rocks, mountainsides. We even saw the street named for the family - Gallant Ave.! I walked to school with Monique to pick up the girls, back to their condo to enjoy an evening of relaxing, visiting & eating Doug's famous Asiago Chicken, gotta get that recipe when he finds it (it was lost & winged!). A band was struck up in the evening with G & Monique on piano, Danielle on Ukelele & Michaela on the recorder!
Sat. Feb 10 - Monique got us up & going early (9:30!) for a hike to Quarry Rock overlooking the Deep Cove area - part of the Baden Powell Trail. Lots of up & down, rocky, tree roots kind of trail, the kind that technical adventure mountain bikers like (Monique bikes or jogs some of this trail). Great for us for a hike, I would not want to be biking it tho, yikes! Awesome view at the end, see pic above, where we tried to make Gerry look tall. We have the most amazing day, sunny & warm with light jackets, no wind. G & I needed lunch & a rest after this, while Monique & Doug each went to coach one of the girls' soccer games. I walked thru another trail to watch & photograph Danielle's game & then back with home with them. Everybody cleaned up & we walked in the dark with a flashlight, thru the woods, down the road & up a hill to Northlands Golf Course to their restaurant for dinner. Calamari was shared & some pasta, salads & fish was enjoyed by all. A walk thru different dark woods to get home, we certainly had our exercise & fresh air this day, so all slept well.

Sun. Feb 11 - after a leisurely breakfast & coffee we drove north to Horseshoe Bay to catch the ferry over to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. A 90 minute trip, had lunch & watched the small islands & pods of dolphins pass by on a smooth crossing. Light rain, but days have all been around 10 degrees, very comfortable. We drive south on the TransCanada thru the Malahat (mountain range), roads are excellent, wide with shoulders, easy compared to the mountain passes in northern California. We arrive in Victoria at friends' Danny & Joanne's (Chantel's Godparents) just in time for happy hour, for a great evening of reminiscing, visiting, & eating serving after serving of appetizers, shrimp, chicken, rice, etc., etc., then chocolate cake, burp again! Other friends, Marie & George are also there visiting from Yellowknife, she has lots of info/pictures/maps of the now YK, many changes...

Thursday, February 08, 2007







Mon. Feb 5 - Gerry stayed home to have the day to himself (what's with that?) & recover from the Super Bowl party (now the truth comes out). Ruth took me downtown to walk around & shop on Robson St. via driving & then the Sky Train. We met nephew Tyler for lunch at the Red Robin & then he took us to his apartment not too far away that he had just moved into. There we met the pooches Lilly & Oscar, so happy to be catching up with everyone & all the news. Back to Ruth's to pick up the revived Gerry before heading off to our cooking class! Ruth goes to this class most Monday nights at a restaurant called Seasonal Experience in Langley. The theme tonight is Vietnamese food & we watch while chef Adrian makes Pho, then along with our wine we eat the Pho. Next he makes Curried Chicken with brown rice, then Banana Fritters with homemade ice cream. We eat a full serving of everything, ask questions, follow the recipes, it is all so delicious & such a cool concept, we had a blast! We learned alot & are all pumped to do more of this.

Tues. Feb 6 - Ruth went to meet with her clients in her foot care business, Gerry & I went for a bike ride around Surrey, found some great trails in a nearby park, a little hilly-er than we are used to, but we need lots of training before our coming up bike trip in Costa Rica...so the workout was great. Off to Ruth's son Murray & Elvira's for an awesome lamb roast dinner, where we met the young Sean & his sister Julia.

Wed. Feb 7 - today Ruth drove us all the way downtown (almost an hour), to the Tilley store to check out travel clothes & then on to Granville Island. What a cool place, tons of wonderful shops, restaurants & the fresh food market. We found the glass shops & looked for ideas that we can reproduce (or try to!), lots of really great stuff there. Had planned to eat dinner here, but found some great food to buy & take home, so we cooked a steak & squash dinner back at Ruth's. That way we can all have more wine...:-).

Wednesday, February 07, 2007







Sat. Feb 3 - Relaxed around for the am, catching up on computer stuff with the poached wireless in the neighborhood. Ruth took us down to White Rock beach, walked around the waterfront & shops then had lunch at a pub on Marine Drive. Cloudy day, but no rain until we are back inside. We drove next to Crescent Beach, looked around at the houses & beach area, then back to Ruth's for a walk up to the nearby shopping centre to pick up food & wine for dinner & the week. Then off to Tanya (Ruth's daughter) & Chuck's for salmon barby. Gerry cooked the 2 whole BC salmon, caught by a neighbor, yum, yum!! Then we were entertained with a fashion show by Kennedy (8) & Peyton (5), some hearts are going to be broken in a few years! It brought back memories of all the theatrical displays that used to go on in our house in years past....

Sun. Feb 4 - we gave Ruth's treadmill a workout to get in shape for the Super Bowl. Nephew Carl came & picked us up to watch the game at he & Kim's house which is also in Surrey, about a 15 min drive away, handy. There we joined the little guy, Justin & nephew John who had just flown in for a stay & their friend Blaire Deveau, also originally from Souris, PE. A great game was had by all, the food & wine flowed, bacon wrapped scallops & mushrooms, other munchies & Gerry made a seafood chowder with the base we brought from Mo's Seafood in Oregon. Great to see this bunch again, it's been a few years since we were here & it's always a good time. Kim drove us back to Ruth's & helped me get poor Gerry into the house, after he had a little too much of the sauce....:c)

Tuesday, February 06, 2007







Thurs. Feb 1 - Drove up to Port Townsend, WA, a gorgeous historic town on the coast, where you can take a ferry over to Keystone, Whidbey Island. Walked around the shops, grabbed a pizza for lunch, ate in the RV while waiting for the ferry. 30 min crossing, great view of the mountains. Drove up thru Whidbey Is., very pretty views, boating, cabins all along the way. Visited La Conner, a lovely little town filled with shops & boutiques. Didn't stop as we were all shopped out, crazy feeling! Hwy 11 from Burlington to Bellingham that Ruth suggested is a beautiful drive, would be awesome in the summer when the trees are in bloom. The last section is very windy, mountainous, narrow roads but excellent views of the ocean. Camped at Birch Bay Resort park, just across the border from Surrey, BC & heard CBC radio for the first time in months, so exciting! Cooked some shrimp & threw it in a salad, have to eat up our citrus & extra booze that we can't take across the border before we cross in the am!

Fri. Feb 2 - Cousin Ruth came down and met us at the park with the original documents regarding the purchase of the motorhome, that we need for the import/export that is required at the border. The process was completed without too many problems & after being so careful with our liquor quantity, they didn't even look in the RV, just wanted the GST that was due at the Can border! So we arrived in Surrey in time for lunch & were relieved, as we had expected to have to leave the RV in Blaine, WA until Monday. Unloaded the RV at Ruth's , took it over to Tanya & Chucks' for storage, they have more room in their yard & had a visit there. Back to Ruth's to relax & have dinner. Nice to be back in Canada & get a Globe & Mail!

Monday, February 05, 2007




Tues. Jan 30 - Since we didn't get out of town too early, after a nice walk down to Devil's Lake where we camped, went back to the factory outlets & became shopaholics for a few hours, found lots of bargains at Reebok & Eddie Bauer, what with Jan sales & no sales tax in Oregon.
Nice sunny day, up to 12 degrees, so quite comfortable outside. The drive north here from Lincoln City goes inland abit, nice farmland & dairy, several cheese factories - Tillamook brand is a big one. We're enjoying the grocery stores, lots of different fresh fruits & veggies & healthy dry products that we don't usually see. Of course Gerry has been lovely the seafood markets & we've eaten "sand dabs" that we call black backs, "rockfish" that is cod, but all fresh delicacies.
Stayed overnight at Ft Stevens State Park, a huge park at the northern most tip of Oregon. Lots of paved trails, so we went for a walk before dark, down to the beach. I did not take my camera & I'm sure I missed an award winning photo of the sunset over the shipwreck of the Peter Iredale! It was a beautiful red sky above the blue water, above the red sky reflection on the wet sand....oh, darn !

Wed. Jan 31 - Got out our bikes & took a ride on the trails at the park before taking off for the day to drive thru Washington. Just into the state, stopped for info at a visitors centre & talked to a very helpful fellow who had driven an alternate route with his RV up thru the state avoiding Seattle, which appealed to us. Very relaxed drive to our destination, thou it was dark when we arrived. Scenery inland is mountains in the distance, some narrow windy roads thru foothills type routes, beautiful lakes all along the way. Wineries, farmland, kind of a combination of all the landscapes we've seen up the coast. Stayed overnight at the Dosewallips State Park, just because of the name! It's along the Hood Canal, so lots of cottages, boating, & tons of campgrounds & RV parks.

Saturday, February 03, 2007







Sun. Jan 28 - Drove up the Oregon coast, about 1/2 way thru the state today. Beautiful rugged, rocky shoreline, awesome views with lots of rock outcroppings. Lovely seaside towns, with little shops & sights. The last 50 miles were sand dunes, the Oregon sahara desert! Some are as high as 500 ft, who would have known? In the pic above are some kids snowboarding on the dunes. Went to Jesse M Honeyman State Park, with plans to shower & then drive into the town of Florence for dinner. After we showered we thought we'd check out the Casino nearby & ended up having dinner there, gambling & staying in their parking lot for the night, another new experience for RV'ers! I lost, Gerry won back my losses, the cost of dinner (16 oz t-bone steak for 9.99 which we shared) & more, so that was a bonus. The casino was right in a big sand dune, also.

Mon. Jan 29 - Walked around the shops on the waterfront in Florence, nice bead shop & books 60% off! Lunch of clam chowder & delicious local shrimp at Mo's restaurant on the wharf. Heading north we stopped at the Sea Lion Caves to see the hundreds of Stellar sea lions in the cave 300 ft down on an elevator. Amazing sight, as well as many sunning on the rock ledges along the shore. Came upon the factory outlets at Lincoln City & by the time they closed it was dark, so stayed at Devils Lake State Park for the night.