Back in Lake Cowichan, busy with unpacking the Motorhome and appointments - April 4th - 13th

 We overnighted in the Walmart parking lot after getting permission, but woke up at 4:30 and squeezed into the ferry lineup for 5:15. Loading went smoothly, as was the trip across. Customs was a breeze and off we went on our way home.

Lunch at our neighbourhood pub, Jake's at the Lake. Other than unpacking the bare essentials we relaxed for a couple of hours before going to dinner at Pat and Darryl's next door. Thanks a bunch guys. We ate a love curry dinner and a great visit catching up.

We spent the next couple of days emptying everything out of the Motorhome. What a chore. Who knew there's so much stuff. Now the next chore is what to do with everything? Some of it we'll keep, some will go into our basement suite kitchen and then give aways :)

Sunday, Jason, Kristi and Amelia came to visit with their new puppy, Olaf Ryder Perry. Olaf from Frozen, Ryder from Paw Patrol. :) So happy to see them all after 3 months away. We got hugs and kisses from Amelia, she missed us too.

Jason power washed the sundeck, basement patio, hot tub and the sidewalk. He will do the driveway and other concrete stairs next time he comes. What a nice son-in-law! 

Meet Olaf Ryder Perry. He's a nine week old Golden Retriever. He figured out quickly that I'm in charge of the food so anytime I was in the kitchen, so was he. lol

What sore back Grandpa!

Grandpa took Amelia fishing on our dock. She's so excited with her new fishing rod and pink tacklebox.

Here comes trouble!

Grandpa putting another worm on.

Amelia lasted about 15 minutes, which is really good for her first time. Ray decided to try it after she came back up to the house and was so surprised that he actually had a 6" trout on that he lost. "There be fish out there matey".

Amelia's visit is never complete without a visit to Roy and June's playset next door. :)

Time to practice napping with Daddy.

The skies lightened up and the driveway dried off so Amelia was able to play with her sidewalk chalk we got her.

Prawn Pasta for dinner.

Shortly after dinner, they packed up taking a bunch of stuff I'd separated out for them and headed home at 6:30 pm. We were both exhausted and collapsed in our chairs. I will put all the toys away tomorrow and Ray the baby gates etc.

Monday, Ray had the first of many appointments before his surgery, otherwise more sorting of stuff.

Tuesday, finally I get my hair cut after 4 months. I think this is the longest I have gone without a cut since I had long hair years ago. :) The last of the sorting on the agenda. lol My housekeeper, Elvira spent 6.5 hours detailing the inside of the motorhome. She sure looks great.

The collision adjuster came last night and it will be $2200 to fix Ray's "oops" cracking the fiberglass on the rear corner of the MH. We will pay it, but they cannot get it in to the shop until June. They do have a driver that can come and get it and take it up to Nanaimo for the repair as Ray won't be able to drive for 8 weeks after his May 8 knee surgery.

Wednesday, time to shampoo the carpets in the MH before taking pictures and listing it. Ray headed into Duncan for his knee training session at the hospital. We went to the Chemainus Theatre with Pat and Darryl for the show Hurry Hard. The last show Ray will be able to see for a while with his knee surgery. Late night for us "old birds". Didn't get to bed until 10:45 pm!

Thursday, Ray had his eye appointment checkup first thing here at the lake and then we went up to Nanaimo for Ray's pre-op visit and my regular appointment with our family doctor. A bit of shopping at Costco and then to Jason and Kristi's for the rest of the afternoon and dinner. Unfortunately Amelia was overtired and spent most of the time either laying in bed or on the couch. She has a nasty cough that is keeping her awake at night so not getting enough sleep. Lots of puppy time with Olaf though. :)

Friday, more stuff for Ray at the Duncan hospital in preparation for his surgery. Busy guy. My gardener is here today to also help me get my planters up on the sundeck for the season. Spring is here!

While Ray's in Duncan, I got the "For Sale" ads done for the motorhome and went live. Several Used "towns" on Vancouver Island, Auto Trader and Facebook Marketplace. Within 2 hours we had someone who is very interested and came Saturday morning from Port Alberni to view. The motorhome looks great. Amazing how big it looks with all my stuff gone. :) Unfortunately the guy thought the shower was too small ....

FOR SALE

2011 TIFFIN PHAETON 40 QBH MOTORHOME $175,000 obo

This 2011 Tiffin Phaeton 40QBH is the perfect home away from home wherever your travels take you. Built on a Tiffin Powerglide chassis, this impressive diesel motorhome has been impeccably maintained and is loaded with premium features such as tile floors, stainless steel residential fridge with icemaker, convection microwave, stacked washer and dryer, King Size Tilt bed, fireplace, desk with chair, Dish Satellite System and more. Loaded with 8 solar panels and 10 gel house batteries, you are ready for those boondocking areas you always wanted to camp in. You can easily tow a car with the Roadmaster hitch. This beautiful coach is full of lovely touches such as a ceiling fan, door and window awnings, and an incredible amount of storage inside and out. 2 full slide-out trays in the basement make getting things out easy. This Tiffin 40QBH is waiting to make your road trip dreams a reality! 

·        10 new gel batteries September 2022

·        New slide toppers and big awning, August 2023

·        Captain chairs professional recovered September 2023

·        New Xantrex inverter, November 2023

·        New King Size Tilt Bed, February 2023

·        Two new TV’s in main cabin, February 2023

After attending to some chores, Ray with a dump run and I worked at prepping appetizers to take next door for movie night at Roy and June's. The rest of the afternoon we were able to sit outside on the lawn enjoying our lake view.

After eating appetizers, it was time to watch the new Mission Impossible. Great times.

Pat, Darryl, June, Ron and Roy, with Ray's knees. lol

Sacremento to Port Angeles, WA - March 30th - April 3rd

Saturday morning we left Sacramento at 8:30 for Redding, CA. Lots of rain showers for the first half of the trip. Pretty miserable. The second half the sun came out and the roads dried, a much better drive. We arrived at Redding RV Park shortly before noon, a quick set up and then off for lunch at Woody's Brewing Company. Great fish and chips and beer selection.

Next up we decided to go explore the Sundial Bridge over the Sacremento River, a few miles from  camp. Wow, what a bridge.  There were some people fishing today.

The sundial bridge really is quite a span to walk over.

The sun even came out for a bit.

After we walked across it, we noticed signs for the Glowing Wild Lantern Festival, that just started last night. Looks really interesting and we can see how amazing it would be lit up in the dark.  I checked on line for tickets and purchased two for later tonight.

We decided to go back to the RV and rest up for our evening adventure. Quite a bit of walking involved with 10 acres of lights, not to mention walking from the parking lot, across the bridge to the entrance.

Experience Glowing Wild Lantern Festival for the first time at the Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay Exploration Park, featuring 10 acres of illuminated wildlife displays inspired by Asian lanterns showcasing plants & animals from around the world.

We arrived back at 6:15 as our tickets were between 6 and 6:30 pm. Sun didn't set until 7:30 so we sat around for a bit waiting for dusk. Good thing we got there early as we were able to find a parking spot not too far from the entrance. They had live animal displays for the kids for the first hour until it was dark. We even saw skunks.

Ray took the picture of me below just as the sun was still shining on the "dial of the bridge". Notice I'm having a beer. lol We found a place to sit under cover as it was sprinkling rain. As the sun set, the rain quit and it was a beautiful evening.

As the sun set it was time to start our tour. We actually walked it twice to get all the differences in the lighting. Ray took over 200 pictures so it's hard to pick only some of them. lol

These bubbles hold up to 8 people that you can book in advance for $550! They serve you non-alcoholilc drinks and 2 pizzas. You can order alcoholic beverages but it costs extra.

They have laser lights with moving butterflys and other things throughout the walking about display.

They had lots of interactive displays for the kids. Below the Tree of Life only changed colours when people played the bongo drums and changed faster the faster one pounded the drums.

They also had several bubble machines for the kids.

This kid pretended the alligator was eating him. lol

A lot of the creatures had motorized parts.

This peacock's feathers would go up and down and then when up show different colours. Gorgeous.

We left the display and walked back over the bridge. So cool it's all lit up in red

Back at the motorhome for 9 pm. What an unexpected evening. Fabulous.

Sunday morning and we're back on the road for 8:30 am. Stopped for a brief fuel up. Ray only put in 20 gallons, as we wanted to fill up completely once we hit Oregon as it's so much cheaper. We made it to Seven Feathers Truck Stop just as the yellow light came on. Good judging Ray.

The sun's out on the California side but as soon as we got to the Oregon side it's somewhat cloudy. Roads were dry which is awesome. A lot more water in Shasta Lake this year than 4 years ago when we were coming home.

Mount Shasta in all her glory.

Black Butte

Finally coming down from Grants Pass.

After fueling up, we headed over to the casino parking lot where we dry camped for the night. First up though, lunch at the casino. We both ordered the barbecued spareribs (hit and miss on being dry and stringy on various orders over the years). They were surprisingly delicious. Enough for Ray to eat the remainder for his dinner tonight. Another day closer to home.

Monday, up early and on the road heading to Woodburn Oregon. There is a Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival not far from where we are staying .... more to see. It started out pretty chilly just above freezing while we were still in the mountains, but as we got down on the flats it warmed up substantially. 

The Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival is an annual celebration of spring, showcasing acres of breathtaking tulip fields in bloom. Located in Woodburn, our festival attracts visitors from near and far to experience the beauty of millions of blooming tulips.

Once we got to Woodburn, I purchased our tickets for the Tulip festival online for 2 pm. It's a warm 70F walking the fields. Gorgeous.

Lots of people everywhere.

Mount Hood in the background.

Ray up on the platform for a "long shot".

For those with a handicap they have a little tractor to take you around the fields, included with your admission.

They also have an amusement area for kids with rides, a wine and beer bar, food trucks and a farm store with lots of wind chimes etc. A great place to spend the afternoon in the sunshine.

Tuesday morning, off to Tacoma to overnight with Ray's sister Judy and her husband Milt. A bit of a traffic snarl getting into Portland that took an extra 15 minutes or so. We stopped at SpaceAge Travel Centre near Tuttle, WA to fuel up. They have a great diesel price at $4.69 per gallon. Not as great as Seven Feathers though at $3.69. 

We arrived at 12:30. Judy and Ray decided to take us all for a stroll in Port Defiance Park. What a beautiful place. They are lucky that the park is only a short distance away from their house.

Brother and Sister, Ray and Judy.

After a lovely walk, we went back to their house before going out for dinner at The Fish Peddler Restaurant. This is the same place we went last year. Delicious. Unfortunately our meal took forever to get served ... the "Ray" factor in place. I don't know if they lost our order or what. but almost everyone who came in after us were served first. You can imagine how that affected Ray. 

Back home for 7 pm and we all called it a night. Ray's back is such that he needed to get "vertical". In bed to sleep at 9. We are such fun. lol

Wednesday morning, we were up early ... 5 am. We waited until 7:30, then went inside to visit with Judy and Milt before pulling out of their driveway at 8:30. One more sleep! It was a beautiful drive for the first half an hour, but then it certainly clouded up and even rained before getting to Sequim where the skies lightened and we had dry pavement.

Crossing the Hood Canal Bridge.

We arrived in Sequim where we fuelled up the car and coach before we cross the border tomorrow morning. I'd planned to stay overnight at the Walmart in Port Angeles as it's only 10 minutes from the ferry. I saw signs posted everywhere "no overnight parking ... you will be towed!"

It's been 2 years since we were here, so I went into the store and asked. I was told that they've had problems with people leaving derelict RV's in their parking lot. I was able to give them our name, type of units and my phone number and we were allowed to stay. Otherwise we would have had to go into the ferry lineup on the street after 2 pm today where we would not be able to open our slides overnight.

After parking at Walmart we headed out to the restaurant across from the ferry terminal and saw the Coho Ferry coming in for the afternoon sailing.

After lunch we went back to the coach and hunkered down for the afternoon. We are ready to go home tomorrow.