The view here, at the kind of smelly , outside dock, (the birds live here all winter), is magnificent, we look out at Vancouver island, the mountain range, and the Glacier above the Comox Valley.  The docks will be cleaned once its June, but we choose the one furthest the the end, which is not bad at all.    I woke up this morning by two crows, chatting right above my head, i am thinking they are first or second cousins,several times removed, of the birds in Brentwood,they seem to know me.

Its such a beautiful day, bright sun, the water is sparkling, we had showers early in the morning, i highly recommend the showers at the marina here, plenty of water , nice and hot for 2 dollars for 5 minutes, more then enough time!!!      We headed to “NANCY”S BAKERY, famous for the cinnamon buns!    We ended up ordering a full breakfast, and Don bought one of the cinnamon buns to share, it basically covered the whole table!!!! these things are huge!!!!   Janice and i went to the store, bought a few things, and looked around a bit, enjoying the sun!Nancy’s bakery, with a wonderful variety of breads and baked goodies to enjoy and buy. Continue reading →

Hauling up anchor, early morning, in Pender Harbour. Continue reading →

This is it!!   We are actually underway!!!     But, before the take off ,many ,many things had to be done, bought, fixed, oils changed, hydrolics checked, everything cleaned, strange looking things hauled out of places that have not been visited for a few years (!!), i found beans, lentils, sprouting stuff, from long ago, and as i have no intention to start doing all that, out they go!!      Vacuumed all the storage areas out, and then started shopping!!!        I had made lists, many lists, then started new lists, and by the time a month had passed, i was actually down to one list!!!!         We know from last time, what things are hard to find in the North, and which groceries are a small fortune there.      The biggest challenge will be greens, fresh veggies, fresh fruit, but several spots , heading North, have a decent supply.       We applied for our USA sticker, good thing to do beforehand, and then , we were asked by our friend John , if we would consider “lending” our boat for a full inspection, by SAR folks, and some trainees!!   Well, sure!!!   what could possibly be not right or not there!!!         I raced into Victoria , to buy fire buckets, stainless steel, with red (yes!) lines, we went over the whole boat and it all looked to be perfect!!      The day came, sunday morning!      very nice folks entered our boat, oohed and ahhhhed, about her, we felt proud, they were carrying important looking books, and lists…….    well, we did well, but….. they asked us for our registration papers, well sure!!! here they are!!!      They were out dated, not up to par, of darn, i had never written in the change of address , so we never received the new form, so that was a stripe against us, then we showed ,proudly, our boating cards, at least, i showed mine, Bert looked and looked, tore his wallet apart, looked again, no card!!!   oh, oh, not good!!   Then the question came, where do you have your second ,50′ heaving line??   second one???       oh oh, so there you go, three things against us, later on i found the second line, and found Bert’s card in his wallet, and phoned Ottawa and renewed the registration, John was qualified to reinspect us, he kept walking past our cockpit, on way to his boat, dangling the little sticker, “i have something here”, he would chant, good grief, i REALLY wanted that sticker now!!    Even bribed him with cookies!!!!       Now Curtsy proudly shows her sticker, and we are on the way.      At the moment we are in Lund, tied to the inside of the outside breakwater.   Its a beautiful day, bright sun, our friends are here, Don and Janice with their sailboat  WATERFORD.      Rita and Vaughan are following with BARAKA BASHAD.

Tulips on the table, all is good!!! Continue reading →

I believe  i already wrote about this beautiful little church , out in Metchosin, but it needs repeating, this time of year, a very special thing happens ,around this little church. The church is ST.MARY THE VIRGIN,  the little church is surrounded by a two acre field of  white fawn lilies ,where ever you look, there are these gorgeous little flowers.   These flowers are also called Easter lilies, they can be white or pink i believe, depending on the soil they are growing in.   Here and there, grape hyacinths peek out from under the lilies, and the bright yellow of some daffodils finish the beautiful picture.   If you can, try to go there, Metchosin is lovely anyways, walk through the church yard and then go for tea at the nearby restaurant.

RED POINTED TULIPS ,JUST BARELY OPENING UP, A LOAF OF BREAD,A GIFT FROM A FRIEND,STILL WARM FROM THE OVEN THIS BREAD,TO BE ENJOYED WITH DABS OF GARLIC BUTTER!!! THE STOVE IS PURRING SOFTLY,THE WIND IS STILL SO COLD ,RAIN IN THE AIR, BUT, MAYBE SUN NEXT WEEK!! THE BOAT IS SLOWLY GETTING READY FOR THE BIG JOURNEY NORTH ,THE JOY TO BE OUT THERE,TO SEEK AND TO FIND ALL THESE WONDERFUL WILD PLACES WITH BEARS,WHALES,SEA LIONS,TO GAZE INTO THEIR FACES WHILE SITTING IN MY KAYAK ,AT WATER’S LEVEL,OH SO CLOSE,BETWEEN SEAWEED ,SHELLS ,SMALL FISH AND CRABS,WHICH ARE HOLDING ONTO THE KELP ,FILTERED SUNLIGHT STREAMING THROUGH.

Just about there……..HOME!!!!!! Continue reading →