A Memory From The Road

One year, after spending five months travelling the back-roads of Mexico avoiding, as much as possible, the gringo dominated areas, Norma and I were heading back home. We were always in a hurry at this point because as usual, we had pushed the time we were allowed to be out of Canada and had only a couple of weeks to get home.

We were in a toll booth / rest area /  snack bar stop on the quota road and I was stretching my legs a little. I walked past an ambulance parked at the curb with the driver/paramedic leaning on his hood eating an ice cream bar. As I passed he said something to me. My brain automatically went into translate mode as I struggled to understand what he had said. I caught a couple of words but they did not seem to connect together or make any sense. I stopped and looked at him, asking him to repeat it which he did. Now I was in a bit of a panic! I did not understand him. Suddenly I realized what I was hearing! He was speaking English!! He was asking me how we enjoyed Mexico and how long had we been there. We had a long conversation with hin wanting to know everything. Where had we been, how long, were we going to come back, everything. He asked how safe we felt and I gave him the answer we always gave... we feel much safer in Mexico than we do in the US and always have. He was a very interesting guy, studying to become a doctor and was taking the chance to practice his English. I had been away from English for so long that it sounded like a foreigh language!

My Short Vacation

 I completed my little trip! I was gone for two weeks. I took the SUV, not the motorhome but I had my son build a platform in the back long enough for me to lay on when necessary or convenient. I ended up using it four nights in rest areas and it worked great! I spent two nights in Vernon, BC in a hotel and attended my friend's Celebration of Life. Several of my friends from back in my Union days were there so it was nice catching up with them. There was a lot of smoke from forest fires in the air and it was HOT! 33C or 91F. Not too hot for those used to it but very hot for the rest of us. The Celebration took place in a rented hall and then Val invited us to the house for snacks and a little wine,

The next day I headed towards Alberta to visit my Niece Robin and George for a few days. They have been out to visit me a few times since Norma passed and it was definitely my turn to go there. We spent a lot of time reminiscing and catching up. We had some great dinners at home and I took them out once for dinner and once to a local craft brewery. It was a it of fun but the next time I so, I will probably fly.

On the way home I stopped in Kamloops, BC to visit our old friends Ken and Rusty from Terrace, BC. I spent a couple of nights catching up with them and we also had a nice visit from their daughter Cheryl and her husband, Tim. It was really a great time. 

It was a slow, smokey ride home from there with very slow traffic on the Trans Canada Highway. The ferry deposited me in Nanaima too late to continue home because I don't drive in the dark any more so I parked in a convenient rest area overnight and drive home Wednesday morning, It was so nice to be home to my recliner and Kelly's cat who was not pleased that I had up and left her for so long! It took a couple of days but I think we are friends again! Over the past two weeks I was up earlier and talked far more that I have in several years. It was a different but very welcome experience!.

*** EDIT***  The bills are in and my little voyage cost me about $2,100 total for just under two weeks. Most of this was gas, hotels, meals and ferries. I only spent two nights in hotels, a good thing because hotels that used to be $70 per night are no $200+. Dining out has also increased too much. I really don't know how people of average means can travel these days.

Housekeeping and News

 I was just doing a little housekeeping on the Blog and discovered many comments that had not been posted and were "awaiting moderation"! I have not checked the comments section of settings in a very long time so if you made a comment and it did not get posted, I am sorry, it was my fault. I have now read all of them and posted many. I will try to watch closer in the future.

 In recent news, I will be heading to Vernon for the weekend to attend a Celebration of Life for my old friend Muff McMurphy. Muff and I met in the mid 60's when I joined the BC Telephone Company and liked each other right from the start. Our wives became good friends as well and we have all remained friends ever since. We stayed in the same RV park (Cocopah) in Yuma, AZ together for many winters before Norma and I headed off to explore Mexico. Muff passed from a stroke a few weeks ago and his friends and family are getting together on Saturday the 25th to raise a glass and share some stories!  

 Muff sailing off Florida

Summer's Almost Over

Before it feels like it has really started, I can see an end to summer! I haven't been doing much noteworthy. The fence at the front (oceanside) of my property needed replacement after a few decades of exposure to the salt air breezes. It is at the top of a 12 foot retaining wall so it is a safety issue to keep it in good shape. 

I arranged for my son to head up with a couple of his workers a couple of weekends ago and by luck, he had about 100 feet of black chain link left over from another job so they could do it right away. It was a fun weekend. They set the posts the first day and then stretched the chain link in the next morning. I was prepared to take them to the pub for dinner but then I offered to make dinner so we stuck around and spent the evening around my outdoor fireplace burning the old fence and trading stories. It was a great evening and we all went to bed early.They only stayed the one night but it was nice to see my son, we don't get together often enough. It cost me $2500 but that was cheaper than hiring a local contractor to do the job, and I will get a lifetime warranty with it! LOL 

It's Going To Be A Busy Day

The wood fence at the front of the house that Brooks built for us a couple of decades ago is rotting out and falling down! Norma did not follow Brooks' instructions and piled dirt along the bottoms of the boards and posts, causing rot. The fence runs along the top of a ten foot retaining wall so replacing it is a safety issue! 

 

Brooks and his crew are arriving at about noon to remove the old fence and install a new four foot black chain link replacement They will do the removal and set the posts today and then stretch in the new chain link and re-install the rolling gate tomorrow before returning home to Shawnigan Lake. I will take them to the Riptide Pub for dinner tonight. This is going to leave a mark on my bank account!

Porch Repairs

Brooks built our porch in 2016 so it has hit ten years old. There has been a problem with the main support posts sinking into the ground with the two outside ones having sunk about four inches and it was becoming very noticeable. I called a local contractor and he gave me an estimate of $7,000 if all went well and more if the posts or footings had to be replaced or if (horrors) he had to dig down to hard-pan which could double it. I called Brooks and he knew he could do it for a lot less so he organized a trip up with one of his employees.

They arrived at noon on Friday after a three hour drive and started right in. They used a laser level to see exactly how bad it was and then started digging down to the footings to see what was going on. There were two possibilities, 1) the footings were sinking into the soft, damp soil or 2) the footings were stable but the wood posts were rotting off at the bottom and giving way to the considerable weight of the structure. The latter proved to be the case which was actually the best case scenario as long as the rot did not extend too far up (which it didn't).

 They dug around all three footings and used jacks to raise the porch to an inch above level. They then cut the bottom foot off all the posts, poured quick setting concrete into each hole to raise, enlarge and reinforce the old footings and temporally supported the porch to let the concrete set overnight. It was about 7:00 PM when they quit for the night.

I fed them a dinner of Greek Salad and authentic Mexican Red Snapper Veracruzana from a recipe I found and modified to most closely match the delicious version we ate several times in the beautiful Mexican Gulf city of Veracruz. We washed it down with a nice bottle of Merlot. After dinner the three of us sat at the kitchen table and Brooks and I shared many old stories of his mother, something we have never previously been able to do. We covered old serious and humorous stories of her Union and Political organizing days as well as our Mexico travel adventures all fuelled with a 1/2 bottle of very nice Single Malt scotch, a very thoughtful Christmas gift from Penny's son Mike and daughter in law, Erynn. There are a thousand stories yet to cover but they will wait for another time. It was an amazing evening in so many ways! We were all tired and went to bed long before midnight.

Brooks and Kevin were up at 7:00 AM, shooting levels and making sure everything was still good. They placed piers on top of the footings to keep the wood well away from the ground and lowered the deck. One post had to be shimmed a tiny bit but the deck is now within 1/8 of an inch from level. Perfect. Probably good for as long as I will be. They stopped for a breakfast of poached eggs, potatoes and toast and were gone by noon.

The top photo was taken when it was new, the rest are of the current repairs. 

The Peeing Boy

The Peeing Boy!

Norma's parents had this Peeing Boy beside the pond in their yard for many years! When they passed, it found it's way to our yard where there was no pond but he spent his time here in Norma's flower garden. Brooks and LindaLee always wanted the boy but Norma would never part with him. Well, they have now been working on me and I finally relented and hauled the surprisingly heavy statue down to their place on Monday. LindaLee had purchased a submersible pump for it and Brooks soon had him peeing once again! I must admit he looks far more at home in her pond than he did in what is left of Norma's flower garden.

 

 

62 Years

 62 Years!

A Kitsilano High School classmate of mine decided to organize a lunch at the White Spot beside our old Kitsilano High School in Vancouver. We got together for our 60th reunion just two years ago but age is starting to catch up to us and he thought we probably shouldn't wait until our 70th in 2033. So I booked a hotel room for September 19 & 20. I never get to Vancouver any more so it will be fun seeing some of my oldest friends. I also managed to score a "cheap" hotel room for two nights at the same Steveston Cafe and Hotel where we stayed two years ago for $225 per night (breakfast & parking included). Downtown hotels are running $500 - $700 per night for that weekend. It will still be a $1,000 weekend with ferry, gas and meals but what the heck, I can't take it with me!

The Steveston Hotel (formerly The Sockeye Hotel) has been around since 1895 but has recently had an extensive renewal / upgrade and is very pleasant inside.

 

 Here is an old shot of Kitsilano High with the White Spot Drive In Restaurant in front. Taken in 1966, three years after I graduated. Best shrimp Sandwiches in town!

 

 

Final TV Post And A Trip!

The TV guy came back today with all the parts he needed to move the dish to the other end of the house. We had a short discussion on running all the wire in the attic instead of inside the rain gutters but he said new company rules did not allow him to go into attics for insurance reasons. I don't like it but that's the way it is. Anyway, not his fault and I was very happy with the signal he got in the end. A "perfect" signal strength of 95 and 11.1 dB on the new, smaller dish. I am happy but if that cable causes the gutters to plug up, they will be hearing about it.and getting a bill.

In other news:

I drove down to Shawnigan on Sunday for my Daughter In Law's 50th birthday party. The bad part was sleeping in the back of my car which is not as comfortable for my 6' 4" frame as I had hoped. It was all my fault as the couch I usually sleep on was vacant, I just wanted to try the back of the SUV for future reference. I discovered two things: 1) If I drink more than two beer, I have to make several trips to a big tree overnight and, 2) There is no way to open the rear door of my SUV from inside so these trips to the tree required crawling to the side door and exiting from there. The good part of the trip was was buying a pint of fresh oysters on the way home. I hate patting myself on the back but I cooked them to absolute perfection - done but not overdone! There were enough for three meals of fried oysters and mashed potatoes! Tonight I am watching the Blue Jays four game sweep of the Yankees! One inning to go and it is 8-5. Life is good!

TV - Part 2

The Shaw Direct repairman was here yesterday and agreed with me that my dish needs relocating to the far end of the house. He also noted that the mount on the old dish was so badly rusted that the whole assembly needs replacing. Unfortunately, he did not have the required materials with him and will have to come back in a week.

In order to get me by until then, he tweaked the dish a little to get a stronger signal. The path is still going through the tree branch but the signal is now strong enough to give me the minimal required signal strength and it is working just fine (fingers crossed).

Here is the path to the three Shaw Direct satellites as seen with the app on his phone. Only one satellite is obstructed but that must be the one that carries all the channels I watch.

"Well, HERE's yer problem!"