Canada

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A Vancouver Island Winter

I will always be grateful to Croft and Norma for making my winter on Vancouver Island, and especially the renovations, possible!

It was incredible to step out the door in the morning and be hit with the smell of the sea, and I never tired of watching the waves come crashing onto the shore during stormy weather. I might have bitched and moaned about the rain, but that’s what we Canadians do; we’re never happy with the weather. 🙂 I enjoyed staying at a house, with access to a bathtub and a washing machine I didn’t have to share with a park full of people.

So many small miracles happened this winter–Miranda’s complete transformation, my unfathomably cheap weekend in Tofino, discovering Victoria with a local, making a true friend out of the last person I would have imagined getting close to, and surviving nearly six months at the gas station–that it’s now obvious why the six months flew by: they were FULL!

There’s just one more thing I want to say tonight, even if it’ll surely get me into trouble: happy 65th birthday, Croft! 😀

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Sweets and Water

My neighbour Mrs. H just brought me this awesome departure gift:

From left to right: chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cake (I think), raisin bran muffins, banana bread, and sugar cookies with sprinkles. Yuuuum! The expectation is that I throw everything in the freezer and ration it out until I get to Dawson. Let’s see if I achieve this. 😀

As for water, I don’t like to drink from my fresh water tank, so the only way to bring the Campbell River water with me was to put it in jugs. I bought a fresh water jug when I hit the road and it just hasn’t worked out since the water starts to taste plasticky very quickly. Moreover, I lost the lid the last time I was at the Chasm. I decided to just chuck it and see if Canadian Tire might have some collapsible water jugs. They did, and they’re BPA free to boot!

I didn’t intend to buy two colours; I simply didn’t notice that there was a choice. They fold up beautifully and have a lifetime guarantee that they will not split or leak under normal usage.

Here they are filled:

They can be laid on their side on a counter for easy pouring since the spout has an open and shut valve.

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Getting Ready to Go

Today is my last full day in Campbell River. I was up at 9 this morning and loaded up the car with everything that needed to go to the dump. Croft went with me and showed me how it’s done. The tipping rate was very reasonable, $4. I then ran a few errands and came back home to run some bleach through my fresh water system and then fill up the water tank.

While I was doing that, I set up the trickle charger on the truck battery so it’ll be fresh for tomorrow. I then loaded up the car with the bicycle and auxiliary propane tank. I want to run another dishwasher load, so I haven’t put away the water and sewer hoses yet. Once that’s done, the outside stuff will be finished except for having to pack up the levelers.

Now comes the fun part, relearning how to pack the inside.  There aren’t nearly as many places as there used to be to just wedge stuff. That’s how I used to pack the study, by tipping the chair onto its side and turning it just so between the desk and the storage chest. It’d then be wedged so tightly that I could trust it to hold the iMac box in place.

Getting out of this spot is going to require a lot of sharp manoeuvres so I should know even before pulling out if everything is secure or not. If I can get out of here with a minimum of fuss, the rest of the drive to Dawson will be very easy. 😀

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Last Shift!

I’m just about to head out to do my last shift at the gas station!

I’ve been on an earlier schedule since I got back to Victoria and thus have been getting a lot done in the mornings. My big contract has had extra hours for the past couple of weeks and I’ve been doing two to three hours of work first thing in the morning before going to do my gas station shifts. After doing some work today, I went outside to finish tidying up the workshop and start putting things away in my exterior storage compartments. The tools and related items are a disaster, but at least they are all corralled into one bin.

Someone finally came to pick up the bucket chairs today after weeks of chasing him, so tomorrow I can do a dump run in one shot. I have two mattresses, wood, and the wardrobe doors that need to go; I should be able to strap everything to the roof rack. After that, I’ll run a few errands and then spend the rest of the day prepping the inside and make sure that my laptop is synched to my desktop so that I can continue to work without interruption.

I’ve been getting weather reports from the Mainland to Dawson and everywhere has better weather than here so it’s time to go!

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And… They’re Home!

Croft and Norma are home safe and sound. Their winter in Mexico has left them tan and trim while my winter in Campbell River has left me pasty and mushy. Guess where I’d rather be next year. 😀

The driveway is packed solid with two cars and two 31′ motorhomes, but it won’t be that way for long. I am definitely leaving on Friday!

Weather forecast for Campbell River for the next few days: rain and heavy clouds with temps in the low to mid-teens.

Weather forecast for Dawson City for the next few days: sunny with temps in the mid to high teens.

I might have been laughing at the Dawsonites in January, but they’re laughing now!