April 19, 2005

April 19, 2005

Union Bay to Powell River, B.C.

DAY 306

 

Another sunny, warm day. Finally ! We deserve it !

This morning we drove to the Post Office in Union Bay, bought some Canadian stamps, and mailed our personal income tax and company fiscal year end data to Eric Pryor, our accountant in Ottawa. We drove back to the trailer parked behind the The Highwayman Pub, and prepared to leave. We got hitched up, said goodbye to Hein who was working in his motorcycle repair shop behind the bar, and headed out on Island Hwy. 19A, north to Courtenay and Comox. At Courtenay we stopped at a Wal-Mart. Joanne went in to replenish supplies, while I unhooked the trailer in the parking lot. I took the truck in for an oil and filter change, then hitched up to the trailer again < sigh >. We ate lunch while still parked at Wal-Mart, then continued driving through Courtenay, to Comox, and the ferry terminal. While still in Courtenay, we stopped to fill up with diesel, and to refill a propane tank. By then it was time to head for the ferry. Onwards, through Courtenay, then through Comox.

HOLY SHIT ! ! ! SNOWBIRDS ! ! ! All nine, in formation, smoke on, 50 ft. AGL, screaming by right over the windshield as I drive towards the ferry terminal ! For my American friends reading this who don't know what the Snowbirds are, they are the Canadian Forces Aerobatic Team, flying little Tutor jets. CFB Comox is adjacent to the Comox ferry terminal, so I guess the Snowbirds are stationed at CFB Comox this week, getting ready for an air show somewhere nearby. After paying the ( outrageous ) ferry fee, and driving into line waiting for the ferry to begin loading, I stood beside the truck, slack jawed, like everybody else, watching the Snowbirds practice / perform right over head, and out over the water. What a bonus !

After crossing the Strait Of Georgia to Powell River, we found our way to Willingdon Beach Campsite, on the edge of Powell River, right on the ocean, the Malaspina Strait. It's a very lovely campground. A creek runs right beside our trailer site, on its way to the ocean a few hundred feet away. We got settled in, then went for a long, leisurely walk along the beach. We took Bo for an obedience session, then had supper. I did today's accounting, downloaded the last few days worth of photos, then worked on today's journal entry.

DSK