October 10, 2005

October 10, 2005

Abbotsford to Harrison Mill to Burnaby / Vancouver, B.C.

YEAR 2 DAY 115

 

Happy 51st Birthday to me !

 

Well ... I wish it were so. Actually, I felt pretty miserable today, particularly the first part of the day.

Today was cold, with heavy rain for most of the day.

This morning Joanne prepared pancakes as a special birthday brunch for me. Thank you, my love. After showering, regular morning chores, and pancake brunch, I put on a raincoat to go outside and do preventive maintenance in the cold rain. I hate cold rain. If I wanted cold rain, I'd have stayed in Ottawa ! After preventive maintenance, I refilled the fresh water holding tank, and drained all the waste holding tanks. I disconnected and put away all the sewer hoses and connections, the electrical cord, and the fresh water hose. I had to climb up onto the roof of the trailer and sweep off a thick layer of fallen leaves from the tops of the slides before retracting them. The wet leaves stuck on the slide tops like they were glued down. By the time I climbed down off the roof, I had been working outside for so long in such horrible conditions, I was cold, wet, and feeling totally miserable. I got warm and dry, but the miserable feeling persisted all day. I hate preparing to travel on bad weather days. Usually, we can stay put on bad weather days, and wait for improvement, but some days, like today, we have to travel due to commitments or appointments.

We departed Heritage Valley RV Resort, and drove down Sumas Mountain. The steep, winding mountain road was wet, and covered in slippery leaves. I had to shift Dee-Dee into 4 x 4 mode to get adequate traction. It was a tough ride down the mountain. Once down Sumas Mountain, instead of turning south on Hwy. 11 to pass back through Abbotsford, we turned north on Hwy. 11 towards Mission. At Mission, we turned east on Hwy. 7, heading for Kilby Farm, a heritage farm and restaurant where Joanne had made reservations for an early Thanksgiving dinner. We stopped at Hatzic to refill a propane tank. More work outside in the cold rain for me, removing the propane tank from its compartment, waiting for it to be filled, then reinstalling it into its compartment. Bah, humbug ! We continued east on Hwy. 7 to Harrison Mill, then found the Kilby Farm, Store & Restaurant. It’s an interesting restoration of a 1920’s farm and village. The restaurant was somewhat reminiscent of the restaurant near Bird’s Hill Park that Sharon and Bud took us to in the summer of 2004. The farm and village are similar to Pioneer Farm near Austin, Texas, where we considered a Work Camper job last January. We had a pleasant Thanksgiving dinner, served by a pleasant, but incredibly inept waitress. Worst service we’ve had in a very long time. It’s not as if she wasn’t interested in providing good service, she was just poorly trained and clueless, and certainly not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Before and after dinner, we browsed in the gift shop adjacent to the restaurant, looking for a suitable gift for Dwight and Jennifer, to show appreciation for them allowing us to use their guest room this week while the trailer flooring is being replaced. We didn’t find anything that we thought was suitable for them.

We left Kilby Farm, and headed back west on Hwy. 7. We were either going to return to the Trans-Canada Hwy. down Hwy. 11, through Abbotsford, or take a ferry across the Fraser River at Albion, west of Mission. As I was driving, and Joanne was studying the map, we realized we could stay on Hwy. 7 all the way into Burnaby / Vancouver. The TCH 1 follows the Fraser River on the south side, and Hwy. 7 follows the Fraser River on the north side. We stayed on Hwy. 7 all the way into Burnaby. It was slower than TCH 1, but we weren’t in a rush, and finding the Wal-Mart in Burnaby was going to be easier from Hwy. 7 than Hwy. 1. We stopped in Pitt Meadows to fill Dee-Dee with diesel, then found our way to the Wal-Mart in Burnaby.

We did some shopping in Wal-Mart. Joanne packed everything we need for the next few days, while I removed the stove cover. It needs a bit of paint touch up, and I thought I might as well get it done over the next few days while we’re waiting for the trailer. I did today’s accounting and journal entry. Joanne prepared a very late, light supper for us. Our Thanksgiving dinner at the restaurant was more of an early supper than it was a late lunch.

After supper, Joanne presented me with a birthday cake and card, and sang Happy Birthday to me. WHAT ? ! No candles ? ! HMPH !

DSK