October 5, 2005

October 5, 2005

Chilliwack to Burnaby / Vancouver to Abbotsford, B.C.

YEAR 2 DAY 110

 

Today was mostly cloudy and cool with occasional light rain.

I was up early this morning to take the truck to Canadian Tire to have the heater switch resistor replaced. I had the truck into the shop by 8:45 A.M.. While it was being worked on, I walked over to a nearby Future Shop to buy an Ethernet cable for the laptop. I was at Future Shop at 9:00 A.M., and they didn't open until 10:00 A.M.. I walked back to Canadian Tire and made some phone calls while waiting in their customer lounge. I phoned Sunbeam to find out what the wattage of our mattress warming pad is. I wanted to know, to consider how large an inverter I would need to buy to allow us to use the mattress warming pad when we are not plugged in to 120 volts A.C.. An inverter converts 12 volts D.C. to 120 volts A.C., allowing RV's to use 120 volt appliances using the rig's 12 volt D.C. "house battery". Next I phoned to get some information on Sunshine Village, a recreational property development just east of Hope. I saw their ad in the Real Estate Guide I picked up yesterday. I left a message. The truck wasn't ready yet, so I walked to a nearby Staples Business Depot and bought the Ethernet cable I wanted. By the time I got back to Canadian Tire, the truck was ready to go. !0:00 A.M.. Pretty quick ! I drove back to Cottonwood Meadows RV Country Club, hitched up, and prepared for departure. We were on the road heading for Vancouver by 11:00 A.M..

West on TCH 1, into Vancouver's suburbs, we found our way to MRO RV Services in Burnaby, arriving shortly after noon. The owner of MRO RV spent about an hour and a half discussing our desire to have the flooring in the trailer replaced, examining the trailer and existing carpeting, and preparing a detailed estimate. Unfortunately they didn't have the water heater electrical switch I need. While we ate lunch in the trailer, in MRO's parking lot, we decided to have the work done by them. We have discussed this project with quite a few RV dealers and service businesses, and decided we felt quite comfortable with MRO's expertise, and approach to the job. I phoned Dwight to ask if we could stay in the Atkinson / Lamb guest room for 4 days next week, then went back inside MRO to confirm an appointment for next Tuesday morning. The work will take 4 days. The trailer should be ready by close of business next Friday. Just before we left MRO I got a return phone call from Sunshine Village near Hope. I had a discussion with them about the RV sites they have available, and made an appointment to view them Saturday afternoon. We really like the Hope area, and this older park, with much more reasonable prices than the new developments, sounds quite interesting.

We were planning to stay in an RV Park in Vancouver, but after phoning all the Vancouver RV parks, we decided to stay in Abbotsford and "commute" as necessary. The prices of the RV parks in Vancouver are outrageous ! We left MRO and headed back out of Vancouver, west on TCH 1, to Abbotsford, about an hour away. While driving to Abbotsford, the RV park near Radium Hot Springs finally returned our call. Joanne spoke to them while I drove, and got the information we wanted. Pretty pricey ! Like the other new parks we spoke to or visited.

We found our way to Heritage Valley Resort & Campground, on a mountain side just outside Abbotsford. We had stayed here last spring. It's a secluded, wooded campground, with very reasonable rates. We registered, and got set up in our campsite. Joanne went to do some laundry while I had a brief nap. Just before supper, I did a couple of small maintenance jobs on the trailer. After supper, we watched a bit of TV. I phoned Dwight to try to arrange a visit with him and Jennifer some time in the next few days, but we couldn’t find a time that was suitable. We’ll see him and Jennifer next week. Joanne phoned her cousin Claire, who lives in a suburb of Vancouver, to arrange a visit. No one was home. I did today's accounting and journal entry, then walked the dog. Bo is always eager to be walked and fed at bed time. Going to bed is one of his favourite activities.

DSK