Mostly sunny. Chilly in the early morning at home. Warm in the afternoon near the Lower Mainland / Vancouver area. A bit humid / muggy on Vancouver Island.
Well ! HMPH ! Apparently Noodles the dog sleeps in her people's bed ! Last night about 11 PM Bo walked to our bedroom and jumped up on the bed. Noodles followed him. She lay down on the foot of the bed ... and didn't move for eight hours. HA HA
HA !
We were up at 7 AM ... much too early for me ... and were heading out at 9 AM. We drove west on Highway 3 to Hedley, then Princeton, and through Manning Provincial Park, arriving in Hope about 11:45 AM. The Hope to Princeton section of Highway 3 is one of the most difficult and dangerous roads in BC, especially when towing a large trailer. West of Hope, and all the way to the Lower Mainland, the road is much easier, but the traffic is congested.
At Hope we stopped at Flying J to refill with diesel and have lunch. The Flying J at Hope is a difficult fuel station to access and egress with a large truck and trailer, somewhat in defiance of the raison d'être of Flying J's. After refuelling, having lunch, and walking the dogs we were on our way again about 12:30, heading west from Hope on Trans-Canada Highway 1. Between Abbotsford and Langley we turned north off the highway and crossed over the mighty Fraser River on the Golden Ears Bridge into Maple Ridge where we delivered Noodles to her owner, arriving fifty minutes earlier than planned at 2:10 PM.
We had Noodles for a bit more than twenty-five hours, and transported her about 400 km. / 250 miles. She was an easy dog to care for, and travelled well. Goodbye and good luck, Noodles.
We were back on the road again about 2:45 PM. We crossed the Golden Ears Bridge over the Fraser River again and headed for the BC Ferries terminal at Tsawwassen, arriving about 3:45 PM, an hour and a quarter earlier than planned, and two hours before our ferry departure. So ... we had an afternoon snack. I walked the dog ... twice. Joanne polished her nails. I read. Joanne did Sudoku puzzles. Finally we boarded our ferry about 5:30 PM and the ferry departed about ten minutes late at 5:55 PM, heading for the Duke Point ferry terminal near Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. I am typing this at 6:30 PM on the ferry ride.
As expected the ferry arrived at Duke Point on Vancouver Island about ten minutes late, at 7:55 PM. Once off the ferry we headed south on Trans-Canada Highway 1 towards Victoria. By 9 PM we were in Duncan, checking into the Falcon Nest Motel. < sigh >
I was tired and hungry. We had a late supper and went to bed.
Monday ; Duncan to Mill Bay back to Lower Mainland by ferry then to home
Mostly sunny, humid on Vancouver Island, very warm.
This morning we received a phone call from our client at 9:30 AM. He and his family were already at the RV park where we were delivering their trailer. Initially they had expected to arrive mid-afternoon, but ferry scheduling difficulties forced them onto the 5:15 AM ferry this morning from Tsawwassen to Vancouver Island. SHEESH ! They had spent the night at a motel in Abbotsford, about an hour away from the ferry terminal, so to be at the ferry terminal on time they would have left the motel by 4 AM. SHEESH !
They were towing a boat with them from Osoyoos, and they had already been to the marina at Mill Bay, and their boat slip was not yet ready. I was determined to finish this trailer towing job without a hitch, so as not to fall into the same category of "unreliable service provider" that the marina obviously fit into. I failed !
We hurried to leave the motel and get to the campground. Out of the motel in Duncan by 10 AM, south on Trans-Canada Highway 1 to Mill Bay we were at Beehive Campground by 10:30 AM. The client and his family were not there, having gone back to the marina to expedite matters with their boat slip. We were almost finished setting up their trailer in their campsite when they returned. They wanted the trailer repositioned slightly in the lot, and while we were repositioning it, the client noticed a tree branch scrape on the side of the trailer, from front to back. Really ? ! ? I had scraped the trailer against a tree branch ? ! ? REALLY ? ? ? ! ! !
< HUGE SIGH > Yes, yes ... I had ! I offered an adjustment to our fee to compensate for the tree branch scrape. The client generously declined my offer. BUT ... this is the first time I have had a trailer towing client complaint. And while a tree branch scrape against a trailer is really just little more than a hard scraping off of the wax on the trailer, and some tree sap residue left behind ... it's visible ... and I'm responsible ! I'm very hard on myself, and this tree branch scrape makes me feel like SHIT !
We finished setting up the trailer, the client paid the bill ( with a modest tip included ) and we were on our way by noon. We returned to Duncan, and drove through the parking area of the motel we had stayed in last night, looking for where I might have scraped the trailer against a tree branch. And ... < sighing heavily > ... I found it. There was a tree that I drove beside, knowing that the trailer would lightly contact some leaves overhanging the very narrow and difficult to manoeuver driveway around the building. Hidden just inside the soft leaves was a cut tree branch protruding out to the very edge of the leaves !
F*** ! ! ! < taking deep breath > A lesson learned, for sure !
We continued north to the town of Ladysmith where we stopped in a shopping mall that had a Bank of Montreal. I deposited the cash payment that I had received into the bank's ATM, then refilled Lanoire with diesel again. There was a sign to a nearby municipal park and we decided to go there for a picnic lunch. Transfer Beach Park was a lovely seaside park with a beach on one side of the road and a picnic area on the other side. We sat on a park bench and had a wonderful, leisurely lunch of Sun Oven "smoked", candied salmon that I had prepared last week, on crackers with whipped cream cheese. MMMMMM ! While Joanne returned our picnic items to the truck, Bo and I went for a short walk in the park and ... WOO-HOO ... picked wild Blackberries.
I filled a small plastic container with Blackberries to eat later. Bo ate his harvest as we went along. HA HA HA ! At first he didn't realize that I was picking fruit, but when he spied some low hanging Blackberries, it was like a light bulb going off in his head. HA HA HA ! Well done, Bo ! I hope he got less Blackberry bramble scratches on his face than I got on my hands and arms. OUCH !
We continued north towards the ferry terminal at Duke Point ( Nanaimo ) hoping that we might be able to get onto the 3:15 PM ferry. Our reservation was for the 5:45 PM ferry. We arrived at the ferry terminal at 2:45 PM. The 3:15 PM ferry was already full.
< sigh > It was a long three hour wait in a hot parking lot ! We were on the ferry at 5:45 PM and arrived back at Tsawwassen ( Vancouver ) at 8 PM. We headed east on Trans-Canada Highway 1. At 9:10 PM we stopped at a rest area near Abbotsford and had a very late picnic supper. It was dark by the time we left the rest area at 9:40 PM. At 10:30 PM we stopped at Flying J in Hope to refill Lanoire with diesel again.
From Hope to home it was raining and foggy. Very tough driving conditions in the dark on Highway 3, a dangerous section of up and down and around mountain road. Dodged one deer. Almost ran off the road when an oncoming tractor trailer's lights blinded me going around a tight curve. Arrived home alive, but very tired, at 1 AM.
Tuesday ; Mostly cloudy, mild, some rain.
This morning our neighbour Barb came over to tell me about her visit to the veterinarian in Osoyoos yesterday with her little dog, Ceilli, with the ear infection. The ear infection was well on its way to resolution by the time she saw the veterinarian, thanks to my "diagnosis and treatment" of Ceilli on Saturday. My "diagnosis" and "treatment" were both spot on ! Well done, Daniel.
A neighbour ( and friend ) who serves on our RV park's Board of Directors came over to see us this morning to complain on behalf of the park's rules and regulations committee about our Bupkis Barbecue which we had left on the edge of the street in front of our yard with a "FREE" sign on it after the park's recent park wide yard sale. Not surprisingly ... I went ballistic ! ! ! In keeping with the age old tradition of shooting the messenger, I ... < ahem > ... expressed my concern with our rules and regulations committee ignoring the figuratively speaking "rapes and murders" that have been taking place within this community for ten years, with "blind eyes" turned to them, while figuratively speaking "theft of candy bars" is dealt with promptly ! Stop being so perpetually petty, people, and focus your obligations to this community on issues that really matter ! ! !
< taking a deep breath > We immediately removed the barbecue from the edge of the street. So quickly that our neighbour had to move her golf cart from behind our truck to keep me from driving over it as I took the truck to load the barbecue onto it. You want the barbecue removed ? ? ? There ! ! ! It's ****ing removed ! ! !
Gord and Marcie came over to visit for awhile in our gazebo. Gord's mesothelioma / lung cancer treatments continue and while still ill, he is much healthier than a month ago. About a litre ( quart for my American friends ) of "stuff" is drained out of his chest tube twice a week.
We removed the fifth wheel hitch out of the truck, and I stored all our trailer towing materials, including our little generator and air compressor. I did quite a bit of online work on the computer, including the somewhat complicated process of moving the payment funds for transporting Noodles the dog from my u-Ship.com account to my PayPal account to our bank account < rolling eyes >. I did job accounting for the dog transport job and the trailer transport job. < shrug > Reasonable profits ! The ferry expenses were huge, about $400 !
During supper and after we watched Amazing Race Canada, Trailer Park Boys, the finale of Car Crash Couples, and of course ... Shipping Wars !
Wednesday ; Sunny and warm.
Joanne left early this morning, with Gord and Marcie in our minivan, to take Gord to Penticton Hospital for his first chemotherapy cycle. They returned home about 5:30 PM. The day had gone reasonably well. And after his first chemotherapy session, Gord was feeling better than expected.
I made some phone calls this morning, taking care of business, so to speak. I phoned a Similkameen Trailer Towing client, our insurance agency regarding our home insurance policy renewal, and the local pharmacy to order prescription refills. I took Bo and Ozzie for a walk, and dropped off a book at the library in the clubhouse. Back at home
I treated Ozzie's ears again. His ear infection is persistent, and I suspect it will be
( already is ) a chronic condition. He spent the day with Bo and me. And he was in a cranky mood !
I "exercised" our little generator. I did some maintenance work on the truck. I took photos of Bupkis Barbecue I and posted online ads to get rid of it. I did a 6000 km. inspection of the truck, in preparation for our upcoming trip to Haida Gwaii. I read.
I napped. I repeated as necessary. HA HA HA !
After Joanne returned home and unloaded some groceries, we took Bo to the dog park. Yesterday a five foot long rattlesnake was captured near our lodge and relocated. HMPH ! Haven't seen too many rattlesnakes in here in recent years. As the population of the RV park has increased over the years, the rattlesnakes have become more scarce. They're "shy" and would rather not have to encounter people and pets.
Thursday ; Sunny and hot. Joanne cooked a beef pot roast in the Sun Oven today. Late in the evening we had a thunderstorm with high winds, thunder, lightning, and heavy rain.
This morning I did some yard work, then Gord and Marcie invited Joanne and me over to help them with some paperwork related to Gord's illness. After that was done
I installed a new hand held shower hose and mount in their shower stall.
After lunch I had a nap and Joanne went into Keremeos to run errands. After she returned home I went fishing. Caught two Rocky Mountain Whitefish. HMPH ! Can't seem to catch any Rainbow Trout this year. Within twenty-four hours of placing "free barbecue" ads online, I had five e-mail responses, one phone response, and Bupkis Barbecue I was gone. We took Bo to the dog park. I worked on the computer, creating a spreadsheet of all of Gord's recent medical appointments in Keremeos, Oliver, Penticton, and Kelowna, along with mileage travelled, to be submitted to the Saskatchewan Worker's Compensation Board. Easier said than done. Marcie's records keeping ... < ahem > ... wasn't as accurate as it could have been. Joanne created a schedule of Gord's upcoming medical appointments for them to follow while we're away for a month.
Friday ; Mostly sunny, warm.
After getting up early to walk Bo and put the garbage out Joanne came back to bed and we slept late this morning. This afternoon Joanne did laundry. I went online and deleted all the ads I had placed to get rid of Bupkis Barbecue I. I paid some bills.
I updated my prescription records and medical expense files.
I spent much of the afternoon trying to resolve the computer problems that we have been experiencing. We have been having great difficulty with online functionality.
I made many unsuccessful attempts to download Google Chrome to see if that would work better than Internet Explorer. Then I tried to download Windows 10 to see if that would work better than Windows 8. The download is still taking place, so I don't know yet if that will help.
Saturday ; Sunny and very warm.
Overnight I had downloaded Windows 10 to my ( primary ) laptop. I spent much of today configuring and experimenting with Windows 10. Yes, yes, it has solved our online functionality problems. Leading me to believe that Microsoft has essentially abandoned Windows 8 and Internet Explorer. HMPH ! Never did like Windows 8 anyway !
In the evening I worked on monthly computer maintenance on my primary laptop ... AND ... dug out my secondary / spare / backup laptop, and initiated a Windows 10 download to that laptop as well, since the Windows 10 free download period expires in less than a week.
DSK
No comments:
Post a Comment