We are waiving goodby, finally to Connie and Barry to whom we are very grateful for looking after our house

Our Granddaughter Elise - I know it is out of order but I want the picture for the back of the book I am making

July 18, 2012 - 8:45

After many delays we are finally on our way.  The sun was shining and very warm weather in Campbell River.  We drove to Courtenay to fill up with gas as the prices are much cheaper there.  We saved 10 cents a litre by doing so, significant savings when you have two tanks to fill and one being the motorhome.  Weather in Courtenay was very cold, had to wear a sweater, only slightly warmer in Nanaimo while waiting for the Ferry.  We got the 12:45 Ferry from Duke point and had a very pleasant sailing. 

When we arrived in Vancouver it was really warm and sunny, about 23.  We drove to Tynehead RV Camp, it’s a Good Sam park.  The park itself is quiet but it is next to the Transcanada Highway so traffic noise was pretty constant. The spaces are quite small, they are drive through but when the slides are out theres is barely room to move.

We met Dalton’s stepbrother John and his wife, Lauren at the Keg in Guillford for dinner, it was really nice to see them as we had not been together in close to 2 years.  They came out to give their approval on our motorhome, they approve.  Next day we had a bit of shopping to do, breakfast out as we hadn’t shopped before we left, really felt like holidays as we also had a sleep-in.  Didn’t get up until 8:00, unheard of for these Hagells.  Went to John and Lauren’s for the day, and of course a wonderful dinner.  We always eat well at Lauren’s table.  Dalton’s stepsister, Linda came over as well, had a great visit with everyone  We never left until after 11:00, travel home was much better as traffic was very light.

July 20

Left Vancouver at 10:45 and it is now 12:20 and we only made it to Abbotsford.  Traffic is moving at a snails pace.  We think there was an accident as they sent us off the freeway and they had a sign saying “Accident Scene” however, there was no sign of anything.  The traffic just reinforces the fact that big cities are not for us.  The fact that the rain was coming down in torrents didn’t help either. It has lightened up somewhat but still not as pleasant as it should be.  Who knows what time we will get to Chilliwack, the next stop on our journey.

We did make it to Chilliwack only to find that our water pump did not work.  We found an RV Service place and they put in a new one.  All fixed now, we went to see Mary and Jack Hindle, they had the grandchildren so it was a good opportunity to get to see everyone.  Had a nice visit, everyone was well.  Our visit was short and sweet as we hadn’t been to see Dennis yet and he was now home from work.  It turns out that Dennis and Mary & Jack only live a few blocks away from each other.  We had a lovely visit with Dennis and Val, Dennis bbq’d.  Val’s brother Albert was also there so it was a really lively, and interesting time around the dinner table. We finally got to meet Dennis’ dog, Cody, and is he a big one, part Newfie and part Burneese(sp) Mtn. Dog, he is still growing.  The RV would have fit in his driveway but there was a big walnut tree and the branches would have gotten in the way so we just left it parked on the street.  We both slept like logs.  The neighbourhood is pretty quiet and the yards are all really nice.  Lawns are all mowed and the flowers are really beautiful...smells good too.

Dennis and Val