About Me

Lee Creek, North Shuswap near Chase, B.C, Canada
We went full-time Rving in October of 2005! We retired from full time to part-time as of the end of 2015. Our present "small but comfortable" Wagon is a 2008 Camper trailer(TravelAir Rustler), pulled by a 2008 Dodge Dakota, 4X4.l. Our home is now a Gated Community Park, in Oliver, British-Columbia, Canada. I retired in 2005 and my Life Companion, Valerie, retired October 1, 2006 from nursing. We invite you to follow and share our new adventures and mishaps. Life is but an adventure full of dreams yet to be fulfilled!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

May 27 to 31, 2011; yard improvement

MAY 27, Friday, to Salmon Arm
More rain today but it did taper off in the afternoon. We went to Salmon Arm to get our mail and stopped at Rona where we bought 12X12 treated decking planks, a 10X10 Gazebo and a new BBQ with a side burner. We were also looking for chairs for couldn’t find what we liked. Since we had the car, we couldn’t carry all that stuff so I will have to come back tomorrow. We did come home with the gazebo in the box after laying down both seats in the back.


MAY 28, Saturday, back to Salmon Arm

It was sunny with cloudy period today! We went to Scotch Creek near our place to check out a couple places for chairs to no avail but did buy some soil for Val’s flower garden and dropped that off at home before heading to Salmon Arm. I picked up all the stuff we bought yesterday plus a sheet of ¾ plywood then came home and unloaded the load. I got work ahead of me! I started putting the BBQ together which took me a couple of hours then the gang came over for Happy Hour. Afterwards, we had dinner then Ron and Theresa invited everyone over for a fire so that took care of the evening.


MAY 29, Sunday, Lee Creek
SUNNY and warm, it got up to 19*C! We spent the day working in the yard. I finished putting the BBQ together, began digging and levelling the area where the gazebo is going and helped Val in her yard work. She finished off the rock half moon corner and planted flowers and little plants and finished off her pots too. It was a good and busy day. We said good-bye to Ron and Theresa who went back to the coast and we had Donna and Marcel over for Happy Hour. It’s been a great and warm day and after BBQ’uing steaks on our new BBQ, we relaxed for the evening. We will take pictures when everything is finish.


MAY 30, Monday, Lee Creek
Sunny and warm, we had a short thunder storm and a bit of rain last evening! I dug the yard where the deck will go, levelled it then built the deck. Our neighbour, Bob & Gail, came over and gave me a hand. We had the whole thing done by 3 pm. My back is sore but it feels good to see it finish. We all sat on it and had a beer. Just as we were finishing the second one, Joanne & Don and Pat & Rick, from Logan Lake, showed up! They had spent the night at Don & Joanne’s cabin and were on their way home and stopped for a short visit. Of course, Val showed them all her garden, the deck and the decorations in the house (trailer). They didn’t stay very long and after everyone left, I continued putting screws in the deck boards.
We had dinner then relaxed in front of the TV


MAY 31, Tuesday, Lee Creek
Another sunny day! I finished screwing the deck then we put the gazebo together and screwed it down on the deck so the wind won’t blow it away. It looks great and we took a few pictures. Jack and Mim stopped by and had a drink with us then it was dinner and relax time.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

May 24 to 26, 2011; Kamloops for repairs and home

MAY 24, Tuesday, Kamloops for repairs
We were up early and drove to Kamloops with “Bear” to get some minor repairs and warranty work done. Once we dropped the rig at South Thompson RV, we drove up to Costco to pick up a few things then went for lunch. In the afternoon, we hung around STRV as we had no other things to do. Later in the afternoon, we learned that we would have to spent the night there so we went out to a local pub, had dinner and watched the Hockey game and what a game it was! Excitement and suspense to the max.!


MAY 25, Wednesday, back to Lee Creek
They finished the work and after paying the bill, we drove back home to Lee Creek. As we walked inside the rig, we found the drawer under the couch had come off its track and was lying on the floor. We also found that the slide which had supposedly been adjusted was still out of whack and the water under the sink was leaking again. Frustrated and angry, I called STRV only to be told that they were short man power and we would have to drive back to Kamloops. Needless to say I wasn’t happy! Bob came over and we tried to get the drawer back on but the slide was not holding it. We tried to adjust the main slide only to find out it was out by one inch. I made arrangements with STRV to go in the morning then we went to Bob and Gail for happy hour and drown my sorrows. Jack and Mim were also there so we had a few laughs anyway.


MAY 26, Thursday, Lee Creek
We got up to windy and rainy day so I call South Thompson to let them know we would not be coming in today but next week. Val did a load of laundry and I stayed home doing a few little things. In the afternoon, we went over to Ron and Theresa’s place and played cards until supper time. Val made her famous meat balls and sauce then we watched the tube. Still raining but the wind has died down.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

May 19 to 23, 2010: Whistler and Surrey

MAY 19, Thursday, to Whistler, BC
Another nice and sunny day! We left the house at 9 am for Whistler only to turn around at Chase as I had forgotten my camera, so back we go, pick up the camera and return to our journey. We returned a call from Terry and Glenda about what they are allowed not to carry across into Canada then it was on to Logan Lake where we dropped off Tucker at Lynden and Charlene for the week-end. We continued on to the copper mine over the top and descended to Ashcroft, a drop of about 4000 feet in less than 10 miles. In Ashcroft we connected with Hwy 1 to Cache Creek where we took Hwy 97 north to Hwy 99 West.
Hwy 99 was very picturesque and quite nicer than what I remember of it. There was one section that was rough but most of it was good. In the rough section, we got to an area where I wanted to take a picture so we stopped. There was a Hwy Dep’t employee parked nearby and he told us to continue on as they were about to close the hwy due to avalanche control so off we went. I did get my picture though!
When we neared Mt Currie, we were driving in snow although the hwy was bare. We dropped 3000 feet in less than 5 miles with switch-backs, steep grade (14% at one point) and arrived safe and sound at the bottom into the village of Mt Currie. What a contrast; above, the trees were just blooming and down here it was lush green vegetation. We continued on Pembroke where we stopped for a beer and sandwich at a local pub and watched hang-gliders coming down from the top of the mountain. There were 8 of them and fascinating to watch. We went on to Whistler and arrived around 4 pm. We booked in our hotel, the Summit Lodge, room 418 then called Rochelle and Kevin. They had also just booked in so they walked over and we went to a jaunt through the village, a beer at a local pub and dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory. Hayley was along too of course and we got to hear about her schedule for the week-end competition. She will be performing solos and duals with her good friends, should be interesting.
We called it quit at 10 pm and went to our respective hotels; they are staying at the Fairmont Hotel where the competitions will be held.


MAY 20, Friday, Dance competitions in Whistler
We were up by 9:30 am (feeling lazy) and had coffee on the veranda first then it was shower and dressing time. We went for breakfast at a small nearby coffee shop then walked over to the Fairmont where the kids are staying and the competition is taking place. They met us outside and we went for another coffee as the show didn’t start until 1 pm.
The dancing was absolutely marvellous. It’s amazing how these young kids can perform. The age groups were from 5 to 18 years old. Hayley excelled herself in her solos and won first and second prize. We watched different groups then went for dinner at Milestones. We ended up in Rochelle and Kevin’s room where we proceeded to have a heated discussion on the pros and cons of the much hated HST.
Our walk back was a bit cool as we were dressed for warmer temperature which had dropped considerably but we made it sound and safe and went to bed.


MAY 21, Saturday, more dancing
We met the kids at noon and the dancing began at 1 pm. This time, Hayley did two groups dancing which turned out really well for them. The hall was packed this time and it was hard to find a seat. There are dancing from all over BC.
After the dancing, we all went for another walk in the village. It is cloudy today and much cooler with some light drizzle on and off. Kevin decided that he wanted steak for dinner so we ended up at the Keg. Once again the food was delicious and we had fun. We walked to their hotel room and had a night cap then it was time to call it quit. The conversation got quite heated as we discussed the pros and cons of the infamous HST.


MAY 22, Sunday, last dance and to Vancouver
Cloudy but with sunny periods; we met the kids in the afternoon and Hayley had her last two dances at 4 pm, another group dance. They had the award presentation right after and her dance class group won the $500 award and the first place trophy: WELL DONE!
Right after that, we said our goodbyes and headed back to Surrey to Jeffrey’s place. The highway was light in traffic and very nice. It was rebuilt for the 2010 Winter Olympics. There has been a tremendous amount of improvement on it.
We arrived at Jeffrey around 7:30 pm and had dinner with him and Debbie, chatted for a while then it was bedtime.


MAY 23, Monday, Back to Lee Creek
The sun is shining from time to time so it made for a nice drive. We were up early, had coffee with Jeff and Deb then Jeff took us to his new shop. Very nice and spacious. I forgot to take pictures but will next time. We said our goodbyes and headed back to Logan Lake where we picked up Tucker. We stopped at the Tate’s as Glenda and Terry were there and we said a quick hello then headed home.
Our neighbours, Ron and Theresa are out for the week so they came over and we had a fire in the evening.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

May 14 to 18, 2011; Lee Creek, Kamloops

MAY 14, Saturday, Lee Creek
The blog site was down yesterday so I uploaded it this morning. I spent some time checking out the Pension plan from Canada when we reached 65 in 10 months. Val went into town with her friend Donna to check out and drop off a few resume on prospective jobs in her expertise.
It is sunny this morning so time to go outside and do some chores.
For Happy Hour, Dan and Heather came over to join us. We had a nice visit and once they left at 7 pm, we had dinner then watch the tube.
I discovered extra charges on my visa that I suspect are fraud. They are from Mexico and the transactions took place at the beginning of this month!?? I reported them and my visa was put on hold until further notice. Great!

MAY 15, Sunday, Lee Creek
Sunny most of the day but with lots of clouds around, we had a lazy one and didn’t get mobile until late. We decided to take a day off so no work in our yard but we ended up at our neighbour helping him to shovel and rake gravel; so much for the day off!
At 3:30 pm, we went to George and Dorothy for happy hour with the rest of the neighbourhood (5 couples total). We came home around 5:30, cooked steaks and shrimps for dinner with a salad from a recipe of Rochelle then we watched the last episode of Survivor! “Boston Rob” won; no surprise there!


MAY 16, Monday, Lee Creek
It is raining today! Once again, we didn’t do much. I made a few calls and got an appointment with South Thompson RV for May 24. My excitement was to dump in the morning, the tanks that is!! I went to Sorrento to turn in our papers from Mexico on the trailer so we can get our insurance refunds


MAY 17, Tuesday, to Salmon Arm
We went to SA for a Dr’s appointment for Val. We also stopped to pick up our mail, went to Canadian Tire to exchange a couple items and ended up buying more stuff, did a grocery shopping then came home. We got our papers for Old Age Security so filled that up and will mail it tomorrow. BBQ’ed pork chops for dinner then we watched the tube.


MAY 18, Wednesday, to Kamloops
Val has an appointment at a specialist in Kamloops for some test so off we go. While there, we stopped at BCAA for a Passport picture and to turn in my papers on the truck to get a refund on our insurance while in Mexico. We went to the Federal Gov’t building and applied for my new passport and our OAS application papers. We made a stop at Walmart then it was time to return home. Fish and rice for dinner and by the way, it was sunny and very nice all day.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

May 8 to 13, 2011; Chilliwack to Lee Creek and Logan Lake

MAY 8, Sunday, Happy Mother’s Day!
Everyone got up late this morning! We had a delicious breakfast in a casserole and prepared yesterday. All the kids showed up around 10 am and we had a fun family breakfast. Graeme and Candice left first then Vanessa and Garrette as she had to work so that left 5 of us. Later in the afternoon, Rochelle and Valerie prepared the dinner, a roast with all the trimmings and Kevin’s parents, Sid & Vera, showed up around 4 pm. We sat around for a while and chatted then we had the dinner which was absolutely perfect. Si and Vera left around 8 pm and we watched the Amazing Race on TV then went to bed. IT was a perfect day!


MAY 9, Monday, Back to Lee Creek

We got up early to say our goodbyes to Rochelle and Hayley as they went to work and school respectively. After they left we showered, Kevin helped me load the freezer on the truck, we said our goodbyes then left. The ride back was uneventful except that once in Merritt, we took the old Hwy 5A which was a bit rough but very scenic in sceneries.
We arrived home around 2 pm and unloaded everything and parked the truck. Mim and Jack were in the park so they came over for a glass of wine, then Bob across the street showed up and eventually, George and Catherine with his new Ford F350. We learned that he sold his motorhome and bought a park model for his lot. WOW! The happy hour continued on until 8 pm then after everyone left, we had a quick light dinner as Val had served lots of happies while the crew was here. The sun was shining and it is much warmer.


MAY 10, Tuesday, Dr’s appoint. and to Logan Lake

We went to Chase early in the morning for eye appointments then did the laundry. After dropping everything at our place, we drove to Kamloops and made a stop at Costco where Val returned eye contacts that were malfunctioning. We then drove to Logan Lake to Lynden and Charlene, had a nice reunion then walked to the Black Bull Pub where we celebrated our friend Don’s 60th birthday. We had a room in the basement with our own bar and waitresses (2). There were about 50 people there. We had a great time and finally called it quit around 9:30 pm. We walked back to the Kirkby’s house as we had walked down to alleviate any problems with our drinking which we did freely.
We were in bad early as everyone was tired.


MAY 11, Wednesday, back to Lee Creek
We got up early only to find that it was raining. Yuck!! We left around 9 am after saying goodbye and drove to Costco in Kamloops where I gas up at $1.07/Litre. The amazing thing is that in Vancouver it is $1.44/L and the Barrel of oil is down to $99...go figure! We got home, put everything away then Val decided to vacuum the place so Tucker and I had to get out of the way.
After dinner, we watched Survivors and just as the program ended, our power went out in the whole Park, bummer!! Time to go to bed anyway; it’s raining outside.


MAY 12, Thursday, Lee Creek
Took Tucker for his haircut this morning; he looks like a totally different pooch now and much happier! Val had a couple of medical trip to make to Chase, nothing serious! It rained on and off most of the day, cleared later in the afternoon and we had a big dump later in the evening; just crazy weather! I did a couple of minor repairs/touch up inside the rig then it was time for Happy Hour. I have uploaded new pictures in folder: “SUMMER 2011”


MAY 13, Friday, Lee Creek
A sunny day greeted us! We spent the day doing chores around the lot and home. Not much else to report. I Posted new pictures in Folder #78 SUMMER IN BC

Sunday, May 08, 2011

May 4 to 7, 2011; Lee Creek and Chilliwack

MAY 4, Wednesday, Trip Stats
I calculated our expenses for the past 6 months away this morning and here are the results: we averaged $3802 per month on expenditure such as groceries, entertainment, cloths, camping and other incidentals. Our time in Mexico was the costliest when I factor in the camping cost, vehicles insurance, tolls and vehicle import tax; we were down for three months. We also spent an average of $494/month on fuel and propane. Our trip began at $3.19/gallon and ended at 4.54/gallon in the U.S, $0.99 to $1.26/litre in Canada; Mexico being the cheapest at $0.94/litre. We drove through 9 Western States in the US and two Western States in Mexico (Sonora & Sinaloa) for a total of 17,626 KM (11,016 miles) including side trips and sight-seeing.

I power-washed the sidewalk and the awning on “BEAR” then brought it in. We have cotton trees behind us and they are shedding sticky seeds which make a real mess. While at it, I washed the windows so that we could see outside. We went to Chase to return the movies and stopped at our friend’s new place, Jack & Mim. They bought into a co-op condominium and now have a nice apartment with two bedrooms. From here, we went to the grocery store to get a couple things then came home.


MAY 5, Thursday, Lee Creek
Raining this morning! Dennis and Ruth left this morning; they are gone for the summer to Newfoundland where some of his family live. This is a trip I would like to do one day soon! Val went for a haircut at Heather, one of our neighbours. Since it was a grey day, we spent the day cleaning and re-organizing our closets, drawers and cupboards; got rid of a few things. I went to the basement to get some stuff and when I pulled Tucker food bag, part of it ended up on the floor. Upon further investigation, I found a nest build inside the bag...what a mess! Cleaned up the whole thing and put all the food in a bin. While at it, I cleaned out the basement and will wash it later and plug some holes with foam. I also set up a trap in case that mouse or whatever it is, comes back or is still there. Then it was time for Happy Hour, dinner and just a relaxing evening.


MAY 6, Friday, Salmon Arm
We went to SA today for our doctor’s appointments. Afterwards, we picked up our mail and did some shopping. We also stopped at our favourite restaurant for our favourite breakfast sandwich, bacon, egg, tomato and lettuce on dough bread.
We came home and put everything away then went over to Bob & Gail for Happy Hour. George and his friend Dorothy also joined us.


MAY 7, Saturday, to Chilliwack
After taking everything out of the rear box on the truck, we left for Chilliwack to Rochelle and Kevin. We stopped in Kamloops for breakfast then went over the Coquihalla. Of course it just poured rain most of the way, especially on the Coast side. There was a lot of snow on top of the pass at 4900 feet. We arrived safe and sound and after visiting with the grand-kids, they left for their work or whatever and Rochelle cooked us a nice steak dinner. We proceeded to empty 4 bottles of wine!!!

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

May 1 to 3, 2011; Life in Lee Creek, North Shuswap

MAY 1, Sunday, Lee Creek
Up early as usual. Did some internet business (banking) and chatted with Louise & Dave on Skype. It is sunny and supposed to go up to 18*C (66*F). We got a notice yesterday that our address has been changed. We are now officially “LEE CREEK” Postal Code: V0E 1M4...Exciting!
Spent the day getting our place in shape, flushed and cleaned the water tank and all the water taps, changed water filter and at 4 pm, we went to Ed & Judy for Happy Hour.

MAY 2, Monday, home
Cloudy and cooler today! We made some calls to our doctors for appointments, went to the Park but no one was there so will go back tomorrow then it was back to Chase to vote and get a couple things and picked up some movies for tonight. We watched the elections results after dinner then the movies. Big surprise in Quebec!!!


MAY 3, Tuesday, Chase
I went to Chase again for my blood test then picked up our wine at 11 am, dropped off the movies and got more for tonight. I went to the Provincial Park and got my schedule and uniform. I start the 21st of June which is kind of late. I may look for something else. They had me scheduled for the long week-end but we already had commitments for those days.