Peace Arch RV, Surrey, BC April 16-18, 2018

We had planned to stay on the Island until the end of April but there are some personal and business items that we need to get done and we need to be there in person. Our good friend Paul is battling cancer and we really want to be closer to him and Diana to help if we can. They own a beautiful property on Muriel Lake and with spring there are things we hope we can help with. Paul is having good and bad days but not exactly up for spring yard work. We also have to finalize my pension stuff (long story but no money yet??) and there are decisions to make on financial stuff and the sale of the house. Anyway we feel we need to be home so that's the plan.

Dave called some parks on the mainland close to highway 1 which will be our route back to Alberta. The best option turned out to be Peace Arch RV in Surrey and the same place Steve & Diane from Living the Dream blog are staying for the month. Cool! We really enjoy spending time with them and we have a lot of fun so Peace Arch will work great! So on a rainy Monday morning we packed up the rig and got ready to head for the Duke Point Ferry to Tsawwassen which is only 30 minutes from Peace Arch.

There was a really nice lady at the booth and as Dave was at the window paying she apologized for not having her bag of doggie treats with her that day. Margaret was not impressed :)

WTF?

We typed up a blog post while waiting and drove on the ferry. This one seemed smaller than on the way over!

It rained all the way across to the mainland so no pics of the crossing. Dave bought a hat in the gift store and we found the issue of Trail Running magazine with the write up on our buddy Ailsa MacDonald and her win last summer at Sinister 7 100 MILE marathon. She's a special crazy buddy!

Ailsa in a magazine and yes Dave's beard

We drove over to Peace Arch and thankfully it had stopped raining but still lots of cloud. We stopped to check in at the office which, by the way, is a beautiful building and interior. Wow!

Dave came out with a big smile on his face and says "What a great surprise. We got the site beside Steve & Dianne!" Dianne had noticed the site beside them empty earlier and walked up and got us that site. How awesome is that? We pulled in and did a quick setup and walked over next door for happy hour and dinner. Dianne made spaghetti on our travel day. So nice. She had messaged earlier that she was making lasagne but remembered Dave's lactose thing so she switched to spaghetti. Thank you. We also got chocolate pie with coconut crust for dessert! Thanks a bunch guys.

We visited for a while and then called it a night. We're going to see Fort Langley tomorrow as it is supposed to be nice.

April 17

After breakfast we finished our setup and soon Steve came out to see if we were good to go. Let's do it! We drove over to a parking lot for Brae Island Park which is adjacent to Fort Camping where Steve & Dianne will be moving May 4th. Weather is perfect for a walk along the trails. We decided to walk out to the point, about 3 km round trip and Margaret got to go off leash because there's hardly anyone here. Sshh! don't tell anyone :) 

Put your hands in the air like you just don't care.. lol

We enjoyed a great walk out to the point and only saw a few others enjoying the trails. 

 Thanks for the picture Steve!

We walked back to the truck and put Margaret in there to relax while we went for lunch and a tour of the shops in Fort Langley. If anyone is worried it was not a hot day and we left windows cracked in the truck and water in a dish for Margaret. The truck has 2 dog beds and it is her happy place.

We decided to do lunch so our first stop across the bridge was Fort Pub. Steve & Dianne have been there before and it didn't disappoint. Good food and a good beer, lunch of champions! Just ask our buddy Ailsa ;) 

Not a great shot, sorry

After lunch we walked around the main streets and did some browsing through the stores in town. They have some stores that sell antiques and collectibles that was like a step back to our youth. Really cool stores packed with old china in so many different patterns, old vinyl records like Eddy Arnold and Nazareth and old cameras and well everything you could think of really. We did see one item we thought about buying but were too cheap to get it. There was a wooden model of a truck and camper very similar to Bob's (remember Bob & Holly, Dave's cousin) and we wanted to get it for him. Sorry Bob.

this is Bob's real truck and camper that he still uses every year

Close but not exact and $125!!!

We toured the shops for about an hour or more and then headed back to the truck to let Margaret out and head back to Peace Arch. Good amount of walking today, can feel it in the legs. We got back to the rig and just relaxed a bit, we have arranged to meet up with Dave's friend Mark's son Matt, phew that's a mouthful, for supper tonight at a pub in Surrey. Yes another pub but we are generally behaving ourselves and having as much or more water than beer. That's our story and we're sticking with it... haha.

We drove to the Clayton Pub that Matt picked out in Surrey.  It's real close to Matt's work but he had to drive home first to pick up his wife Shelby so it was a longer drive for them. Great pick though Matt!! Really nice place and great food. Brussel sprouts with bacon appy. Oh yeah, for sure :)

Food here was really good

As we said in a previous blog Dave has known Matt's dad, Mark, since they were 13 and Dave has known Matt since birth so it's nice to get a chance to visit and reconnect. Matt recently married a great girl Shelby. We really enjoyed chatting and getting to know Shelby a little better. Another great pick Matt ;)  We stayed and visited for a couple hours and then hugs and handshakes until next time. They have a longer drive and we are all getting tired.

April 18

We started the day in a leisurely way like we are getting used to, need to ease into our retired days. Today we are going with Steve & Dianne to walk the beach at Crescent Beach and then meet another blogger that we read; Ray & Deb Kyle of Kastles Journey (hope the link works) Dave reads more RV blogs than I do and he has read theirs for a couple years after linking from Steve & Dianne's blog Living the Dream (tried it and it works!)  We all jumped in our truck and Dianne directed us to a parking area by the trail. We walked through the park to a short pier and stopped for a photo op. The tide was out and you could see the sand for a long ways.

Steve, Dianne, Dave and of course Margaret

We walked to the end of the trail past some very nice houses with beautiful manicured lawns and flowers. Bet these properties are not cheap! Great day for a walk and great company. Our own personal tour guides and they like beer!

Monkey tree ??

Low tide and more run time for our little princess

We jumped back in the truck and as we were a little early for our lunch with Ray & Deb we decided to tour Whiterock along the coast. Beautiful views and lots of shops and places to eat. They charge for parking everywhere along here so it can get expensive to stop here. We just did a driving tour and then Deb messaged that they were at the pub for lunch already. We are on our way!!

We had a terrible time trying to find a parking spot for the dually that was close to the pub. We drove around the block and through the parking lot a couple times and finally parked across the street a little ways away from the pub. Some shade for Margaret and enough room for the truck. Short walk and we get to meet Ray & Deb and have a fantastic lunch. All their Asian dishes are on special. Yum!

Dave,Steve, Ray, Deb,Dianne & me

We really enjoyed meeting you both and congrats on your new house in Lake Cowichan. Pictures on your blog are beautiful. We all chatted for a while and then it was time to go. Hope to see you again Ray & Deb. Maybe in Arizona next time.

After lunch we went back to Peace Arch to start getting ready to leave in the morning for Valemount BC. The sun was bright and warm so we sat outside for happy hour while it lasted.

Since we had a late large lunch we decided a light supper would be enough. We had some chicken breasts to bake and add a salad and voila supper.

After supper we enjoyed a couple adult beverages, well okay more than 2! A really great evening with such good people. We made arrangements to meet up again in Alberta while they are on they're way east. Cheers you two and looking forward to our next happy hour already. Tomorrow we will try to get on the road by 9 and on our way to Valemount. Might be a thirsty day. lol