Aug 1 - 20 A little more work and some Island time!

Aug 1-6
We're back at PGR for this week and looking forward to the upcoming long weekend. Ryan, Ashtyn, Sam and her buddy Joanna are coming out this weekend for a pig roast and some live music here at our park. We'll be able to see the fireworks that Seba Beach will be lighting while they celebrate the Regatta on the beach. Busy weekend for a small place!
Leslie and I did some cleaning and organizing so we can set up a blow up bed in the garage so everyone can sleep over. There will be a few shots this weekend. We actually vacuumed the garage floor. Doing our best to not track in mud for a couple days but the rain just keeps coming this year!

When it rains it pours.

Saturday, Graham had messaged that there was a "RibFest" in St. Albert which is a city just north of Edmonton and just about equal distance between us. We decided to meet them for some ribs in the afternoon. Can't wait! I love eating barbecue. No pics of the ribs but we did get pics of the kids playing in the park.

Rylan working the playground:)

Look at that smile lol.

Ooh flowers.

Graham, Leslie and I split up and got ribs from different vendors while Britt watched the kids at the park. There was a table over there so we could share our rib choices and do the taste test. Wisely Brittany chose our favourite ones and got a half rack to go. Smart move lol. We ate lots and then just hung out for a while watching the kids run around. Way too full to chase them. There is another RibFest being held in Sherwood Park (another city east of Edmonton) that Graham & Britt are checking out tomorrow. (It wasn't as good) Leslie and I will be enjoying the pig roast. Heavy food weekend.

Sunday, the gang showed up around noon so we can visit and enjoy a really nice day. The sun is out and it looks like a great day for some outdoor fun. We put out some snacks but don't want to be too full before the pig roast. We then went for a walk around to check out what everyone is up to here at PGR. Our neighbours Lynn & Andre and their kids are out this weekend too. Going to be a fun night.

Meet Doug! Sam's friend's dog, he's 9 weeks old.

Margaret, Kirby & Taco.... the pack lol. total weight = 20 lbs.

Doug is the star this weekend.

  

No Leslie we are not getting one haha.

We left the pack in the rig and walked to the Community Centre in Phase 2 where they are setting up the pig roast. There is a company from Red Deer that puts on the whole meal. They supply everything and it was fantastic! Seconds of everything if you wanted it.... yeah I did.

Lynn & Andre joined us at the pig roast.

Enjoying some cold drinks before dinner.

The walk back to Phase 3. Jo, Ashtyn, Leslie and Sam

We all lined up and quickly went through the line for dinner. Both sides of the tables worked to load up. Some went back for more and then the dessert table was ready. It was a fantastic meal! It was actually nice to walk back to our site and let the food settle in. The music was getting ready to start when we got back. The first set was a single guitar player doing some older songs that this crowd could sing along to. The second set came on around 8:30 and was a local band that played a fantastic mix of old and new rock music. A really good time set up by our social committee here at Pineridge phase 3!

Still just watching but Les is getting into it lol.

The sun is down and the dancing starts haha.

Blurry pics but a great time!

The band had to shut down at 11pm, our noise bylaw, but then the fireworks started at the beach so everyone walked out to the road to watch. I got a fire going at our firepit and we kept the party going until about 1:30am! That's two late nights in a row. Look at us go haha. It was a really fun weekend; we laughed, ate, had a few drinks and got to know our neighbours better. Awesome.

We made a big breakfast for our gang and then took a walk to Seba Beach. Once home everyone packed up and with hugs and handshakes we waved good bye as the kids went back to Edmonton :(

We need a nap lol.

Aug 6

We packed up the rig and with both vehicles it's back on the road to Bonnyville for a little more than a week. Leslie has a few shifts lined up at work and of course my grass is growing. We are still boxing everything up and moving it to the garage so we can clean the rooms out completely. The house is looking more empty though and we are making great progress.

I posted before about all the work that has been done at Stony Plain Chrysler to my truck rear differential and sadly as I am driving to B'ville I start hearing that stupid clunking again! So sick of dealing with this truck problem, I'm almost ready to just trade it off. Along the way I called the Ram dealer in St Paul where I bought it. They have a better shop and their staff and mechanics actually want to listen and work with me. Small town vs a bigger city shop where they are just busy all the time  I think.

After a good chat with the service rep, the service manager and their diesel mechanic I booked an appointment for the 8th to have the rear diff inspected yet again. It's all brand new parts, all except the axles has been replaced by the other dealer and the oil has been changed 3 times already.

Here's what they found; the gears that were installed were not set up even close to what they should be for tolerances, like a little more than double what they should be. The mechanic went on his computer and found a service bulletin that is only on their system. As a consumer you don't see this stuff unless they tell you. It says on the bulletin that, for the exact problem I have been describing, they should replace the driveshaft. Nobody has ever even looked for that at the other shop! So a really long story shorter, they gave me a ride home and I get my truck back in a couple days while the parts are on order. They promise to do it right.

I picked it up Friday afternoon and it seems better for sure. See what happens when I hook up to the trailer again. The next day, Saturday, I was hauling a bed over to Lisa's house and I happened to look under my truck, their is oil leaking from the seal on the back of the transfer case!! Fer f*&% sakes I'm going to throw a snapshow here any second! I called St Paul and they said to bring it in asap and they will fix it right away. It's 40 miles away so I mellowed out but man it's been frustrating. They had my truck done in about 20 minutes and they apologized lots. They are a really good crew but the apprentice made a mistake putting the new driveshaft in the seal. Problem fixed. Luckily all these repairs have been done on warranty and I called the service manager in Stony Plain and let him know how bad of a job they did. His response, "well that just sucks" and he offered a free oil change if I feel okay going to his shop. Yeah no thanks.

Shiny new driveshaft but used the old seal??

* The rear diff is still making noise when I'm pulling. The mechanic in St Paul gave me some printouts from Ram saying that a 4 pinion limited slip differential makes these noises when engaging. I have done some google searching and the fix seems to be going to a thicker oil. From 75-90W to 75-140W in a full synthetic so that it sticks to the gears better. Getting that done this week hopefully. 

There's my rant about my truck. Would still like to find a Freightliner M2 but we're good for now. With all the work done my diff warranty is good for 2 more years.

So for the week that we stayed in Bonnyville the same old stuff continued. I cut the grass every 3-4 days it was growing so fast and Leslie worked a few days at the hospital and packed some boxes in the evening. We did fun stuff too, visiting with friends and family and I drove to Cold Lake one morning for breakfast with a few retired Esso guys. Really good to see all the guys again.

On Aug 14th we packed up the rig again and headed back to PGR. We are spending one night there and start on our trip to Vancouver Island on the 15th.

We left PGR at 9am with a plan to stop in Barriere, BC overnight. It's a small town but it's far enough for today and we got a room for $100 that was clean and comfortable. Perfect. There is a country diner on the main street that has fantastic food and they serve beer and wine. We had supper and took Margaret for a nice walk by the river behind the motel. Nice and relaxing. Just what we wanted. It was beautiful drive through the mountains to get here and the Subaru is great on gas compared to the truck.

Bit of a switch, Leslie driving and I am the passenger.

Obed Summit, highest point on the Yellowhead.

A usual sight going through Jasper Park.

The next day was an easy drive to Chilliwack, BC. I took over driving today. Leslie isn't thrilled with the freeway in the Fraser Valley. Neither am I because it's usually packed with vehicles that do some stupid things. Wasn't bad today though. We got to Chilliwack around 2ish after a nice drive through the mountains between Kamloops and Hope BC. We picked Chilliwack so that I get to see my cousin Mike and his family. Other times we push right through to Vancouver or the Island but this time we're stopping. It took some searching to find a pet friendly room. Little did we know but there is a running race here tomorrow and just about all the rooms are gone. We found one at Vedder River Inn that was a little steep at $185/ night but it's really nice and in a good location. There is also a pub across the road! Now that's good planning ;)

Mike is working until 5:30 so we got settled in our room and then drove to a nearby park to give Margaret a good walk. Beautiful path along the Vedder River that worked perfectly for us.

Our room behind me, nice place.

The walking path.

The river selfie, c'mon Margaret look up!

We met my cousin at a pub near downtown for supper. His wife Brenda was just driving back from Penticton so we'll see her tomorrow. We had a really good supper and a great visit with plans to meet again in the morning. Good to see you buddy.

Leslie had posted on Facebook that we were in Chilliwack and she got a message from my old buddy Mark's son, Matt. Turns out he moved to Chilliwack and at the same time he was out with his Dad for supper! They will meet us at the pub across from our hotel when they are done eating. Bonus!

Mark, Matt and me at the pub. Great coincidence.

With hugs and handshakes we said so long to Mark and Matt and called it a night. Great day.

Also through the magic of Facebook we noticed that Ailsa's sister, Mhairi, is in Chilliwack too and running the marathon in the morning! Our hotel is right on the run course, she will be running right past us. Cool! We'll wait on the road and surprise her with a high five. We thought we missed her but sure enough here she comes and yep she was surprised lol. High five and then try to catch a picture.

That's Mhairi waving, go buddy you're almost finished!

Turns out we were meant to stop in Chilliwack. I messaged Mike and we are meeting for brunch at a restaurant downtown again. His daughter has a salon that she owns right next door so she can join us for breakfast and then we'll check out her new place. 

Me, cousin Mike, Megan, Brenda & Leslie.

We all walked over to Megan's shop after brunch to check it out. Good for her for taking advantage of a super opportunity to jump into her own business and she's doing great so far by the looks of it. She did a big renovation, with some help from Mom, Dad and a few others. Her shop is really cool looking and her Mom & Dad did a fabulous job recovering an older couch for the lobby area.

Beautiful job on this couch, it took a lot of skilled work!

Megan's shop in Chilliwack, next door to a great pub. Awesome location.

What a great night and morning we had in Chilliwack! Got to visit with some great people and enjoy some good food and beverages. Perfect stop.

Next stop is my brother's place in Victoria; so awesome we have a place to stay at a great price lol. We drove to the ferry terminal and after a short wait we crossed to Vancouver Island and John's place. With hugs and handshakes we said hello and got settled in for a couple days in Victoria. We have a full schedule here on the Island and we want to visit as many people as we can. It's going to be a ton of fun and fairly busy but we got this. John has a dinner plan all prepped for tonight and then we just wing it after that. Dietary needs between the three of us make meals an event that needs thought. John needs gluten free for celiac, Leslie is eating a Keto plan and I can't do dairy but I'll eat most anything without lots of milk or cream lol. We can all eat salad and meat from the barbecue and that's what he had planned. Great supper and a few glasses of wine after dinner while catching up and sharing our plan for the week.

Aug 19-25

The next day we got out for a quick walk around UVIC with Margaret and then breakfast at the house. We messaged Steve & Dianne and plan to meet for lunch in Sydney which is not far from John's place. We drove up in our car to Oceanside RV and with hugs and handshakes we said hello to Steve & Dianne. We packed everyone in the Subaru (remember both John and I are over 6 feet tall) and drove the scenic route to a great pub on the wharf in Sydney.

Lunch on a cool patio with Steve & Dianne.

We headed back to their rig and said so long for now but we will see them in a couple days when we meet at Ray & Deb's place in Lake Cowichan. We drove back to John's house and relaxed on the deck in the sun for a little bit. Our niece Shannon and her husband Dan are coming over for supper after work tonight. Will be great to see them of course. Haven't seen them since their wedding last summer which you might remember reading about on our blog.

Me and Shannon when she got there.

Shannon, John, Dan & me. Leslie has to take the pic.

We had a nice dinner and chatted for a while until they had to go home. So great to see them again and we will meet up again later after we go up Island.

Today, after breakfast, we are driving to the airport to pick up Ryan and Ashtyn! They are hiking the West Coast trail this week for their summer adventure. It's an epic hike that you need to book in advance. It's about 78 km's (49 miles) through some amazing west coast scenery and is not for rookies. Some sections are extremely hard to do. Check out this link Trail link. 

Today though we get to just hang out together for a few hours and then they can check in to their hotel for the night. We went back to John's place and did a short walk around UVIC again so they could see the campus. By this time we were ready for lunch. We packed ourselves in the car and headed downtown on the harbour to a pub called Spinnakers. Great food and craft beers. It's a beautiful spot.

Our table on the patio.

We wanted a little walk after lunch so we followed the paved path along the waterfront towards downtown. Part way along the path I decided to go get the car and I would meet everyone at another pub lol. It turned out that Canoe Club was right along the path! How convenient. Quick stop for some refreshments there too.

All this walking requires hydration.

With big hugs and handshakes we dropped Ryan & Ashtyn at their hotel for the night.The older folks went back to John's and just relaxed for the night.

The next morning we jumped in John's car and picked up Ryan & Ashtyn again to do some touring. We are going to check out Royal Roads College and do a walk around the gardens. The College is in the X-Men movies as the school for the gifted kids. It's a beautiful place. The gardens and architecture of the building are stunning.

The main entrance.

The back or the ocean side of the castle.

Ryan & Ashtyn with a cool backdrop.

Of course we worked up a hunger and thirst so we need a pub to visit lol. Leslie and I really liked the 4 Mile Pub when we stayed here last year so we are going there today. They have fantastic food and of course their own brews.

Just a pic of the door but it's a cool place.

After a great lunch and a beverage we dropped Ryan and Ashtyn back at their hotel. We are meeting up later for dinner. The rest of us headed back to John's place and just relaxed. A few hours later we picked up the kids and headed downtown for dinner to a place they had heard of.

Everything on the menu is $5.99 check it out sometime.

Another great meal!

I think the kids have eaten enough great food over the last couple days to get them through the next week on the trail! lol Leslie and I are headed to Lake Cowichan tomorrow for a couple days with Steve & Dianne and Ray & Deb at their beautiful house on the shore of Lake Cowichan.  You can check out their blog here Deb's blog. Lake Cowichan is beautiful place and their house is absolutely amazing. We're really looking forward to our visit with this great bunch of people.

Leslie and I have decided to post this much of August and then work on the rest of the month real soon. It's getting pretty long already and we have some cool pictures of our stay at Lake Cowichan and of Vanessa and Rene's wedding on the coast in Tofino, BC. Lots of fun in August so we'll see if we can get that out real soon.

Cheers everybody!