April 3rd - Living Forest - Nanaimo

We are finally back on the island and installed at the Living Forest Campground for the next 6 weeks as of yesterday. It is great to be home. The last 2 weeks have been incredibly busy with many hours spent at the hospital and then at Mom's apartment, slipping in visits with the rest of the family. I am looking forward for a few days of quiet. Lots to do though with the final importation of the car and coach as well as our air brake course to be done in the next two weeks.

These pictures are from last February when we spent Valentines weekend camping here at the Living Forest.

April 7th - Living Forest Campsite - Nanaimo

Things are moving ahead. The car passed it's Provincial inspection and the Federal inspection. The coach will be inspected next week. We anticipate no problem. Insurance will not be switched until the end of the month as it is yearly and we do not want it to expire before the end of April otherwise we always have to come back early from the states.

Last night at 7:30 pm, Ray and Freya ran into a couple of pitbulls, one who tried to "kill" Freya. The owners had no control of the dogs and they ran towards Ray and Freya from 100 yards away. Ray fought one of the dogs off Freya who had her by the throat and ended up getting bit. As this was Saturday night he had a very long wait at the Nanaimo Hospital ER as well as a visit by the RCMP at the hospital. Freya fortunately is okay as Ray had reacted so fast. The owner also had to help pry the dogs mouth open. After a heated confrontation between Ray and the owners where they would not tell their name or any information, Ray remembered their license plate number and gave it to the police when we called 911. The park security officer is making sure that they are not welcome here again. They are not registered in the campground.

So now we have to keep an eye on it for infection. Ray is to get antibiotics today. The Bylaw Officer will be paying a visit to the owners probably tomorrow and at the very least making sure it does not have rabies! Needless to say we will in the future not give pitpulls the benefit of the doubt!

April 15th - Spring has Sprung

The Living Forest features many trails through the forest surrounding the campsite. Ray loves taking Freya for her daily walks on these trails. There are many "whimsical" trees, Trillium's blooming on the forest floor and sink holes from years of coal mining in the area.

We have had quite a busy week, doing income taxes, checking storage lockers, taking the boat in to be detailed etc. Truck appears to be sold ... just need the money to be sent. Friday night we started our air brake course and by Sunday afternoon, both Ray and I had our certificates in hand. Now we have to go to ICBC and take the written exam for the endorsement to go on our licenses. No Problem!

Had a nice campfire with the neighbours Saturday night. We miss our campfires so have ordered 1/2 cord of wood split and to be delivered today so we will have lots for the next month. Otherwise it was $7.00 for a rubbermaid tote and the costs would add up much more quickly.

We walked the trail along the Nanaimo River Estuary with sweeping views of the Nanaimo Harbour.

This week will be busy dealing with the boat. After we pick it up from detailing, we need to get the seats recovered as the squirrels chewed them apart last year. After that we can load all of the gear that we are selling with the boat for a turn-key fishing machine and list it for sale.

April 15th - We have our air brake endorsement !!!

It's official we have both passed and now have our air brake endorsement to drive our motorhome in British Columbia.

April 21st - Boat for sale

We finally did all the paperwork and inspections for the coach and car and they are now officially Canadian. ICBC got their mega $$$ and we are good to go. (The truck was sold on Thursday) The next item on our agenda is to sell the boat and fishing tackle etc as a package deal. Someone is going to get a great deal as the motor was rebuilt last year and only has 10 hours on the rebuild! The boat has been detailed and the seats are now at the upholsters to get recovered. Fingers crossed that it will sell before mid-May when we start our next camping adventure up-island.

Our fishing machine called "The Office"

We will miss her but on to other things that do not require so much up-keep. Ray sees his neurosurgeon tomorrow so we may have a better idea regarding his next surgery this summer/fall.

April 29th - Busy, Busy, Busy.

Hard to believe another week has gone by. We have been in Victoria to see Ray's neurosurgeon and now he needs an MRI and CT scan before Dr. Reid decides what needs to be done. Fingers crossed it is not scar tissue as Ray will just have to live with his leg burning, numbness and it giving out.

Out for Lunch on the waterfront

View of the water ... looks like summer!

His scans are booked on May 15 and May 24th so we will not hear anything before the 1st of June we suspect.

We sorted through all of the camping stuff for Macktush, some for Garrett, some stuff that will go with the boat and a bunch of stuff we have given Ryan and Paul. It is nice to see our things and the memories that they represent having prominent positions in their yard.

Took a drive into Port Alberni yesterday to see the wild dogwood trees blooming. They should be fully out in the next week or so with the weather warming up.

Wild Dogwood Tree

Boy has this area overgrown from what we remember. No way of getting our coach anywhere near this place! It was a beautiful day for a picnic and a swim for the dog. So back home we go and dream of our next adventure.