First was the drive to Nanaimo where we dropped Freya off with Jason and Kristi. They are in the middle of a major main floor renovation Jason is DIY. New kitchen and bathroom countertops, new flooring and taking the texture off the ceiling. Their house is totally upside down now, with only the basement bathroom functioning. Fortunately, they have the suite downstairs where Kristi hides from all of the dust as it affects her asthma. Freya was excited to be with her "packmates". Apparently she slept all night on the bed with Kristi, one of her favorite places. lol
On the way to Blyt's we saw a sign at the French Creek Marina for sidestripe shrimp so we pulled in there first. The herring fishery is about to open in the next day or so. The harbour is filled with boats. Managed to pick up a couple of pounds of fresh frozen shrimp off the boat and then went over to the fish market for a few more things.
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| One shrimp boat in one crowded marina. |
The marina is only a few minutes from Martin and Suzanne's and we arrived at 3pm. Lots of laughs and catching up with each other was achieved. They served us a great dinner of barbecued steak and fixin's. (Awesome mushroom caps) It was to bed by 9:30 as we are all early risers and the time change was tonight! We slept in their downstairs rental suite and had a great sleep. With the time change we got up at 7am. Yeah back to normal time. lol We were treated to Crab Cake Bennies for breakfast. Yummm.
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| Entrance to their BnB suite. |
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| Martin helping cook our breakfast. |
After breakfast it was off to the Parksville boardwalk for a little bit of fresh air. What a beautiful day. There were quite a few fish boats using the sonar for the herring and the Coast Guard was also cruising around. Apparently the fishery was opened yesterday but we did not see any nets deployed.
All the fishing boats getting into position off French Creek yesterday.
After our lovely stroll it was time for Ray and I to head back to Nanaimo, pick up Freya and come back to the Lake. Ray can only take so much sitting in the car and it is over and hour and a half drive from French Creek and with the stop at Kristi's it will be 2 hours before we get home. A fabulous visit. Thanks guys for a wonderful visit.
Looks like a great place and a nice visit!
ReplyDeleteA great place to get your "ocean fix" and pick up fresh seafood from the boat. Warm out of the wind.
DeleteLooks like you had beautiful weather for your visit up island! Look at all that blue sky and sunshine! A little chilly judging by the heavy coats, though.
ReplyDeleteThe wind was very cool off the water. The day before quite warm in the sun. Looks like we have rain in our forecast for the next couple of days so the snow should melt and we can finally get the window fixed in the motorhome. The long range for the following week is nothing but rain ... up to 100mm so the lake should rise and the ground should warm up. Never thought I would be excited to see rain. lol
DeleteWhat a great trip and so close to home! Love the fishing boat pics, nothing like being on the water. Surprised by the heavy coats as it was quite warm here yesterday, must have been early morning and a cold blow off the water. Next trip SSI! :D
ReplyDeleteIt was around 11 am but the wind off the water was pretty cool. SSI is on the radar but we are in Vancouver this coming weekend and won't be back until Monday ... Ray has lined up a landscaping company but the snow needs to melt first. We are pretty wet and windy here this afternoon.
DeleteBuying seafood right at the dock.....yumm! Sounds like a great menu too, crabcake bennies for breakfast, nice. Looks a little cool but still one of the most beautiful places in Canada.
ReplyDeleteSo true. If you are stopping in Eugene OR on the way up ... you can stay at Valley River Centre Mall for 2 days for free. You will just have to check in with security. (They drive around the parking lot so will see you.) There are several seafood restaurants walking distance from the back parking lot on the river where you are to park. Yummy.
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