August long weekend - Steve and Dianne come to the lake - July 29th - August 4th

Tuesday and Wednesday we did chores in the morning and dock time in the afternoon. Boy it's hot with temps 32C to 34C.  Both of us in and out of the water. Pretty breezy though.

Ray managed to finish his current San Francisco puzzle.

Ray also took the boat to the marina to get fuelled up in case the boys go fishing. As it turned out, it was windy the whole weekend, so the boat stayed at the dock.

My big chore is cleaning out my pantry in advance of the ductwork for the fan being changed out next Tuesday. Who knew I have so much stuff. Gave me a chance to toss out stale dated stuff and open packages of crackers.

Of course the new dishwasher arrived and is waiting for install on Tuesday as well. So, the house is a little cluttered even though we're having company.

New dishwasher ready to be installed, delivered Thursday morning.

Thursday, Steve and Dianne arrived at 2 pm. Let the party begin!!! After unpacking and gathering up an appropriate beverage, it's time to go down to the dock for a swim. Today would be the last really hot day.

It's COLD!!!! Not really but Dianne seems to think so. :)

Lots of squeeking and Dianne wasn't in very long :)

Tonight's dinner is a rack of beef and pork ribs. I smoked all afternoon on my Traeger with fresh corn and my baked beans. Steve bought his favourite, Black Jack Cherry frozen yogurt.

Friday's a lazy morning, including a hot tub for Steve and Dianne.  They took us to Jake's for lunch for the 11:30 am opening, before it got busy. The whole town will be busy, with it being the big Sunfest Weekend here at Laketown Ranch. They're expecting 150,000 visitors during the 4 day event from Thursday through Monday.

Back relaxing on the dock. Today cooler and breezy, so no swimming, but nice to sit down there anyway. Both the big and little RCMP boats are out patrolling this weekend.

The smaller one.

Huge amounts of tubers on the river. The music at Sunfest doesn't start until 4 pm or so, allowing a bunch of people to come into town for the day.

Dinner tonight is leftovers from yesterday after a big lunch at Jake's. We finished the day out on our deck.

Saturday, Ray booked us in for lunch at the Unsworth Winery for 11. After a quick breakfast of sausages and scrambled eggs, we were on the road by 8 am for a few stops first before lunch.

First up, the Kinsol Trestle bridge for a bit of a walk. 

The Historic Kinsol Trestle is open to the public for cyclists, hikers and equestrians to experience the full Cowichan Valley Trail in the Cowichan Region. The Kinsol Trestle is one of eight trestles along the Cowichan Valley Trail route and by far the largest and most spectacular. The Kinsol Trestle is one of the tallest free-standing and most spectacular timber rail trestle structures in the world. At 187 metres in length and standing 44 metres above the salmon bearing Koksilah River, the Kinsol is an incredible structure. 

Next up, this little McGee Trestle.

The McGee Creek Trestle is a historic trestle bridge located on the Cowichan Valley Trail near Shawnigan Lake, BC. It was originally part of the "Galloping Goose" rail line and was used for logging trains from 1920 to 1979. Today, it's a popular spot for hiking, cycling, and equestrian activities as part of the trail.

And next, the West Shawnigan Lake Provincial Park.

Twisted Sister lol

There are huge second growth trees here. Ray called this the "Blended Family" as it is a fir and a cedar tree looking like they come from the same root ball. His comment, "I wonder what the kids will look like?".

By now it's definitely time for lunch as we're all hungry. Off to Unsworth Winery. While there, we found out about the Cowichan Wine Festival for the month of August. For $50 you receive a wine glass and a list of the 13 wineries participating. Each winery lets you have 3 tastings of their wines they've chosen for you. I purchased 2 tickets as Ray doesn't drink and Steve mostly drinks beer. Dianne and I had fun!!!! I can use these passes for the whole month of August and see more wineries. Considering most tastings are $15 for 3, Dianne and I got our monies worth so far with 3 tastings and a wine glass.

Lunch was really delicious. Definitely would go back there. Ray and Dianne ordered pizza, Steve a burger and I their homemade cavatelli pasta.

Their new tasting facility.

The Restaurant.

Wildflowers planted in front of the grape vines on the patio.

At first we sat down on the lower patio,  but it's too breezy so we moved up onto the covered patio.

The outside pizza oven.

Off to the wine tasting.

After Dianne and I were "well lubricated" (including a 1/2 caraf for lunch) lol, it's off to the next winery, Blue Grouse. They produce delicious wine and serve food too, but we're full from lunch.

They've won lots of awards.

They actually ferment some of their wine in these terracotta vessels.

No ... we didn't use the spitoon lol

Next up, a stop for Steve, Red Arrow Brewing.

Ok, Steve had his beer, time for another winery, Zenatta. The last time Ray and I were here, they had a restaurant and bakery. You could buy charcutterie items and eat outside with a bottle of wine. They closed that portion of the winery in 2019. We'd planned for a snack, but just drank wine and the boys water.

OK .... time to go home. Thanks for being our DD, Ray! Ray also bought several bottles of wine at each winery, so there's lots to choose from when we got back home.

For Saturday dinner, I made a salad with my fresh tomatoes and barbecued quarter chicken pieces. I'd marinated the pieces in my buttermilk in the morning, before we left for our adventure. 

Where's dinner?

Another quiet evening on the deck, watching people on the lake.

Again thanks to my clean up crew, I sat and drank my wine on the deck as the kitchen is cleaned. :) Fortunately my old dishwasher managed to work most of the time, so not so much hand washing. Usually had to restart it at least once to clear error code.

A bit of a sunset tonight, of course only I see it as everyone else is in bed. lol

Sunday as the wind's up on the lake, so no fishing. Ray took us on another adventure instead. After breakfast of french toast and bacon, we left at 10 am heading to the back roads from Skutz Falls, to 66 mile Trestle and Bright Angel Park.

First stop Skutz Falls. Not much water at this time of year.

Just down the road is the 66 mile Trestle.

Back in the car to Marie Canyon

Further down the road is the Stoltz Pools with the campground.

At the end of this road, we turned onto Tansor heading into Duncan. We took more back roads through the country to Bright Angel Park on the Koksilah River. Not very much water here either, but enough in the pools for some kids and a dog to swim in.

Dianne even decided to cross her first suspension bridge. Way to go Dianne! The bridge is a bit bumpy, so we let her go by herself.

Some really big trees along the paths.

This is one old, old, maple tree.

By this time, it's 1 pm so we decided to head back to Red Arrow Brewery and have a small lunch as I'm cooking a pork prime rib on the barbecue for dinner. They have great pizzas.

Back home, Ray and crew went down to the dock for a bit while I was cooking my pork roast and cooking the sides. Again, I had prepped everything in the morning, the roast veggies, and potatoes for garlic mashed and the roast marinating with spices in the fridge.

Back home by 2:30, another great adventure. Dinner turned out great.

With all our touring, we've worn out our company ... they all went to bed at 8:30 pm. Ray's inside as well. I sat out enjoying the dusk approach and our view on the lake with my fire table on. Next thing I know, at 9 pm, Mike, Debra, Lolly, Brad, Christina and baby Hazel climb up onto the deck. They saw my fire and came for a visit as all their company that came by boat had left. Ray came back outside and we all chatted and sipped wine until 10:30. No sign of Steve and Dianne lol. A great finish to my night.

Mike and grandbaby Hazel

Christina and Debra

Monday morning after toast and coffee, we headed out for our next adventure, off to Cowichan Bay. Steve and Dianne always visit friends there, but never had the chance to walk through the community.

We arrived at 11 and stopped at the pub first for something to drink, so we could use their bathrooms .... no public bathrooms available that I could find. Oh well, we all had pop except Steve who had beer. lol

After our our beverages, we started our walk by going down the government dock pier.  Ray and Steve were able to talk to the guy who owns that old fisheries boat, the Falcon Rock, that we highlighted in our last blog. 

Street and harbour scenes.

Cute float homes.

Ray bought some goodies from the bakery for tomorrow's breakfast and took them to the car.

After walking the town, we ended up at the other end where we're planned to eat at the Vine Restaurant. Steve's really looking forward to a Seafood Crepe that they are known for. Unfortunately they're closed being a Monday .... back to the Cowichan Bay Pub for lunch. We first popped in on Tara Sandsmark's new gallery. She has 7 other artists that help run the place. Tara is our next door neighbour's daughter (Roy and June). Beautiful art, we have 2 of her original paintings in our foyer and she painted a portrait of Freya. 

Ray really likes this one of the trees.

It's a small world, Chris, Dianne and Steve's son, went to school with Tara in Victoria. Their other son, Rob, went to school with June's oldest daughter Mellissa. Both kids went to elementary and high school together.

Back to the Cow Bay pub for a great lunch. Good thing the main street is not very long. After lunch, it's back the other way towards the store Dianne is looking forward to, ice cream. First off a stop at the Maritime Museum for a tour.

This is a view of an original painting we bought several years ago.

After wandering there for a bit, it's ice cream time at the Original Udder Guys Ice Cream and Candy. Boy are their cones delicious. 

Time to head home. We did a lot of walking back and forth on the main street. Tonight is leftovers lol We ended up having fresh smoked salmon for a snack that Darryl smoked today. Delicious.

We had a fabulous time with Steve and Dianne as usual. Great company and so helpful. We saw some things we've seen before and some things we've not seen. Great adventures. See you again in September when you come with Rob and family.