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| Victoria's waterfront |
Arriving in April was perfect timing since the tourist season was just starting and the spring blossoms were in full bloom.
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| Flowers near the museum |
After reconnecting to my sister Trudy in Victoria, she found a beautiful campground near the city that I could stay at a few days since there is very limited parking for an RV in the city. It was good to hook up again, drain the RV tanks and get my laundry done. The location was right by the water and I enjoyed going for long bike rides along the shore. It was also good to be close to Victoria and to explore that beautiful city with my sister.
An afternoon at Victoria's museum was a real treat since they have fabulous displays and also happened to have a wildlife photography exhibit at that time.
Another memorable experience was a visit to the Butchart Gardens, a few km from where I was camping ( Saanich peninsula).
In 1904, Robert and Jennie Butchart moved from Ontario where they had a cement company, to settle near a quarry on the Saanich peninsula.
A few years later, when the quarry work was finished, Jennie had the
dream of turning it into beautiful gardens. Those gardens grew to cover an area of more than 55 acres and are now still owned and operated by the family and visited by about a million visitors each year.
The next day, we drove to Sydney, a pretty coastal town where my ferry had arrived. After wandering around, we stopped for dinner at a Swiss restaurant. It was fun to be in surroundings with Swiss drawings and cow bells hanging from the ceiling, bringing back memories of our childhood years in Switzerland before our move to Canada. We were able to practice speaking our native dialect of "Schwitzer Duetsch" with the manager. The food was Swiss style and delicious.
After a night at a Walmart and stocking up on groceries, I left on April 8 to continue my journey north on the island.
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| Fantastic scenery along Hwy #1 |
I drove on to Chemainus, a lovely town on the east coast of the island and known as the island's "Arts Town". Besides a theatre and museum, it is also famous for its 40 famous wall murals. Footprints painted on the sidewalks guided you on a tour of those murals based on old paintings in the museum.
The streets were lined with blossoms and it was a delight to wander through another paradise on earth.
The weather was pleasantly warm and sunny and I felt a deep contentment.
On to Nanaimo where there is a ferry to Vancouver, then stopping to check out an RV show at Nanoose Bay. It's always fun to go to these shows to see what the new RVs are like, get information about campgrounds, and get RV supplies. I got a few better LED lights as the ones I had were not bright enough.
While there, I found out about an RV seminar to be held in June at the Okanagan College in Kelowna and decided to sign up. They offer 3 days of classes on various aspects of RV living including maintenance, so I think that will be very helpful. I want to get advice on adding more batteries to increase my electricity and to learn more about how to fix things eg my oven does not work right now.
I found out about a provincial park near the RV show and spent the night there. It was a lovely park with a very good hiking and biking trail along the sea. I enjoyed a long bike ride and slept well that night.
It was a short drive north of there to Qualicum Bay where I was fortunate to discover an RV resort that honored Passport America members. $21 for full hook ups, WiFi, laundry facilities , and showers was a very good deal. It was just across the road from a beach and a few minutes' bike ride to a nature trail. I decided to stay 3 days. This provided me with the opportunity to relax and think about my life.
It felt really good to be in one place for a while, yet, I want to explore many parts of BC.
Travelling in Canada is very different than in the US. When I was south in the winter, I had a clear identity as a visitor from Canada, a snowbird. There were thousands of people like me and it was relatively easy to live the RV lifestyle, feeling like I was a part of the RV community.
Back in Canada, it's another story.
I am in my own country and because it is spring, there are very few RVs on the road. Here, I am not a snowbird or a visitor. What am I?? A wanderer, a searcher, or maybe a pilgrim?
Do I want to keep on RVing or is it time to settle somewhere? How does a gypsy settle?
I love driving and seeing new places, meeting all kinds of interesting people but there will come a time when I won't be able to do this. Then what??
Pehaps, getting older brings with it questions of our existence and what our purpose is. It's really quite a fascinating experience!
Again, I reminded myself to "Trust the process" and that it's all right not to know where the road will lead; to follow my heart and just go where the wind blows me. That's so much easier than trying to figure it all out.
From Qualicum Bay, I drove north to Comox where some friends live. Because of the small street, I stayed at the Kin Beach provincial park, on the outskirts of that town. It was a warm feeling to see my friends again as it had been about 12 yrs since I last saw them. We spent a lovely time catching up and they tried to sell me the idea of settling in that area! (It's nice to be wanted!)
The park where I stayed was right on the water and you could see the mountains on the mainland, a short distance across the Strait of Georgia. It was a small campground with just a few RVs as it was still off season. A friendly couple managed the park and I was able to get some good information about camping on the Sunshine coast.
An unexpected surprise awaited me the first morning when I heard some very loud planes flying overhead. I found out it was the Snowbirds doing their annual practice manoevers. I was just watching from the front of my RV when I saw 2 of them create a the shape of a giant heart over the water. Many other manoevers followed and I had a difficult time comprehending how several very fast flying jets could fly so precisely together in loops without crashing into each other.
After the Snowbirds finished, an F-18 thundered by doing some practice. Their flights were repeated again in the afternoons.
They practice in this area every spring for 3 weeks before travelling throughout North America to perform at air shows.
I left the island on April 16 by taking the 1 1/2 hr ferry over to Powell River on the mainland of BC where I am now in their public library. On the way over, the Snowbirds passed over us again. It took them only a few seconds to fly across the strait.
After many days of warm sun, today is rainy and overcast, rather ironic that it is a day like this when I am travelling to the "Sunshine Coast"!
It's a perfect day though, to catch up on my blog.
The streets were lined with blossoms and it was a delight to wander through another paradise on earth.
The weather was pleasantly warm and sunny and I felt a deep contentment.
On to Nanaimo where there is a ferry to Vancouver, then stopping to check out an RV show at Nanoose Bay. It's always fun to go to these shows to see what the new RVs are like, get information about campgrounds, and get RV supplies. I got a few better LED lights as the ones I had were not bright enough.
While there, I found out about an RV seminar to be held in June at the Okanagan College in Kelowna and decided to sign up. They offer 3 days of classes on various aspects of RV living including maintenance, so I think that will be very helpful. I want to get advice on adding more batteries to increase my electricity and to learn more about how to fix things eg my oven does not work right now.
I found out about a provincial park near the RV show and spent the night there. It was a lovely park with a very good hiking and biking trail along the sea. I enjoyed a long bike ride and slept well that night.
It was a short drive north of there to Qualicum Bay where I was fortunate to discover an RV resort that honored Passport America members. $21 for full hook ups, WiFi, laundry facilities , and showers was a very good deal. It was just across the road from a beach and a few minutes' bike ride to a nature trail. I decided to stay 3 days. This provided me with the opportunity to relax and think about my life.
 |
| Loving those happy dandelions! |
Travelling in Canada is very different than in the US. When I was south in the winter, I had a clear identity as a visitor from Canada, a snowbird. There were thousands of people like me and it was relatively easy to live the RV lifestyle, feeling like I was a part of the RV community.
Back in Canada, it's another story.
I am in my own country and because it is spring, there are very few RVs on the road. Here, I am not a snowbird or a visitor. What am I?? A wanderer, a searcher, or maybe a pilgrim?
Do I want to keep on RVing or is it time to settle somewhere? How does a gypsy settle?
I love driving and seeing new places, meeting all kinds of interesting people but there will come a time when I won't be able to do this. Then what??
Pehaps, getting older brings with it questions of our existence and what our purpose is. It's really quite a fascinating experience!
Again, I reminded myself to "Trust the process" and that it's all right not to know where the road will lead; to follow my heart and just go where the wind blows me. That's so much easier than trying to figure it all out.
From Qualicum Bay, I drove north to Comox where some friends live. Because of the small street, I stayed at the Kin Beach provincial park, on the outskirts of that town. It was a warm feeling to see my friends again as it had been about 12 yrs since I last saw them. We spent a lovely time catching up and they tried to sell me the idea of settling in that area! (It's nice to be wanted!)
The park where I stayed was right on the water and you could see the mountains on the mainland, a short distance across the Strait of Georgia. It was a small campground with just a few RVs as it was still off season. A friendly couple managed the park and I was able to get some good information about camping on the Sunshine coast.
 |
| View from my campsite at Kin Beach |
An unexpected surprise awaited me the first morning when I heard some very loud planes flying overhead. I found out it was the Snowbirds doing their annual practice manoevers. I was just watching from the front of my RV when I saw 2 of them create a the shape of a giant heart over the water. Many other manoevers followed and I had a difficult time comprehending how several very fast flying jets could fly so precisely together in loops without crashing into each other.
After the Snowbirds finished, an F-18 thundered by doing some practice. Their flights were repeated again in the afternoons.
They practice in this area every spring for 3 weeks before travelling throughout North America to perform at air shows.
I left the island on April 16 by taking the 1 1/2 hr ferry over to Powell River on the mainland of BC where I am now in their public library. On the way over, the Snowbirds passed over us again. It took them only a few seconds to fly across the strait.
After many days of warm sun, today is rainy and overcast, rather ironic that it is a day like this when I am travelling to the "Sunshine Coast"!
It's a perfect day though, to catch up on my blog.
Remembering some cheerful tulips
"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving"
--- Albert Einstein
"A year from now, you will wish you had started today."
--- Karen Lamb
"Nature does not hurry. Yet everything is accomplished."
--- Lao Tzu
Maria
whyknotrvmaria@gmail.com
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