Tuesday, April 29, 2008

 
 
 
 
The first photograph is taken from the front yard of my apartment.

Then I went to explore the neighbourhood and within 400 yards of where I live I found the entrance to the beach side walk. It was just simply beautiful, through old growth forest with a run off stream from the mountains. Then to my surprise it came out on a busy mainroad close to a shopping centre.

In hindsight I have driven this road thousands of time and seen the sign for the walk but never ventured down. I am glad I did today.

The sun is shining and all is well, take care...
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Saturday, April 26, 2008

It is now about 8:00pm on Saturday evening and although Pili wanted to come to Salt Spring Island she had to stay home and it is just Ramona and me again.

I left Nanaimo last night after watching the hockey game on my lovely new TV and drove the 40 minutes to Crofton where we took the 20 minute ferry to Salt Spring Island. I drove straight to the High school where I am reffing games tomorrow and parked in the parking lot for the night.

Pretty amazing to me to be in Mexico then the USA and a few days later on the island, what a whirlwind. Had a great sleep. I reffed two games then had a break went to another field and reffed three more games.

I am now all cleaned up just enjoyed a beautiful dinner of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding that I brought with me from my ex place of employment, the Granary restaurant. The down town core of the island is all a Wifi hot spot, so I am outside the fire station posting this. Pretty soon I am going to go back to the place I stayed last night, watch a movie and another great day done.

I have enjoyed seeing the sights on this island it is a very pretty and laid back life style and the islanders are a friendly crowd. I have also enjoyed the games today as I have been reffing younger children, girls and boys teams under the age of 15. At this age there is fierce competition but the nastiness of later years has not set in and they play fair and in the spirit of the game and the coaches and parents are not hollering at me, so this makes a welcome and happy change.

Tomorrow I have exactly the same schedule and will drive back to Nanaimo after my last game.

I have been back over a week now and wow what a time I have had. All settled into a lovely furnished apartment. Bought a great second hand car, connected again with some of my friends and more to connect with this week and just really glad to be back, the weather seems to be improving and I am enjoying my lifestyle including the soccer.

Want to wish everyone a happy sunday, blessings
 
 
 
 
How I spent my day on beautiful Salt Spring Island!
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More Salt Spring Island
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Thursday, April 24, 2008

 
 
 
I would like to introduce you to the newest member of the Pearson clan. Her name is Pili and she is 6 years old and she is in great health and I think she looks great.

Pili and Ramona are just getting acquainted and I don't anticipate any jealousy problems.

Have a great weekend everyone..
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Wednesday, April 23, 2008

 
 
I treated myself to an early birthday present. Figured I couldn't see the ball or the puck, so needed a 32 inch TV, love it. I may never go out again just stay home and watch TV!!!!



The outside of the house and the pictures inside my apartment, pretty neat eh????? That is a Canadian expression!!!..


All is well, the snow is gone and it is a little warmer. I have reffed three soccer games three days in a row, so enjoying that.

This weekend I go to a soccer tournament so will post some photos on Monday.

I want to wish you all a great weekend, PURA VIDA.
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Monday, April 21, 2008

All moved into my lovely apartment today and it is just what I need. A fabulous self-contained, furnished one-bedroom apartment, in a lovely area and the owners who live above are a wonderful couple and this is home for me now until October.

Spent most of the morning and early afternoon moving my things in and in the afternoon I was invited to an open house and afternoon tea at the facility where my great friend and buddy Ken lives. Ken and I have spent hours together and you have heard me talk about him and his special and incredibly nice family, so I was privileged to be invited to go to the tea and it was lovely.

Afterwards I went to the facility where my other wonderful friend and buddy, Roy, resides and spent about 30 minutes with Roy. I showed him Ramona and of course he wanted to take her for a drive!!! Roy is still so funny.

Both these gentlemen and I mean that in the true sense of the word have made a great impact on me. Roy and I were together most days for nearly six years and he never once was anything but smiling, funny and happy. Ken and I have spent time together now nearly three years and a more decent man you could not find. I feel honoured to call both these men my friend, mentor and father figure.

Then it was off to another friends house for a lovely home cooked meal. I know I sound like a broken record but I have so many wonderful friends!!!! They open their hearts, their home and their lives to me, I am so lucky.

I don’t have Internet in my new place but I am hoping within a couple of days someone with much more technical knowledge than myself will be able to tell me a way I can connect. So until I do I am using the library of going to Internet places to post.

I had a good day and I hope you did too, blessings and thank goodness that pretty, but nasty white stuff is almost gone and I am looking forward to reffing my first soccer game tomorrow afternoon.
All moved into my lovely apartment today and it is just what I need. A fabulous self-contained, furnished one-bedroom apartment, in a lovely area and the owners who live above are a wonderful couple and this is home for me now until October.

Spent most of the morning and early afternoon moving my things in and in the afternoon I was invited to an open house and afternoon tea at the facility where my great friend and buddy Ken lives. Ken and I have spent hours together and you have heard me talk about him and his special and incredibly nice family, so I was privileged to be invited to go to the tea and it was lovely.

Afterwards I went to the facility where my other wonderful friend and buddy, Roy, resides and spent about 30 minutes with Roy. I showed him Ramona and of course he wanted to take her for a drive!!! Roy is still so funny.

Both these gentlemen and I mean that in the true sense of the word have made a great impact on me. Roy and I were together most days for nearly six years and he never once was anything but smiling, funny and happy. Ken and I have spent time together now nearly three years and a more decent man you could not find. I feel honoured to call both these men my friend, mentor and father figure.

Then it was off to another friends house for a lovely home cooked meal. I know I sound like a broken record but I have so many wonderful friends!!!! They open their hearts, their home and their lives to me, I am so lucky.

I don’t have Internet in my new place but I am hoping within a couple of days someone with much more technical knowledge than myself will be able to tell me a way I can connect. So until I do I am using the library of going to Internet places to post.

I had a good day and I hope you did too, blessings and thank goodness that pretty, but nasty white stuff is almost gone and I am looking forward to reffing my first soccer game tomorrow afternoon.
 
 



Ken and me at the afternoon tea!!

Roy and Ramona!!!
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Saturday, April 19, 2008

This is one of those you really had to be there stories…..Last night I decided to park Ramona where I had the night before in Beban Park and I parked way back in the lot and went to sleep peacefully about midnight. Slept like a baby till 7.45am and woke up, lifted up the shades and I couldn’t believe what I saw outside…..SNOW!!!!!!!!! Not just a few flakes I am talking here mega storm and at least 14 inches of snow on the ground. I could not believe it.

What to do now…..the first thing I thought was to pull in the slide and get the engine going and Ramona out of this nasty parking lot. Of course the slide would not retract because of the huge amount of snow on top of the awning. Here I have to back track a little when I left in November I took my life jacket and the paddles from my kayak as I had hoped to buy an inflatable kayak but never did, so the paddles were inside the motor home.

Now Ramona’s windshield was covered solid in snow, too much for the wipers to pull off so here I am 8o’clock in the morning sat in the drivers seat with the window open me leaning out of the window with the kayak oar in my hands bent over forwards trying to get the snow off the windshield.

I then decided that I had to get Ramona out of here and needed help. So with my croc shoes and long socks and shorts and a jacket I walked through almost waist high snow to the public facility at the park complex to use the phone. Who am I going to call I need a snow shovel and a step ladder to reach the awning to get the snow off. One person who I called, who shall remain nameless ( you know who you are!!!) was on the phone for like 3 hours!!!!! The other person who I called (and you know who you are) is now off my Christmas card list, couldn’t help.

So I said to my self you are a Pearson Boy figure something out, so I did. I found the arena workman and asked if he had a stepladder I could borrow and he had. So I go back across the field again with the stepladder. I get to Ramona put up the stepladder and with my kayak paddle I am taking the snow off the top of the awning. Half way through I had to stop and get off the ladder because I was laughing so hard!!!If anybody could have seen me, priceless there I was in this snow-covered parking lot dressed in shorts, long socks, crocs up a ladder with a paddle getting snow off the roof!!!!!! I honestly thought that I would be using the kayak oar in some remote paradise infested waters not scraping snow in Nanaimo!!!!!! Too funny!!!

This took me about two minutes then I got in started up Ramona thinking she is never going to get out through this amount of snow but just like my trip away she went drove through the snow like a knife through butter and out onto the road, the adventure coming to an end. What a way to start a day!!

Good news is that in being home only 24 hours I have found a really great basement suite to rent, just fabulous!!!!! I have found a car to buy as well. I move into my new place tomorrow and life is just so good!!!!

So I wanted to share all of this excitement with you and let you know that all is well. I have enjoyed connecting with some of my friends already and they are so wonderful offers of dinners and vehicles and good friendship, I am so blessed.

Wish you all a great weekend, blessings from snowy Nanaimo!!
 
 
 
 



YOU CAN PUT YOUR OWN CAPTION ON THESE PHOTOGRAPHS!!!!!!!!!!!
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Friday, April 18, 2008

Thursday night about 11.30pm and I am parked at Beban Park, Nanaimo, a local park complex and can you believe I haven’t seen my poker buddies (Not buddies anymore) for 6 months and they take 10 dollars from me, glad now I didn’t bring them back a gift!!!!

The work on Ramona took longer than I thought, 6 hours altogether, and I hope at last they have fixed the one little problem that I have had since day one. Arrived at the border with no vehicles in front and the very kind young man manning the booth after a couple of questions regarding where I had been and for how long waved me through with the kind words of “Welcome home”.

At the ferry terminal no line up either and had to wait about 1 hour for the next ferry which was on time so it all went very smoothly and at long last I am home and it feels good, not to mention very cold and windy.

I have two appointments to look at suites tomorrow so I am hoping one of them works out, then I hope to buy a small car and I shall be all set.

I know I said this a little while ago but I have driven just under 14000 miles with out any mechanical problems and Ramona has been my very best friend and companion. I will now admit that when I dropped my brother off at the airport in Cancun on 16th March I looked at the map and saw the distance I had to return and what a daunting task that was to undertake but you know it wasn’t at all, I enjoyed every mile I drove and to have my own bed every night and everything else Ramona gives me, I just smile and say thanks!!

Already have dinner invitations, soccer games to officiate and friends to visit if only the weather would warm up…..

Glad to be back and again thanks to everyone for all the support, encouragement and best wishes.

Will blog every couple of days and show those readers who don’t live on this island what a beautiful place it is, blessings and a safe and happy weekend to all.
 
THE KID IS HOME!!!!!!!
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Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Well my last USA post for a while..I am in the library in Marysville, Washington, the home of the dealership where Ramona is going at 7.30am tomorrow.

It was an uneventful trip here along the big interstate highway 5 and I took the by pass around Seattle.

I have very mixed emotions about going home and I think it may take me a day or two to get my bearings and re-adjust. I have had a magnificent journey that has lasted 149 days and I cannot praise Ramona enough, she did everything I asked of her and my stay has been most comfortable and relaxing.

I have met up with some of my friends along the road and that was just great. So nice to see familiar faces in unfamiliar surroundings. I have also made some new friendships along the way, people that I hope I shall meet again one day in my travels.

This blog has been a great source of joy to me. I have really enjoying taking the photographs and I know my writing leaves a lot to be desired. I tried to include information about the places I was seeing, some humour and some personal stuff. The feedback I get is tremendous and I am so glad that so many people have joined me on my journey through the blog. Thanks also to Chris back home in Nanaimo who is “my editor” and a tough one at that!!!!! He did a remarkable job of my last year’s blog putting it in order and onto a DVD and he will no doubt do the same fine job this year.

Thank you for all the e mails they meant the world to me and on those lonely nights hundreds of miles away so nice to see my inbox with incoming messages, thank you!!!

I go back to Nanaimo happy, refreshed, tanned (although loosing that fast in this cold weather). I think I have a lead on a suite to rent for the summer and the other job is to buy a small car.

I have some plans for the summer including soccer tournaments to attend in both BC and Washington State. I intend to get my kayak wet, meet with friends and start planning my next trip only SIX MONTHS AWAY!!!!!!

I will keep up the blog but not every day so please check back in once in a while and have a wonderful, safe, happy and healthy summer, blessings and PURA VIDA!!!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

It is just after 7pm and I am in the library in Vancouver, Washington State and I have just come from a great Chinese dinner.

Had a wonderful hike and drive around the very scenic area of the Columbia River Gorge even the high wind, cold and rain didn’t deter me.

One day closer to home and tomorrow if I have time I may go and visit down town Seattle for a few hours before I make my way further north and to the dealership for Ramona on Thursday morning. I have a 7.30am appointment so I am hoping to be home that night and in time for my Poker with the boys!!!

It seems ages ago since I was in Vegas never mind Mexico and when I last looked I had driven over 13000 miles. Must compliment my girl she has been a pleasure to drive, she just purrs along without issues. I sleep like a baby and she is 5 stars for sure!!!

Hope you all have a nice evening, best wishes and blessings ..
 
 
Spent a very enjoyable couple of hours up and around these waterfalls. They were very majestic and the scenery was awesome. I enjoyed the hike to the summit of the falls.

I can never look at waterfalls without thinking of my great time in Costa Rica last October and the beautiful waterfall at the back door. Brought back vivid memories especially since I was introduced to an UMBRELLA again. Todays dress code was:
one sweater
another hooded sweater
waterproof jacket
long sweat pants
gloves umbrella


I think Mexico beckons already....
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Thursday 5 th January 2023…it was a great run!!!

 This was my first ever blog post back in November of 2006!!! With just a couple of days off I have written a blog every day since and I hav...