Thursday 19th April 2012…one more sleep!!!

An easy post this morning…woke up to rain and then drove on a back highway in the rain

then drove on interstate 5 in the rain

finally on the 101 in the rain ….see a pattern here??

So I am now in Wal-Mart parking lot in Port Angeles after a drive of 265 miles and I am a couple of miles away from the Ferry terminal for tomorrow morning…. a boring drive really made no stops!!!

So tonight is my last night of what can only be described as a Journey of a life time…almost 11 months on the road and when I get home I shall have to process all I saw, the people I met and the experiences I had.

I think I should explain about my Family on the Bank!!!

About 14 years ago whilst I was working in the restaurant in Nanaimo I worked the afternoon shift so in the mornings I started working, that is not the right word, I started accompanying Roy on outings. he and Eileen were very special friends and sad to say Roy started with the early signs of dementia and Eileen asked me if I would give her some respite and take Roy out…I was very happy to do this as he was a great man, gentle and just a nice person.  This evolved into me picking Roy up every weekday at 9am and bringing him back home at 2pm when I would leave go home shower and work my shift in  the restaurant.  I did this for 6 years so as you can imagine we became so close and he was a Father figure to me….the terrible disease was worsening on him but he never complained and always had a huge smile on his face…..Eileen had the horrid decision to make and placed Roy in a care facility where in about 18 months he passed away….I shall never forget him.

Roy with Eileen on his left and Irene, who is Eileen’s sister in law on the other side!!!!!

A few weeks later I was approached by a lady I knew just a little bit, Heather, asking if I would be willing to take her Father in law out on outings as he also was suffering from a dementia like disease…that is how I met Ken…another wonderful, kind spirit…..We went out on outings and we became buddies and then really good friends with his family.  So Kirby, Ken’s son,  his charming and wonderful wife Heather and their three teenage boys Ben, Alex and Zach we all became great friends.

I started to play a bigger role in Ken’s life and one of my favorite times was a few years ago when Kirby and Heather and the boys took off in their motorhome for a month and I moved into the house and looked after Ken….it was a wonderful time he was no problem and we did lots of fun things…..as the years passed I continued to spend time with Ken and he also became like a Father to me… and when I retired and I started spending my winters in Mexico so when I was back in Nanaimo for the summers I rented an apartment.

Again sad to say Ken had to be placed in a care home where he was an inspiration to staff and other friends staying there….Ken passed away almost two years ago and I still miss him!!!

Ken’s Birthday!!!!

Kirby and Heather approached me and said they would love to have me stay at their incredible beautiful home when I was back for the summers..so for the past couple of years that is what I have been doing…..I am in this huge bedroom with a deck that looks out on the ocean and the Vancouver Mountains across the straight …….it is a lovely casa and Heather and Kirby are so kind to me and the boys and I get along great as long as I was driving them around…now Ben and Alex are driving so just got to ferry Zach to the golf course everyday!!!  I just love living there

even cleaning out the gutters!!!!!

 

and I am so blessed…the street address is Waldbank..hence when I say my Family on the Bank you now know what I mean!!!!

So that is where I shall be tomorrow…. in days to come I will show you photos…….I have a great life right???

Seems strange to do a post with out a Waterfalls photo so just to tease you this will be my next waterfall viewing in July…The Plitvice waterfalls in Croatia…rated in the top 10 of best waterfalls in the world!!!!!!

The last few times I have arrived home after a few days I seem to get a little blue for a few days so working on that not happening this year……

I will contact you individually by e mail but I want to publicly acknowledge everyone..old friends, new friends.everyone that showed me kindness during my journey, home stays, meals, outings, offers of help….I thank you all so much and I hope you all enjoyed reading the blog as much as I enjoyed writing it……Blessings and Yashi Kochi!!!!