Sunday, October 31, 2010

Sunday 31st October 2010…one more sleep!!!!

Everything is ready, Ramona packed and raring to go…I think I got everything that I needed to do done ….my friends came and said goodbye to me this morning…

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The plan is to get the 7.45 am ferry in the morning and have a full day of driving….no set time table but I want to get down to the four corners of the USA and do some hiking around the canyons…

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I will try to post as often as I can whilst on the road.

I want to thank everyone for their kinds words of encouragement, the e mails and the wishes of a safe and happy Winter.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Thursday 28th October 2010…I know I know…

I said I wasn’t going to blog till Sunday but stuff happens and I want to practise using this new set up I can do lots of different things nowWinking smile orSteaming mad orVampire bat

Anyway a few days ago I mentioned about that great young man who was a greeter at Wal-Mart and I received this reply from a friend of mine who is still working at the school when I was there.

I read a bit of your blog and the Wal-Mart mart greeter is Tim Herrington....He was a school friend of my oldest (28 and3/4 years old)

Tim had a fall playing baseball and that lead to surgery and now he has symptoms of MS.  He lived with his Mom and she passed

away and I have a feeling there was no father around....and he uses a different last name now???  He is a strong Christian and

sounds like he has some good friends that have left a rock at the top of Mt. Benson that he WILL  retrieve one day!!  I think he makes

a wonderful greeter and it is amazing that some of the kids remember us after all those years.

Just a feel good story for today!!!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Monday 25th October 2010…one week to go..

I have a very packed schedule for this week…saying good byes, getting Ramona ready, doing all the little things that need to be done……so………this will be the last post for this week I will give you a break….join me again next Sunday…….take care!!

Monday 25th October 2010…one week to go

I have a very packed schedule for this week…saying good byes, getting Ramona ready, doing all the little things that need to be done……so………this will be the last post for this week I will give you a break….join me again next Sunday…….take care!!!!!!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Saturday 23rd October 2010..a very busy day

started at

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Don’t feel too bad for me up at this hour as I actually was still in bed watching this….

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Not a bad life….good game, ocean view and then around 8am Heather produced hot fresh baked blueberry muffins!!!

In the afternoon went to watch Alex play ball..

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One of the fans brought their dog….

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The fall colours are so pretty around town..

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I went to the local Wal-Mart this afternoon and the Greeter at the door was a young man in a wheelchair, he had a huge scar over the top of his head and was obviously a victim of some horrific accident.  I had an item to return for a refund so he had to give me a sticker.  He looked at me and said to me,”You used to work supervisor at Dover Bay school right?”..I did in fact do this and finished about 9 years ago…

So I told him yes and that he had a good memory and his reply just floored me….he said “Not bad for a brain damaged kid”……what a great attitude this young man has!!!!!!!!

My evening was really quite strenuous I had to eat dinner…watch the World Series baseball game and ended the evening watching a hockey game!!!!!!!!

Would like to relax tomorrow but I have two games to ref…hard work being retired!!!!

Saturday 23rd October 2010……countdown officially begins!!

Went to Port Alberni to see my special friends Barb and Paco and was happy to visit and see Barb as she is undergoing some medical procedures and she is doing well…Paco my handyman fixed a few issues with Ramona and she is ready now for the road.  Thanks for everything and sorry I won’t be bugging you for Mexican Train game this year and I hope the Winter is a happy and healthy one!!

I have lots of visiting to do today and then tomorrow two games to ref.

Sara arrived safely in Port Simpson and her first day was a good one.

Next week will be catching up on loose ends and getting Ramona packed as I plan to leave Monday 1st November…

Hope the weekend is a great one for you all, did you notice the Texan accent there??

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Thursday 21st October 2010…countdown!!!!

Well about 11 days before I head out on my next journey south and the last few days will be busy getting everything ready a long job but one which I enjoy and I am always amazed at how many times I re-arrange things inside and out of Ramona….yesterday she had her last oil and filter change I am now using synthetic oil and I bought another 7 litres to take with me for my change down there.  Bonita is all on the back and ready to go…..

Sara leaves today for a 9 day stint at work in Port Simpson, located just above Prince Rupert and then when she gets back on the 29th of this month I leave on the 1st November and the plan is for her to fly down to Mexico mid December…..

The nights are drawing in and dark by 6.45pm, cooler in the mornings and evenings, yes a time to go!!!!

I want to thank all my readers, for their comments and e mails I also love to hear from you and hope my boring prose does not put you to sleep…..

Well I have two little girls waiting for me……how lucky am I??

Monday, October 18, 2010

Monday 18th October 2010..reflections!!

Had a busy few days seems like there is always something to do at Sara’s house…the main job was to get a guest room ready as there is a chance of Sara renting out a bedroom in the main house to a nurse for the Winter…

Had two games to ref yesterday it was sunny and nice and the games both under 18 years of age first boys and then girls, went very well and I was impressed with the high standard of soccer(football) they played and all in good spirits and I had no cards to issue….

I am going to Nanaimo for a couple of days tomorrow to take of lots of stuff and get Ramona serviced for her long drive south…

October is the month my Dad was born way back in 1919 and it was also the month he passed away four years ago…I never forget that my lifestyle today is mainly with the help of both my Mum and my Dad and I show that tribute every day with the proclamation on the rear of Ramona…..”muchas gracias mis padres”.

I hope to get to see and call my friends in the next few weeks and the tentative day of departure is November 3rd……I am getting excited to see the girls and all my friends down south, yes Linda and Chip, that means you!!!!

Sara leaves for a 8 day stint at work in Port Simpson on Thursday, she has not been there before…..

I want to say hello to my dear friend Barb and Paco and that my thoughts and best wishes are with you Barb as you undergo some medical treatments, be well and happy my dear friend.

Best wishes to all…

Friday, October 15, 2010

Friday 15th October 2010….great news!!!

I wrote about my friend Mary a few weeks ago who was travelling to Costa Rica for an operation to ease the burden of her MS…well Mary arrived home yesterday and I spoke to her this morning and she is feeling like a new lady…..so best wishes and Mary I hope your new life is a wonderful pain free and happy one!!!

Here are a couple of photos of Mary with her doctors and trainers!!

Dr. Marla Groves, Mary and Dr Diaz  after post-op

Andrea, Mary and Jose.  Last day of physio

Yesterday was my last dental appointment and all my work is finished with just some crowns to be placed on the implants when I come back from Mexico….it was a long and expensive ordeal but one I am happy I made…..have a great weekend!!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Wednesday 13th October 2010…another journey done!!!

We arrived back in Duncan around 8.30pm tonight and all was well with Border crossings and the tenth Ross store for Sara in 2 days, perhaps this is a record!!!

Some of the sights on the way home…

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I stopped at Costco in Bellingham and filled up with the cheapest gas on the trip $2.80 per gallon…..

My final dental appointment tomorrow before I leave for the winter….Ramona will get her final clean and check up and Sara leaves for a week of work next Thursday….

Good to be back!!!

Wednesday 13th October 2010…..letter from the girls!!

 

Received this e mail this morning…

 

Hello Les and Sara,
We are so happy to hear from you.  We came to our English class yesterday and Ms. Josefina helped us with your e-mail.  We are so happy to hear that you will be in San Miguel soon.  By the way "how soon"'?  We would like to see both of you very, very soon.  Time goes so rapidly and we are about to celebrate "Halloween" and then Christmas. Will you be here by then?  We hope so.
We send you millions of kisses and hugs. Please take care and don`t forget how much we love you.
Daniela and Paola

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Sunday 10th October 2010……10/10/10

Not only is it Thanksgiving Day it is also the three tens!!!!!

Well it was a really wonderful day being with five generations of Sara’s they are a huge family very friendly and kind and I must also say good COOKS!!!!

17 people were treated to a fabulous meal, there was an abundance of food, good stories and entertainment from 2 year old Kashner and 2 month old Luke….

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The youngest and the oldest!!!!!

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The five generations…

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From left to right….

great granddaughter Aiden, Great great Grandma Grace, great granddaughter Erin holding her new born Luke, Grandma Jean, granddaughter Larraine holding her Grandson Kash………

Thanks to everyone for making me feel so welcome….

It is now Tuesday morning and I am writing this in the Wal Mart parking lot where we spent the night.  We are in Sandpoint, Idaho(Border crossing no problema!!!)

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where Sara has some friends which we visited for a few minutes last night as they were getting ready to leave on a road trip of their own.

The lake in Sandpoint..

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Yesterday was a good day of driving and we spent last evening walking around Wal Mart and enjoying their incredible prices, we rented a new DVD movie at the Red Box for one dollar.

oct11 013 Don’t be confused $5 a day is the name of the movie!!

I have mentioned this before but this is a vending machine that dispenses a new release movie for one dollar and then you can return it to any other red Box location, perfect for our lifestyle.

Today we heading to Spokane then over to Everett and eventually up to Vancouver.  I have promised Sara today can be a shopping day so look out Ross, JC Penney, Costco stores!!!!!!!!

So it is now almost midnight Tuesday night and it was yet another of those special days…Sara did indeed shop till she almost dropped and I think I may have to purchase a trailer to tow behind Ramona for all her stuff!!!!!

Great gas price at Costco this afternoon..

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Not sure where this bridge was…

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About 6.30pm and we passed through a small town called Waterville it looked quaint so we parked and had a walk around town and came across this funky cafe..

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A small sign said Bakery, RV park and Gallery..the sign on the door said closed but there was a lady inside and I knocked and went in and her first words were “Are you here for the scrabble night?”

So here is the deal we get to park for free in their parking lot, very quiet and safe, we get to buy breakfast and fresh baked goods in the morning and went inside and joined the scrabble club…

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What a cool place…

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I felt quite ashamed winning the first game of scrabble…

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so I let Sara win the second game!!!

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Everyone was so friendly and kind we had a great time….back to Ramona to finish off Larraine’s wonderful pumpkin pie and watched the movie and it was pretty good…..

I just love small town America!!!

Map picture

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Sunday 10th October 2010…Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Yesterday day was a visiting day….in the morning after returning to Lethbridge Larraine and Clancy took us out to a huge Farmers Market.

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Many Hutterrites selling their fresh produce reminded me of my days in Smoky Lake and the colony there.

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Then it was visiting 3 generations of Sara’s family…meeting the youngest sister, Tammy..her son Tyler and his girl friend Amber…….even Sara’s son Gabe arrived in town so you can see today will be a huge family get together…..

My job today is making the world famous Pearson scrambled eggs for breakfast and  then clean up…..

We are going back to Sara’s Mums tonight then leave for our journey home tomorrow….probably going back through Spokane to Vancouver and should arrive home Wednesday evening…this may be my last post till then…..

Hope the weekend is a wonderful one for everyone and count those blessings!!!!

Saturday, October 09, 2010

Friday 8th October 2010…..back to Fort M…..

We left this morning to drive back to Sara’s Mums and we took her on an outing and stopped here for a lovely lunch, what a pretty setting!!!

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A few miles later we came to this idyllic part of the country….

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Horses on the hill..

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A few miles later we arrived at our destination….

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Again this is worth a Google click and to read the history…the interpretive centre was very well set out and we watched 2 movies showing all the facts and it was a great afternoon.

In the evening we went out for a Chinese Buffet followed by an evening at the

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To see…

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It was a very good concert and we enjoyed the evening..

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So ends another lovely day…want to wish everyone a Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!!!!

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Thursday 7th October 2010…a day at Waterton…

This morning was a beautiful morning and Larraine, Sara and I set off armed with copious amounts of food and drink and around 12 noon arrived at..

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We toured the small town and it’s inhabitants!!!

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Please sit back and enjoy the photos of our 6mile return hike to Wall lake!!!

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Animals and stuff along the way!!!

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The lake was really quite beautiful…

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We stopped and had a lovely lunch and then hit the trail back, the weather had turned a little cool and cloudy.

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An interesting tree that Sara liked.

Back at the car we did another tour of some of the parks other areas..

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Not sure why this cow is still doing this?????

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Chief mountain…

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This was like a Nascar race but with combines…. 7 of them in a row!!!!!

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I think the only Mormon Temple in Alberta in Cardston.

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We arrived home at 8pm after a fabulous day..thanks Larraine!!!!

After a quick bite to eat we played a new card/word game which was fun..modesty forbids me from telling you who won…

 

Oh what the HECK!!!

The Pearson boy came through again!!!!!

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...