Welcome to Vancouver Island...guess what .....it raining again!!!

Our RV Park for three months...just inside Nanaimo city limits

HE SAID: After a beautiful drive from Lethbridge to Anacortes Washington, we took the ferry over to Victoria and drove up to Nanaimo.  It felt really good to be near the ocean again, and I was really stoked about being on Vancouver Island.  It was an uneventful trip until we hit Nanaimo and our GPS took us down a country road, then into somebody's drive way and told us we had reached our destination. Except of course it wasn't. On top of it all we couldn't back up which required us to take the car and dolly  of the mother ship and back up.  But it was worth it to get to the above.

We had an ocean side view and the whole RV park was covered with beautiful trees and vegetation.

We arrived just in time for Canadian Thanksgiving. All of Dusty and Ted's girls (9 of them) now live in or near Nanaimo. We had no choice but to use the church gym. It was fun to be with so many relatives, but I missed having leftover Turkey and stuffing.

For the first bit of our time here, we did some minor upkeeps to the motor home and did some touring around the island. Went up to Comox to see Aunt Dorothy, went to a corn maze

 toured Tofino and Long Beach.

and of course Cathederal Grove.

Just before the end of October, we decided to join Ted and Dusty on a trip to Edmonton to attend a baptism and confirmation of priesthood for Mike and Bob's boys. It was a beautiful trip and with four drivers it was easy driving. We first stayed with Mike and Miriam at their house then on to Bob and Lisa's. We had a great time in both homes and it was really nice being back in Edmonton. The city has really grown since the last time we were there.














When we returned to Nanaimo, we offered Dusty and Ted our help with some home renovations. It started off with just some reorganization, which turned into a major change. We started off ripping out the cupboards in the kitchen, and had a whole new set up installed, including a new dishwasher, fridge and microwave. Dusty then decided to redo all her floors with new laminate tiles.  I was great at the demolition, but left the installation of the kitchen to the experts. We had to move room to room to do the flooring, so their was lots of rearranging and purging. They went through two big dumpster bins in the process. I did a great job of the new trim and baseboards if I can brag. Of course it helped having a brad nailer to do the job. Overall the Hunter home looked fantastic when it was all done. Everyone helped when ever they could. Our goal was to get it done before Pat and Dusty's mom got there for Christmas and we just made it.

Just after we started renovations, we booked a trip for Black Friday in Seattle. It was really different then any other Black Friday. We had troubles finding the right stores. Even went to one store and waited for it to open. (was attached to a mall). Someone in the mall line said we would be waiting a long time because that store had closed last year!!!  Got some good sales, especially new shoes for the car.

Waiting for the "closed" store to open.

This was our first Christmas without at least one of our kids. It was kind of sad. With all the other relatives on the island though, we were kept busy. Once again the big Christmas dinner was held at the church. Pat and Dusty went all out with dollar store decorations and the food was really good. It was nice having Pat's mom spend Christmas with us.

Overall the three months in Nanaimo were great. Even though it rained almost every day, it wasn't the weather we had to shovel. The RV park was the best we have ever been to and it was really cheap. I was in the zone with having our own cable modem thanks to an awesome Shaw deal. We were able to watch Netflix all the time as well I download the entire 7 seasons of Star Trek Voyager (almost finished the first season). 

We are now on the road again heading to Florida via the Oregon and California coast. Ted and Dusty have joined us for this long journey. I'm looking forward to Ted helping with the driving. 

SHE SAID:

Well, I did cop out on the last entry.  It seems so long ago!  I will do better going forward, probably.  Our trip to BC, and Vancouver Island was very pretty and it was great to be on the road again.  I am still enjoying the Nomad lifestyle and am not quite ready to settle down yet.  We left Lethbridge on a beautiful day in mid-October, after a couple of hold back items were taken care of.  We went through the US, as gas prices were cheaper and I think the mountain passes are a bit easier.  We spent the night in Spokane – no real excitement on the trip at all.  None of our first year trials – thank goodness.  We caught the Anacortes Ferry, as it was ALOT cheaper than using any of the BC Ferries.

John got the munchies in Duncan, and decided to turn into a Tim Hortons, with his designated co-pilot (he says backseat driver) saying we should keep on going to an easier spot – he was hungry, though.  We found ourselves in a VERY tight parking lot, with no real spot for 45’ of RV and car to turn around in.  We were having an animated discussion about this, however the parking lot fairy saw our predicament, cars pulled out allowing a big swing and we vacated the spot.  John did eventually get something to eat, but not at Timmies.

We arrived in Nanaimo, following the GPS to find the campground we were registered at.  Following instructions very closely, to ensure timely arrival we found ourselves at the dead end of a lane – with no easy turn around.  Looking closely at the GPS map, I did see that we could have taken a winding walking trail to arrive at our destination – not a big help.  We unhooked the car from the mother ship, turned it around, attached the tow dolly to the car and got that straightened out.  We then were able to use local driveways to back the RV up and turn it around.  We drove separately to our site, ignoring the GPS instructing us to take the next legal U Turn…

Our campsite was absolutely gorgeous – at the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean.  Can’t ask for a better spot – WOW!  Time in Nanaimo went very quickly – we took a couple of side trips – one to Edmonton/Lethbridge – to visit Dusty’s (my sister) twin sons – Bob and Mike and their families.  It was great to reconnect with them.  Mikes youngest daughter took to calling John ‘boy’.  So sweet!  The other was to Seattle for Black Friday – and yes the deals were good.  It was a lot of fun spending time with Dusty’s girls and their children.

Anyone that knows me knows I do appreciate a challenge – the Nanaimo one was Dusty’s house.  I didn’t realize how far a suggestion to move a couple of freezers could go.  After moving the said freezers out onto their deck, all I said was, that there was a lot that could be done to make the kitchen a much nicer space.  A full kitchen renovation later – cupboards, sink, backsplash, dishwasher, microwave, fridge, lighting and a new floor later, it was done.  We also put new flooring down throughout the main floor (thanks to awesome Black Friday deal).  It was a huge amount of work, but we did most of it ourselves, with her built in family work crew.  She does have the advantage of 7 daughters and partners living nearby. 

Christmas was spent with the Hunters.  Mom came for the week before, and it was nice to spend some time with her.  Our time on the island went VERY fast and on Boxing Day it was time to move on…again.