A New Beginning - On Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Christmas 2014

Christmas has come and gone and to many it was just another Christmas to put under ones belt. For us however, it was a more special time this year as this would be the last Christmas we would celebrate with our wonderful American friends for some time. It is likely that this year we will spend Christmas either in our new home on Vancouver Island or somewhere on our travels. Where, remains to be seen.  

Where to Now

This blog will cover information about our new intended destination and the run-up to our arrival there. Some of the information is meant for our overseas readers and American neighbours and friends who may not be that familiar with where we are headed or with the geography of the area.  

A large number of our friends from Mesquite have told us they will visit us at over the course of the next year or so we thought it important to say something about it here.

Vancouver Island is the largest Island on the west coast of North America. It is almost twice the size of Hawaii - 451 kilometres (282 miles) long. It covers 32,136 square kilometres (12,408 square miles) and is larger than many people imagine. 

Much of the island is untamed wilderness – home to cougar, wolves, bear, deer, elk and eagles. The surrounding Ocean has a myriad of creatures including whales, dolphins, otters, seals, salmon and many other animals too numerous to mention here.

Unlike the eastern side, the western side of the island is sparsely populated and consists of rugged fjords, temperate rain forests and mountainous terrain. The Island is best known around the world for The Pacific Rim National Park, the famous West Coast Trail - a challenge to even seasoned hikers and of course, the unbelievably beautiful Buchart Gardens, all truly great places to visit when holidaymakers come across from the mainland.  

There are few roads. Many of the coastal villages are only accessible by sea or air. The only highway running the length of the island connects the main cities and towns on the more populated eastern side of the Island. 

If you were to drive from Port Hardy, the northernmost town, to Victoria at the southern tip it's a full day´s drive through or past lush farmland and forests, through quaint villages and towns with names as varied and as interesting as their history. Some place names have a First Nations´ origins such as Nanaimo pronounced "Naneyemo" and Qualicum, while others like Juan de Fuca and Victoria speak of a Spanish and English past. 

Victoria, although it is located on the island is the capital of Canada's westernmost Province of British Columbia even though most of the Province of British Columbia (B.C.) is located on the mainland.  

I believe Nanaimo (one city we are looking at) has roughly 80,000 people, whereas the population of Comox/Courtenay (our other alternative destination) is nearer to 40,000, about double that of Mesquite.  

Vancouver, B.C's largest city is separated from Vancouver Island by the Strait of Georgia, linked via Horseshoe Bay and the Horseshoe Bay BC Ferries terminal in West Vancouver, approximately an hour and a half ferry ride from the Island.

Like much of the Coastal Pacific Northwest, Nanaimo experiences a temperate climate with mild, rainy winters and cool, dry summers. Heavy snowfall can occasionally occur during winter but it is rare - not quite like Mesquite, but better than Calgary, Alberta and the Prairie Provinces in general.  

The rain is something I will personally have to get used to. If it is too wet in the winter, we will plan to head south over that period of time.  Panama is still very definitely on the books for one place and so of course it our Australia trip.

Our objective in moving to the Island is to rid ourselves of the big city life, cold winters, snow, a faster pace, higher prices, crime and all the other trailing issues that comes with big city living.  

We hope to travel and enjoy an overall more leisurely pace in our latter years. Hopefully this move will serve our needs. As you know, we had set our hearts on Panama, but when push came to shove for one reason or another (grossly inflated real estate prices and the uncertainty about a country we knew little about), we chose to back away until we had more time to review our situation and do our due diligence more thoroughly. 

The other destination we will be checking out is the area of Comox and Courtney - about an hour north of Nanaimo but a city with reputedly some big box stores such as home depot and Costco and other facilities one would expect to find in a larger city.  Unlike Nanaimo, we have been told Comox/Courtenay area also has some retirement (+55) communities in among it. 

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Overwintering in Nevada

January arrived and so did the colder weather where we had minus temperatures in late December and early January but compared to Canada, this was chicken feed at - 3C. I still wore shorts and a T shirt for our daily walks around the area.  

Packing Time

We were leaving the majority of the furniture and artwork as the western theme would not suit our new surroundings so we did not have that much to pack but we started slowly and would take a couple of weeks to complete the task.   

Donna did not believe our stuff would all fit into our new 7' X 12' x 8' enclosed cargo trailer we had purchased in Calgary.  I was slightly more optimistic. We would have to see who was correct when we pack it on Feb 22nd. 

By mid January the days were beginning to grow noticeably longer.  The sun was setting behind the Flat Top Mesa about 20 minutes later than it was in December so we could now enjoy a little more time in our south yard taking in our last days and weeks among the our palm trees, Cactus and our treasured desert plants albeit with the patio heater on during the evenings to stave off the chill when the desert sun goes down.  

We had a quickie visit to Las Vegas in early January and arrived back in Mesquite to temperatures in the high 60's.  But of course, winter had just begun so we weren't out of the woods yet. The eastern states were being pounded with snow, some over seven feet deep while we were enjoying comparatively warm temperatures.


As we drove back from Las Vegas Jan 6th, we both sat in silence as the truck ate up the 78 miles to Mesquite. It was strange because we both knew what the other person was thinking without mentioning a word.  

How can we possibly say goodbye to all of these wonderful friends? We had all been buddies for over six years.  We all moved in at the same time and helped each other find our way in this quaint City of Mesquite.

Our friends have been such a large part of our lives here. They are like family to us. This was going to be an extremely difficult time for us both. I lost a lot of sleep over it, but eventually i knew it would have to be done. The goodbyes would have to be said but we would see them again so it wasn't all bad. 

More Packing

We had some packing to do and a friend and neighbour from down the street answered our Facebook request for spare packing boxes. He turned up with 20 good sized packing boxes adding that he could get as many more as we wanted and all totally free. We were very grateful.

We packed in slow time as we were expecting some friends (Mike and Shauna) to arrive from Calgary February 12th, so we could not pack absolutely everything nor did we want too. We had decided to take our time and do it right to minimise breakages.

January 12. - Fog Day 

On this day the strangest thing happened. I awoke around 7:35 am. As is normal, I closed the bedroom door quietly behind me so as not to awaken Donna who was still sleeping soundly. 

As I entered the living room, I glanced at the weather station - 90% humidity! Wow, time for a new weather centre I thought but then as I pulled back the blinds to the patio door I noticed that everything outside was soaked and the fog was so thick, I could hardly see the house next door. In all the years we have owned this home, we have never seen anything as strange - especially as our home is in the Mohave Desert, one of the driest places in the world.

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Jan 16 - Jeep Club Trip into the Wilderness

Brother-in-Law Ib called me Jan 15th and invited me to accompany him on a trip into the interior with the Mesquite Jeep Club of which he was a member. I jumped at the opportunity.

It was going to be a long day.  Donna and I were both up at 6:00 am. I was heading out with Ib and some other friends on a trip towards the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. 

Donna on the other hand was preparing to go to the slot tournament and have breakfast with all her girlfriends as they did every Thursday.  

Ib and I, along with 12 other Jeeps travelled by road out through Hurricane, Utah then stopped so that some of the more seasoned enthusiasts could "air down" as they call it (they let about 25% of the air out of the tires in their Jeeps, so they handle the rocks, riverbeds and ups and downs more easily). This was indeed a grand display of these Jeeps.  They are very good at surmounting obstacles.

All the Jeeps pulled up on the Bureau of Land Management Lands heading towards the wilderness area close to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

We drove through some really nice Canyons

Jerry our Neighbour, with his  newly purchased Older Jeep just brought from a Nanaimo Resident who also has a home here in Mesquite.

We travelled along tracks, through river beds and over boulders.  It was fun

The group leader - a lady giving us the low-down on the Mines out here in the back country

At the trails end, we came across around 15 wild  horses.  They were magnificent in the wilderness.

It was a fun time. At the end of the journey while the rest were "airing up" with their portable air pumps, we would head for home. The sun was shining, I had some good photo ops. on the way home and a good day was had by all.

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Jan 21 - National Association of Home Builders Show.

Our next trip away would follow eight days later when we would return to Las Vegas. Jeff, (Donna's son) managed to secure us tickets to the huge International Home Builders Show there. 

This is a 3 day event which takes place not only at the Convention Centre but also at various venues around Las Vegas.  There is free transportation to take attendees from one venue to the next. This is a very well organised show attended by thousands of people every day.

The show promised to have every conceivable gadget, new idea about home building and lots of other stuff like furniture, cooking equipment, kitchenware and all the latest apps and gadgets one could conceivably ever want for the home and we would not be disappointed.

This was timely, because within two months, we would be on the hunt for a home in Nanaimo or Courtenay/Comox. If we could not find what we wanted, we have decided to buy a lot and build so, armed with all the new ideas this would be a great help to us.

Our other option was to find a home in a lower price range and renovate it from the bottom up, so this show would serve us well one way or another.

We now understand why they say it's the largest builders and home expo show in the world. With the show behind us, we headed back to Mesquite. Thank you so much Jeff for obtaining the tickets for us.  We really appreciated it.

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Superbowl Approaching

A couple of days later, we watched the Western final on our TV of the NFL in their bid for a place in the Superbowl. It was between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks. I have never seen such an exciting game. We were on our feet in the last quarter right down to the final whistle.  

Superbowl Final - Feb 1

The final was spent at Sam and Carol's home in Mesquite.  About 40 of us gathered and as is customary, everyone brought along a dish and their own drinks.  We had a great time.

Unfortunately the defending Champions (our team) would be denied the coveted prize through a reckless decision and a god awful throw in the last seconds of the final of the Superbowl...... Oh well, it's just a game right?

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The Flat Top Mesa

..mesa |ˈmāsə| noun

an isolated flat-topped hill with steep sides, found in landscapes with horizontal strata.  ORIGINmid18th cent.: Spanish, literally ‘table,’ from Latin mensa .
By early February, the temperatures were climbing so we took some time to take one more visit on the top of Flat Top Mesa at the rear of our home. This table-top area is a haven for tortoises. It is remote and virtually untouched.  We invited Donna's sister and brother-law and another couple of great friends Liane and Jerry (the couple who had joined us for five weeks in Panama) to come along for the ride. 

Our daily weather forecasts were calling for mid 70's temperatures, but we could see that we would easily surpass that and we did, reaching the mid 80's on many occasions. It was a gorgeous day, with not a breath of wind. We all packed a lunch , loaded it into our cooler and set off up to the top of the mesa.  We left around 11:00 am starting up the steep track that leads to the top.

Arriving on the top the views of the Virgin River Valley were fantastic.  We could see for miles.

Looking at our homes way below

The landscape is very rugged and unique in the Mojave Desert. Only places that are very dry have landscapes like this. When the rains do arrive, they come with vengeance and because of the hard topping to the landscape, there is nowhere for the water to go so it carves out rivers and wears down the sides of the mountain, eventually undermining the tops which eventually over millions of years, falls away.

Eventually these flat tops will become pointed and then the whole area will become flat again and the process will restart.

Left to Right, Liane, Jerry, Donna, me, Carol and Ib

Our truck up on top of the Mesa

Tortoises live on top.  They survive the 115 F degree temperatures here as they never drink.  They get all the water they need from the plants they eat.  You are not allowed to even touch a tortoise here as if you do, you will frighten them and they will pee.  If they pee the size of a US Quarter, they will become dehydrated and die. That's how finely balanced their bodies are.

There are some spectacular sights up here.  Point of interest.  for those who have seen lots of the US.  We often hear about A Butte.  It's in many a name.  Well, a Butte is taller than it is wide.  A Mesa is wider than it is tall

Resplendent orange and yellow rock formations adorn these ranges.

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February 11th. Possession Day on our home.

Possession day on our home arrived.  We met Mike and Kathy the new owners, did a complete walkthrough with them, handed over the keys to the house, took them to the places they would need to register with for power and water etc, took lunch up at the 1880's Grill and bid them goodbye as they left Mesquite and headed back to Colorado.

Mike and Kathy had kindly agreed to allow us to remain in the house until Feb 25th, the day we would depart for Canada.  

Our visitors from Calgary arrived the next day right on time. We picked them up at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.  They arrived at the brand new Terminal 3 - a very impressive building.  One that would substantially reduce the number of people at the older terminal building.

We loaded their suitcases onto the truck and headed out.  We had decided to drive back through Henderson, enjoy a leisurely lunch then take the north road running besides Lake Mead eventually arriving at The Valley of Fire State Park.  

This area is devastatingly beautiful, and even better, a group of six families (our neighbours) happened to be camping in their trailers and RVs there.  We popped in for an hour. We were greeted in true American spirit, offered some munchies and a drink then we headed on to Mesquite.

The following day, we decided to take Mike and Shauna out to Zion National Park - a gorgeous place to visit.  We had been there before and so knew they would enjoy it.  

It was just an hour and a half drive from our home. Before you knew it we were driving through some gorgeous countryside with high imposing mountain peaks on either side of the valley. Nature at it's best.  

Donna, Shauna and Mike tailgating as they call it here, enjoying lunch at the side of the road

On Valentines Day, the four of us jumped into the truck and headed back to Las Vegas. We had an enjoyable two days in "lost wages" (Las Vegas) then at 6:30am we dropped Mike and Shauna off at the airport for their flight back to Calgary.  We would actually arrived back home in Mesquite before they even took off.

Full steam ahead with the packing now. We took down our precious wall hangings, pictures, packed clothes, vases, some computers and almost everything we would not need over the course of the final eight days.  

We could finish packing up in under a couple of hours but we still have some time here so it's still a slow time approach.

As we close another chapter of our lives and draw to a close, a wonderful six years we have had here in Nevada, we can honestly say, it has been a blast!  

We have made so many dear friends here - more than we ever could have wished for. We will truly miss them but we will return.  Of that there is no doubt. It's a promise, but for now, onwards and upwards.  Life must go on. 

And so it is with that in mind, we turn our attention to the journey home to Canada.  It's going to be a three day drive with the trailer, stopping overnight in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Great Falls Montana before arriving at the Canadian border on day three.

We do not anticipate bad weather but, it's still eight days away so we aren't holding our breath as everyone who lives in western Canada and the western United States knows - the snows in Utah, Idaho and Montana can come quickly and very heavy.

We will be in Calgary just ten days. Then we will hitch up our trailer again and head out to British Columbia and a new life on Vancouver Island. We hope we can find a really attractive home fairly quickly. I am not that patient so wish us luck!  

Our next blog will hopefully be from the Island once we have settled. We will be sure to include pictures and maybe even outline what's on the cards next once we catch our breath and have time to think it.  

........... and so the adventure continues. 

Me and my wonderful wife Donna enjoying a great day out up on top of the Flat Top Mesa behind our home.

So now, it's back to Canada 

Then to pastures new - British Columbia.  Here we come!

© Copyright by Ken Carter 2015.

Four Months of Bliss

October 27th

It was just past noon as I glanced into the rear-view mirror of the truck as we reached the City limits on our way south again to our Nevada home.  Half expecting to see traffic behind me, all of a sudden I had a "grey moment". I had forgotten that I had just hooked up our newly purchased Cargo Trailer and so I was momentarily surprised by the image of a white vehicle bearing down upon us almost inside the truck bed in the rearview mirror, nevertheless, that would be the image for the next 2000 kilometres (around 1500 miles). I would get used to it, as it wasn't going anywhere soon.

We knew the weather was beginning to change. We had been watching the news and weather forecasts which we always do before we set off on a long journey like this.  This time, it was more important because we were towing this 12 ft by 7 foot  covered double-axle trailer and we had to cross the Monida and Malad Passes in Montana - Both of these passes are over 6000 high and if you aren't careful, snow can become your nemesis out in those wild remote places. 

We weren't about to take chances with a brand new trailer and not to be forgotten, was the fact that once we were into Idaho and Utah, much of the journey down the Interstate 15 highway is above 5000 ft so weather becomes a critical factor.

Preparing for the Trip

Two days before we left, we had helped Jason our son out as "Secret Shoppers".  It was a fun thing to do.  It meant that we had to drive around Calgary to various establishments to ask questions posing as buyers.  The objective, to test out their levels of service and product knowledge. It was fun.  We reported back and wrote the obligatory reports and sent them off.

The day before we left, I had to pick up the Trailer from the sales centre. The owner had kindly allowed me to store it there until I was ready to leave Calgary.  The trailer would hold all our worldly belongings we would move from our Nevada home back up into Canada at the end of February, once we had handed over our wonderful home to the new buyers.

At 9:00 am, I drove to the Acreage where the trailers are sold, hitched up the trailer and tested everything out.... Oh Oh, the lights don't work.  

The owner of the trailer sales centre tested everything out and hitched the trailer up to his vehicle.  Bingo, everything worked.  "Unfortunately the fault is in your truck somewhere" he said...... 

This was really not what I wanted to hear. I was leaving the following day so without further ado, I made a decision.  I  unhitched the trailer and drove our Ford F150 to the Ford Dealership in Strathmore Alberta - the nearest town from the acreage around 20 Kilometres away.

As I drove into the service bay up to the service person's desk, the lady who was booking in the vehicle asked what service I required. I explained the situation. She smiled and said "Have you a fuse in a plastic bag in the glove compartment"?  "Fuse, plastic bag, glove compartment"  I retorted. "Yes" she said, "this IS a fairly new vehicle isn't it"? "It is" I replied. 

Meekly, I leaned across the truck and opened up the glove compartment.  I winced as I glanced inside.  There, neatly lying in the compartment was a sealed plastic bag containing a blue fuse with a part number on it but no description as to where it goes or what it does. No instructions! absolutely none.  I took a deep sigh as I collected my thoughts and handed the bag to her with my hand over my brow in frustration while leaning against the steering wheel.  

Before I knew it, there was a tiny mechanic up on a ladder. I popped the hood and he popped the fuse in and smiled...... "There you go sir" he said.... "You will be OK now".  

As I drove out of the bay, the same service lady leaned over and smiled at me and said "Sir, you aren't the first and you won't be the last to have that same issue. We see it all the time".  Annoyed, I said to her "If that's the case, have you as a responsible Ford Dealership mentioned this to Ford, so they could label the fuse so we would all know what it is for"? "Not as far as I know" she replied with a large smiley face on her clock. "Well maybe you could do that in order to save hundreds of people time, worry and money in the future" I said in a sort of displeased tone as I slowly manoeuvred the vehicle out of the bay.  This situation felt like I was in a "Faulty Towers" episode with me starring as John Cleese. With a slightly damaged ego, I drove back to the acreage.

I drove in and gleefully reversed the truck in anticipation everything would work, connected the electrics and.......... NOTHING.  In a huge loud voice I said XXXX.  

The owner of the trailer sales was trying to keep a straight face and be helpful, but it was clear, he was amused with me losing it on the lot.  A couple of other buyers shot a glance at me and continued looking at the trailer they had just purchased.

Time was ticking on and it would be dark in another couple of hours, then what would I be faced with the following morning with a long drive south and no lights on the trailer.  Not an endearing prospect by any means. 

Already miles from anywhere, I reluctantly took a chance and again drove the 20 kms back to Strathmore, with the trailer illegally attached to the truck this time.

Immediately, the mechanic came out with a puzzled look on his face.  "Have you had any work done on this vehicle recently" he asked. "Yes I replied. Three days ago I had it in for service and they changed the steering column because I was getting some warning lights coming on and the turn signals would cut out for no reason - All warranty items" I replied.  

Nodding his head, he disappeared with the truck and trailer and within five minutes, he returned smiling. "You are good to go" he said. "I have tested everything out and it is in perfect working order. You had a blown fuse that was not replaced by the previous service people in Calgary. Everything works.... and Oh, there's no charge". 

I did the walk-around and he tested the break and signal lights.  Ah! Now we are cooking I thought. Smiling and waving as I pulled away he said "Have a great trip". I bade him goodbye and a big thank you and drove home.

I pulled up in front of Carol and Ib's house where we were staying just as it was getting dark........All day to collect one damned trailer. What a waste of a day.

While I was gone, Donna had everything under control.  The bags were in the garage ready to load up and five minutes later we had loaded and locked everything up.  Time for a glass of wine, some TV and supper.  All we had to do the next day was clean up and secure the house, jump into the vehicle and go. We planned to leave Calgary at midday the following day.

The Journey South

I arrived at the South hospital at 7:50am on the date of departure for my weekly donation of blood. Returning to the house, Donna had everything closed up, locked and ready to go. One last check and we would be out of here ahead of the forecast snowfall. 

By 3:00pm we had reached the US border at Coutts Crossing, to the south of Lethbridge where we joined a very short line behind four other vehicles while waiting to be checked out and checked in by the US Border Agents. 

After a cordial conversation with the fellow at the checkpoint, he said "you're good to go sir". Donna slipped the truck into gear and off we went bidding him goodbye.  Great! now we have four months to enjoy in the Mohave Desert....Just what we had been waiting for.  We hit the open road heading south through Montana.

We refuelled at Great Falls then went onto our destination for the first night at Helena, Montana.  We had not stayed there before, but because we had left later in the day we were forced to take this course of action.  We had planned to take two nights, three days to arrive in Mesquite.  Why rush? After all, we are retired.

The journey south the following day was uneventful apart from a traffic accident on the highway at the southern end of Salt Lake City Utah where we crawled along for a half hour but after that there were no problems.  

We pulled into Mesquite on October 30th. It was 85 degrees Fahrenheit (almost 30 Celsius) when we arrived......Ah just what the doctor ordered.  The snow was closing in behind us back up in Montana with 5 - 10 inches of the white stuff forecast to fall in the next two days.  And it did.

We arrived at the house having picked up some food from Smiths Grocery Store in Mesquite and dropped off our clothing etc. Once I had unloaded, my friend and neighbour Jack and I jumped into the truck and drove to the storage lot he leases. He kindly offered me free space to store the trailer for the four months we would be in Mesquite. 

A couple of days later we were off to Las Vegas with a bunch of friends for a couple of nights. We had a fun time but like many visitors to Lost Wages (for the uninitiated among you that's a slang Canadians use for Las Vegas) we left empty handed but had fun nonetheless.  

Ann, Yours truly, Donna Gary, Roy and Karen in Las Vegas.  Others would arrive later on that evening.

Another Indian Cooking Session

We had decided that in Mid November sometime it was time for another Indian food cooking session with Donna and I as the coaches.  

We invited friends and prepared for them a Beef Curry, Saffron Rice, Veggie and Meat Samosas (hand made from scratch) Pappadams, Butter Chicken and Tandoori Chicken which Donna had marinaded for two days in the refrigerator.  

Everything tasted delicious, partly because we had re-visited Las Vegas just prior to the planned event and gone to our favourite East Indian grocery store to purchase the fresh spices such as Green Cardamon, Cumin Seeds, Turmeric, Garam Masala etc.

The real fun part was having some of the party attendees over to make the samosa pockets prior to the party.  When they came over, I made the dough for the samosas then we showed them how to feed it into a pasta machine until the dough was so thin you could see through it.  Each strip of dough was around 4 inches wide and about 5 feet long and made three samosa wrappers. Once I stopped them giggling and laughing as they tried to get a hold of these hugely long pieces of dough as the got thinner and thinner they made excellent students.  

Donna's Sister Carol and Brother-in-Law Ib from Calgary where still in Mesquite at their home just around the corner, so they and Liane, Michelle and Judee our neighbours all assisted in the manufacturing of the samosa covers.  It was fun (all helped on with a few glasses of wine).

We made the samosas one week in advance of the party then froze them. All we had to do on the day was take them out of the freezer and pop them into deep hot oil for a perfect finish.

Table is laid and ready for our guests in a few hours time.

Some of the dishes we prepared and ate

Papadams Crispy and very tasty

Freshly Made Samosas from scratch prior to freezing.

The Finished Product Meat Samosas.  We cheated, we sampled a few for our efforts the day we made them

Very Tasty and Authentic Tandoori Chicken Legs, Scored and Marinaded for two days.....delicious

An Authentic Beef Curry

Delicious Saffron Rice

The day finally arrived for the party.  We had a great time cooking the Indian food (most of which Donna and I had prepared in advance). We fed twenty eight of our friends which is a lot for an average sized American kitchen.  Everyone loved the various tastes and flavours of the different dishes and commented on how different the cuisine is from North American cuisine. You've got that right I thought.

Indian food is not a well known type of food to Americans,  mainly because there aren't that many Indian people in the US as compared say to Canada and Britain. They were never exposed to the ideas and recipes brought back from India by the Brits who formed a part of the British Raj, years before.  

Many Brits having moved to Canada brought the recipes with them. Everyone commented on two things - It was really tasty but they could not see themselves cooking it because it is so labour intensive. Very true, but we like it that much, we will continue to enjoy creating Indian dishes to the end of our days.  

Wine Tour Time For The Ladies in Santa Barbara

Three days after the Indian food, our wives all took off for a three night, four day bus tour of the wineries in Santa Barbara on the California coast.  

Jerry one of our neighbours and husband of one of the ladies on the trip (Liane also a bus driver) drove the bus to Santa Barbara. The girls visited three wineries in all and saw where one of our North American TV personalities - Oprah Winfrey purchased a farm for 100 million Dollars. Yes, that's right $100,000,000.00 (Well, you can't take it with you so why not) That's 2 years wages for her.....Piece of Cake for her I thought to myself when Donna told me about it.

Left to right Judee, Michelle and Donna enjoying some of the Vineyard's Free Samples

Empty glass, time for another! Judee, Deb and Lisa

Lisa, Liane, Michele, Donna, Deb, Judee and Cydni

US Thanksgiving - Nov 27

Venue: Sam and Carol's home for thanksgiving Dinner.  It was a pot luck, Sam and Carol providing the Turkey and other stuff and the rest of us each bringing a dish or two over.  There was so much food it was unbelievable and tasty..... Oh so tasty. There was Ham, Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Roast Parsnips, Sweet Potato, Yams and about 15 other dishes to eat.

Sam Testing out the Turkey for Doneness 

Sam.......Who me?......Looking slightly flustered just before he rests the turkey but with about 20 pairs of  eyes watching him while they are enjoying their drinks.

Relaxing in Mesquite

At the time of writing, it is Dec. 18th. Tomorrow is my eldest son Jason's 41st birthday and our next door neighbours birthday too. We will be going to supper with our neighbours to celebrate her birthday and of course give a call back home to wish Jason a Happy Birthday.

Over the past few weeks, it has been a fun and relaxing time.  Donna and I invested in a Fit Bit each while we were in Calgary. This sits on your body and records the number of steps you walk every day - a kind of incentive to get out and exercise. We have set a goal of 10,000 steps a day or about four miles of walking.  By and large, we have kept to it unless we were too busy.  Sometimes we walk slightly less but often we walk further.  One day, while alone I walked ten miles or 23,000 steps which was a good long walk which left me feeling none the worse for my exercise.  

The weather is still shorts and T shirt time with the occasional sleeveless vest so we can walk daily.  It is still around 58 - 60 degrees F every day so it is pleasant. Many of our friends here all have a Fitbit so we all see how far the other has walked as we are all connected as friends through facebook. What a great incentive to get out and take some exercise.

As Christmas approaches, I see some snow on the hills above.  It won't last for very long. It is confined to the mountains but on Christmas Day, irrespective of the weather, we will seat eleven for Christmas Dinner.  We love to put on Christmas Dinner each year.  It's a lot of work, but our friends will join us and everyone will bring dishes to lessen the load on us. 

We are going to roast the Turkey on our Traeger Smoker BBQ this year. We have had a dry run with a stuffed Chicken and it tasted wonderful.  Something different, It's a new Challenge. 

At the end of February we will return to Canada. We will stay in Calgary for ten days, then it's off to Vancouver Island to Nanaimo, British Columbia to find a place to buy or we will build new again and make our home base for the remaining years.  

It will be somewhere we can return to from our next adventures. Where that will be we aren't sure of yet.  It could be back to Panama to get our Pensionado Visas for permanent residency or it could be:

A Year In Australia

One year to circumnavigate this fascinating country.  What a thought and an adventure that would be. We have tentatively planned to Arrive in Sydney, travel up to Gold Coast then Brisbane, along the Great Barrier Reef to Townsville in north eastern Queensland, then on northwards to Cairns. From there, we would journey west along the Gulf of Carpentaria up to the Tropics and Darwin along the beaches of the Timor Sea then southwest across the Great Sandy Desert to the Indian Ocean then south to Perth, Western Australia.  From there we would travel east along the southern coast and The Great Australian Bight to the southern centre of the Country then due north into the interior to Ayers Rock, Uluru and Alice Springs crossing the McDonald Range of mountains.  

Once there we would turn south and head to Mungo National Park then onto Adelaide, Melbourne and Canberra finally finishing the journey back in Sydney.

We are also hoping that funds permitting, we could go to the North and South Islands of New Zealand.  Maybe also visit Fiji, Tahiti and the Cook Islands and even Singapore on our way back. This is a big undertaking, not without considerable expense in terms of flights, travel and health insurance so we will have to fill the coffers before we finally decide that it's a go.  But that's the idea for now.

This journey of a lifetime will take some time to plan and prepare for.  We hope to house-sit our way around Australia.  House-sitting requires that sometimes you watch someone's home and maybe look after their pets while they are travelling in return for free accommodation.  It's a win win for everyone.  

We have registered with a company that facilitates house sitters. We have already been offered a three month stay in Queensland but had to turn it down as it conflicts with the timetable for our immediate intentions which is to seek out a home on Vancouver Island first so we can furnish it and establish a home base. We may then rent it out fully furnished to offset some of the costs of our travels. On the other hand, we may not.  

So, for those that have been pestering me for the answer as to where next since the last blog, now you know :-)  

Well that's all for now.  Donna and I would like to wish all the readers of our blog, especially our family and friends across the miles and across the oceans, a very Merry Christmas and an eventful, safe, prosperous and wonderful 2015.

God bless you all and peace be with everyone.