Blogs from Sproat Lake , British Columbia, Canada, North America

A quiet start to the week, pottering around the house, in and out to PA, drinkies down the Fish & Duck. Shock, horror! IT RAINED!! Not much, a bit of occasional drizzle Sunday night, Monday and Tuesday. It didn't get cold though and it dawned a nice day Wednesday when we went on a one night road trip to Campbell River on the Inside Passage coast. This was recommended by my old mate Rik who was there last year with Angie; they went kayaking in the rain! - Well I think they did. He mentioned kayaking and rain in the same sentance. In fact he mentioned rain in most sentances about that holiday :( I'm sure he thinks I've gone to a different Vancouver Island as until this week we've had great sunny weather. It's about ... read more

After an uncomfortable Tuesday night (burning legs:) I drove the truck down to Victoria for a couple of days. Stopped at Cathedral Grove to inspect the arboreal spectacularium. (made that one up, don't bother checking the dictionary :) a grove of giant trees. Some very impressive specimens. The Big Tree ( a lot of thought went into that one!) was over 70m tall and 800 years old. Lots of tourists too. About 100 miles later I pulled up at Steve Drane HD dealership, Victoria. The only dealer on the island. It became apparent that that last sentence was very significant. Island prices, captive market and HST tax! Expecting to spend a wedge I was very disappointed: limited choice, high prices as bad as UK, (ie: rain suit I bought in Denver for $200 was C$300), no ... read more

Sadly, on Tuesday this week, Larry & Judy's Labrador Sonny had to be put down. Sonny had been unwell for some time and eventually, after a bad night, was unable to get up. The vet examination confirmed that he was undoubtedly suffering from a large tumour in his abdomen which was causing extensive problems. He was nearly 14 and had had a good life. Didnt want Judy to have to cook so I bought us a Chinese from Quality Foods, huge portions and tasty! Wednesday we drove to Tofino on the Pacific coast. A smal trendy fishing town at the end of the Pacific Rim Highway. We stopped at the famous Long Beach, a UNESCO world heritage site. Picturesque. In Tofino we watched charter boats unloading their catch whilst we ate lunch. I had a very ... read more