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Published: July 11th 2008
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9th July 2008
Woke up at 6.30 for another encounter with Eddie and Liz the bald eagles. When Eddie comes for his food it is impossible to catch him on camera without tripod and cable release so I concentrated on catching him in his favorite tree waiting for Simon to appear with his chicken.
After an excellent breakfast we were ready for our next adventure a 4 hour sea kayaking trip which was also billed as a wildlife trip. We were ready at the park which is 2 minutes from Sue's place where the kayaks were laid out ready. Bob and I were going in a double kayak and Amy and Richard in single kayaks. The kayaks were all very new and smart and very well equipped with safety equipment and even had rudders to help steerage in the open water.
We were very lucky with the weather as it was a glorious sunny day and although a bit of a breeze the sea was not too choppy. We set off across the Bay and meandered between the islands off the coast and got up close to the logging booms floating in the sea waiting for buyers. The sawmills and logging
industry are suffering from a recession in the USA and many of the sawmills are closed down at the moment. We kayaked over the 49th parallel (theoretically into the USA) and past island for sale 1.5 million dollars, just right for our next trip!
The seals were sunbathing on the logs and dived in as the kayaks went past. We floated over the oyster beds and saw huge sea stars and crabs.
We crossed the bay and went into a small cove for our lunch which Brad and Sheryll who own the Sealegs kayak school had prepared. It was a feast! Complete with Naniamo bars, a speciality of the area, which are sooo sickly.
On our way back we stopped to look at some sea stars which the guides Cole and Brendon had fished out. They were a beautiful purple colour and felt rock hard and sandpapery. They are not fish but crustaceans. After they had been returned to their home on the sea bed we paddled home to see how the builders were getting on at Cox Cottage.
The builders have now demolished the deck and started digging a hole to make the new room for Sue to do
her sewing ,computing and generally chill out. They will have to suffer a bit of a mess and Sue's beautiful garden may take a bit of a bashing but it will be worth it and she will soon create another lovely flower garden.
We all had a wonderful time thanks to Sue and Simon, who bought us our kayaking trip as a present.
After a quick swim in the pool at Oyster Cove, Amy and Richard went to catch the ferry at Naniamo to Horeshoe Bay on the mainland. They were on the Greyhound bus which dropped them off at the Fairmont Hotel (mega expensive) and then walked to the hostel (cheap and cheerful with breakfast included). Rich and I explored the restaurants in Vancouver and discovered they had Japanese inspiration, and for once in Canada we could get some spice!! Following this we walked back dodging the beggers apart from the one who made me laugh by blatently asking for money to buy drugs!!
Bob and I went out with Sue and Simon to a delightful pub in Maple Bay called the Genoa Bay Cafe which served gourmet food. After excellent food we walked round the harbour and looked
at the customised house boats which house an artist hippy community. Some of the art work was displayed on the walls of the houses. Then home to bed for our last night in Oyster Cove. While we had been away the logging barge Hercules. had arrived in the harbour with 20 million dollars worth of logs which they tip into the harbour by filling the hull with salt water and semi capsizing the vessel until the logs roll off and the vessel rights itself The logs are then coraled in booms and draged by tugs into the sawmill.
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mary j
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PAGB
hello both. Its great to see what you are all getting up to,lovely photos Dinah! Missing you lots.Had a day at warwick yesterday where we won the Plate.Wigan 10 won overall, love 2 all, Mary J