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After an awesome time in Whistler, it was time to spend a few days visiting Andy's Dad's friends on Vancouver Island. First stop, Randy and Noy in North Saanich. The ferry ride from Tswasswan on the mainland to Swartz Bay on the island cost us $13 and was a pretty cool ride. We enjoyed the lovely scenery and views of the islands as we chilled out on the top deck of the ferry. It was a little windy, but still warm enough to stay outside. Paul Stagg had told us that a few years back, the passenger ferry had actually crashed into an island during the crossing. The captain had incorrectly set the auto pilot, causing the ferry to crash in the middle of the night. 99 people were evacuated from the ferry, but unfortunately 2 people were killed. We watched interestingly as we passed the BC ferry in the other direction when navigating through Narrow Pass.
We were met at the ferry terminal by Randy and his lovely dog Kyla. Randy, Noy and Kyla own a beautiful house in North Saanich and we felt extremely lucky that they had invited us to stay. The house is situated on 2
acres of land, with a great view of the nearby Coles Bay. Randy is a web designer and fortunate enough to work from home and avoid the daily commute each day. We soon discovered that Noy's big passion was cooking, and we listened excitedly as she told us that she runs cooking courses in her house for up to 16 people at a time! They have a wonderful kitchen, with a fantastic gas ringed hob in the middle of the kitchen, perfect for teaching lots of students. Noy grows lots of her own herbs and vegetables, everything from lemongrass to strawberries, as well as making home-made jams and home-made wines! I really loved the way they had chosen to live their lives and Andy and I were in for a treat over the next few days sampling Noy's cooking. The first evening was a Thai special. Noy had prepared Tom Yum Kung to begin with, an absolute delightful fresh prawn soup, infused with chillies, lime juice and lemongrass. The main course was a wonderful Thai green curry, served with rice and hot and spicy vegetables (garlin, kana and chillies). This was all washed down with some delicious home made wine!
After a few hectic weeks, it was really nice to finally chill out and relax, and we really enjoyed getting to know Randy and Noy.
The next morning started bright and early when Randy knocked on our door at 7.30. He is an extremely earlier riser (4am), as he likes to get work completed during the quiet of the morning. We were in for another culinary treat, as Noy had cooked Mexican eggs, a dish of lovely fresh free rang eggs, cheese and a hot salsa. This was washed down with fresh coffee (the Canadians love their fresh coffee) and orange juice. It was a delicious breakfast, but a little hardcore for that time of the morning - LOL. We then joined Randy and Noy on their usual morning walk on the small forest trails behind their house. The land is currently owned by Victoria University, but Randy was worried as there was a degree of uncertainty as to what they would do with the land. After 30 minutes, Randy and Noy left us to return home, and explained that we could follow the trail for another 30-40 minutes or so. After walking for about an hour through the
John Dean Park, we arrived on the wrong side of the mountain, only to be told by some passers by that we had gone wrong and we had a long walk back home! Andy then went into his crazy walking mode as he had arranged to speak on Skype with his girlfriend Mariane (don't mess with a young couple in love! - LOL). The afternoon was spent enjoying a delicious German/Eastern European lunch of fried garlic sausage, porogies, fried onion and home made purple sauerkraut, reading, relaxing and enjoying the view from Randy and Noy's living room. Sunday night was mine and Andy's time to cook. We decided on a Caribbean style meal of rice and peas and a spicy jerk chicken cooked on the BBQ. Noy worked her magic again with a home-made plum tarte and some ice cream for dessert . The meal was a success and we thankfully got the thumbs up from Noy! The rest of the evening was spent chilling with Randy. He told us that David MacKenzie had once owned a convertible Ford Galaxy when he was in his youthful prime and 4 of them had taken a road trip one summer in the
60's. Unfortunately, the brakes had failed and they never made it to their destination! Randy then managed to dig out a photo of the car and we spent a good hour trying to identify the exact model and year of the car. Several hours later, and after chatting about music ranging from Credence Clearwater Revival Band to Florence and the Machine, and TV programs from The Tudors to Prime Suspects (as well as listening to some karaoke from Randy and Kyla!), it was time to hit the sack.
Another lovely breakfast on Monday morning. This time it was home-made waffles, home-made jam, maple syrup and home-grown raspberries and blueberries! I was absolutely stuffed but still managed to scoff down 3 monster waffles! The rest of the day was to be spent with Bonnie and Eugene in Victoria. Bonnie was one of many ex-girlfriends of Andy's dad David! We enjoyed an extremely windy walk along the beautiful bay of Victoria and we were then treated to lunch by Bonnie and Eugene. The rest of the day was spent driving around Victoria and receiving a guided tour of the area. The final evening on Vancouver island was spent at Bonnie and
Eugene's house, and Bonnie cooked us a lovely meal. We were extremely grateful to both Randy and Noy and Bonnie and Eugene for looking after us, and we really enjoyed a relaxed few days on Vancouver island before the craziness of the West Coast of the USA begun.
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Mum
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What a fantastic journey
hi son what a fantastic time and adventure you are both having. Gill and Davids friends and relatives have been really welcoming and kind to you. What a great beginning to your travels. Hoping you are both ok. lovely to read your blogs and missing you loads. Auntie gina and l had a good time at the 02 on Friday and Westlife were great. We had a pizza before the show, and we had really good seats. Can't believe how much the 02 has changed since dad and l last went there. In November they have got Lords of the Dance there - November 3rd - so am hoping to be able to go and see that with Dad!!!! Take care lots of love Mum and Dadxxxxxxxx