This 'n That

On the 27th of June Kevin received his 20 year Long Service Medal from Deputy Commissioner Bev Busson at RCMP HQ in Vancouver. Helen and I were there along with Shannon and the boys. Here Kevin is getting some last minute instructions from the Sergeant Major before the ceremonies began.

Following the ceremony we stopped for Helen to take a picture of the RCMP Memorial to those members who die on duty in BC. Little did we know that less than a month later two more members have been added to the list, albeit from Saskatchewan and not BC. Our hearts are heavy!
After Lauie, Larry, Josh and Garrett's visit we got back to the upgrades to our house. The garden doors are now operable and as you can see we poured a small cement deck and added an archway. Now will come some trellis work and another flower bed to act as a berm between us and the street.
On Tuesday our new kitchen counter tops were installed. The plan is to re-paint the cupboards and add new door handle/pulls. We haven't quite decided on the color for the cupboard fronts, but it will likely be white to match the trim in the rest of the house. The hardware will probably be a brushed chrome.
Lastly, the Trumpet Lilly is starting to bloom! We bought this scrawny looking plant at the Farmer's Market last Fall and this is what it's turning into. This a totally new plant experience for us!

Goodbye!

Laurie, Larry, Josh and Garrett left here about 0645 today and caught the 0730 ferry from Saltery Bay to Earl's Cove. They connected onto the Langdale-Horseshoe Bay ferry and continued enroute home via Kelowna where they're spending the night. We hope their time here with us was as enjoyable for them as it was for us to have them!
It was sure quiet around here today, but as Shrek might have said, "Sometimes quiet is good, Donkey!"

The Smooth Jazz Chronicles - Chapter 2

After a day's delay due to weather we all set out yesterday morning (July 13th) with Howard aboard his boat, "Smooth Jazz". It was still a cool day with light rain showers throughout the day and at times pretty rough seas.
But, that didn't deter everyone's enthusiasm. We set course up the coast to Sarah Point; the entrance to Desolation Sound.
On the way, we stopped at the Copeland Islands and put down 4 Prawn Traps to a depth of about 400 feet and then continued to Sarah Point. Helen served lunch, including chocolate cake, enroute. We found a quiet anchorage where Howard took Larry and the boys ashore in his dinghy and they explored for an hour or so. I tried fishing for awhile without any success. We started back about 5 o'clock and stopped for the Prawn Traps, which yielded approximately 150 big 'uns and about 50 that were too small to keep. Laurie took some great pictures of the boys as the prawns were being brought aboard and "dressed" by Grandma. They certainly weren't about to get up and close and personal by taking an active part in the sorting or "dressing" procedures! However, Howard asked them to take turns at the helm!
On the way home Grandma served supper and this included her now renowned Trifle!
This ocean adventure day took about 10 hours to complete. It was a great day and a great way to bring the Berge Family visit to a close.

Berge Family Visit Day 3

Yesterday was a very quiet, lazy day after all the excitement of the day before. Today we headed over to Texada Island on the 11 AM ferry and spent the afternoon at Shelter Point. It was quite windy, but very calm and warm on the lee side of the point.
As you can see, we pretty much had the beach to ourselves. While there is no sand, the shoreline is covered with small, smooth rocks and the area is a favourite for beachcombers who come from all over to search for "flower rocks" and pieces of coloured glass that have been smoothed and polished with the tide and wave action.
Here is one only a few places in the world where one can find rocks that have been imprinted with flower looking images believed to be the result volcanic eruptions. The rocks are collected and used in jewellry making and other crafts.
Looking for these rocks passed the time while we all caught some rays.

The Berge Family Visit - Day 1, July 3rd

We met Laurie, Larry, Josh & Garrett at Gibson's Landing after they arrived on the Ferry from Horseshoe Bay. After breakfast at Molly's Reach, where the original TV show "The Beachcombers", was made we headed toward Sechelt. We stopped at Wilson Creek to pay a visit to the Hunt family consisting of dad, J. Bradley Hunt and sons Shawn and Dean. We first met them a week ago while visiting with Ken and Maureen who live in the neighborhood.



The Hunts are carving "Totems" they say are best described as sculptures carved out of Red Cedar trees. They are doing them for a Vancouver resident who is building a waterfront home at Roberts Creek. The poles will be used to frame the entrance to the home. We were all entralled with this very rare and unique experience of being permitted to watch these guys perform their art. We were also allowed to take a few pictures of them working, but were cautioned about taking a picture of the full length of the pole to protect the design from danger of being copied. Helen and I will make future stops when passing back and forth to Vancouver so we can check the progress.

From Sechelt we poked along up the Lower Sunshine Coast to Egmont where we decided to make the 4 km hike along the Skookumchuk Narrows trail to watch the change of tide where the currents can boil up to 30 kms per hour. Helen used both hiking poles and we made the trip to the narrows without incident. Unfortunately, there was a "small" tide and the water did not rush through as it usually does, but everybody was able to get the idea.

Our trek back along the trail to the parking area was NOT WITHOUT INCIDENT AND IN FACT DOWNRIGHT SCARY! It was a gorgeous, hot day and we were walking along this very well groomed trail and had reached a point about 1 km from the parking area. Suddenly, all hell broke loose with very loud cracking and crashing coming from the heavily forested hillside above us. It didn't take long to realize a tree was falling down the hill toward us and it sounded like it was breaking into pieces as it got closer. It sounded as if it was being aimed right at us! Helen hollered at the kids to run, I grabbed both Helen and Laurie who were beside me and pushed them off the low side of the trail into a hole that had been created by trees and rocks when the trail was made. I crouched as low as I could over them. I couldn't see Larry, but later learned he'd started to run back down the trail, but had only gotten a few feet before he tripped and fell. We heard a very loud "Thump" and then complete silence. I looked around and saw Larry picking himself up off the trail and about 6 - 8 feet beyond him I saw a length of big, heavy, rotten log lying on the trail. The trail in the other direction not far from where Helen, Laurie and I were huddled was covered in debris from the tree as it broke apart on its route down through the bush. That we all made it through this experience unscathed is truly a miracle and the stuff of which family legends are made. We're sure the story will be told around the Berge Family bonfires for years to come! I'm going to try to describe each of the pictures I took.
Larry poses beside the piece from the tree that crashed down on the trail a few feet away from him. The expression on his face pretty much reflects the total feeling of disbelief and relief.

This picture shows the trail of debris and large pieces of the tree that broke apart before reaching us.
Laurie cleans the dirt and debris from her Mom's ear that somehow accumulated when I pushed her down off the trail. Debris left by the falling tree can be seen on the trail just beyond where they are standing.
The hole at the side of the trail where I pushed Helen and Laurie. Looking at it now I don't think it would have afforded much protection if the chunk that landed beside Larry had come our way!
Debris that ended up beside Helen, Laurie and I. We never did find the piece of wood that left it there. The fact is we didn't hang around very long after this incident. We were all pretty shook up!

After the excitement of the afternoon we had supper at Egmont and caught the ferry over to Powell River. We were treated to an impromtu concert by a choral group here from Hong Kong attending Kathaumixw, an international choral festival being held in Powell River this week.

Tomorrow is going to be a restful, quiet day!