Rambling Doves

Market Days

2012-01-25T23:39:00.000-08:00

January 23, 2012.

Friday we decided to go to Bacolod and run errands again. We try to get going early before the heat of the day.

First stop is the shoe store. Riza has had a pair in for repair and they are ready now. Dan is returning the sandals they made him last trip. The sole was made of two pieces of rubber tire glued together. They did not have one whole piece large enough for his foot. Soon after we got home, the two pieces separated and he has not been able to wear them. They took them back and we will see what happens this time.

Next we visit Libertad market. I remembered the smell immediately! We picked through vegetables loading our bags with potatoes, onions (red and white), tomatoes, squash, carrots, ginger, garlic and a huge bunch of greens. From the fruit seller we got mangos, guayabana (soursop), Chinese oranges and apples.

I visited a store with every possible plastic container and got a bright pink wash tub, very expensive, made in Thailand the lady told me. But it was stronger than the local plastic tubs so we agreed on a price that made both of us happy. It cost me 150 pesos or $3.50. It will make a good and useful gift here.

We went by the fish market but by 9:00 AM they were closing up and there was nothing much to choose from. We will go earlier one day.

We arrived at Robinson Mall just before opening and chose a good parking spot by the entrance. Good means find one by the door or in the shade! Fantastic is both! We were in need of a cold drink – iced tea was first on the agenda. Riza and I wanted to check out their refridgerators. My plan was to hit all the shoe stores. We had to get groceries. The men must have hidden communication when shopping is on the agenda. Steve called to say he and Kathy were in town. Let’s meet for lunch at 11:30. That meant no time for fridges or shoes – just time for groceries!

It was nice to see Steve and Cathy again. Steve is working on a project in Vietnam so he only has a short break at home. Just in time to meet their new baby girl. Her name is “Chelsea” if you ask Kathy but it is “Manchester United” if you ask Steve. She is a doll! The specialty of the restaurant is Baby Back Ribs. Note to self: Baby Back Ribs in Bacolod bears no resemblance whatsoever to Baby Back Ribs in Central Florida! Order something else next time.

I dug a section of the garden Saturday morning and made several trips to the river level for sand. It was left in drifts by the total flooding of the lower level before we got here. I thought it would be good for the garden. It will add the nutrients of the silt and the sand will lighten the dirt that is very heavy here. It is healthy in the garden - lots of worms and the dirt is dark from all the compost so it should grow well. I was thinking of my dad as I dug. I did not have string and sticks to mark out the edges of my plot so it is not exactly straight! Riza and I started by 8:00 AM and were done in by 10:00. Dan and Leroy were in the shade with a gin and tonic shortly after. Crazy English!

Saturday afternoon and Sunday were quiet. Riza and Leroy went to church and ran errands in town. Dan and I relaxed at home. Puttering around with whatever caught our attention. Monday we continued the errands that were interrupted Friday.

Riza has a fridge she needs to defrost manually and very often. It is a local brand and Riza did not realise they still made manual defrost fridges when she bought it. So our search for a fridge continued. We found one Friday at SM Department Store but they would not deliver to Murcia so we went to a local appliance store. They had an amazing selection of everything. We found a really nice Samsung, larger than the ones we saw elsewhere, and they do deliver to Murcia. Riza managed to make a deal for this fridge that was less than the others including delivery! She is good!

Dan was looking at their photographic equipment and found a Sony tripod he liked. He can leave it here so that he does not have to add to the weight of his pack when travelling. While he was doing that, the Chinese Dragon team arrived complete with drummer. They came into the store and while I was filming, the Dragon climbed right into my face! Kung Hai Fat Choy, everyone!

We were stopping at various places to look for parts for the motorcycle Leroy is restoring. No luck. We made a short stop at Libertad for fruit and coffee. The coffee is locally grown, roasted and ground. We really enjoy it. All these little stops were very hot and tiring. Traffic is crazy here with so many vehicles going one way, you would wonder how those coming in the opposite direction would find space!

We were glad to go to Imay’s restaurant and sit in the shade for a very nice lunch. Riza and Leroy have their favourite dishes they order. I decided to add something different, Shrimp with Chili and Garlic. I can’t explain it but was it ever good! It was a toss up who was going to lick the bowl. Add that to the list of favourites!

One more stop on the way home – I asked if we could go to Panaad Market. I love that place! It is a long block of tiny stalls selling garden plants. They are beautifully set up so you feel you are walking in shady green gardens. There is a long narrow path between two other stalls, sloping down, down, that opens out into the largest garden. It is the home of the fruit tree seller. I walked up and down looking at trees. A tiny puppy was barking valiantly, taking his job of guard dog very seriously, but no one came. Finally Riza was able to get the attention of the owner. Dan managed to round up Guilbey’s gin and even some Schweppes tonic at the grocery store but I have had no luck finding Persian limes. I solved the problem at Panaad market. I bought a lime tree!

It was good to get back to Calibago, and just in front of us at the gate – the delivery truck with the fridge! How was that for timing and excellent service! They brought the fridge in, unpacked it and set it up. Then they moved the old one over to our little house. Now we can have cold drinks too – not necessarily alcoholic! Even I drink cold water in this heat!

I jokingly said that the huge cardboard carton would make a good playhouse for Anna’s kids. But Anna has already requested it – to use as a bed. Her brother carried it home for her immediately. A piece of cardboard on the bamboo floor makes a good bed. What a different reality.

Alex has dug the second part of my garden while we have been gone. They don’t like to see me work here! It seems to worry them even though I try to explain I need the exercise. All that is left is for me to plant my lime tree. Reza got busy and planted eggplant and greens. After two days her bitter melon has jumped up and sprouted leaves already. It is looking like a garden!

Quiet Days

2012-01-21T02:00:00.000-08:00

January 19, 2012.

Sunday is always a quiet day. The staff have the day off. Leroy and Riza usually go to church and lunch with friends or run errands in town. Dan and I have time to do something or nothing in the neighbourhood. Today the choice is nothing. I read my book, made lunch and watched the world go by.

Lucy is not back yet. Her little boy had broken ribs in addition to the compound fracture of his arm. That will be a big expense for the family and they may have to sell their water buffalo to pay the medical bill. Water buffalo are like money in the bank here. A breeding female is worth a lot so even if you do not work them, having them ensures money in case of emergencies like this. Theft is a problem - though how do you rustle a water buffalo? They are not exactly speedy! They are not silent either. They make a lot of noise when disturbed.

Riza and I cook up a good stir fry for dinner and relax under the trellis. The Fleur de Lune shine white in the night around us. Lynne and I bought some new fabric for Bag Ladies called “Wind Flower” – I think they are the same flower. It would make sense as they hang from the trellis on long stems that blow gently in the breeze. There is a little lightening but no rain. I actually sat up a little later this evening and was sociable!

Monday morning I checked out the garden plot. I would like to make that my project but how to make best use of the area? It is pleasant and shady in the morning, but by noon it is in bright sunshine and very hot. It will stay that way until late afternoon. It has been a compost heap for some time. Now that it is cleaned up the earth below is good from all that was composted. If I dig it over and add sand and silt from below to lighten the earth, it should be good for planting next fall when Riza comes again. Right now it has only a few sad beans, potatoes and taro. Along one wall there are papaya trees and a tiny calamansi (like a key lime). Bitter melon vines are beginning to climb up the tower. They should provide shade for tomatoes and peppers below. While I was thinking about the garden, Anna got busy and moved some things around to leave room for my plans. Now I have to get on with it!

Leroy shipped the pulleys and wire for a clothesline. Laundry here has always been strung on lines winding back and forth in the garden. The staff have been watching as he erected steel poles at either end of the garden. He showed them where the clothesline will go. Anna is wondering how will she reach it? Then he started the men building a cement platform with steps. Now she wondered, how will she move it along the line? Why are they doing this? Even the men did not understand what they were building so explaining was difficult. Finally Alex recognised it as a stage! Right! Now construction was easier. Still Anna is not sure. We are looking forward to their reaction when it is all put together.

Tuesday morning we got up very early and went into Bacolod. Dan and I went to the dentist to get our teeth cleaned. Riza had a doctor’s appointment and Leroy had to get the car fixed. They dropped us off first. Dr. Melinda Solis was very nice – a tiny little Filipino lady, she asked Dan how tall he was. “Never mind, when you get in my chair you will be small and scared!”, she laughed! Here the dentist cleans your teeth and the assistant holds your head, moves the suction as directed or wipes you gently with a towel. A very gentle procedure.

Once we were both done, we took a cab to SM Mall and wandered around for the rest of the morning. It was the first time we had to find our own way anywhere and we did it! We stopped for lunch just before Riza and Leroy arrived to meet us.

We took another cab to St Vincent Street on the route home to pick up the car. It was being fixed by an electrician on the side of the road in front of his house. The street is full of activity. Beside the “repair shop”¸ pedi cab drivers are wagering their fares over a game of coin toss. Throw three coins in the air and bet on the way they fall. Riza scolded the loser on the loss of his family’s rice money for the day. He left the game and sat off by himself – at least while she was there!

There had been a problem with the electrical motor driving the power windows. It appears marginally better. On the way home we discovered a new screaming belt sound under the hood. Were the issues related? Would we get home? Who knows? We got home safely and the noise died away.

By evening, Riza was really ill. I cooked and cleaned up after dinner and we all turned in early. Wednesday we continued to let her rest and the rest of us were happy puttering around at home. We always need a day of rest after a city day!

Thursday the antibiotics had taken effect so we were all able to go for a walk through the village and out to a nearby road Leroy and Riza had not seen before. They were interested in a piece of property they heard may be for sale. It is a good sized piece of property but it is horizontal, stretching down a steep slope to the river. At the moment it is all planted in banana trees. Anna was our tour guide and she walked us up the road toward the highway in the distance. There was some traffic coming toward us – an older man riding his water buffalo leading a young one along behind and a young man on a fancy motor bike, trying not to dump it in the huge slippery ruts left by the sugar cane trucks. Once we could see the highway in the distance we turned off toward the road we usually drive in to Calibago making a circle home again. We passed the steep slope of the cane field that had been burned earlier in the week. It has already been plowed in preparation for another crop. We came to the entry of the village and stopped to look at the herb garden by the church. It is full of natural herbal remedies similar to the “Physic Garden” at UBC Botanical. Unlike the demonstration garden, this one is in use for the people of the village.

Anna invited us to see her house and garden now that it is completely finished. It is much larger than I expected and very well designed. It is split level with two bedrooms upstairs, a living room on a lower level and the kitchen at the back on the ground floor. The neighbours all came around to say hello though only one or two spoke English.

It was only 10:00 AM when we arrived back at the house but it is already over 30 degrees. It felt good to have a shower and dry clothes before sitting once more in the shade of the trellis enjoying the breeze from the river.

Late afternoon it cools again and we spend time watering the flower gardens. Even when I manage to soak myself from the knees down, it feels wonderful. Note to self – don’t wear a long dress to water the garden.

A spectacular sunset and dinner end another day.

Centered in Calibago

2012-01-17T03:59:00.000-08:00

January 14, 2012.

After a good night sleep, I was keen to get up and check out my surroundings in the daylight. Peeking out the windows, I could see the garden we planted had become a jungle! It was 6:00 AM and already Leroy was moving around the property. By 7:00 the workforce would be present and building the new fence outside our bedroom window. Best to be up and ready to go by then!

Showered and dressed I was watching for Anna’s arrival. Leroy and Reza had not told her when we would be coming. I could hear her singing on the deck in front of our door so I opened it up and said, “Good morning, Anna!” We did catch her by surprise! She did a little dance, we hugged and she cried! It was good to see each other again!

Cesar is no longer working at Calibago. Anna is now the Major Domo, keeper of the keys, with the badge of office – a cellphone –hanging around her neck. Her cousin Lucy is now a housemaid and Anna’s brother, Drago, is a very hard working handyman. We met Drago when he built Anna’s new house last visit. Alex is the new watchman. He has not been here long so we have yet to get to know him. Randy and his partner, Annalin, are temporary help for the building of the wall. Calibago is a growing community! We tease Leroy he is beginning Parok Dove! Parok being a small village such as the one next door. The workers and their families made a large and lively group in the photographs of the Calibago Christmas party.

We spent a quiet day touring the property and catching up on news. Reza had done a beautiful job of decorating our little house. The walls are freshly painted in decorator colours with beautiful hangings. Fresh flowers and potted plants liven up the room. We have a new bedroom suite with a very comfortable bed. There is a full living room suite to relax on. I had Reza come for a visit at our house this time. I should stock tea and cookies!

The gardens are amazing, particularly the heliconia and torch ginger in the front garden. It is now taller than the house and the various blooms are gigantic. There are many new papaya trees loaded with fruit. The mango trees are large but the rain seems to have limited the blooms there do not appear to be mangos coming. Drago brought a ripe mango from his garden for our breakfast. Wonderful!

The river is still high though the flood that covered the entire first level has now abated. Piles of sand remain along the front fence and the debris is still being cleaned up. There are piles of sugar cane deposited from fields up stream that need to be burned. At its height, the water covered the bottom step to the second level. It left the coconut palms laying every which way in its wake. They are standing again and have survived. The trees are probably doing well in the fresh silt left behind.

We watched three little people lug their inner tube up the path and then come floating down the river and right over the rapids covering the rocks in front of Calibago. It looked like they were having a great time! We could hear their excited voices drifting back to us as they disappeared down river. They made the trip a number of times. How many moms would allow that at home?!

We spent our first day quietly at home, relaxing after our long trip. Day two there were errands to run so we went off to Bacolod to visit the hardware store and the mall. Time to get my phone started and some fresh food. We met a dentist in town and booked an appointment for next week. I have been meaning to make an appointment at home but did not get to it. Here there is plenty of time.

Friday we went to the Golf and Country Club to meet friends from the area for lunch. Richard and Joy arrived with their very energetic little boy. He has sure grown since last we were here! Bill and his wife, , came too. All live in and around Mercia so it is nice to get together locally from time to time. The Golf club dining room is noted for its barbeque steak and onions with French fries. It has a lovely lanai on which to relax and visit.

I could not get my computer to talk to the cell phone so I could use it as a modem to connect to the internet. We went back to the mall after lunch and I went from cell phone provider, to cell phone company to technical support and back again all afternoon before the issue was resolved and the connection was working. Boring for everyone else but they stood by until I was done.

After all that we took another day off Saturday and spent it at home alternately puttering about and taking life easy. Lucy came to the door and spoke to Reza while we were having breakfast. Before we finished she was back with Anna doing the talking and Lucy in obvious distress. Reza went off with them and came back with the news Lucy’s 6 year old son had fallen off a water buffalo and broken his arm. It was a compound fracture – the bone sticking through the skin above his elbow. The Barangay has a small ambulance that can navigate the rough narrow road to the village. They were waiting for it to take the little boy to hospital. Boys will be boys in any country!

Dan is slowly trying to remove a stump from beside the house. It will be in the way when Leroy’s plans for an extension take place sometime in the future. I am looking at the garden plot and outlining a structure. I will find a shovel and start shaping it slowly. I can imagine four raised squares for the garden bordered by paths that will drain any excess water and keep the roots from being waterlogged. It will mean creating one level and moving some large rocks – perhaps to be used as stairs at the gate. It can be my slow project to get me in shape in place of a routine at the gym!

At sunset the neighbours put on a show, burning the sugar cane field across the street. Many children came out on the street to watch. Dan and I got our cameras and joined the crowd. Last visit we would have been frightened by fire so close to our little house, but now we know it is a common occurrence. It is still dangerous but less threatening.

We don’t seem to be able to make the evenings last long yet. We turn in very soon after dinner has been eaten and cleaned up. A few minutes relaxing on the lanai under the stars and we say goodnight! We will try to be more social soon!

Back to Bacolod

2012-01-13T18:18:00.000-08:00

January 10, 2012

Here we are on the road again! This time we are flying to the Philippines through Taiwan.

We had a long flight last night starting at 12:45 AM. Dinner was served sometime in the middle of the night – I slept through it. I was awake long enough to watch “Moneyball” with Brad Pitt and to get breakfast before landing.

We have a lengthy layover in Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport. It appears to be a nice terminal with areas of interest, green zones, a museum and an art gallery in addition to the shopping.

Being a grandmother, I had to investigate the “Hello Kitty” changing areas. Now that is luxury for the tiny traveller!

We left Taiwan on time. This time we had seats in the upper story of a 747. Very nice! Lots of leg room for Dan and only two seats across by the window. We could see the miles of ocean and eventually Luzon as we came down from the north toward Manila. Lunch was – interesting. We had eaten in Taiwan so I left the main course and enjoyed the coffee and dessert as “afternoon tea”.

We landed in Manila at NAIA Terminal 1, went through customs without incident and collected our luggage. We had plenty of time so chose a shuttle bus that eventually dropped us at Terminal 3 for our connection to Negros. This time we were travelling on AirPhil Express. We had a good deal on our flight – about $50.00 return each. That was with 15 kg of luggage. We had 20+ kg each. Overweight added another $40.00 one way! Note to self – think these things through! On our first big trip we had decided to stop stressing over the luggage – just pack and pay what was required. So we did!

Settled into the departure lounge we listened carefully to hear the flight changes over the hubbub of humanity. Sure enough, one after the other planes were late, flights delayed and eventually ours was affected.

We climbed aboard our small plane 2 hours behind schedule but we were on the final leg of the journey 24 hours after leaving Vancouver. We landed in Bacolod, loaded up our luggage one last time and found Leroy and Reza waiting at the exit. In no time we were in the Pajero heading through the darkness to Calibago. We tried to be social but by 8:00 PM we were tucked in bed in our lovely little house.

Road to Alberta

2011-07-20T13:21:00.000-07:00

Thursday, July 7th, 2011.

We drove into the Bow River Provincial Park for the night. There were a number of sites available but we were far above the river. Our view was rolling hills, pine trees and wild flowers. We were near a paved trail but there were too many bugs. It just did not seem like an evening for exploring.

We made hamburgers for dinner then sat around the table talking. Dan and Leroy traded memories of their childhood. Dan would remember some things and Leroy remembered others. They filled in missing pieces of each other’s story. A pleasant, quiet evening – until the wind came up.

The wind grew stronger through the night. It was keening and buffeting the trailer all night long. Dan was wakeful. It reminded us of nights on our sailboat, listening to the wind and feeling the anchor rode to be sure all was well. There is no anchor to worry about in a trailer but there were the trees. Dan was concerned about the stability of the trees on the windward side. Would they come down on us? In the morning we saw the tree to our leeward side was the one to worry about. It had a crack running right up the trunk and it was flexing with each gust of wind – open, close, open. It could pinch your fingers if you got them in the way!

The wind was still blowing as we pulled out. Most of our trip it would be behind us and help with fuel mileage. We stopped by the Ghost Reservoir to watch the strength of the wind whipping the sand into a dust cloud. The waves were breaking on the spillway of the dam. The small sailboats were being tossed like toys in the bay. Dan went to walk on the dock but gave up after about four meters as it corkscrewed crazily under his feet.

We wanted to avoid Calgary and the start of the Calgary Stampede. With the Royals attending it will be far too busy in the vicinity to be towing a trailer through town! Instead, we avoided the Queen Elizabeth II Highway north from Calgary and too a secondary road from Cochrane to Sundre. It was slower but there was much to see in the countryside. There were rolling hills with the mountains to the west of us.

We came to a stop in Sundre waiting at a road construction site. Off to our right a deer came bursting out onto the road. She was confused and frightened by the waiting cars, wheel around abruptly and ran off the way she had come. Then suddenly she came out of the trees again, this time dashing across the road right in front of the truck ahead. She made it safely to the other side and disappeared in the trees.

We turned north again to Caroline then east to Dickson. We were looking for a campground called the “Dickson Leisure Grounds”. We followed the signs to Dickson but did not see any to an RV park. We did find a picturesque little general store – The Dickson Store Museum. It looked like a great place to investigate and to get information.

A retired school teacher dressed in period costume showed us around the store. It was set to look like it would have been in the 1940’s and 50’s. There were 17 families that settled here originally so it was never a big community but the store supplied all their needs – food, fabric and hardware. Many of the items on the shelves were familiar to us. Upstairs were the living quarters. They had rescued the old coal and wood heater that had been thrown into the bush and left to rust. They had put a lot of work into restoring it and it sits in the living room again looking like new. It was a wonderful example of time gone by and we were lucky to have found it.

They did know the RV Park we were looking for and even had a small local map that would show us the way. We were on the right road and continued down to where it ran right along the top of the dam to the other side of the Red Deer River and Gleniffer Lake. From the top of the dam we had a spectacular view of the river valley below us on one side and the lake on the other. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to stop on the narrow road while pulling a trailer so I could not get the pictures I wanted.

While we were having heavy winds the previous night, this area had two tornadoes touch down. We could see grain bins blown over and broken, trees down and limbs with fresh breaks. Finally we found the Park. I walked in to see if they had space. They are no longer open to the public. It is only for people who have purchased the RV lots. There were two other parks in the vicinity that have closed to the public as well. The nearest park that would take overnighters had been hit by the storm and was unlikely to be open for guests.

Finally we reached the Westerners RV Park just off Queen Elizabeth II Highway south of Red Deer. They had no space available in the main park but we could stay the night in the overflow parking. Literally a city parking lot supplied with electricity. If you did not show proof of your overnight permit in the window, you would pay a city parking fine! There were clean washrooms and showers but no other amenities. With the heavy winds still blowing, we were actually glad to settle down for the night with no overhanging trees. We had spent all day to reach a town two hours from where we started.

In the morning Dan found we had a flat tire on the trailer. His next order of business was to have our spare put on and to purchase a new spare for the future. While he and Leroy took care of that, Reza and I got permission to do laundry in the RV Park. No point in wasting a rest stop! I have spent time sitting around a tire shop before. We met up and went for lunch in a Chinese Restaurant in Red Deer then picked up a few groceries.

We were on the road again in the afternoon and wandered the back roads south of Edmonton heading east to Vermillion. It was a pleasant drive in relatively good weather. I took a turn driving and got us safely to our destination. We have stayed in Vermillion twice before and it is a lovely RV Park with an information station, a library, a pool and a mini-golf area. The nicest part is there is space and trees between each site. They have been angled so you are not looking into your neighbour’s windows giving at least an illusion of privacy. We decided to stay two nights and have a break from traveling.

Instead we decided to play tourist for a day and drove north to Elk Point. From there we turned east to Fort George and Buckingham House. Fort George was the old Northwest Trading Company’s fort and Buckingham House was their competition run by the Hudson’s Bay Company. There is little left of either fort except the outlines revealed by archaeologists. But the interpretive center and the tour with our guide were very interesting. We saw buffalo hides, a tepee made of tanned hide with sinew stitching. We tested our ability to create a spark with a flint and steel. We learned how traders might try a bait and switch on the Indian and how the Indian might have a trick or two in return, each trying to get the best deal possible when trading goods for furs.

We only walked out to the Fort George site as the rainy weather made the mosquito population overwhelming. Buckingham House will have to wait for another time!

We enjoyed our break and were ready to carry on the next day. Leroy and Reza left us to visit friends south of Edmonton. We were now headed on to Saskatchewan. By late afternoon we arrived at the farm once more. No one was home but we pulled into our usual spot in the home yard overlooking the endless field of grain. I tidied up our little home and started supper so it would be ready when our host and hostess returned. Dan got out the riding mower and set to getting the lawn under control. It was good to be back!

Brandi

2011-07-12T16:47:00.000-07:00

As we drove through the spectacular Rockies today, I got a text message that our Brandi was not doing well. Her balance is gone and she is no longer eating. As the day progressed Danielle and I exchanged messages. Danielle and Anand would take her to the vet at 2:00 PM PDT.

As we drove into Bow River Provincial Park in Alberta, Brandi breathed her last. It was time for her to go. She has been part of our lives a long time and we will miss her deeply.

Road to the Rockies

2011-07-12T14:47:00.000-07:00

Sunday, July 3rd, 2011.

We arrived in Revelstoke on Sunday afternoon. The weather was warm and sunny for a change! We pulled into the KOA 2 km. on the east side of the town. There was no problem registering. The weekend crowd had pulled out and more than half the park was empty.

This is the spot I planned to check out for our Family Reunion 2014. There are RV spots, tent spots, “Kamping Kabins” and 2 bedroom deluxe chalets. It would suit any age group and inclination. There is a swimming pool¸ pancake breakfast, teriyaki chicken dinner and ice cream social in the evening. Lots to keep the families busy on the property and even more options in the surrounding area.

Monday morning Dan and I set out to explore the town of Revelstoke. We found our way to the public parking by the Info center and went in to get an overview of the area. The young woman we spoke to was very helpful. We gathered brochures, maps and suggestions then walked about.

I like this town. It is small and well kept. There are a variety of restaurants, interesting shops and two museums. We spent time in the city Museum but did not get to the Railroad museum this time. We found our way to Isabella’s Restaurant for an excellent Italian lunch. The special of the day was plentiful. The KOA gives each family a family pass to the Revelstoke Aquatic center but we did not take the time for that. Instead we went for a walk along the river walk. There are beautiful views of the junction of the Columbia and Illecillewaet rivers against a backdrop of the mountains. Every evening in the summer one of the streets is closed, chairs set up and live music is staged in the plaza.

We went on to check out two other possible RV parks. Canada West RV Park is currently under construction and may be a good option by the time we need it. Canyon Creek RV Park is a Hot Spring and very nice for RVs but the cabins were unsuitable for our needs and amenities were all an additional expense.

We went back to the KOA, had dinner and spent a quiet evening on the internet. We sat outdoors by the office to get the Wi-Fi signal. We had to dress for the mosquitos and black flies after dark. The time flew by and it was one of the latest nights of the trip. We managed to catch up with our mail and family connections.

We had another day to explore while we waited for Leroy and Reza to catch up with us. We had a slow start and then went up Mt. Revelstoke to see the wildflowers on Alpine Meadows Parkway. Unfortunately there had been a rock slide on the road and we did not get very far up the mountain before we had to turn around.

Instead we went for a walk along the Skunk Cabbage Boardwalk. It was another lovely warm day to be out in the sun. Right at the start of the walk we saw a sign warning us bears were in the area. We saw how true it was when we found a pile of scat on the boardwalk! I saw many of the berries that attracted them but I did not see the bears.

We checked out the Coast Hotel just above the KOA. They do have a group discount for rooms and they could cater the family dinner for us either on the deck or in the dining room. It was a lovely hotel with beautiful views over the city and mountains.

It was time to go back to our little home on wheels. Leroy and Reza arrived and we had a pleasant evening around our picnic table enjoying a good dinner and a bottle of wine. This would be an early night as we had all had a busy day.

We toured the property one more time and then packed up. We were heading east to Kinbasket Lake. We had no particular directions but found it on Microsoft Streets and Trips with our GPS. Off we went! It would be a short trip. Even shorter than we planned! The turnoff to the resort was well sign posted – long before the GPS route. We followed the signs down the Canada West logging road across the railroad tracks and into the resort.

Kinbasket Lake Resort would not do for the reunion. The lake was a reservoir that at this time had been drawn down a long way. That made a steep drop to the water and would be a worry for any mother of active small children! The water was not clean or inviting. There was not a lot to do unless you had a boat to go fishing. The long rough road in would not encourage you to go in and out often and nowhere to go if you did.

For us it was a quiet day of napping and reading. Very enjoyable! Quiet that is, except for the trains. I was surprised how many trains ran on this track. There was a gated crossing just above the resorts so we heard the bells of the gate coming down, then the shrill whistle of the train for each one that went by – day and night!

That would be our last night in British Columbia. In the morning, we headed east over the Rogers Pass into the heart of the Rockies. We drove through spectacular views of the mountains around us.

On the shoulder of the road we saw mountain goats grazing peacefully. As I got out to take pictures they watched me and stayed aware of my presence but they did not move off.

Carrying on down the highway, we bypassed Banff and went into Canmore for groceries. For the next few days we will explore Alberta.

Road to the Cariboo

2011-07-04T22:35:00.000-07:00

June 21, 2011.

We pulled the trailer out of summer storage and went to Chilliwack today. It is only an hour from home to the RV Park. But it feels like we are on the road. We chose this place because it is near a large RV sales and repair complex so we can buy any parts we need as we prepare for our trip. It is also near a large shopping complex to stock up on supplies. We will camp here for two nights and spend a full day getting ready.

I forgot to go through the pantry at home so I have a long grocery list. Most of the staples were left behind. We had a leisurely day going from store to store. Did you know Thursday is Senior’s day - 10% off at the LIQUOR Store???? Too bad it was Wednesday! It would have helped as we chose a few nice bottles of wine and a case of beer for sharing along the way.

We spent time at the RV shop just looking to see what was available – then had to go back when we realised what parts we really needed.

Back at the park we fixed and cleaned the trailer then stowed our purchases.

There were far too many mosquitos to step out of doors for long. I did manage to get some photographs of the beautifully scented flowers lining the drive along the river.
By nightfall the chores were done.

In the morning we were on the road, driving up the Fraser Canyon. We picnicked by the side of the road making lunch in the trailer. It was too cool to hang about outdoors. We drove out of the rain and cold into warm sunshine as we passed Lilloett. There was a construction zone of one way traffic that allowed us to take a pleasant break by a waterfall. All the creeks and rivers are very high this season. The Fraser is raging, covering most of the large rocks that are normally visible.

We turned off the highway north of Clinton heading 30 Km. along a gravel road to Big Bar Lake. It was a long, slow 30 Km. on mud road today. Towing a trailer made it a much different trip than the one we remembered camping with our children years ago! We reached our goal and it was beautiful. It was also cold, raining off and on and the mosquitos were as big as house flies. It was not a place to linger this week!

By the time we reached the highway again, the truck was mud to the roof and the trailer had a brown front end. We stopped at 70 Mile House – named after the old stage stops along the highway. The old general store caters to every need – food, hardware, miscellaneous gear and licences. Reza bought a fishing licence. She wants to do some fishing on our travels.

We traveled east from there to Green Lake where we stopped for lunch. The lake was a pale green in places! The day use site was empty. It was a lovely place but raining again. We had missed the turn up the west side of the lake so we back tracked until we found it. Once we were on the right road, we followed the lake back to Highway 24, our route to Deka Lake.

My brother-in-law, Joe, lives in Deka Lake one of the few “full-timers” in a small village of “summer people”. He was expecting us and gave us our usual warm welcome and a place to park the trailer. We made ourselves at home. Reza and I took over the kitchen. One night, a neighbour brought his special curry dinner while we provided the side dishes. We had good times exchanging stories around the dinner table!

Summers are lovely in the high altitude Cariboo-Chilcotin. Usually warm and dry. This year it has been wet and was still quite cool. We needed our down duvets at night and had the heat on. Joe had the fire burning in the house so it was always cosy. The walks are always lovely, views over the large lake or just endless empty roads lined with a variety of wildflowers. Today we picked deep purple lupin, brilliant red Indian Paint Brush, bright yellow daisies, White Oxeye daisy, and the trailing white flowers of vetch similar to garden peas. There was another small white flower like a trillium with an extra petal. We looked it up and found it was “Bunchberry”. It will have an edible red berry later in the summer. Wild strawberries and wild roses had yet to bloom.

I left everyone there and went on to Williams Lake by myself. A family member was going into hospital and I wanted to be there with her. Leroy and Reza stayed a little longer. Joe took them on a tour of the countryside where they did a little fishing and walked the “Stone Bridge”. Then it was just Joe and Dan enjoying the quiet days in the country.

All went well in Williams Lake and I returned just before the July 1st long weekend. That is when Deka Lake changes. People were now driving in at a steady rate. The roads were no longer empty and you had to be sure to look BOTH ways! This first holiday weekend of the season was spent clearing up yards and opening up the cottage. Lawnmowers made the background noise of the day. As we walked about we could see that many people had large groups of company enjoying a cool drink in the sunshine. Young people rode up and down on motor bikes and ATV’s. That did not seem to deter the deer from eating their way through the village. We saw two young buck nibbling the fresh greenery in an empty homestead.

July 1st we shared Canada Day dinner with a couple from up the road. We retired early and watched the fireworks from another neighbour’s display out the trailer window. Very low key but pleasant. Our friends in the south might say – very Canadian!
As the weekend ended the “summer people” started moving out. We joined the exodus. Saying good-bye to Joe, we headed east and south. Leaving the green grass and pine forests of the Cariboo high country, we passed through the sparse brown hills, sage and long needle pine of the Thompson Okanagan We kept heading east to Revelstoke, the beginning of the green hills and mixed forests of the Kootenay and Rocky Mountain area.

We had a nice lunch break at a rest stop east of Chase. I walked the path to a beautiful waterfall along a river the colour if clear iced tea. By 4:00 PM we were settled in the Revelstoke KOA. We are checking it out as a possible place to hold the next family reunion in three years. The BC branch of the Porter’s will be responsible for that one. That means us! We are gathering suggestions as we go and will see what suits the group before we begin our preparations.

Sunday in Sydney

2011-07-04T22:32:00.000-07:00

Placeholder for our view of Sydney.

Southern Ocean Road

2011-07-04T22:29:00.000-07:00

Place holder for Souther Ocean Road.

Traveling in Tasmania

2011-07-04T22:19:00.000-07:00

Placeholder for our Tasmanian journey.

Australia Day in Melbourne

2011-07-04T22:17:00.000-07:00

Place holder for Melbourne blog.

Relaxing in Noosa Heads

2011-07-04T21:44:00.000-07:00

Monday, January 24, 2011

We had a relaxing time in tropical Noosa Heads. We walked the trails of the hill, visited the beaches and shopped Hastings Street. We dipped into the pool several times a day and finished up on the lanai having Happy Hour.

Dan and I took a long walk through the National Park and actually saw a koala bear in a Eucalyptus tree. Very high up so that all we could get was a butt shot as Dan says. The farther you get from town the emptier were the beaches. It was beautiful but very HOT!

We drove out into the "hinterland" and visited the ginger factory and a macadamia nut factory. The plantations Lynne remembered are no longer there. Just a real tourist destinations. The gardens had many types of ginger on display and the shops sold ginger ice cream and bags of Macadamia.

We carried on into the mountains. We found a nice pub for lunch and toured a small town high in the hills that now caters to tourists. Our goal for the day was Mary Cairncross National Park, a small slice of old growth rainforest. It was worth the trip. We saw concave and convex buttress trees. As we crept quietly down the trails, we saw a padermelon crossing in front of us. Padermelon are really tiny kangaroos with lovely faces. We were lucky enough to see three altogether.

As we walked through the wetland area it looked very much like Florida. I was enjoying the differences in the plants but I could feel something biting my foot. Little sharp bites. I leaned over to check but could not see anything. I did knock a leaf off to get a better look - the leaf was wiggling... It was a leach! the bottom of my foot was bloody! Once it was all washed off it was only a tiny mark. Another interesting experience.

The following day we went to Mooloolaba to see the aquarium. A nice thing to do in the tropical rain. Again nothing was the way Lynne remembered. The quay was almost the same as Key West - it even had a Hogs Breath Pub! But the aquarium still held the moving walkway running through a seawater tank so that the fish were swimming above and beside you. At one point a ray swam lazily over my head and alongside me. So many of the fish we saw while snorkelling at Lady Elliott were here and labeled for our identification.

We drove on to Brisbane with no difficulties this time. Turned in our car and flew to Melbourne for a week in the big city. The computer is truly dead so we are borrowing when we can or using the internet cafe method of keeping in touch.

A Day on a Sand Island

2011-07-04T21:30:00.000-07:00

Place holder for our Fraser Island trip.

Lazy Days on Lady Elliott Island

2011-07-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

This is a space saver for my Lady Elliott blog. It is almost done!

Hospitality in Hervey Bay

2011-03-15T11:46:00.000-07:00

January 9, 2011.

We found our way back to the Brisbane airport. Laurel and I dropped Lynne, Thea and Dan off with the luggage while we followed the signs to the car rental return. Once we had parked the car we walked back to the terminal to find the three of them waiting for us. Wrong terminal! We had dropped them off at International and it was quite far away from the Domestic terminal. By taxi or train it was going to be an expensive ride for five people hauling luggage. What to do! By now the rain had caught up with us and it was pouring!

What is to stop us just taking the car back - we had just left it in the lot?. We had not actually turned it in yet. Laurel and I went back to get the car, just drove out of the lot and picked up the group again. We found our way to the Domestic terminal and another rental car return! We dropped off Lynne, Thea, Dan and the luggage. This time Laurel and I turned in the car. Good thing we had lots of time before our flight!

We flew over the flooding rivers and into sunshine on the Fraser Coast. We landed in the Hervey Bay airport in the late afternoon. It was still very warm outside of the small terminal. We decided against a car as we would not be in town long. We were not sure if the roads would be open later to travel further afield.

We got a taxi van large enough for the five of us and our luggage and gratefully allowed our friendly driver to take us to the Boat Harbour Resort. I was a bit apprehensive as we travelled. It was a long way from the airport and seemed to be away out of town. Fine when we thought we would be driving, not so good on foot. The view from the entrance to the property was not striking. There was no one on duty at the office. Though we had been warned the office closed early on a Sunday, it was a bit of a letdown after a day of turmoil. I did find a large bulky envelope by the office mail box addressed to me. We followed the directions and used a key to enter the 2 bedroom villa. It was very nice with a comfortable living room, dining area and kitchen. There was a large lanai and in suite laundry facilities. It would be very comfortable for the three women.

Dan and I took our key and found our suite across from the office. Our lanai looked out over the empty property next door. It was very quiet and secluded. We had a studio suite with a kitchenette, small eating area and the bed all in the same room. It was large, clean and nicely decorated. Things were looking up!

As we picked up our package at the office, a couple sitting on their lanai next door introduced themselves. They wanted to be sure we settled in all right. If we had any questions, we had only to ring the office phone to reach the manager. We chatted for a while and they gave us suggestions for dinner that evening. Their first recommendation was the Hervey Bay Boat Club in Urangan Habour. It was a great suggestion! We had a pleasant walk past the overgrown property next door, along the foreshore park and through the boat harbour to the club. The day had cooled into evening so it was comfortable to be outdoors.

It was dark by the time we reached the club. Laurel and I had tried a short cut through a questionable caravan park and found no exit. Somehow, we had become separated and she was now lost. Dan went looking for her as Lynne, Thea and I waited anxiously in the Boat Club lobby. Laurel arrived as bubbly as she always is after one of her adventures. Dan returned and we all signed in.

“The Sinbad Bistro” had a wide variety of regular menu items and a few good chefs suggestions that change daily. Good hearty pub food at reasonable prices. Wine and beer were even more reasonable! For after dinner, there was an extensive bar, live music and dancing. We arrived tired and hungry and left well fed and cheerful! It was a lovely walk home in the moonlight.

NOTE: The Harbour View Caravan Park looked fine seen later in the daylight!

Monday was a day to get things done. I talked to the manager about transportation and he mentioned while the roads were still cut and the airlines were full, the train was still running. Dan and I decided to do some research online. Our host directed us to the nearest internet café – past the empty property next door and up Boat Harbour Drive to the Colonial Village YHA. We bought a YHA Internet card at the front desk and went on line to clean up our email and research transportation in the area.

We had never stayed in a Backpackers facility. I was quite curious about it. It seemed to be a really nice place to stay. The computers were well set up for internet and Skype connections. There were large central areas for socializing, beautiful gardens, barbeque area, pool and a variety of accommodation styles. There certainly seemed to be travellers of all ages staying on the property.

There was a train to Brisbane and we could get off at Cooroy to connect to Noosa Heads by bus as well. I took down the information and we walked home to call the ticketing agent to make the arrangements. It is a lovely walk. This time we walked through the empty property. It had been someone’s home at one time. There were the remnants of a paved driveway. The trees and flowers had once been planted and tended. Now they were growing in a wild profusion of colours. The Golden Rain trees were in full bloom. The ground was covered in red and yellow flowers something like a Turk’s Head lily. The air was full of bird song and you could catch sight of their brilliant plumage among the trees. As usual, I was watching the ground for snakes – stomp, stomp, stomp! All I saw was fire ants, easily avoided.

Dan and I walked back to the Boat Club for breakfast as we had bought any groceries yet. The others opted to stay by the pool. The club was surprisingly busy. We got a light lunch at the sandwich bar and ate indoors looking out over the bay. It was cooler than out on the deck in the sunshine! We walked back through the marina and along the shore. There were a profusion of wildflowers on the dunes as well - the bright yellow of “Beach Primrose” and hot pink “Pigface”. There was a fenced path leading from the beach right to our resort.

We met up with the rest of the group and decided to take a taxi into Pialba Place Shopping Center in Hervey Bay to get groceries and explore. I found an Optus store and got a SIM card for our cell phone. Now Laurel and I could communicate if the groups were separated. I could also make my share of the travel calls so they did not all fall on her account. Lynne found a really nice cotton skirt in the mall. It was very useful travelling in this heat and went beautifully with her Uluru T-shirt. We stopped for coffee and made plans for the afternoon. We decided to take the groceries home by cab while the girls walked back to Boat Harbour along the waterfront. The walk along the Esplanade was 8 Km. In this heat, Lynne and I preferred the pool! The girls did not return until evening. Looking at their pictures, we should have done the walk! Long beaches with almost no one there. It was beautiful.

I phoned the Queensland Translink number and made reservations for the five of us to take the train to Brisbane Saturday morning. At this time the flooding had reached Brisbane. Much of the CBD was affected and local transit was not running. We wondered if the train would still be going into the city on Saturday. If it did, would the girls be able to find transportation to the airport? Thea was flying home to Canada and Laurel back to work in Melbourne. Dan, Lynne and I were getting off in Cooroy so we would not know what was happening to them. I know Lynne spent the week worrying. We had seats booked so step one was accomplished. Later in the week we found even the train was full.

Dan and I decided to walk up to the Botanic Garden in Urangan. We walked up Boat Harbour Road again to the “Great Sandy Region Botanic Gardens and Orchid Conservatory”. We were too late, the Orchid House was closed and tea was over. But we had a good walk through more of the neighbourhood. I particularly enjoyed the gingerbread style Queensland houses on their stilts and all the tropical gardens.

I joined Lynne at the pool for the remainder of the afternoon. Once the group was altogether again, we walked over to the Boat Club for another good dinner. We shared the stories of our day’s pursuits. What a life!

Tuesday morning we were to fly to Lady Elliott Island. The tariff includes the flight to the island and the accommodation. It is a small plane and you are limited to 10 Kg of luggage per person. I had arranged with the Boat Harbour Resort that we would leave some of our luggage in storage with them and pick it up on our return. Many peoples travel plans had been disrupted so there were no other guests expected at Boat Harbour this week. The manager kindly told us to just leave everything in our rooms, take the key with us and walk back in when we returned. With that in mind, it was an easy packing job after dinner and we were ready for the next adventure.

Flooding in Queensland

2011-03-10T08:20:00.000-08:00

January 8, 2011.

Our time in Alice Springs came to an end. We were packed up and ready to go early in the morning, except for Laurel. The lucky girl had made her plans separately so she would be flying from Alice Springs to Brisbane later in the day. We would spend the day flying to Melbourne`s Avalon airport, crowding into a taxi for an hour long drive to Tullamarine airport on the other side of the city, before catching our plane to Brisbane. Laurel would spend the day by the pool¸ catch a direct flight to Brisbane and arrive before us! We got well priced seats on Tiger Airlines. She caught a last minute seat sale on Quantas, a winner anyway you look at it!

By late afternoon we were altogether again in Brisbane. We loaded up our rental car and headed north to Deception Bay. Laurel drove and I was navigator with the help of “Dora the Explorer” – the GPS on Laurels iPhone. As night fell the weather grew stormy. I was glad to have the bright purple ball bouncing from screen to screen as we made our way up the highway. We found the right exit and then the sky really opened up. We could barely see the road. It was impossible to see street numbers. The bouncing purple ball let us know we had passed our destination. We turned around and found the driveway at last.

Claire-Lind Bed and Breakfast was a lovely Queensland house built on stilts. A very useful design when you are unloading luggage in a rainstorm! Lynne, Thea and Laurel were shown to the Australiana room. Dan and I got the Anniversary suite! We quickly unloaded the car and then went back out into the night looking for dinner. The only place open at this time was the Golden Arches. Not classy but certainly familiar. Saturday nights are wild around here! Returning to our rooms, we found crystal service at our bedside with chocolates and port. A lovely way to end a long day.

We took our time in the morning. We planned to explore the Claire-Lind property to see their rainbow lorikeets and their koala bears before making the drive to Hervey Bay. We met on the deck for a lovely breakfast. While we ate, we got a call from the manager of the resort in Hervey Bay. The road had been washed out at Maroochydore. We could not get through.

The flooding in Queensland was international news by now. We had been watching and knew it was working its way south from Bundaberg. Hervey Bay was still untouched but rivers between Hervey Bay and our present location had now flooded washing out the main highway. We talked it over during breakfast. The highlight of our trip was a visit to the Great Barrier Reef. If we did not get to Hervey Bay, we would not get to the reef. What to do?

Alternate plan B – return to Brisbane with the rental car and fly to Hervey Bay. Could we get tickets? No problem – not many tourists were trying to go toward the flood! So much for our quiet day. We loaded up the car and headed off. We decided to drive to Redcliff on the ocean for lunch. It was on the way back to Brisbane and we may as well take the scenic route in the daylight.

The rain had stopped. The wind was strong and the sky was clearing quickly. The beautiful beaches were a mess. The water’s edge was covered in dirty brown foam that stained your clothes if you got too close. Debris washed ashore everywhere you looked. We walked the waterfront looking for a lunch spot. I laughed as I caught sight of a series of signs – “Bistro”, “Pokies”, “Hooker”. Were we in the red light district? No, translating I found the “Bistro” to be a nice beachfront restaurant for lunch, “Pokies” were slot machines in the bistro and “Hooker” was a realtor next door – L.J. Hooker Real Estate..

After lunch we had a pleasant drive back to the airport and turned in the car. Next stop, Hervey Bay.

The Red Center

2011-01-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

January 6, 2011.

On good advice, we booked a tour for our trip to Uluru, previously known as Ayer’s Rock. The bus would pick us up at 6:00 AM for the drive out to Uluru – Kata Tjuta. We would not be back until after midnight. Long hours of driving in the outback at night would not make for a fun trip so we will have someone else do it!

We were all up, packed and ready when the bus arrived to pick us up. There were two driver–tour guides, Kevin and Tic. Both were very knowledgeable about the area and were able to talk about the plants, animals, geology and history of the area. It seemed that if Kevin was particularly interested in one area, Tic would have in depth knowledge about another. Both kept us entertained.

Kevin started driving and Tic passed out our breakfast boxes then retired to the driver’s bunk to sleep for a while. We drove through empty country with the beautifully coloured landscape stretching into the distance around us. We were actually crossing a number of cattle stations but any animals were elsewhere today. Our first stop was the Erlunda Café and Desert Oaks Tavern. There was a gas station, public washroom facility, general store, motel, café and pub. It was undoubtedly, the social center for the area. The gas station certainly had no competition for many miles! Tic advised us the best coffee was at the pub. I took his advice – it seemed like coffee time!

The Highway sign told us we were on the Lassiter Highway and it was four miles to Uluru. There is nothing else out there to mention. At least we were on the right road!

As we drove along, everyone was watching to see our first glimpse of Uluru. There it is! WRONG! What we saw first was Artilla (Mount Conner) or, as our guides pointed out, “Fooluru”. It is also a spectacular flat topped tor alone in the desert. We stopped for a Kodak moment, climbing a hill overlooking a large salt lake. Lake Amadeus was a salt edged earthen pan with no water to be seen. The colour of the red earth was spectacular! Laurel was wearing a brightly coloured skirt and as she climbed, the earth dusted her legs like colourful makeup. We stretched our legs, took some pictures and got back on the bus. Next stop was Ayers Rock Resort; a chance for a restroom and to pick up a few more people.

Now we were in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. First stop, Walpa Gorge at Kata Tjuta. Kata Tjuta means” many heads”. That describes the round domes of conglomerate rock that makes up this part of the park. The English name is “The Olgas” after Mount Olga, the largest of the domes. It is a very sacred site to the men of the Anangu people. Here they passed down the creation stories from generation to generation. The women could camp well back from the gorge but were not allowed into the men’s area. Similarly the men were not allowed in the women’s sacred sites on Uluru. Because the stories of the people could not be shared outside of the specific group for which it was intended, the only stories we would hear today would be classified as the children’s stories.

We left the bus and walked up the gorge between two domes. Dan and I were so busy looking around us and photographing all we saw that we never did reach the end of the trail. Lynne found a convenient bench and let the girls go on at a faster pace so they would reach the viewpoint. The shapes and colours were spectacular and each new angle seemed better than the one before. All too soon, it was time to return to the bus for the short drive over to Uluru.

As we drove around the base of the monolith our guides told the stories of the area and at the same time served our lunch boxes. A great idea so no time was wasted once we were free to wander. We stopped at the start of the Ayers Rock climb. It is a steep face with the trail straight up! My father climbed it on an unusually hot summer day in his 80’s. Looking at it, I could not imagine climbing it even on this more temperate day when I am 20 years younger! Fortunately it is no longer allowed, so I do not have to prove myself!

We walked to an area that was near the women’s area. Our guides told us the story of a time when the women and children were left here while the men went hunting. Another group heard of the gathering¸ came upon the women and children and carried them off. When the men returned they found their wives and children missing. They saw footprints that they recognised as other men on the trail and they followed them. There was a great battle and they got their families back. The raiders were turned into the many heads of Kata Tjuta.

We continued on our tour to an area where the hunters gathered. There was a natural blind and cave where the hunters would wait all day, whiling away the time telling stories and playing games. At dusk the animals would gather to drink at a nearby water hole. When they were drinking the hunters could see them through a small spy hole in the rock. They were able to kill what they needed and take meat back to the village with relatively little effort. In the dry season they would have to travel much further following their prey.

It was very beautiful by the Kantju waterhole, the blue sky, the red of the rock and the colours of the plants. It was heightened by the dark clouds building in the distance.

From here we drove on to the new Talinguru Nyakunytjaku sunrise viewing area and the Park Cultural Center. Apparently the powers that be made a small mistake here. They spent 21 million dollars on roads and facilities to a spot that does not give a good view of Uluru at sunrise at all! The old spot is actually on the other side of Uluru!

Our last stop was the sunset viewing area. It is in the right place! We all wandered the area looking for the perfect angle to photograph Uluru while Kevin and Tic prepared our barbeque dinner. We returned to the bus in time to get seats at the table and serve ourselves from a buffet of salads and sausages on the barbie. I chose a glass of wine and was just settling down to enjoy my dinner when the heavens opened up! I put a plastic bag over my wine glass and another over my dinner. The wine was saved but the torrential downpour filled my plate! Many people ran for the shelter of the bus luggage compartment. Dan and I decided it was too late and waited it out. Dan would pour the water off his plate, eat – pour water, eat! Here we were dining in the desert and soaked to the skin!

In no time the rain stopped and the fleeing clouds gave us a spectacular sunset. Who else has pictures of waterfalls on Uluru?

The ride home in wet clothes was cold. Lynne saved me from hypothermia by supplying a beautifully warm sweater she had tucked in her bag just in case. We settled down to watch a classic Australian movie called “The Dish” as we drove through the night back to Alice Springs. The storm had all the animals lying low so again there was nothing to see along the way. We arrived home at 1:00 AM. It would probably be closer to 2:00 AM when the drivers had the bus ready to put away. Then they would be picking up a new group of people by 6:00 AM. Long work days!

Dan, Laurel and Thea were up and at it the next morning. They had booked a camel ride out to the MacDonnells. Interesting but they still did not see the wildlife they were hoping for.

Lynne and I had planned to go touring but the cloudy skies would not give us the light we needed to photograph the cliffs in Standley Chasm. We opted for a morning at home instead – doing laundry and relaxing by the pool. When the cameleers returned we all went for a nice lunch in Alice Springs. It was time to pack up and get ready to leave the Red Center. There is so much more we would like to see, we will have to come back another time.

This town is Alice!

2011-01-17T00:38:00.000-08:00

January 4, 2011.

I have wanted to see the Outback of Australia ever since the first I read Nevil Shute’s “A Town Like Alice”. I have read it many times. We flew over the red landscape and landed. I am really here!

We rented a nice little SUV so we could fit all five people and our luggage with some comfort. Laurel volunteered to drive as she is a Melbourne girl and most familiar with the rules of the road. I became the navigator. We found our way very easily to the Desert Palms Resort. It really is an oasis in the desert landscape – startling green of the grass and palm trees set off by the tropical colours of the flowers and birds. The women looked forward to the pool at the end of each day’s adventure. Dan enjoyed the quiet of solitude! We had two villas, one for myself and Dan and one for Lynne, Laurel and Thea. It worked out very well. It was wonderful for Lynne to have both her girls together again!

For our first day, we decided to tour the town and do some chores. We needed to cash traveller’s cheques, get a few groceries and get the feel of the area. It is a very short drive from the resort across the Todd River to the CBD (Central Business District).

The Todd River is normally a dry river bed. Every year it is the site of the Henley-on-Todd Regatta. The boats are a little different. They have no bottoms or tops! Contestants stand inside their vessels holding them waist high and, at the sound of the starter’s gun, race along the course - hopefully without tripping over each other or collapsing from laughter or exhaustion. While we were there, there actually was a little water in the bottom of the riverbed. A good thing it was not race time!

Alice Springs is a small town of 28,000 people living over a large surrounding area. The CBD is about 5 blocks square. We wandered up and down looking into shops as our interests dictated. We picked a nice place for lunch, the Red Ochre Grill. It is known for its presentation of “Bush Foods” or meals made with local ingredients. We decided to have a typical pie and a pint. Well, Dan had the pie and pint, I just had the lamb shank and vegetable pie. It was very good! So good, we made a repeat visit later in the week.

All that city life made us glad to return to the serenity of our Oasis and the pool! We met up for happy hour on the lanai and each group made a simple dinner in their own kitchen. A very relaxing day!

It was not as warm as it can be in Alice but we had a low of 22 C (72 F) and a high of 38 C (100 F) daily while we were there. Very pleasant! The clear, bright skies turned me browner than I ever get, even with 30 SPF sunscreen!

We started out early on Day 2 to take advantage of the coolness of morning. We had a full agenda. We started at the Alice Springs Reptile Center. We were greeted by Frank who has the run of the property. Watch out for Frank when you open a door – he may try to make a break for it!

We timed our arrival so we could take part in the Reptile Talks. My part was filming but the others learned how to hold the small dragon, a blue-tongued skink and a python!

From the Reptile center we crossed the street to the Communication center of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. This was more my speed! I really appreciated the map with all the pins representing private runways in the vast outback territory. Yellow pins for strips with landing lights, blue for those that would be daylight only, pins for the planes on duty and for their current location. There were displays of medical equipment from years gone by and some that would still be current. Some were familiar to me from my days as a Lab Tech. Some would be illegal now such as Dr. Poppy’s Wonder Elixer with Canabis Extract. It supposedly relieves any number of symptoms and leaves you with a pleasant feeling all day. I’ll bet!

We liked the look of the menu in the Flying Doctor’s restaurant so we stayed for lunch. They were out of the items we particularly wanted to try, but they did have Sticky Date pudding with Butterscotch Sauce. Yum!

That fortified us for the afternoon’s trek through the Alice Springs Desert Park. We strolled through an amazing display of flora and fauna in the park’s 75 sun baked acres. There are three desert habitats represented, Desert Rivers, Sand Country and Woodlands. We saw birds of all kinds from a Black Cockatoo to the little Kookaburra. Who would have expected such a big call to come from such a small bird?

Lynne and I strolled along leaving the others to keep to their own, much slower, pace. I particularly enjoyed the colours; the red of the soil, the greens and browns of the vegetation, the bright colours of the flowers and birds. The distant reds and blues of the MacDonnell range formed a backdrop to it all.

We all met up at the Nocturnal House and then divided again. Dan and I followed a path taking us back to the entry and settled down with cold drinks. I was feeling very tired and losing interest. Lesson one: carry water! I was suffering from dehydration. I could not seem to get enough liquid, I was so thirsty! After a few minutes, I was ready to go again. Unfortunately we were running out of time. My close encounters with emu and kangaroos would come another day.

It was time to check out the pool and take time for Happy Hour once more. We have a really early start tomorrow!

Traveling to Australia

2011-01-06T23:36:00.000-08:00

January 3, 2011.

Christmas is over. We spent New Year's Eve preparing to leave and at last the day came. We had a pleasant New Years Day dinner with the kids on the way to the airport and we were on our way!

We had an Air Canada flight to Sydney with a connecting flight to Melbourne. This time the flight did not seem unbearable. We had the two seats by the aisle rather than by the window. Did the ability to get up at will make it seem easier rather than being trapped by the window unwilling to disturb that sleeping stranger on the aisle? We ate, watched movies and slept the time away.

We arrived in Sydney a half hour late. We went through customs quickly but it took a long time to get our luggage. No one from Quantas seemed interested in getting us to our connecting flight on time. Apparently they just get you on the next flight - no worries mate. But we had Lynne and Thea meeting us in Melbourne and no way to let them know we were about to miss our connection.

We were now booked on the 3:00 PM flight and they were expecting us at 1:35 PM. To complicate matters they were also flying late. They arrived and could not find us. They wondered if we had gone off looking for them.Eventually we all got together and took a taxi across Melbourne to the suburb of Geelong.

We had arrived! The motel was small but comfortable. The receptionist very helpful. She arranged a taxi for 5:30 AM the following morning and sent us off with suggestions for dinner. We strolled the waterfront but it was very cool with a strong wind. We grabbed a quick Calamari and chips from a beachfont stand, investigated the Yacht Club and watched Lynne and Thea ride the Ferris Wheel.

With a 24 hour day behind us and a 4:30 AM wake up call ahead, we turned in early.We got up at 4:30 AM as planned. The taxi arrived on time and we were at the Avalon airport by 7:00. Laurel met us there. We were ready for our flight into the Red Center and the town of Alice Springs! This time all went according to plan. We landed, picked up our car and found our way to the Desert Palms Resort.

The Goods Screening and Apparel Art Show

2010-12-19T09:51:00.000-08:00

David had a tough start to December. "Black Friday" he arrived at the store expecting a great day and found a pipe had burst flooding the store. The ceiling had come down in places, the stock and electronics were damaged. The Tortoise was living in a waterfall.

The store was closed almost a week. Friends and family pitched in to clean up, insurance sent in a team to dry the premises out and finally The Goods was back in business.

Just in time for the first annual Art Show!

Chriustmas Tree 2010

2010-12-19T09:38:00.000-08:00

After the Christmas Craft fair ends, it is time to get on with family Christmas. Jen, Lexi and I went out to get our Christmas trees.

The night before there was a torrential downpour and we were thinking we might have to cancel. In Richmond, blue skies prevailed. There was lots of standing water to capture Lexi's attention. She stomped in puddles, splashed in a lake and fell face first into the ooze. She enjoyed it all! By the time we had our trees and returned to the truck, Lexi was wet to the waist and her boots were full of muddy water level to the tops!

But she had carefully(?) carried a lady bug on much of the journey. The highlight of the day!

We loaded the trees, put dry clothes on the child and went off for lunch.

The followiung pictures were taken with my new shockproof underwater camera. I forgot it could zoom... That is why Santa let me practise with it early!

Bag Ladies on Holidays

2010-12-19T09:09:00.000-08:00

The Bag Ladies attended a big craft fair hosted by the Chilliwack Arts Council. A relaxing weekend but very cold and snowy!

We did get home

2010-12-19T08:33:00.000-08:00

The last entry to the Road Trip blog blue screened and never was rewritten!

We had a leisurely start - Delbert made us breakfast at the Oasis and we waved good-bye to everyone as we headed the trailer west. It was a long day of driving so that we could spend the night just before the gates to Jasper National Park. That left us with a pleasant day's drive to Mackenzie where Dan's cousin Gloria lives with her husband Norman.

We had a good visit with them. Gloria walked us around the town on her exercise route! The town has been hit hard by the recession and there are many empty houses offered at fire sale prices. The mill has been bought and is being re-opened. Other industry is planned so a revival is coming. Not everyone could wait.

Norman, Gloria and Tica took us on a ramble along Lake Williston. Tica likes to encounter grizzly bears to earn her keep but no joy on this particular day. I am glad she was there to keep watch and also glad that was all she had to do!

From Mackenzie we were heading south. One more stop in Williams Lake to visit my cousin Margaret. It was a short visit - we were leaving the trailer in her yard. We would be back in a couple of weeks for a Bag Lady on Holidays event - the Williams Lake Fall Fair. We would stay at Marg's then and show Lynne around the area.

The last leg of the journey we made good time without the trailer and by dinner time we were home! March to August - what an adventure!

Moving to the Farm

2010-08-10T22:30:00.000-07:00

July 17th;

We moved from Speers to the farm outside of Mayfair. We wanted to spend some time with Victor and Jacquie. Since we were going to a neighbouring farm for a birthday and anniversary party tonight, it seemed like a good move to take our bed with us!

Sharon is celebrating her 60th birthday. Her husband Peter is turning 70 and they have been married 38 years. All good reasons to celebrate! Set up a couple of large tents. Bring on the food and beverages. There is lots of room for parking out here! Family, friends and neighbours are all welcome. It doesn't even seem crowded.

A smaller party the night before was rained out. Rivers flowed through the tent and the downpour blew through cracks in the walls. Today the weather was sunny but the wind was cold. People gathered in sheltered spots to visit, exchanging news with locals, renewing old acquaintances and meeting new. All ages were represented from babies to the elderly. The younger set ran and explored, climbing large round bales of hay, keeping warm with their exuberance. Adults circulated in the tents or around the fire to warm up.

The tables were laden with food - appetizers, main course and many desserts to choose from. The bar table was unlimited as well. Double the number of people and there still would have been plenty to carry home. We did our best to taste everything! The evening ended early. It was just too cold and windy to stay out any longer.

For the next week we parked in the home yard at Victor's farm and just relaxed. If there was something to do, we did it. If not, we visited, walked the dogs, napped or read. Such a hard life - no cell phone or internet. The world seemed far away!

Dan spent a lot of time riding the Kaboda lawn mower. There is a lot of grass to cut; all of the yard, 0.2 km driveway, then up and around the horse corral. He trimmed overhanging trees so they would not wipe him off the mower. I got to drive the farm truck while he loaded the resulting brush. An earlier model Ford F 150 XLT, it had seen better days. The seat did not move forward so I had to stretch my platform thongs to meet the pedals. The windscreen is cracked in many directions. The cab is full of useful bits of chain, cotter pins and tools. Most incongruous is a tiny, perfect, birdís nest in the middle of the dashboard.

Walking the small dogs was a pleasant job. Up the drive to the main road and then right past the fields of green peas covered in white blossom on one side and the fields of canola in bright yellow blossom on the other. Or turn left and walk up the hill past old granaries and used equipment to the horse corrals. The roadside is a colorful mix of wild flowers - purple, blue, yellow and pink. At first, the corral is empty. Somehow the horses know people are coming. It is a small herd but the ground thunders as they gather from distant corners of the pasture. What must have been like to hear the great herds of earlier times! Victor and Jacquie love the horses and their connection to the beginnings of farming in the area. These are the descendents of his father's stock.

Uncle tells us the days were easier then. Unlike tractors, horses had to rest so the farmer got to rest too. Days were shorter and Sunday was a day off for man and beast. Now the farms are enormous, the equipment to run them is huge and complex. The new sprayer seems like some huge transformer folding the spraying arms high against the sky. It is all computerized and controlled by GPS. So sensitive that it knows exactly what has been sprayed and will automatically turn off the nozzles that cover ground for a second time. The new tractor has wheels taller than I and I climbed a ladder into the cab. The red leather armchair is luxurious and well sprung so that the rough ground will not be so noticeable on a day's run. With so much to do, days can get really long when the season demands it.

Jacquie and I spent a day in Saskatoon. On the way we stopped to pick strawberries at a U-Pick. I do the same at home and have to remember the berries are ripe there in early June. I often missed them in Florida where the season is closer to Easter. That is a good indication of the differences south to north! That and the daylight. In Florida, it was getting dark between 8:00 and 9:00 PM. Here the sun is still setting at 10:00 PM and the sky is bright and the birds are singing at 4:00 AM.

The garden is beginning to produce. Jacquie has planted a mixed row of lettuce. What a good idea! If you pick a leaf from this plant and a leaf from that on down the row, you end up with a mixed green salad. Green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, spinach, romaine and curly types fresh as they can be! Add some green onions from another row. Dig some new potatoes. Thin the row of beets for baby beets and greens. What a wonderful treat!

The moon is full this week and the room is bright much of the night. A huge gust of wind buffeted the trailer and woke me. I could see the moon shining brightly to the south. To the north, a line of black clouds seemed to be headed our way. The wind howled. The cloud to cloud lightening put on a spectacular display. Very quickly the clouds covered the moon and I watched as the lightening outlined the darkness. Were we safe in the trailer? Dan had parked so we would be sheltered from the prevailing wind by a huge Quonset hut. The house sits in a clearing on the top of the hill. Perhaps we had the better location. Dan slept on so I decided to stay put and watch. What a show! It was over very quickly - the clouds moved on, the moon came out and all was quiet again.

All too soon it was time to move on again. Now we will be turning west and start heading home.

Settled in Speers

2010-08-10T21:59:00.000-07:00

July 4th

We were glad to settle in Speers for a while. We parked on the street outside of Delbert and Sheila's home. In Speers, that is not an issue! It is a very small town, about three blocks square. Everyone knows everyone or soon will.

We arrived on a very pleasant afternoon just as they were trying to construct a new plastic swimming pool for themselves, their children and the grandchildren. The previous pool had collapsed and flooded the back yard. Frequent thunder storms had not helped. It was quite muddy. We joined in and the pool was in place by the end of the day. Unfortunately a connector was cracked right out of the package and would have to be replaced before the pool could be filled. Cool weather continued for the next while so it was not urgent to get it up and running. It was going to need the pool heater before anyone would venture in!

Family members came and went over the next few days and we did a lot of visiting. In this area, most are related on Dan's mother's side. One cousin runs the Post Office in Speers and has a home a few blocks away. We did get to have a short visit while she worked and promised we would stop by the house one evening. We went several times but we think they were peaking through the blinds and would not come to the door as we never actually found them at home! Leroy and Reza crossed our path from time to time. They were staying in nearby Alticane with Aunt and Uncle for the remainder of their time in the area.

Sheila is Dan's cousin. She owns the Oasis Personal Care Home in town and we had the perfect view from the trailer - three blocks straight down the street. It made a very convenient WiFi connection! It soon became apparent it was a convenient hotspot for many people. Cars often came and parked across the railway tracks in front of the care home. It often made Sheila nervous when they stayed late into the evening. Once we explained what all these cars were doing, Delbert decided to add security to the server. The downside was community policing dropped immediately. It appears, the RCMP was also using the hot spot for their laptops and not really patrolling the village as frequently as we thought. Delbert is considering giving them the password, having the RCMP drive through regularly is a good thing!

The Care Home itself is very unusual. It is like an extended family home. We often joined in for meals at the family table, movie or games night in the main dining room, campfire night outdoors in a sheltered treed area or just sat by a guest and had a good visit. There are lots of places to sit indoors or out, in sun or shade. There is a huge vegetable garden, different lawn and flower areas. There is an animal run currently home to donkeys and goats. I was thrilled to see a newborn kid take its first steps while we were there. The varieties of chickens and peacocks fell prey to local red foxes and are no more. One of the guests is a relative from the Dove side. I had more time to get to know Mamie this trip. She was stationed in Ottawa at the end of the war and had some good stories to tell. That is what Sheila enjoys most about her work, the time to listen to her people and hear their stories. Though I have rarely seen her still long enough to get the chance!

I kept Sheila company on trips to the hospital in Hafford and in North Battleford to take care of residents medical issues. Dan and I ran errands to be helpful and got involved in projects where we could. The big one was the children's playground. We managed to turn boxes of wood, plastic, screws and bolts into a really nice "fort" with a climbing wall, slide, swings and a glider! The many children that either belong to employees or visit guests will make good use of it. Sheila's three year old grandson thanked Dan for it on more than one occasion.

Once the playground was complete, Dan and Delbert started to work on an equipment shed. It was about 40 by 60 and 18 feet tall. They were preparing the wall beams to take the rafters. Delbert rode up and down in a "cherry picker" but Dan climbed up and down the framed walls. Good exercise! One day Delbert took Sheila and I up in the basket way above the building and let us take pictures of the home and surrounding area. That was an adventure for two people who are not really fond of heights!

We did some touring as well. One day we found the old New Ottawa town site. Only the old post office building remains - a weathered, wooden ruin in the middle of a Canola field. In contrast, the New Ottawa Cemetery is still beautifully kept and the gates are still in place. It is the cemetery for the Dove side of the family. Grandma and Grandpa Dove are there along with Grandmaís side, the Cox family. Many of the names bring people to my mind and of course many more are real to Dan. Mamie Dove has her place reserved beside her husband who rests there already. It is a small, peaceful place. If the mosquitoes were not so ravenous we would have spent longer tracing the stones back through the years to the beginning of the town. The railway made the big change. The townsite was moved to Speers, buildings and all, when the tracks were laid and Speers was chosen for the station rather than New Ottawa.

Another day we joined Delbert and his granddaughters on a fishing trip to Sandy Lake. They have a trailer and pontoon boat at the lake for the family to use during the summer. Once you leave the Yellowhead highway, most of the roads here are gravel. As we drove north we saw a car sitting in a field and a clear path sideways through the ditch from the road. That must have been a story! We arrived safely at the lake and loaded the day's supplies into the boat. We pulled out of the channel into a surprisingly large lake.

We spent the morning trolling up and down. Dan was the lucky one and pulled in four Northern Pike. Delbert came prepared with a small stove, a frying pan and the appropriate seasonings. He filleted one of the fish and cooked it up right there for our lunch. Now that is fresh!

We picked up Sheila, their daughter and grandson for the afternoon. They drove up to the lake with all the fixings for supper at the campsite. Emily caught a fish too with Grandpa's help. We ended the day with five pike and one pickerel. We were able to add a fish fry to the evening meal! A lovely summer day on the water!

The Crossing

2010-07-08T09:58:00.000-07:00

Friday, July 2nd;

We left Billings, Montana still driving north. We were on smaller highways now, heading for the Canadian border. There was very little traffic. The last stop was a fuel stop in Malta on Highway 191.

We thought we would stop for lunch but once we started north on the final leg of the journey, it was only a two lane highway with narrow shoulders. There was nowhere to pull over. We arrived at the border before we knew it!

Canada, we are home! But first customs. This was the smallest border crossing we have used. The Customs officer was more thorough. Where had we been? How long? How much did we spend? What did we buy? Produce the receipts. Ooops! I meant to get them out the night before. I excused myself to get them from the trailer and the officer actually followed me in. Fortunately, I had them all together in a folder so it was no problem to get them. We were allowed to cross - as long as we fit through the door of th customs enclosure Dan had driven us into! Yup - we made it.

Next we had to find the village of Val Marie 20 miles up the road. Let me just say there is a marked difference in quality of the road as soon as you cross the border. Canada's share is not as well maintained. We found Val Marie and made a stop at the information center to find out more about the Grasslands National Park. We did a quick tour of the village and backtracked down the highway to our final destination, the Crossing.

Our host was expecting us but had been surprised by the arrival of Leroy and Reza. They arrived ahead of us and were already comfortably settled in their lovely suite overlooking the park. We drove down the hill to the campground and I was startled to see four large white teepees rising over the brow of the hill. It was not a pow wow but another type of accommodation for tourists visiting the area. We pulled in nearby and set up. We had the area to ourselves with a view of the grassland in all directions.

We prepared a late lunch, then dinner and spent the intervals visiting. We caught up on all the news and made plans for our time in the area. At sunset a storm came in and the sky was spectacular. We retired with the darkness and felt secure indoors while the storm buffeted the trailer. What is that noise? Oh, oh - I left the forward window cover up and it is flapping! We got a little wet as Dan came out to help me get it down.

July 1st was Canada Day. It dawned clear and sunny. The perfect day for small town celebrations. We headed for town to enjoy the pancake breakfast. It may seem a little low key if you compare it to an Orlando Fourth of July but it is just as heart felt. Pancakes were being served at the largest building in Val Marie - the Ice Rink. In front was a large sign declaring Val Marie to be the home of Brian Trottier - 4 time Stanley Cup Champion with the New York Islanders. We joined the townspeople for breakfast and then toured the town waiting for the start of the Canada Day Parade.

We spent time watching a beautiful pair of Belgian horses being prepared for their part in the parade. Then strolled the length of Center Street (2 blocks) to find a seat by the cenotaph. From there we could see the parade twice. Once as it toured streets on the south side of town and then again as it came around from the north. That way you could sit on your front porch to see the parade go by. From our vantage point, I could make sure to get a picture of each participant. If I missed them the first time, I was prepared the second. The people on the floats threw candies as they went by. In this case, all the children were in the parade so the adults got to scramble for the goodies on the street. Then they threw them back as the floats came around again!

Even going around twice, it did not take long for the parade to end. We visited some more with locals in the town and headed back home for lunch and a lazy afternoon. Our plan was to tour the Grasslands park in the late afternoon so we would be able to see the many resident birds and animals.

We followed the tour as described. We saw the Frenchman River valley; we learned what a coulee was; we saw a large prairie dog town; we saw many types of birds. We did not see any of the large animals we had hoped to see including the bison herd. Before we were finished the tour we could see dark grey clouds building once more and decided to race for home.

We were safely settled in with a good dinner on the way before the storm arrived. Our host came down to the trailer to let us know the power was out over much of southern Saskatchewan. In the trailer we had lights, at least those on battery power, and a gas stove so we were not inconvenienced. Once dinner was over, Leroy and Reza went back to their suite while it was still daylight. I read in the quiet of the evening until a sound caught my attention. It was 11:00 PM and the Canada Day dance had ended in Val Marie. Fireworks had begun.

I could see a thin strip of lights on the horizon. Power had been restored to the town. Tiny sparks of colored lights shot over the town as the fireworks display continued. Behind that the dark black clouds soared. Cloud to cloud lightening lit up the sky in a far more spectacular display than man was able to produce. Happy 143rd Birthday Canada!

It was a lovely two days at the Crossing with Leroy and Reza. They left us to go east to Saskatoon. We got ready to head further north. Our goal was Saskatchewan Landing on Diefenbaker Lake.

There is a severe weather warning posted for southern Saskatchewan. How far does it extend? As we pulled out of the Crossing in bright sunshine we could see the dark clouds off to the west. Could we outrun them?

In spite of the interesting sights along the road our attention stayed focused on the clouds to our left. The brilliant yellow of the canola fields stretched right into the dark blue gray of the sky. It was spectacular! Lightening occasionally forked to the ground.

Just as we approached Swift Current, the rain began. We pulled into the Iplex Civic Center parking lot and asked directions to a diesel fuel station. It was a large empty parking lot and other rigs were seeking shelter off of the road. We decided to park. Fuel could wait. The wind rocked the truck and whipped the water to a froth as it flowed through the parking lot. Time for lunch and a rest stop to wait it out. We later learned, not far to the east of us, a First Nations village was being destroyed by a force 3 tornado.

We waited for the calm and carried on safely to Saskatchewan Landing for one last night on the road.

The next afternoon we arrived in Speers, Saskatchewan and parked for an extended stay with family in the area. Blogging will stop for a while as we enjoy life in farm country. The temperature mid-morning is 66 F (18.8 C) I am in my winter clothes and still feeling chilly. The furnace has been in use! Maybe we should head south again!

Turning North

2010-07-08T09:32:00.000-07:00

Sunday, June 25th, 2010.

We planned to leave Bear and Trish Sunday morning but we got involved trying to clean the BankerFox.A virus off of my computer. I could not open any programs and that included my maps and GPS. (I am still not using it to access the internet!) Finally by 1:00 PM we were on our way with the computer still being scanned. We had a map printed from Google to guide us out of town. Add to that, the truck appeared to be running in low gear only. Not an auspicious departure!

One more trip around the block and the truck was moving normally. The scan finished and removed affected files from the computer. Before we reached the freeway, we had the map and GPS running again.

Note that we are traveling in an Ford F-350 pulling a 27 foot travel trailer both comfortably air conditioned when required. The road we are traveling cuts, or is part of, most of the great wagon trails of the 1800's. We will drive from Colorado to Saskatchewan in four comfortable days. No one will oppose our path. Contrast that to the families making their way west or north in earlier days walking beside their oxen and cart.

We made Sunday afternoon an easy one. We drove through Denver and out into the less peopled plains. We saw ranches, cattle, horses, prong horn antelope and a variety of birds. Just before the Wyoming border we pulled off onto an access road paralleling the freeway. It was a good gravel road that would take us to our first stop, the Terry Bison Ranch Resort. That was how we discovered a small problem with the GPS. It takes the most direct route - 6 miles of gravel instead of the taking the next exit and backtracking two miles of pavement!

The Terry Bison Ranch is part of an historic ranch originally belonging to Senator F.E. Warren. At the turn of the century it ran cattle and sheep, spreading over fifty miles from Cheyenne in every direction. General "Black Jack" Pershing married Senator Warren's daughter. The rich and famous visited the ranch in itís heyday. Now it is down to 300,000 acres - 2/3 in Colorado and 1/3 in Wyoming. It still runs cattle and sheep but the resort area also raises buffalo, goats and dromedary that we could see. Today the owner's daughter checked us in! She has just graduated from high school and is hoping to study psychology at University.

The current owner is in his mid-seventies now but still loves to tinker with machinery. This past winter he built the new engine for the train that takes tourists on a tour of the ranch culminating in a visit to the buffalo herd. He has also built a small midway for the small visitors including a rustic Ferris wheel.

We had a pleasant wander around the area in the cool of the evening. We decided to have a light dinner in the restaurant and turned in early with the windows open for fresh cool air!

Monday was a short day. We were heading for Fort Casper, Wyoming on the North Platte River. This is the area of the Oregon Trail, The California trail, the Mormon Crossing and a Pony Express station. As we drove we could imagine the travelers working their way through the table lands surrounding the Platte River valley and then seeing the Continental Divide in the distance. Routes were named after the men that discovered them. John Bozeman followed a shorter route through hostile Indian territory, the home of the Arapahoe, Cheyenne and Souix. These tribes were determined not to let the Europeans take their lands. On it, many lives were lost earning it the nickname the "Bloody Bozeman Trail". Jim Bridger found a longer route through the territory of friendly tribes, the Shoshoni and the Crow.

Our drive was mainly through open grasslands. The escarpment and buttes were spectacular rising up from the valleys. Again we saw cattle, horses, prong horn antelope and deer. We arrived early at the Fort Casper RV Park and had a lazy afternoon. We walked toward the river beside us. It is in flood at the moment. The crest should be tomorrow.

We turned down the road to Fort Casper and walked to the museum. It was a hot day, an air conditioned museum seemed like a good idea! It is a small museum with a replica of many of the fort buildings behind it. We were too late for a full tour but I particularly enjoyed the many books in the shop and a horse drawn shepherd's wagon. It was similar to one my father used in the 1920's herding sheep on Alberta's short grass prairie. They are still being used by ranches in this area to follow the flocks of sheep during the summer season.

We walked home to start dinner and it was still very warm. Finally, as the sun set, the evening cooled.

Tuesday we continued north to Billings, Montana. It was another day of wide open spaces. Not quite as rugged as the previous days. We found our way through Billings to the KOA resort. This was the first KOA opened in the USA. It is still a very nice site. It has the usual log "Kabins" for those who do not camp. There is a pleasant green space with a garden gazebo. There was a steak barbeque at dinner time and an ice cream social in the evening. One of the more recent amenities is The Pistol Pete bath house. It holds a number of good sized bathrooms. Each one a full bath suite with toilet, sink and shower. You can close the door and it is your private space. A very nice idea!

The campground is located on the shore of the Yellowstone river. We watched cattle coming down a valley on the far side to drink at the waters edge. Cottonwood trees were in full bloom and the "cotton" was floating heavily in the air. The day was very hot and I was looking forward to a swim in the pool after our exploratory walk. Before I could get ready, a thunder storm rolled in and the pool was closed until the lightening subsided. It thundered and rained and hailed before the storm passed. That cooled the day turning it into a very pleasant evening.

Garden of the Gods

2010-07-08T09:03:00.000-07:00

Thursday, June 24;

The rest of the week we toured different areas of Colorado Springs and did errands to prepare for our departure.

We packed a picnic and toured the old mining towns west of Colorado Springs. We drove north to Woodland Park, then west to an area where Bear and Trish once owned land and lived in a teepee for three years - summer and WINTER! That was an adventure! They showed us where they went to do laundry and have a shower in a small mining town. Places where they went for a quick grocery stop have now grown into small villages.

In 1890 Cripple Creek was the starting point of the Colorado Gold Rush. Cripple Creek is now a gambling and tourist town. There are tours of old mines and one of the large gold mines is still in operation. We timed our visit to avoid the crowds of Donkey Derby Days. It looks like YouTube has it covered!

We went through Cripple Creek on down the highway, driving past old mine buildings and huge mountains of tailings. Some are modern and lined to prevent contaminants such as arsenic leaching into the surrounding soil. Some are old and did not take that precaution.

The road entered Pike National forest. It became miles and miles of washboard over scenic mountain roads! We found a nice place on a creek to stop and have a picnic. This is a spot the bike riders have used for a rest stop when they have ridden the many miles of road we just drove. There would still be miles to cover before entering Colorado Springs again.

Friday we went to tour the Garden of the Gods. These spectacular sandstone formations have been known for thousands of years. Carbon dating on charcoal from an old hearth sets the time line for that fire as 3300 years ago. The most recent Native Americans to make use of this area were the Ute Indians who visited the area on a regular basis. This was a place of special significance to them. We were told that Chiefs, nearing their time of death would find a cave here as their final place on earth.

We enjoyed our tour on a hot, blue sky day. Taking pictures of the red rock formations against the sky. We saw an instructor and student sitting high on the rocks preparing to belay down the steep face. What an amazing place to learn rock climbing. Unfortunately many do not heed the warnings to inform the park of their intentions and do not have accomplished guides. Many need to be rescued - these are not beginners slopes.

We stopped by the Trading post. It has any Native American tourist item you might want. In rooms behind the usual tourist ware are some beautiful examples of Native American art. Compare the hand woven baskets at the back of the store to the "Made in Pakistan" replicas at the front.

We finished our tourist exploration in old town Colorado Springs. It is an area of historical buildings, boutiques and coffee houses. Central to that visit is always CS West Bikes. You can buy a new bike, rent one or arrange a cycling tour but you had better be in shape for the Colorado Springs terrain! After a visit to the French Bakery a strenuous bike ride is a good idea!

Colorado Springs Zoo

2010-07-05T10:04:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, June 22;

A zoo is not always a number one tourist spot unless you have children with you. This zoo is different! It gives you a real workout if you do it at a good pace. Me - not so much. I kept stopping to take pictures! There is so much to see, the animals, the flowers and the views way down into the valley below. This zoo is built high up on the side of a mountain looking over Colorado Springs. So much so that you can take a chair lift from the bottom to the top. From that vantage point you can see the more reclusive animals that are hidden from the ground view points, like the snow leopard The cat was barely visible behind a log far at the back of it's area.

If you are walking up the paths, you have the choice of stairs or an elevator to the raised boardwalk leading to the grizzly bear enclosure. More exercise options!

Each large area displays birds and animals of a specific region. We entered the park at the giraffe enclosure. Colorado Springs has a large giraffe herd and is well known for its breeding program. There were two new giraffes there at the time, The resulting growth in the herd allows them to ship to other areas where they are also trying to assure the continued success of the species.

One of the large giraffes left what he was doing and ambled right over in my direction. How close do they get? REALLY CLOSE! Do they eat cameras? Do they lick people? I did not stay to find out! There just happened to be some interesting birds nearby! And then a family of Mir cats. And then the lemurs got my attention.

Trish herded us toward the primate house. Her favourite was the baby silverback gorilla. We watched momma, poppa and baby interact. They are fun. The monkey enclosure was keeping a group of children amused as well.

We continued on through the north west area, moose, mountain lion, porcupine and a grizzley bear. From there we traveled through Asia, the snow lepord and other species that seemed to be more difficult to see, on to Australia. The wallabies were hopping along the path we were walking on.

We left the zoo passing the giraffes once more.

We were heading further up the mountain to Helen Hunt Falls with a brief stop in a normal subdivision except one home owner was an artist. He creates large metal wind vanes that decorate his front yard. They are amazing! We parked so I could take some pictures.

Then on to the falls. Bear and Trish stayed behind while Dan and I walked up the many steps to the top of the falls. It was a nice finish to a pleasant day.

Riding the COG to Pike's Peak

2010-07-05T08:24:00.000-07:00

Monday, June 21st;

We arrived at the home of Bear and Trish Saturday afternoon. They had reserved a place for our rig in front of their home and we did not even have to unhook for the next week. We moved into their downstairs guestroom and slept in the cool of the high Colorado evenings.

Sunday we had a quiet day just visiting. But starting Monday they had some days planned to show us their lovely city. We went to the Monday morning Farmer's market and wandered the downtown core. We stopped by the old town and met the owners and employees of the CS West bike shop. Bear and Trish have adopted them as their Colorado family. This is a challenging town to ride and both Bear and Trish have taken it up, though Trish is less able now. The city itself stands at over 6000 feet and many of the bike trails run up over 10,000 feet. Going up is difficult, coming down is scary!!!

We decided to see the heights in a somewhat less strenuous way. We took the COG railway for the last run of the day up to Pike's Peak. We boarded the train in Manitou Springs and we looked very out of place in our jeans, long sleeved turtle neck, vest and polar fleece among many in their shorts and Tís. We wandered about the station platform taking pictures and people watching. There were humming birds feeding above the platform. Beware of humming bird fallout! Unfortunately I suffered a direct hit down the side of my nose!

We started up the mountain past rock faces and heavily treed hills. We caught a glimpse of the oldest operating power station west of the Mississippi. A young couple live there during the summer and have a 60 mile driveway out to the main road to get their mail! An even longer drive to get groceries in Colorado Springs. What a place to spend their summers! They are responsible for upkeep of the dams, waterways and equipment that create the power.

There is a halfway house that shelters hikers waiting for the train to take them up or down as the case may be. The Barr trail built in 1917 still carries hikers up the mountain today. There is a cabin for them to overnight on the journey. The other way up is by road. Bear and Trish did that on a motor bike in winter some years ago. The experience has stayed with them. It was a cold and icy ride. With no safety fences on the steep and winding slope it is still a dangerous road today.

We passed the section house where railway gangs lived in the early days. They built the railway and kept it open. Families lived in that house and at least one baby was born there. At this point we are high above the tree line with the tender tundra stretching away from us. You can still see the old wagon trail that predates the railway winding up the hills. Tundra grows so slowly that it has not been covered yet. As we left the tree line behind us we saw one lone bristlecone pine at the edge of the forest. It was over 2000 years old. That means it was growing at the time the pyramids were built!

At last we came up the last steep grade and stopped at the Pike's Peak Station. It was cold and a strong wind was blowing making it feel like freezing temperatures. It was also 1410 ft above sea level. Now we were glad we had dressed for winter! I wandered about on my own taking pictures and marveling at the views around me. I was aware that I was feeling the effects of the altitude. I had been drinking my water faithfully but still felt very dizzy with a slight headache. I stayed carefully away from the really sharp drop offs!

I met up with the others in the station coffee shop and we listened for the warning whistle to board the train for the trip back down the mountain. This was the last train of the day so we did not want to miss it!

The Road West

2010-06-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

We have turned the truck west and are beginning the long road home.

We got off to a late start on our first day - not unusual for us. This time we were actually on track until a neighbour came in for a visit and a look at our trailer. Oh well, meeting the people is what RVing is all about!

For our first day we planned to go back on the route we traveled often before - north to I-10 and across the Panhandle. This time we stopped at the Blackwater River State Park. It was a lovely place to spend time at the end of a long day of driving.

We arrived just after the ranger at the gate went on a one hour dinner break. Oh well! We sat in the truck at the gate saving our place in any line that might occur so we would get a spot for the night. As we sat there a local drove by us and called out as she passed. “Thanks for coming. Spend lots, we need it!” I laughed and said we had been here two months and we had tried!

Once we had registered we pulled in to a lovely wooded campsite. Each space was large and made private by a good buffer of trees around it. Our allotment had a pair of cardinals providing music and entertainment. I don’t think they were really happy about our occupation of their home. Our coming and going obviously disturbed them. The male was not impressed by the other cardinal in the large side mirror on the truck. We left them on their own and went for a walk down the boardwalk to the river. It has a lovely wide sandy beach where small children were playing in and out of the water. The water was a deep tea brown. It sure felt good after such a long hot drive. I happily kicked off my thongs and went wading.

We had some leftover Chinese food for dinner and I wanted to try the recipe Evelyn gave us when we visited Merritt Island. Abe had stocked us up with wonderful fresh vegetables so we had fresh Japanese eggplant and jalapeno pepper. I was able to put the stirfry together very quickly to fill out the menu.

3 Japanese or Chinese eggplant chopped into chunks.
1 medium onion, also in chunks
3 large cloves of garlic chopped
1 jalapeno pepper chopped coarsely
4 green onions chopped in medium lengths
2 teaspoon Soya sauce
2 tablespoons Oyster sauce
Heat oil
Sauté garlic lightly.
Add onion and sauté lightly. Add eggplant and pepper.
Add soya sauce.
When just about done add oyster sauce and green onion.
Heat and serve.

It was very good!

A quiet night and then on to Mississippi.

Day 2:

We got up early - the sun was just rising! The usual morning activities; make the bed, pack up the bedroom, clean up the people, breakfast, clean up the kitchen, sweep the floor and bring in the slide out. We were on the road by 7:30 AM and it was hot already!

The GPS reassured us of our position and we found our way out of the park. As we drove toward the highway, Dan pointed out sections of the old brick road that crossed the Panhandle. This was the old Florida Highway Number 1 built as a nine foot wide brick road in 1921. Soon we were out of that rural area of days gone by, back on I-10 heading west to Mobile.

My plan was to head northwest from there to Hattiesburg and then west to Natchez so we could see a portion of the Natchez Trace Parkway. I missed the turn while playing with the computer map! No problem. We continued west to Gulfport and turned north to Hattiesburg. This road was much bouncier. Somehow, working our way through the bypass of Hattiesburg we turned south again by mistake. It was 8 miles south before we could turn again and make our way back. By the time we got to the west turn to Natchez, we had had enough of the bouncing. We decided to scrap Natchez, Vicksburg and the Civil War history and go straight north through Jackson so we could stay on the Interstate highways.

We pulled off the highway to have lunch in the Dry Creek Water Park. We found the park and there was no one there. We know why. The lake is a mess. The washrooms unkept. Toilets and urinals no longer flush. There did not appear to be any staff present. Nothing about it was as pleasant as the D’Lo Water park we stopped at on the way down.

Opening the trailer we saw the result of the rough roads. The mattress was nearly off of the bed. The drawers had bounced out of the bedside tables and the contents were strewn on the floor. The television had been well packed in its original packing but had bounced along the floor and was laying at the opposite end of the bed. I replaced everything and carefully packed the TV tightly into a corner. At this point, was I saving the new television or a box of trash? It was too hot to enjoy the stop. We ate quickly and carried on.

We drove straight through Jackson and stopped at the Movietown RV resort in Canton, Mississippi. Nothing “Movie” about it but it is a nice clean park pleasantly situated in the midst of farmland. I felt a bit down at missing the Natchez Trace Parkway and Vicksburg yet again. We have been this way four times now and have yet to explore this area. Oh well, one day I will make it a major stop on our trip, unhook and tour the area as we did in Tucson.
A spectacular sunset and a good night’s sleep would cheer us up again!

Day 3:

Once more we got up at dawn. Dan was bright eyed but I was a bit slow to surface. Once the morning preparations were done we were on our way. We headed north to Memphis cutting through that corner of Tennessee into Arkansas.

Sometime after noon, we stopped at a rest stop. Dan went right to sleep while I quietly got lunch prepared. It was 94 (34.4 C) inside when I went into the trailer and the thermometer outside quickly rose to 114 (45.6 C) outside in the sun and there was no shade! You can imagine what inside felt like in no time at all. No problem taking butter out of the fridge - it was ready to spread in seconds!!!

We had a flat, or rather shredded, tire on I-40 just before we left Arkansas. It was a hot wait for road service but I must say our insurance company in Canada really delivered! I called a 1-800 number. The young woman took my information, location and cell number. She went and arranged a provider then called me back with an update. Two employees of the "OZARKO Tire Service" arrived as promised, replaced the tire efficiently and we were on our way. The young woman called again to be sure we were safe, that we were back on the road and to let me know where to send the bill.

We ended the day in Sallisaw, Oklahoma. I had a wonderful time in the pool at the KOA RV park. It was wonderful to cool off and to visit with fellow campers. I put a good dinner on the table with a chilled glass of wine as a special treat. After this day, we deserved it!

Day 4;

We left Sallisaw after checking all the tires! Today is a straight run through Oklahoma to Amarillo, Texas.

We stopped at a Texas rest stop for lunch. Once more it was too hot to linger.

We were making more fuel stops than usual. With a stiff head wind, our fuel mileage was dropping steadily, 9 miles/gallon, then 8, then 7!!!!

We arrived at Amarillo much earlier than usual. It was fortunate because the park was very busy and was turning people away by the end of the day.

We had a quiet time. We decided on a light dinner as we were too hot and tired to prepare anything time consuming. The evening was cooler than we have had for a while. We went for a walk.

The sky was spectacular as the sun set. A huge cloud formation got our attention. We continued to watch it as the sun set. Then it broke up, surprisingly quickly, as the evening cooled.

There was a water park on the corner with one long drop designed like a skateboard park. Fall over the edge and then fly up the other side! Up and down, up and down until the energy is dissipated.

A sliver of the moon shone in the darkened sky.

Tomorrow, Colorado Springs!

Day 5;

We did not get on the road until 8:00 AM this morning. Now we are turning north on secondary roads. Here in the panhandle, the countryside is flat and sparse. There are cattle and oil rigs. In Walmart, older men still dress in straight legged jeans over cowboy boots, doffing their Stetson hats as they pass their neighbours.

We were surprised to see pronghorn antelope running across the land. Another unusual sight was a dead cow, swollen in the heat, feet in the air. I would not want to be the clean up crew for that one!

We crossed into Colorado and turned west again. We stopped for lunch at a State Park and actually enjoyed the visit. The day is still hot and sunny but not unreasonable. Yucca were in full bloom at the information center.

Now we were on the last lap. We reached I-25 and turned north to Colorado Springs. The GPS directed us right to Bear and Trish’s front door. We have moved in for a good visit!

Last Days in Florida

2010-06-20T15:45:00.000-07:00

After we returned from Charleston, time seemed to speed up. What seemed like a long visit was now quickly coming to an end. There was still so much we wanted to do!

The Governor of Florida declared two free days of fishing for all visitors. We did not need a license. Off we went to Cape Canaveral National Seashore for two days on the beach. Abe showed me how to use a screen in the surf to get sand fleas for bait. I even got a two inch pompano - my contribution to the catch! Dan and Abe were surf fishing and caught whiting and croaker. None met their standards for keepers so after two days of fishing we had nothing to show for it but a good sunburn! I enjoyed being on the seashore. That really seemed like summer to me.

One day we got the call that the night blooming cereus was about to put on the yearly show. Abe and Frances have this unusual plant growing up their pecan tree. It only blooms once a year and it is only for one night. The last time we saw it there were well over a hundred blooms. What a spectacular sight! This time we could not be there for the big bloom but caught the late arrivals the following night.

We were invited out to our friend Dan’s home for a barbeque. Dan and I had worked together while I was in Lake Mary, Florida. It was the first time I had managed to fit in a visit to the Douglas Lake Ranch. Dan and Luke are seasoned hosts. We had a lovely evening touring the property, meeting the four legged residents and visiting good friends. I think Dan had been hiding the fact he was in the food service industry for a number of years. If I had known he was such an accomplished cook, I would have been on his doorstep much more often! We talked long into the evening. (sorry Luke - I know you had an early morning the mext day!) Then we got a little lost driving home. It was the latest night we have had for a while!

The last weekend we went for a drive with Abe and Frances to visit their son Kenny on Merritt Island. He works on a lovely estate growing avocado, mangos and lychee. He must have developed his green thumb alongside Abe! The grounds are beautiful, wonderful gardens looking over the Banana River. We met his employer and were invited in to visit. Evelyn made us very welcome. Looking over her kitchen bookcase, I was delighted to see we had many of the same cookbooks. We pulled them off the shelf and got involved sharing favourite recipes. While we were visiting, her housekeeper was busy in the kitchen, using Chinese eggplant in a stirfry that was delicious. I brought that recipe away with us as well!

We fit in last visits with friends as we could. That is always the hard part about leaving - saying good-bye. We did not get to see everyone we wanted to see but the day had come and it was time to go. We will be back….

Sullivan Island

2010-06-18T16:17:00.000-07:00

I have not been blogging for some time. Life got in the way! I will do a quick catch up by continuing with our stay in Charleston. Then I will finish our stay in Florida. So you can join us on the trip home.

Touring Sullivan Island

Wednesday, May 26th;

We had a good night in our lovely accommodation. We decided to make a full breakfast of eggs and liver mush! Over breakfast we planned our day.

The valet brought our car around and we drove over the bridge we could see from the Battery Walk and stopped on Patriot’s Point to see the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV10). Abe and Frances had toured it before so Dan and I went on board alone. We walked down the pier toward the ship and took note of the submarine berthed in front of it. The USS Clamagore was dwarfed by the larger ship. Both ships sit on tidal flats and are not always fully afloat. The action of the sea and the sea life have taken a toll on the Clamagore. In many places her outer layer has been eaten away by rust.

We walked across the gangplank and climbed down the forward hatch into the forward torpedo room. We always hear how tight the quarters are in a submarine but you have to see it to get some understanding. Berths are crammed into spaces you would not think could hold them. And who could sleep there in the midst of all the activity? In the engine room, under and around the torpedo tubes, even being one of the officers does not give you much space. How do five or six men fit in that room at the same time?

The radio/sonar room seemed like a good place to hang out. It appeared to have less people and was comparatively quieter. The galley was impressive. Even with that great Hobart mixer, I don’t think I would want to cook the number of meals that must be required day after day. The officers mess was the nicest space on the ship. The enlisted men had a less formal space with four tables.

I only counted one toilet??? Could that be right? I read the instructions to use it. I suggest you would not want to be in a real hurry when you got there. There were two sinks and one shower. How many people were required to share this space?

We worked our way through two engine rooms. Apparently they were identical setups for redundancy. The differences were the names on the engines - “Speedy Gonzales” and “Mabeline”. Aft of the engine rooms we entered the aft torpedo room. Here the main space was taken up by torpedo tubes. Above and below them there were bunks hidden away like so many trundle beds. Imagine sleeping in such crmped quarters with people working around you, the din, the action, the smell of a bunk used by two other shifts of men besides yourself. “Hot bunking” would never appeal to me. You had to be tired!!!

We climbed out of the rear hatch onto the dock once more and moved on to the aircraft carrier. From a distance it was not as large as I expected. But standing on the flight deck, the size was more obvious. From there we had a view of Charleston and the Battery we had walked the day before.

We did a quick tour not staying to examine all that was on display. I climbed into a fighter to get the feel of the cockpit. A tight fit for anyone who was too much larger than I. With the canopy closed it would have been a little claustrophobic. It would be exciting flying such a small and probably responsive plane - even more so if someone was trying to shoot you!

We walked back to Abe and Frances. It was time for lunch so we drove across to . Frances had been told about a good seafood restaurant overlooking the water. We found the Boathouse and stopped It looked like a place that would be pretty lively on a weekend with many pleasure boats tied up in the marina.

After lunch, we carried on to Fort Moultrie. This fort has been armed from the Revolutionary war until World War II. Fort Moultrie on one side and Fort Sumpter on the other guarded the entrance to Charleston Harbour. Fort Sumpter is gone now, only a marker is left. Fort Moultrie is the remaining sample of history. We found the enlisted men’s quarters or rather the foundation of them. They were torn down by the men living in them so that the more sophisticated firepower of the civil war would not turn the wooden buildings into splinters that would kill and maim men inside the fort.

As we walked, the rain that had been threatening all day began. It was time to return to Charleston and the comfort of the hotel. Our last night here.

In the morning we headed south stopping briefly in Beaufort for breakfast. We drove out past the US Marine base at Parris Island. Abe told us what it was like when he arrived here as a teenager getting ready for World War II. A train brought them in and there was no way out until they finished their training. He made it through, hiking through the heat of a southern summer with heavy packs and no protection from the mosquitoes, deer flies and other voracious insects of such a swampy land. No wonder he became an Entomologist!

Now we were on the road back to Orlando. It was hot and tiring. We were all glad to get to our homes and relax once more.

Walking Charleston

2010-06-04T19:49:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, May 25th;

It looked like a stormy day so we wanted to get on the road in good time. We have experience driving through torrential rain and it is not fun!

To keep it simple we went to the motel buffet for breakfast. They have fruit, cereal, juice, sweet bread, toast and a really easy waffle maker. I made Dan and I waffles. The coffee was good and that is a perfectly fine start to the day. Soon we were packed up, checked out and on the road again.

It was really simple, south on SR-77, east on SR-26 and straight into Meeting Street, Charleston. Turn left on South Market Street, a quick right onto Church Street and we have arrived at the Church Street Inn. This was a find through my timeshare connection. It is a lovely old building of hotel suites. We have the Fraser room. It is a two bedroom, two bath suite overlooking the courtyard. Each couple has a king sized bed and private bath so no one had to draw straws for the better room! Abe and Frances take the room on the lower level so they do not have to carry everything upstairs. We are upstairs off of the living area. Wow! It is very nice if somewhat over decorated. We moved some of the kick knacks so we can use the tables and settle down to relax and plan our day.

The valet has taken the car and we have no need of it. We are right by the Market and in the very heart of the French Quarter. We can walk anywhere we want to go. We start out by strolling up Market Street looking for lunch.

After lunch we stroll down Church Street. We can see St Phillip’s Episcopal sticking out into the center of the road two blocks away. There is a graveyard surrounding the church and a cemetery across the street. Apparently a “graveyard” is by the church whereas a “cemetery” is separated from the church. At one time, this was all a graveyard but the street and even the sidewalk was built over the graves. As we were to hear a number of times touring the town - “They are dead - they don’t care.” When building the town, it was a case of “needs must” and many graves are below current structures.

Abe and Frances headed back to the hotel. Dan and I continue down the street to the French Huguenot Church and over a block to Meeting Street. The rain catches up with us and we shelter under the Portico of the First Scots Presbyterian Church c. 1814. It was quite comfortable sitting on the doorstep watching the storm pass by. Once a break appeared, we continued around the block and back to the Church Street Inn.

It is the kind of day to enjoy our hotel and an afternoon snooze. I am a born tourist. I can’t bear to be in a new town and not investigating. I went out quietly, got directions to the nearest grocery store and borrowed an umbrella from the concierge. I walked the length of the market - all items for the tourist trade not the farmer’s market it used to be. Market hall was originally built over the space where butchers slaughtered their animals for fresh meat. Now it is all merchant stalls while the Hall holds the museum of the Daughters of Confederation. The market ends at East Bay Street and the waterfront. Not far up East Bay Street is a very modern Harris Teeter Grocery store. I wandered up and down the aisles picking up things for “happy hours” and breakfasts. I can spend a lot of time in new grocery stores but I have to have the young lady’s umbrella back before she goes home so I try to keep on track.

Back at the hotel everyone is in the living room visiting. I spread out the first of the snacky foods and we enjoy the leisure of “staying in”. We decide to order pizza and watch the “Dancing with the Stars” finale. Tomorrow we should have better weather and a full day to examine the city.

A good way to get to know a new place is to take a tour. It gives you an overview of the area and fills in some interesting facts. The concierge has recommended Palmetto Carriage Tours. It is just down Market Street two blocks in a large red barn. We purchase our tickets and wait for our turn to climb aboard. Our guide is Jackie. The wagon is pulled by two mules, DVG and Battery. Assault is taking time off! If you look through the slide show, you will see Jackie with DVG and Battery. DVG stops, legs apart and urinates copiously onto the street. Jackie is forced to halt, throw down a marker with an orange flag and call dispatch to alert them a street cleaner is required. Street cleaners patrol with pressures hoses shooting cleansing foam to clean up any call of nature that may occur. We saw the street cleaner when we first entered the city and wondered what that was all about!

There are so many carriage tours in the city, each one is given a route number as they start off. Spread out in different areas, they cause less congestion to the traffic in any given spot. We are on Route 3. Jackie turns our carriage down Church Street past our hotel and on to St. Phillip’s pointing out the tilt in the spire from an early earthquake. We enjoy the stories she tells and make note of as much of the information as we can remember.

Charleston has been through wars, fire and earthquakes. Many of the older houses have had their foundations shaken and their walls have become unstable. The solution, run steel rods along the joists between the floors. Add bolts to the rods outside the walls. When necessary, tighten the bolts to straighten the walls and hold them in place. It is recommended not to tighten the bolts more than required, pulling the walls inward!

Another feature of a Charleston home is the “piazza”. When you look at the houses, a porch will be at the front of the house by the main door, a verandah will wrap all the way around the house on the main level and the piazza will run along the side of a home front to back and often one on each level. Abe told us a story of a boy coming to the door of his grandmother’s boarding house in Tampa at the beginning of the depression. He was looking for odd jobs so she set him to work cleaning the piazza. She passed by the window while he was scrubbing and she could hear him saying in a disgusted tone, “Piazza, piazza, that am the ugliest word I ever did hear!”

We saw many examples of the Charleston Single House. It is only one room wide so the façade on the street is narrow and the length is front to back. With the piazzas down the length of the building the air flows into every room keeping them cool.

As we travel the streets we see houses of all types and styles. When I could, I liked to get a peak at the gardens as well. You will see them scattered in among the pictures I took. This is the area “slightly north of Broad” . Back in the day, home owners living in this area had one goal - to move or marry south of Broad Street, changing their location from “SNOB” to “SOB”. As a play on that, there is a very nice restaurant called “SNOB’s” or “Slightly North of Broad” on East Bay Street. Charleston is a gastronomic heaven with all manner of very good restaurants.

Once the tour is over we go in search of one that has been recommended to us - Blossom. It is one of the group including Magnolia, Blossom and Cypress restaurants. Abe and Frances have been to Magnolia before and enjoyed it. Blossom is less formal. We walk over to East Bay street and past many more interesting places, find Magnolias and next door, Blossom. It is lovely and ideal for a leisurely lunch.

Next on the agenda, I am looking for a Sweetgrass basket to use as a bun basket at home. I have been looking for something special and the traditional Gullah basket from Charleston would make a good keepsake. Weaving baskets here is a tradition brought over from Africa and the Mount Pleasant area of Charleston has long been famous for its basket weavers. Dan and I saw many of them in the market. More interesting are the weavers set up in front of the Gibbs Art Gallery. The four of us walked over to Meeting Street and I looked at the baskets each lady had on display. They are a beautiful combination of pine needles, sweet grass and palmetto. Each person has their own style though the baskets are very similar. Prices are flexible as well. I choose the one I want from Laurie Bonneau. She marks the bottom of my basket with her name and the date. I took her picture with one of her baskets and a sheaf of grass she was carrying. Shopping done, Abe and Frances take a pedi-cab back to the hotel. Dan and I continue the walk back to meet them there.

Frances has walked enough and decided to stay around the hotel for the remainder of the afternoon. She has seen the Battery before. Abe, Dan and I start out again this time down South Market Street to the harbour and along the Waterfront park to Battery Park. The first building we see on the waterfront is the very imposing United States Custom House. Building began before the Civil War but did not continue until the war was over. In front of the Customs House is a very modern walking pier giving a wonderful view of the harbour and back over the city. There is a lovely fountain at the start of the walk where small children were cooling off by running in and out of the water. Parents relaxed around the perimeter watching.

Turning south, we walked along the water side taking pictures of the marvelous homes across the street. One huge new building looks very out of place. The City Gallery is beautiful but it is the only modern structure on the street. One feature of a number of houses is the rope trim around the entrance door. It is supposed to be narrow and unobtrusive, apparently an ancient symbol of good luck. The house we pass has very noticeable rope trim. It was built by William Roper, a ship’s chandler so it was a play on his name and profession as well as the usual good luck sign.

East Bay Street ends in Battery Park. There are statues, cannons and a gazebo - the usual park things. But the most interesting to me was a pair of Yellow crowned night herons and their nest. I spent my time trying to get a good photograph of them. From the park we walked back down Meeting Street. Two Meeting Street Inn is right on the corner and would be a wonderful place to stay. It was one of the most elegant mansions of the area in the 1800’s as it still is today.
Soon we were back at the hotel and joined Frances for Happy Hour in our lovely living room.

After giving our tired feet a rest, we went out looking for “She Crab soup” for dinner. A cross between a bisque and a chowder, made with the famous blue crab meat of the area. This soup/bisque/chowder is considered the city's signature dish. Abe found one version but it did not measure up to his memories of the Francis Marion Hotel restaurant. I was not brave enough to try it, I ordered crab cakes and Caesar salad once more.

Tomorrow we are taking the car for a tour of Patriot’s Point and Sullivan Island.

Abe's Farm

2010-05-31T19:48:00.000-07:00

Saturday, May 22nd;

This time we were ready. The bags were packed. Snack foods, bottles of wine and water were stowed. The trailer tidy. Everything that was going with us was piled outside waiting for Abe and Frances to arrive. We had a long drive ahead. North through Daytona and on to I-95 up through Florida, Georgia and into South Carolina. Then we would turn north east on SR 26 and finally to SR 77. The farm is in Chester County, South Carolina. The closest big city is Charlotte, North Carolina.

Abe did most of the driving but the women took over the front seats for the stretch through Georgia. That was my turn at the wheel. It must have been OK because we noticed the fellows were napping in the back. We made good time and pulled into the farm about 5:00 PM. We did not plan to stay but gave the tenants a heads up that the landlord was in town!

We took a hint from my friends Jane and Larry. We had stopped at the Tourist Information Center when entering South Carolina and picked up all the coupon books they displayed. Leaving the farm, we headed for the Richburg exit on the highway which appears to be a center for travel stop hotels. Pulling out the coupon books, we compared deals for the motels at this stop. They were considerably cheaper than the best prices on line. We looked them over and picked the one we thought would suit us best. It worked! We got two rooms and settled in for “Happy Hour”. It was nice to relax and visit while we decided on a plan for dinner.

After dinner it was my job to pull out the clothes I had packed for the farm walk. This time we were determined not to be eaten by mosquitoes or horse flies. We did not plan to collect any ticks. Both Dan and I had long pants, long sleeved shirts, sports socks and walking shoes. I took some heavy duty poison and sprayed the clothes at all the openings - neck, waist, cuffs at the wrist and ankles, tops of the socks and shoes. There - let that dry until morning! Then shower myself thoroughly to clean off my skin where the spray may have landed. We turned in early. It had been a long day.

Sunday morning we got up, got an early cup of coffee and got ready for the day. We decided to go across the street for a “southern” home style breakfast. Dan and I stick to our toast, egg and sausages but Abe and Frances enjoy their egg and ham biscuit often served with grits. This morning there was a local specialty on the menu, livermush. Sounds appetizing, doesn’t it? We had to know - what is livermush??? The waitress did not know. No one seemed to know how it was made. The cook solved the problem by cooking us a slice to try. It appears to be a pork liver and cornmeal meatloaf that is sliced thick and fried. It actually tasted fine! I like beef liver but I found the pork liver to be a bit strong.

We got our walking clothes on and headed back to the farm. Abe was given the farm by his grandfather when he was only 17. He has had it for almost 70 years. Abe opened up his trailer and got the water and power turned on. Frances swept the deck and settled in a rocking chair with a book to enjoy the day. It is lovely and quiet on the property.

Tenants, Patsy and Ronny, live in the main house and keep the farm running. They have horses, dogs, geese, chickens, pigs and a good vegetable garden. Two very old dogs came to make their presence known. They did not want to get to close but they barked enough to alert their owners to strangers in the yard. As we walked through the farm yard we saw Patsy confidently wheeling the tractor around to bring a bale of hay down to the pasture with Ronny riding behind.
Abe’s main crop is pine trees. Dan and he have taken pictures of them in one particular spot at intervals since they were planted. It makes a good comparison. They have grown to stand far above Abe this year. It is almost time to thin them out, harvesting some for fence posts and allowing the remainder to grow to their full size.

Walking with an entomologist, you are bound to notice bugs. I kept trying to get a good picture of a may fly but could not get it to sit still within my range. We examined spittlebugs spittle, trying to find the larvae hiding inside. We disturbed a fire ant hill and saw how they pull the eggs high up in the hill to keep them safe from moisture. We found an amazing bee condominium. Unlike the usual beehive, it appears to be made of mud that has harden to rock and is built on the ground. There were many entrances or exits and we stood and watched a number of bees enter. What are these bees? They appear shaped like a medicine capsule, black at either end with a golden brown middle.

Leaving the new trees we walked along the stream under the old growth forest. Here it is clear and easy walking. Abe told us where his shower had been, a natural waterfall where the level of the stream dropped over some rocks. We saw the “bath”, a gentle drop to a deep pond. Not so deep this year as the water level is really low. There was a “spring house”, a small building used to store milk, butter or other foods needing refrigeration. It is built over a spring, and the water of the spring maintains a constant temperature inside the springhouse throughout the year. Unfortunately the brush had grown so thick we could not make our way through to see it.
We came back to the farmyard on the same side of the fence as the horses. Hmmm, that is a challenge for me but we made it to the gate safely so I could enjoy them from a distance again. At one point I did become separated from Dan and Abe and made my way back to the farmyard on my own. It seemed to take longer than it did when we left but I could hear the geese so I knew I was headed in the right direction. This time I came out behind the barn and turned toward the trailer. I found a dog house in my path. As I passed it I saw a dog in the dog house secured by a heavy chain. I looked at the dog. The dog looked at me. We both began moving at the same moment. I moved quickly and he sped up. How long is that chain???? I made it! I settled down to a sedate stroll. Anyone looking?

Patsy and her daughter had joined Frances on the deck and the ladies were having a good visit. I joined in. I learned about butterbeans (like small lima beans I am familiar with) and another brown bean that is related to black eyed peas.

The day went too quickly and I was reluctant to leave this peaceful place for the busyness of the highway stop. On the way back we drove through Chester. That is a lovely little town, the red brick buildings give it a warm glow. On a Sunday afternoon it is closed up and quiet. It would have been nice to see it bustling and busy but our time here is limited. On an earlier trip, Dan and Abe had spent an interesting time in the government buildings here researching the history of the farm and managed to trace it back through a number of owners. The original house was still standing when Dan first visited but it is all gone now and the space has been claimed by Patsy’s vegetable garden.

We returned to the motel and cleaned up, changing into clothes more suitable for the weather. Then we headed out again to explore the area. Foolishly I left my camera behind. We went down through Richburg to Great Falls. Great Falls looked to have been a vibrant town at one time. Springs Industries had textile mills there making the “Springmaid” sheets I remember. The mills are falling down now and the town seems poverty stricken. There is a hydroelectric dam still functioning that created the industrial area it had been. Now there are a number of boats and fishermen using the lake for recreation.

We found our way back to the motel and went across the street to the Front Porch for a “family style” dinner. I had southern fried chicken and all the vegetables or sides came in separate bowls so you could eat as much as you liked. I am afraid I left a lot as the portions are not designed for me. For dessert we shared a coconut custard pie - not coconut cream pie. That is really good and I have found a recipe so I can have it again!

Dinner over we sat and visited in the pleasant evening air. Looking down I notice my ring looked strange. The diamond was gone, leaving an empty solitaire setting. Isuppose it may become an interesting pebble on the forest floor.

Tomorrow - Charleston!

Space Shuttle Atlantis

2010-05-20T19:19:00.000-07:00

Friday, May 14th

This was possibly the last flight of the Space Shuttle Atlantis.

Twelve Oaks Days

2010-05-19T18:07:00.000-07:00

We are half way through our time in Florida already! Each week begins, the days fill and are gone almost before we know it.

We have settled in to our life at Twelve Oaks RV Resort. We have the awning out now shading us from the heat of the sun and giving some shelter when the afternoon rain showers come. The potted herb garden Abe created for me has grown noticeably and we have used both the garlic chives and the basil already. Across the street one neighbour has moved on and the lake is now visible from our patio. There is a pleasant little deck on the waters edge where we can sit if we have the time. From there we can see the lilies floating on the surface in great rafts and the water hyacinth adding colour to the shoreline. The old Live Oak trees around us are festooned with long Spanish moss. The cement decks around the swimming pool are baking in the heat of 96 F. (35 C.) afternoons. The water has warmed so that an afternoon swim is a pleasure.

Both Dan and I have had numerous lunches and dinners with friends. I have stopped in to the office and caught up with my old team there. Dan met up with some of his video-making friends. We have both gone out with the Chinese cooking class alumni. We spend time with our friends Abe and Frances. Going out with them in groups or on our own. Often just enjoying their home and garden.

We had a nice day with our old neighbours, Dave and Kathy. They are still trying to fill us up! Kathy’s parents live on an adjoining property and between the two cooks we had a marvelous Sunday dinner. We enjoyed walking the familiar garden and talked all day. When we were leaving Jeff, who lives across the street, came out and recognized Dan in his white socks and sandals. “White Socks! Is that White Socks????” We continued our neighbourhood visit in the driveway.

It was sad to hear the old Mount Plymouth golf course has closed. It was built in 1923 and was once part of a well known resort hotel property. Al Capone was reputed to have played there. Pieces of the marvelous gardens can still be recognized in the overgrown areas of the village. The golf course wound through the neighbourhood unfenced and added to the beauty of the place. Now, while some locals are maintaining the course nearest to their homes, some of the greens are going untended.

We were invited to Doyle and May’s to pick Jaboticaba - “Brazilian Grapes”. It is a fruit that grows directly on the trunk and branches of the tree. We managed to fill our buckets in no time! That gave us time for a nice visit with this wonderful couple. Once home again, I made a batch of jelly from the fruit and had enough left for two pies. As an experiment, I used an old Concord Grape pie recipe from the 1930’s and substituted the jaboticaba. It made a very tart and tasty pie.

I had a “pie making” weekend! Glennys and Steve were having a barbeque for 20 or more on Saturday and I took an apple pie for Steve. What an event! In the heat of a Florida day, Steve was manning a professional “Hog Cooker” trailer parked in his front driveway. He had ribs, chicken, sausages and potatoes all on the go in the huge tank. Glennys had all the “sides” under control in their magnificent new kitchen. A number of people brought desserts. What a feast! With all the tables laid out on the expanded deck the groups were able to mix and mingle with no difficulty. It was a perfect Florida evening cooled by the breeze off of Little Lake Harris.

Sunday we planned a corned beef and cabbage dinner with Abe and Frances. For that I made the experimental Jaboticaba pie. Abe has huge cabbages and interestingly shaped carrots coming out of his garden at this time of year. He also grew “Indian Tooth” corn that a neighbour milled for him. Using that cornmeal, Frances made cornbread baked in a skillet just as her mother had done. Dinner preparation was put on hold while we went and had a visit and a glass of wine with said neighbours. Retirement makes days so flexible!

Monday was one more jaboticaba pie for the tasting table at the Topical Tree Fruits Club of Central Florida meeting at Leu Gardens. We have managed to fit two club meetings into our visit which gave us the opportunity to visit with still more friends. There were other jaboticaba on the table - fresh and in a coffee cake Phyllis had made. We will be lunching with Clyde and Phyllis later this week to catch up on the goings on in their lives. Clyde is the author of “The Banana People”, a lively description of the people who worked for the United Fruit Company in Central America while he was there.

We have the occasional quiet day on our own and spent one walking the nature trail in the Wekiva Preserve just down the road from Twelve Oaks. We did not see any wildlife on this particular day though there can be Florida Black bear in the area. We did see the tunnel of a gopher turtle but missed getting a picture of the resident.

Last Friday we went out to the Space Coast to watch what may be the last lift off for the Space Shuttle Atlantis. There were a few other people who had the same idea! We packed a picnic and left home by 8:00 AM. When we got to Titusville there were already long lines to get into some parking lots. We drove through town and watched for a good spot. We decided on a private piece of empty property where the owner was making his taxes by charging $10.00 a vehicle to park on the waterfront for the day. It reminded me of the east end of Vancouver during the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition). We picked our spot and planted our chairs to save it. We each had a book to read, our picnic and our cameras. Dan and I took turns keeping the sun off with a big golf umbrella. There were interesting people in the groups around us. They were all ages from small babies in carriers to the elderly struggling across the uneven ground. Some were local and some from far away. Lift off was right on time and by 2:30 PM we were on the road home. We stayed in that spot, barely moving, for an hour and a half! We finally made it back to Twelve Oaks by 5:00 PM.

This weekend we are heading to South Carolina to see Abe’s farm up at Chester and then on to explore historic Charleston.

Dan and Abe Go Fishing

2010-05-10T16:19:00.000-07:00

Thursday, May 6th;

Just noticed the dates are out by one day on my watch.

Abe arrived at 9:00 AM. We packed up and left.

Elaine is going shopping with Glennys.

It took us an hour to get to Titusville. We bought some bait, drained it and headed to the Cape.

They are putting a new bridge along side the old one. It will not need to have a lift to let sail boats and other large craft through. Then there will be no need to stop the traffic. We were stopped by water traffic and by the construction. We waited 10-15 minutes before continuing again.

Our next stop was to find information on paying for the park. We went into the service center where Abe bought a lifetime pass. It is good for him and 4 others. Now we’re legal. We went down the road past all the parking lots and tried the beach at the last one. Ooops, it is the nudie beach. There are too many people. Abe wants as few people around as possible so there will be no conflict with casting.

We went back the way we came two parking lots, park and unload the fishing gear and camera stuff. There was no one on this section of sand. It was warm, very warm. Abe started fishing.

While the line was soaking, Abe went looking for sand fleas. He uses a handmade scoop of coarse mesh to comb the surf line in search of the little buggers. Only finds one which was placed in the bait bucket along with the bait shrimp. He checks his line and finds that it has been stripped. Rebait, cast out and this time monitors the rod by holding it. Before long there is a bite but he waits too long. A miss! Reel in, rebait and cast out again. It is not long before he has a fish. He brings in a small croaker. It goes back. Try again. After a while he brings in a hammerhead shark. That goes back. He rebaits his hook, casts and this time pulling in a whiting.

If the clouds were not so ominous we would have tried for more. While we were fishing the clouds had been forming to the north of us. By now they were even talking to us. We don’t want electricity to power us - no thank you!

A black fellow is just setting up when we are leaving and I ask him about the clouds. He thinks there is not much to them. What do I know? We lug all our stuff to the car. As we are leaving the other fellow shows up in the parking lot. He has decided to leave now too.

We drove back to the mainland to scout for a place to watch the shuttle launch next week. There seems to be a number of spots at small parks that would be suitable. We will have to be there early to find a space to park and to get a clear shot of the launch site.

We end the day by going to a Mexican place for a late lunch. It pours rain while we eat. Abe drops me off at 4:00 PM and Elaine is not there. She finally shows up around 7:00 - again!

Party in the Panhandle

2010-05-08T19:38:00.001-07:00

Friday, April 23rd;

We had an invitation to join Abe and Frances for a trip to Madison and Monticello. We never say no to an adventure! They picked us up at 9:30 on Friday morning and off we went across State Road 46. We side stepped across our old favorite, Wolf Branch Road, with all the beautiful horse farms to reach SR 441 and on to Interstate 75 heading north to I-10 where we turned west to the Panhandle. This is a familiar route! We are doing in reverse the trip we completed just two weeks ago.

By lunch time we were getting close to our destination. We stopped for fuel and lunch for ourselves at a convenient Wendy’s. Then went on to check into our hotel at Madison. We settled in to two comfortable rooms at a Days Inn and headed out to a farm on the outskirts of Madison.

Abe’s son, Steve, owns the farm where he raises thoroughbred race horses. Dan had visited the farm when we were living in Florida and had helped to build a new shelter for the horses. I met Steve when we went to Tampa Bay Downs to see his horse, D'Artagnan's Spirit, run in a race there. The big events of this weekend are Abe’s grandson, Patrick’s, T-Ball game and Patrick’s sixth birthday party.

We had lots of time to visit before the T-Ball game so Patrick showed us around the house demonstrating many of the toys we were unfamiliar with. It does not take long to get out of touch with the current characters! We toured the grounds as well looking for the horses in the upper pasture who eventually came to see if these visitors had anything good to share. We watched Pride in the home paddock looking for signs of her approaching motherhood while Abe and Steve prepared a more comfortable bed for her in the foaling shed. Big excitement! But nothing doing while we were there.

Then Patrick got into his uniform and it was time to go. I had not been to a T-Ball game before. The community sports park was very impressive. The parking lot was full and there were a number of activities under way. For us, it was fun watching such young players learning the basics of baseball. Some things are universal among the very young learning team sports - a little competitiveness, a little confusion, some lack of concentration, some daydreaming and the occasional moment where everything works as it should. It was a lovely warm evening for families to be sitting together in the sunshine cheering on their little ones. I don’t think we won but I can’t be sure. It did not seem to matter!

We all headed for a local Mexican restaurant and had a good dinner. Lots of food and conversation. After dinner Steve’s wife, Mary, walked me around the corner and pointed out shops I should see. It was the only opportunity I had to see the town of Madison. It looked like a place I would have liked to explore but our days were full this trip. Maybe another time… We headed back to our hotel for an early night.

After breakfast the next morning we drove out to a park on the Suwannee River and went for a short walk. Even in Canada we learned Steven Foster’s song in school. Who would have believed then we would actually see the river? The park was beautifully kept with nice cabins and swings to sit in while watching the river go by.

We headed to the birthday party in plenty of time. We visited and watched the young people swim and play. Steve manned the barbeque. Mary and the older girls controlled the kitchen. There was lots to eat! The highlight was a piñata full of party favors. The children, youngest to the oldest, took turns hitting it with a bat. It was the oldest that caused the first crack but the youngest who managed to open it up. Then everyone scrambled to put as much as possible into their brown paper bag while parts of the piñata became party hats.

When the party wound down we moved on to Abe’s brother’s farm in Monticello. Another lovely little town in the vicinity. We walked the farm enjoying the afternoon visiting with more family. There are acres of pecan trees in spring green and azaleas blooming at the end of the drive. There is a nice little fishing hole with an elegant old wrought iron chair for the occasional fisherman. A local man did drive in, set himself up on the chair and caught a bass while we were there. We were going to stroll through the woods but ran into ticks almost immediately. Abe got one, I got two and Dan won with a total of three. No more woods that day!

We decided to go and buy a bottle of wine, order a pizza and go back to the hotel for a leisurely dinner. That is when we found you could not buy wine in Marion County - there are dry counties in Florida and this was one of them. We decided to drive back to Steve’s for a pre-dinner “Happy Hour”. Mary kindly loaded a basket with a bottle of wine and goodies for the evening then invited us in to join them for another visit around the pool. Impromptu visits are often the best. We certainly thank them for all of their hospitality!

We heard the storm coming in during the night. A gust of wind hit our hotel room hard enough to shake it. It continued to blow but did not actually start to rain until the car was loaded. It would have been wise to leave then and hope to outrun it. We were traveling with Floridians and they did not seem concerned so we stayed as we had arranged the night before.

We met the whole family again at a local restaurant for breakfast. In the south there is a tradition of the “Community Table”. We did not know about it. We just saw a large table near the TV showing news of the storms to come and the tornado disaster in Mississippi so we moved up to watch while we waited for the rest of the family and our breakfast to arrive. Apparently that table is reserved for significant locals only. Mary and Steve had not been invited to use it before and may not be again! They joined the clueless Canadians on this occasion. The locals left. Apparently it was time for church. That put us on the heathen list as well.

We finished our breakfast said good-bye once more and headed south for home. This time we planned to stay off of the Interstate and to travel more slowly on the older highways to see the area. It was a lovely drive. There were many farms in the area, cattle, horses, crops of various kinds. I saw my first tobacco drying sheds leftover from earlier times.

In time the rain caught up to us. Then it got heavier. Then it got too heavy to see the road. Abe pulled over and stopped in someone’s driveway. Not likely they were going anywhere! The rain was thundering down on the car. The wind appeared to be coming from all directions. Then it hailed! Suddenly it was calm and bright again. Had we just been through a small tornado?

We began to drive but soon caught up to the storm. Now there were trees down on the road. We pulled into a parking lot and waited until we were sure it was safe to go on. Finally we stopped on the outskirts of Ocala for a late lunch. The rain had stopped and the sun was shining. Oh, oh… The lights of the restaurant flickered and the satellite signal for the television failed. The storm had caught up to us again. The service was slow and we took our time over the meal. By the time we were ready to leave it was over and we drove the rest of the way home in sunshine.

I told you it would be an adventure!

Hontoon Island

2010-04-30T05:34:00.000-07:00

Thursday, April 22nd;

Hontoon Island

Today we had a free day. What to do? We decided to go on a picnic and see something we had not seen before. There is a State Park near De Land called Hontoon Island. Exploring an island seemed like a good idea!

We drove up I-4 to the Deland exit and followed SR 44 to the turn off for Hontoon Island. We wove through an area of nice homes on leafy green canals to the parking lot. The sign said, “For ferry ride over to island please stand on boat dock”. Sure enough the little ferry was coming our way.

We saw some people fishing from the shore but no one else seemed to be having a picnic. We walked up the dock to the picnic ground and found a table. We were immediately the center of attention of the resident squirrel population. They appear used to people and picnics and came very close to us looking for lunch. They seem to have divided the territory as the one who arrived first drove off any other visitors.

We both had our cameras out and took pictures of life on the river as we sat there - a kayak, various boats and two airboats came by. After a good lunch, we stored the picnic cooler with the ranger and began our exploration.

There is a small museum at the opposite end of the building housing the ranger station and store. It was a good place to start. It explains the history of the island from the Indian settlement described through the archeological investigation to more modern times. Archival photographs of people arriving for a picnic o an earlier version of the ferry. The story of an undercover agent hiding here during the ‘30s investigating gang activities in Florida. An interesting film created by a local retired ranger that along with static displays, described the flora and fauna of this place.

Now that we had an overview of the island, we went out to find the start of the Nature trail. It was a lovely stroll with no other visitors. There was layer on layer of green in various shades that it was impossible to show in pictures. Live Oak, Saw Palmetto, Pine, Palm and Cypress share the island each taking the space best suited to its needs. It had rained recently so the normally brown Resurrection fern was leafy green on the sides of the old oaks.

We startled an Armadillo as we walked quietly down the path. That was a first for us as we see them more frequently as road kill. As we continued the walk we saw more of them. I came around a corner and startled one right in my path. The Armadillo and I both stopped to consider the situation before it moved off quickly but not so far away. With my telephoto I was able to get some very nice shots.

We stopped alongside the St. John River to take pictures of the Cypress trees and the Cypress knees that come up around them. At the same time a tour boat came along the guide was explaining about the Indian Midden that is an archeological sight on Hontoon Island. The apple snail shells have created a 40 foot hill on that end of the island. That is a lot of Potlatches!
We continued on to the trail’s end and found the snail shell mound he mentioned. Then it was time to turn around and head back to the dock. We enjoyed the return trip just as much. Seeing the surroundings from the reverse angle always shows up something new. More armadillo and a black racer snake!

We found our way back to the dock, retrieved our picnic cooler and took the little ferry back to the truck. A very pleasant day!

Settled in Orlando

2010-04-18T06:56:00.000-07:00

Friday, April 16th;

The Flying Blue Angels replica is still flying at the Pensacola rest stop. It is a very nice tourist information center with free WiFi and hosts serving information along with orange and grapefruit juice. We are back in Florida!

We drove on past De Funiak Springs and stopped at Falling Waters State Park . The plan was to make the last day a little shorter and to stop somewhere we could walk about and enjoy. It was a lovely little park. There is a lake with a small swimming beach. Do the alligators know it is for people only?

Past the lake there is a boardwalk that takes you past a number of sink holes to a 100 foot sinkhole that has created the tallest waterfall in Florida. Not too impressive if you come from a place with mountains and waterfalls. On the other hand I would not want that sink hole opening up in my back yard.

We traded stories with other campers and it made a very pleasant last night on the road.

Monday we finished the Panhandle and headed south on I-75 to Howey-in-the-Hills. We stopped at our friends Steve and Glennys for a good visit. It was good to be in doors on a rather blustery evening.

Howey has strict rules about visiting RV’s so we moved on to Orlando Tuesday and parked among the citrus trees in Abe and Frances back yard. Also a lovely spot to be. We could smell the blossoms and step out the door in the morning to pick oranges or grapefruit for breakfast. The pecan tree is covered in Night Blooming Cereus. It will be a wonderful show later this spring. It lasts only for the one night and then the bloom is over.

We got the RV in better order while having a good visit. Friday we moved on to Twelve Oaks RV Resort on SR 46. Back in our old neighbourhood not far from my office on International Parkway. Now the front window cover is up once more. We have a mini herb garden Abe created for us sitting on our picnic table. We can get the easy chairs out.

Having settled in we are filling the calendar with people to see and things to do. I will add to the blog less frequently while we are sitting in one place. We plan to be here until the middle of June and then the Doves will be rambling once more.

Meandering through Mississippi

2010-04-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

Saturday, April 10th;

We have had long days since we left the Monahans Sandhills. We were up and out by 7:15 that morning and drove until we were just outside Fort Worth. Our goal was to be up really early and beat the traffic through the city the following day.

You can’t beat the traffic through the city - it never stops! We did get a jump on rush hour. We started at 6:15 AM and arrived at the far side of Dallas about 8:00 AM. We still remember hitting rush hour while passing through those two cities on our first trip. We were inexperienced and the trailer was not so easy to manage with our first truck. It was a relief to have that part of the trip over.

We stopped for breakfast at a Cracker Barrel in Tyler, Texas and then went on to a rest stop for Dan to have a nap. Refreshed we carried on until later in the day and stopped at last in West Monroe, Louisiana.

Again it was just a Highway RV Park and there was nothing notable to do. We did decide to take it easy for the remainder of the trip and divided the distance into three more days.

Today we got up in a more leisurely manner. Had breakfast, cleaned up and went off into West Monroe to do some banking. There was no one around at 9:30 in the morning so we were soon done and on our way east again.

I was sad to see the rest stop on the Louisiana side of the Mississippi was closed. We had stopped there in 2001 and a black gentleman was the caretaker. He introduced himself and spent time telling me about his job and how proud he was to keep this lovely place up. He gave us advice on what to do in the event of a hurricane, wished us a good journey and to keep safe. I enjoyed our visit.

Now the rest stop is in sad repair. Grass is growing through the pavement. The picnic shelters and tables are greying. It will take some work to bring it back to the pristine place it once was. More important, what happened to the man who welcomed us so warmly?

On the Mississippi side of the river, the Information center is a gracious as I remembered. I took pictures of the bridges across the river and read some of the history of Vicksburg, a very central player in the American Civil War.

Once again I made the mistake of passing a rest stop because we had just had a break. There were no more! We arrived at Jackson and turned south on Highway 49. We finally stopped for lunch at the D’Lo Waterpark. Not a Canadian style waterpark with waterslides and swimming pools but a forest park by the water. In this case the water was actually recognizable. It was the rocky river’s edge where the Sibyls played and the man became a frog in the movie “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” That was an interesting surprise.

We carried on after lunch and ended our day outside of Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Tomorrow we will go on to De Funiak Springs in the Florida Panhandle and the Monday we should be in the Orlando area.

Monahans Sandhills

2010-04-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, April 7th;

We left Tucson early on Tuesday and headed for Texas. We had been over this part of the road before and were watching for familiar sights. I am still delighted to be near Cochise’s Stronghold and Tombstone. My childhood heroes were the cowboys and Indians of the western movies - Roy Rogers and Dale Evans; Gene Autry, the singing cowboy; Hopalong Cassidy and many more that came later.

Dan remembers unusual round rocks as we drive into New Mexico.

We have a strong tailwind and out fuel mileage jumps up to almost acceptable. Half way through New Mexico the strong wind creates sandstorms. We can see them blowing heavily in the distance but what we drive into is relatively light. Just enough to feel it in your throat and nose. Not enough to alter our visibility.

Many of the rest stops are closed. Apparently it is a cost cutting measure in states that are having trouble making ends meet. We are told California has stated that it has run out of money and is well into the emergency funds. That is a sobering thought.

We tick off the miles - Lordsburg, Deming, Las Cruces and then we cross into Texas at El Paso. It is early but we have decided to stop for the night at the Roadrunner RV Park. We are still in the city and there is nothing to do in our vicinity. It is really a working man’s RV park, more for living in than visiting. Oh well, it is just an overnight. We amuse our selves with reading, writing, sorting photographs and our computers. I Skype those at home and everyone seems closer.

We are up and ready to go early. We decide to have breakfast further down the road. A good decision! There is nothing visible but open land and the plants of the desert here are low to the ground. There is some green showing but not the bright colours of Arizona and New Mexico. There are Palmilla in bloom along the road and I would like to see one close up to get a picture. We stop at a rest stop just past Fabens, Texas to eat and I find the Palmilla I am looking for. They are much larger in this landscaped oasis than those in the distance. I go wandering to take pictures while Dan has a rest.

Refreshed we continue. We are in the area known as “West of the Pecos” and it still looks much like it must have in the days of the wild west. Once past the town of Pecos we are heading toward the “Odessa oil patch” and now we see the oil rigs - donkey engines slowly pumping day and night. Not much further, we have reached our destination for today. The town of Monahans and beyond it the Monahans Sand Hills.

Monahans Sand Hills is a State Park that covers 200 square miles of sand dunes. It sounded like something to see so we planned to stop early and spend time there. It was a good choice. We had one corner of the park all to ourselves and we wandered up hill and down with our cameras. The dunes are amazing. Their size, their shapes, their changing form, the light and then the shadows as the day drew to a close. The wind blew all afternoon and it was cool even in the bright sun. Small sandstorms were created over the ridges of the larger dunes. As we walked we could see individual grains rolling along by our feet. It seemed a shame to mar the landscape with footprints. I tried not to step on anything that might grow and stabilize a portion of the land. It did not take long for the footprints to be erased and there was no record of our adventure.

We ate a late dinner so we did not miss the sunset in this spectacular place. As we sat in the evening we realized the wind had stopped and the quiet is wonderful away from all the activity of towns and highways. We turned out all the lights and went out to see the night. The darkness is really black. I would not wander too far from the trailer on my own. Without it being lit up, I might not find my way back!

I am looking forward to seeing the changing light of morning! Then we will move on.

Easter in Tucson

2010-04-05T22:04:00.000-07:00

Monday, April 5th;

It was wonderful to wake up and know we did not have to hitch up and travel on! We got up, had a nice breakfast and went for a walk around the park through the back gate and into the desert.
The park itself is largely “park models”. Permanent residences like a large trailer without wheels. They have become very much like small homes now with bay windows, vaulted ceilings and skylights. They are no longer boring rectangular boxes. Each owner has created a little garden of their own and they are all lovely at this time of year.

There is an arroyo through the middle of the park. A dry wide gully that will hold a flash flood should one occur and keep it from damaging any of the units.

The clubhouse has the laundry facility with a fenced area for hanging clothes to dry so there are no clothes lines in view in the park. There are rooms for gatherings of all kinds. The notice board lists weekly crafts, poker, prayer meeting and other social events. There is a lovely landscaped pool area where you can swim, bake or socialize. Further down the hall there is a full library and a pool room with three pool tables. There is always something going on.

Once out in the desert we were captivated by the variety of cactus and all the different blossoms. Dan was captivated literally as he was testing to see if they always stuck into you or if it was only when approached from one direction. Then, why did they stick into you if they did not appear to be barbed? But stick it does - well enough to take a knob right off of the cactus while remaining attached to your hand!

We saw and heard a number of birds. The cardinals were too quick to photograph. Another bird with a big song was too small to show up in the pictures. The dove posed well. The pheasant ran off screeching.

Most interesting was a swarm of bees hanging in a tree. You could see the mass seething and hoped they were just normal bees!

It being Easter Sunday, we did not expect any of the tourist sights we wanted to see to be open. Instead we planned a day of errands. Since the map showed Walmart to be near the Mission San Xavier del Bec, I thought the mission would be a good first stop. The mission was founded in 1692 and the current church was completed in 1797 - the oldest intact European building in Arizona. It is also called the White Dove of the desert. It is an amazing white against the deep blue sky of Tucson.

We wandered there for a while trying not to interfere with the regular members of the parish celebrating their Easter. Then on to Walmart to get some necessary kitchen supplies. Next stop Camping World - a toy store for RVers. That was closed for the holiday. On to Albertson’s for food and the day was done.

We decided to stay on Monday as well. We went back to Camping World and this time it was open. We had a good time prowling the aisles looking at all the things useful and not so. I found a cookie sheet that would fit in my oven - it might hold two cookies at a time. Not so useful. We managed to come out with an armload of stuff we absolutely had to have!

Next stop we went looking for Famous Dave’s barbecue recommended by Jane and Larry. It was good! I don’t know if the pulled pork is the best I have had but the sides were better than most I will agree. No way we could eat it all. We need the seniors menu these days!

The highlight of the day was the Center for Creative Photography at Arizona State University, Tucson. It was started by Ansell Adams and is home to the majority of his work. There was a current exhibit in the main hall of other photographers and a small exhibit of Ansel Adams on the second floor that changes every three weeks. I always enjoy seeing his work and the New Topographics exhibit was interesting.

We ended the day with quiet time at home and laundry. Tomorrow we will be on the road again but we will be clean!

Next we go through New Mexico to Texas.

Time off in Tucson

2010-04-04T20:19:00.000-07:00

Saturday, April 3rd;

We left Indio about 9:00 AM and found our way back to I-10 with no difficulty. It would not be an arduous drive to Tucson. The desert is fairly level with one long slope to climb between California and Arizona at Blythe. We did the drive to the border in two hours. It took us all day with two stops for flat tires coming home from Florida last time. It had been a memorable day and we pointed out the places of interest as we passed them going east.

We noticed many of the rest stops were closed this trip. We stopped for gas just before noon and Dan suggested pulling over to a dirt lot there for a lunch break. I suggested we go on to the next rest stop not far east. It was closed. So was the next one. Third time lucky but it was quite a few miles on.

Dan lay down to rest and I took my camera out into the desert. As the sign suggested, I did watch where I was stepping and did not venture far in my sandals. I could not resist seeing all the flowers in bloom up close!

After a nice lunch break, we carried on around the edge of Phoenix and south to Tucson. We found our way to the east side of town and back into the hills where we planned to stop at Western Way RV park. The husband and wife management team are very nice and very helpful. They discussed the pros and cons of the available spots and got us settled in. They even opened the office to get us coupons for some of the tourist venues nearby in case we should want to visit them Easter Sunday.

That brought up a thought - we had not realized it was Easter and everything we planned to see would be closed. Oh well we would extend our stay a little and go sightseeing on Monday.

It was nice to be settled. Dan put the “legs” down on the trailer and opened the cover on the front window. It was about 80 degrees F during the day (26.7 degrees C). We had the doors and windows open and could smell the orange blossoms as we sat at the table. It was lovely!

As the sun began to set we went for a short walk out into the desert. Here we were warned to watch for coyotes, rattlesnakes and javelina. I don’t even know what a javelina is! Dan tells me it is a wild boar. Add that to spiders and scorpions and maybe we should stay in the trailer! We returned safely to cook dinner. The desert stars were bright above and we decided to turn in early. The fact that we did not need to move again seemed to relax us. We were more tired than we expected. At this time of year the night is cool and makes for good sleeping. ‘Night all!

Glamping in Indio

2010-04-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

Friday, April 2nd;

The drive from Dos Reis Regional Park in Lathrop to Indio is a long one but we started early. We were following a highway we had been on before. In the fall of 2005 it was brown as far as the eye could see. At this time of year it is green with swaths of gold and orange California poppies interspersed with white flowers and stretches of purple. A very colorful landscape.

There were areas of trees, some were green - covered with leaves as you would expect in the spring. Some groves were still showing the gray skeletons of winter. Not a leaf to be seen. When we stopped at a pleasant rest stop for lunch. Dan stretched out for a nap and I went wandering with my camera. There were two groves backing the rest stop - one was green and one was grey. Both were well cared for so obviously grey does not mean dead. What were those trees?

We decided to take Highway 210, a bypass paralleling I-10 going east. My assumption was we would stay outside of Los Angeles and it would be easier to join I-10 closer to Palm Springs. The problem with not knowing a local area is we did not know Hwy 210 was a road the locals used to go everywhere. It was a parking lot even in the middle of a Good Friday afternoon.

That effectively disposed of our plan to have an early arrival and a pleasant afternoon in Indio. We found our way into Indio looking for the Indian Wells RV park. Our memory did not help us with the large scale map we were carrying. We knew we had driven too far from the freeway to be on the right road so we stopped to ask directions. The gentleman that I spoke to said the RV parks on the map were not in good areas of the town and we would not be safe there. We should go to Emerald Desert on Frank Sinatra Drive. The one Dan spoke to also directed us to Emerald Desert. My directions were to turn left on Country Club drive, Dan was told to turn right. We tried Dan’s way first it made more sense looking at our map. It was right. We found the park quite easily.

Before we left home, Chris introduced us to a word - “Glamping”. Let me say Emerald Desert is the definition of that word. Take all the amenities of a luxury hotel and replace the garden villas with RV’s. You’ve got the picture. I signed us in and Dan asked me how much it was a night. I had to say I did not look! It was lovely. The first person I met was a lady walking her dog. Her advice, don’t take your own towel to the pool - the ones they provide are so big and fluffy! It was really too bad we had not arrived early enough to enjoy it all. We walked the area enjoying the trees, the gardens and the setting sun.

In the morning it was warm and sunny once more though the wind was cool. Dan came in carrying a big plastic Easter egg full of jelly beans. It had a piece of paper welcoming us to the park. We found out later we should have picked up any we saw - some contained very nice prizes. Saturday mornings there is a buffet breakfast in the clubhouse. This day it was scrambled eggs, sausages, French toast, fresh strawberries, peaches, doughnuts, Danish, juice and coffee. Another couple came in and I watched as they chose their breakfast. The old gentleman was a World War II veteran. The lady serving breakfast thanked him for his service to their country and for herself. I was impressed by that. The couple made their way to our table and asked if they could join us. One of the best things about traveling this way it the people you meet. This couple were active and involved in the world. Southern California is their home and it was interesting to hear their views. Dan mentioned the Philippines and the men got talking about their experiences in that area. Dan’s was one of peacetime, his was a time of war. As the conversation became more personal we could see there are pictures in the old veteran’s mind that are as fresh as the day they were formed and events that haunt him still. I won’t forget his story.

After breakfast it was time to say good-bye, to pack up and hit the road once more.

Dos Reis

2010-04-02T20:51:00.000-07:00

Thursday, April 1st;

Wednesday morning we got off to a late start and did not have to worry about waiting for the park to open. It was cold in the morning and I waited for the furnace to take the chill off before getting up. We had breakfast, cleaned up and put more things in the correct places. Chris will be glad to know that everything did have a place, all the boxes that left the house are empty and the trailer is tidy. We registered for the previous night, paid our bill and left - heading toward Portland and points south.

We decided, while in Oregon where there is no tax, we would do our shopping so we stopped at Fred Meyers in Salem and loaded up on groceries. (Frances, I found the Reisling we had in La Conner with Marjorie. Two bottles are on the way!) We had a picnic lunch in the trailer parked in their parking lot. Next stop - Costco. By the time we were done we had used up three hours of driving time. Oh well, it was a job well done and we were on the road again.
Driving south of Salem we saw field after field of sheep many with young lambs. In some fields the green grass was so tall the tiny lambs were almost hidden. A very spring scene. Then we climbed to Canyon Pass and it was snowing. The road sign at Mile 82 said “Snow zone. Carry chains or traction tires.”

We made it to Phoenix, Oregon before stopping for the night at the Holiday RV Park just off I-5. It was a cold night and even our comfy down nest did not keep me warm enough. I am sure only a small part of my face stuck out of the blankets and my skin was cold to the touch. Turn on the furnace!

The morning road report for the Siskiyou Pass said bare with icy spots, up to 6 inches of snow on the sides of the road. Carry chains or traction tires. We took our time loading up again. I walked around the park and enjoyed the little river beside us. It made a pleasant sound as it moved along. It was lovely to see the ducks going about their business. Dan had the empty propane tank filled and we were on our way again about 9:15 AM.

It was less than half an hour to the pass and it did have fresh snow along the roadside but the road itself was clear. Many trucks were working their way up the steep slope. Our new truck did not have a difficult time of it. What a difference from last time! We came to the top of the hill and the view out over the valley and the mountains beyond was spectacular.

We were driving into sunshine and by noon had our jackets off. We remembered the area around the Klamath River from our trip home in the fall of 2005. It was all brown and much like our Okanagan. Now it is all green. We stopped in Shasta Lake looking for an RV Center we never found but I did get my Bank of America card straightened out. A new card will be waiting for us in Florida. That took two hours, a phone call to Florida, picture ID, much signing of my official signature and finger prints! Note to me - check all banking before leaving on the trip!

We finally stopped at the Willows rest stop for lunch. It was surrounded by farmland all ready for planting. The young trees in the center area were all in bloom. Now I even had my vest off - T-shirt weather! We had been driving past olive groves, orange groves and grapes. Not much further on we saw our first palm tree. From snow to palm trees in a single day!

We planned to stop early and enjoy the evening but suddenly RV parks were hard to find. They are not well marked in California and we sailed right past the first one we aimed for. We found the next one with help from a pleasant gas station attendant but again we arrived after closing and wanted to get away before opening time so we pressed on.

We found a lovely little Regional Park in San Joaquin County - Dos Reis. It is also surrounded by farmland and along a river with a lovely river walk. Too bad we arrived so late! I will see more in the morning but we are leaving early to get past Los Angeles tomorrow.

I did go for a quick look at the irrigation canal and surrounding area before we left in the morning. The sun was just rising over the park. Now it was possible to see what we had missed - a wonderful horseshoe pit in the center of the grounds brought back memories!

Next stop - Indio and a good Mexican dinner if we can find the restaurant again!

Road Trip 2010

2010-03-31T21:17:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, March 30;

We are on a road trip!

We have gotten off to a slow start. We ordered a canopy for the truck and then had to wait for it to arrive. That made preparation more relaxed. Maybe too relaxed as we are finding many things missing.

We were loading all day Monday and stopped for dinner when David arrived for a good-bye visit. Then one more trip to the house and finally back to the trailer to fall into our cozy bed. The rain was making peaceful music on the roof. The air was winter cold making a down feather bed topped with a down duvet a very welcome nest. I wonder how many days before we trade for the summer blankets?

It was hard to get up in the morning but Dan turned on the heat for me. The water tastes terrible! So does anything I make with it - broccoli for dinner, cream of wheat for breakfast, tea or coffee. I ate my cereal and covered the taste by following it with a Hot Cross bun. We will need to rinse out the tanks and fill it a few more times. Meanwhile use other water for consumption.

The fridge has gone out again when turned to gas - now the stove is out too. O.K. we started out with one propane tank empty. Once we switch tanks all is well. Did David jinx us by asking about how long a tank would last? :-)

After breakfast all is cleaned up and put away. Dan hooks up and we are ready to go. The rain stops momentarily and a watery sunbeam warms my back as I take our departure pictures. A clump of daffodils blooms at our site and cherry trees scatter blossoms on the roadways. It is 9:15 AM and we are on the road!

We took the freeway to the Aldergrove exit and cross the border north of Lynden. It is unusually busy and we spend a half hour in line. The American customs agent asks easy questions and is happy with our answers so on we go.

We stopped at the Costco center where there was a Washington Mutual Bank now Chase Manhattan. We stop to update our accounts and find we will not have bank cards until we reach Florida. Ours are set to expire and the replacements are probably in the mail - to Coquitlam. Erin orders new ones that will wait for us in Orlando.

Next we try to use our Bank of America credit card to buy fuel and find it has a pin I can’t remember. Hopefully we can straighten that one out as well. Good thing someone invented money!

Dan is feeling fine and we keep going to Kelso along the Columbia River in southern Washington. A mile off the highway we find the Brookhollow RV Park. It is very peaceful and tidy but we have arrived 20 minutes late. The office closes at 6:00 PM. We can park in the open spaces and register in the morning. But the office will not open until 9:00 AM and we wanted to be on the road early… Add to that we don’t have the combination for the washrooms etc. nor do we have the logon for Wifi. We can do without all that. A pleasant walk along the dyke, a nice dinner and an early night will do just fine.

Getting ready!

2010-03-08T08:43:00.000-08:00

Dan and I arrived home February 28th.

I still have some slideshows to add to the blog now that I have a reliable, fast internet connection. Other than that the Philippine section is complete.

We will spend the next few weeks getting ready to start our road trip to Florida and back. The blog will continue then.

Feel free to add comments or email me at any time.

Talk to you soon!

Elaine

Good-bye to Negros

2010-03-08T08:26:00.000-08:00

Sunday, February 28th;

Last thoughts,

It is our last week at Calibago. There are any number of little things I want to remember.

Our day of history lessons. We drove to Silay to see the Ancestral houses. They are the homes of the sugar barons who brought wealth to Negros. When we arrived we discovered the homes are closed on Mondays! The security person was kind enough to let us see the Victor Fernandez Gaston Ancestral Home or “Balay Negrense”. The first interesting piece of information I found was everyone thinks they were owned by the Spanish but in fact they were French.

[See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balay_Negrense for background information]

The home opens to a large salon on the lower floor with offices or day rooms to the sides but that can be considered a “public” area. Those invited by the family would join them in the upstairs salon a room of similar proportions but with bedrooms on the sides, the dining room and kitchen behind.

The dining room had a large central table for the family. Victor had 12 children. There were two smaller tables, one on either side for guests. At one end of the room there was a steep staircase leading to the roof garden. From there the master could see all around his property and the town. Most important he could see the harbour and would know when a ship was coming in. He would send someone down to say he would be taking the ship and it would wait until he was ready.

The rooms were furnished as they had been and the personal pieces in the offices and bedrooms gave a small insight into the lives of the original occupants.

Next we went to the Negros Museum in Bacolod to walk through the history of Negros. We were fortunate to get the assistant curator as tour guide. He brought the exhibitions to life.

The main gallery is on the second floor. The main and permanent display shows a reconstructed batil, a wooden sailing vessel used for passengers and cargo at the turn of the century. The batil contains artifacts and reproductions of the type of goods that were exchanged between Negros and the nearby islands and foreign lands. Surrounding thebatil are displays highlighting sugar production and the role of the ordinary plantation worker, sugar production, the Chinese in Negros, the Church, the scientific aspects of sugar production, the lifestyle of the Negrense plantation owner, the folksongs and tales of the island. In the depiction the plantation owner is the man with the stovepipe hat. Two of the cane workers have bags over their heads. Why? Apparently two people in the group of workers are spies for the owner. Only he and they themselves know their connection. Even the overseer would not know. They report on who is working and who is not or who may be stealing from the estate. Our guide and Riza sang some of the folk songs displayed - not professional but fun to hear their memories of their childhood.

One of the displays is the life style of the turn of the century. There is a lady in her nineties who is still active about town dressing up and going out to tea or shopping at the mall every day. She has given the museum some of her collection of gowns and the details of dressing at that time. There were many layers and what you wore was determined by the time of day and the occasion. The butterfly sleeves or “Filipino Terno” are still traditional for a formal gown. She also described the language of the fan. You could indicate with your fan if someone was welcome, if they need not come near, if you were very angry or, if you were surrounded by chaperones, look for a letter behind the door!

Smaller galleries flank the main hall: the Cinco de Noviembre exhibit highlights the struggle for independence from Spain, the Sports Hall of Fame, and a gallery for changing exhibits. The attic above the main hall has been opened as the Phinma Gallery for temporary and traveling exhibits.

The other major gallery is the Toy Exhibit. It is maintained by a local lady and displays part of her collection of toys collected in her travels around the world.

It was a really interesting afternoon and a good excuse to stay in cool surroundings during the heat of the day!

Another day Hunter brought her kittens out to meet us. Only one followed mom all the way. Two took refuge in the wood pile mid way to the house. Riza named the successful one Trembler because it was so frightened and hid as far into the corner of the gazebo surround as it could get. I thought it should be called Braveheart because it made the journey in spite of its fear. It even challenged momma Hunter and Cuddles for a share of dinner when it came time. Momma cuffed the kitten and Cuddles hissed but the little one went around a flower pot and tried an indirect assault on the dinner plate. It was no more successful. Momma was far more agreeable about feeding the kitten directly. Those kittens still have Cuddles all bent out of shape. She spent a whole day pouting behind the house.

Anna is still cheerfully taking care of our little house and our laundry. She sings as she scrubs on her glass scrub board imported all the way from Canada! Her new house is being built. We went to see it now that the frame is up. It will be a traditional village building. The floor of the main room is raised and the floor of the sleeping room is raised higher still. The floor will be split bamboo and the air will come up through the floor and through the woven bamboo walls to keep it cool inside. She was thrilled to show it to us and to have us tell her how nice it is. Her brother is doing a very good job.

She had paid for the bamboo and it had not been delivered. Her brother was ready to do the construction of the floor and needed the materials. There was nothing to do but cross the river to talk to the man responsible for delivery. I was sitting under the trellis enjoying the coolness of the shade when I saw Anna walk onto the stones of the river. I jokingly said I should go get my camera in case she slipped!. The water seemed to be getting quite deep and Anna is not very tall. All of a sudden she disappeared from view! What should I do??? It seemed to take forever before she came back to the surface and struggled through the deep part of the river to the stones of the far side. Neither Riza nor I know if she can really swim. She kept on going soaking wet and must have managed the negotiations with her dignity intact because the bamboo was delivered the next morning. She still had to make the return journey across the river and I watched until she was safely back. There is a raft that makes the crossing but she would not waste the peso for the fare.

What nerve and determination for a woman to make a change in her way of life for her family. She is managing to send all of her children to school. The oldest, now sixteen, has dropped out of school and chosen the traditional role. She will work in the cane fields. She has brought home a young man to live with who is not employed at all. Life will be difficult and would be impossible if not for the food and shelter Anna and her husband supply.

Anna knows that life will stay the same from generation to generation unless someone is determined to change. She has one more girl and two boys. I hope their mother’s strong stand will encourage at least one of the children to understand her dream and take advantage of the opportunities she is working so hard to give them.

The village people do depend on the cane fields for their livelihood and right now the fields are baking in the heat. It has not rained most of the time we have been here. No one is working in the fields. The cane appears burnt and brown. Will it survive until the rains come? Will there be much of a crop if it does? Frustration and boredom seem to be taking a toll. There are many people with nothing to do with their time. There are some who drink to excess and they are causing problems in the village. One night this week all the plastic chairs in Anna’s church were smashed. That is the second attack.. The congregation had planted a garden of melons. The night before they were to be harvested, all the melons were smashed where they lay. The minister may dismantle the church and pull out.

You see the differences in the homes. Some are tidy with evidence of industry, laundry on the line, well kept gardens, food to help through the tough time and flowers to make the home look nice. Some homes just sit there and the people wander, looking at the world around them. Young men stand around in groups everywhere. You do not see the young women among them. It appears most of the girls have gone to school or to work. Will they come back to marry the unemployed men of the village?

Caesar left a good job in Manila to come back to his village. After twelve years working apart from his family, he felt his son did not know him. Now he is home trying to influence his own children and his nephews.

Time to go and our plane is just arriving from Cebu. It will be a fast turnaround. We have a day in Cebu and then a late flight to Hong Kong and home. I have booked a day room at the Mactan Hilton. That gives us a place to store our luggage, have a nap, shower and change into winter clothes for the trip home. It also allows us use of the facilities, the beach, the pool and includes a buffet lunch and afternoon tea. A much better way to spend the day than at the airport!

That ends the Philippine Blog. It will start again with our road trip toward the end of March. I hope you have enjoyed it so far!

Touring Palawan - Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park

2010-02-22T23:25:00.000-08:00

Sunday, February 15th;

One thing I wanted to see was the Subterranean River. It is the longest navigable underground river in the world. But as usual the package tours did not sound all that enticing. No one was really keen on getting up at 5:30 AM to be ready for pickup at 6:30.

After our van and driver experience, I wondered if there might be another way. I went to talk to the staff of hotel. Sure enough, it was possible to arrange your own trip. The slots to go into the river are staggered through the day. If you book a later slot with the park officials, you can hire a car and driver and plan it the way you want.

Now it sounds like something everyone can agree on. The hotel arranges for us to have Danilo A. Barone (Danny) as our tour guide. It was a great choice. Knowing we had problems with leg room, he came by with two vans the evening before. We picked the best as he recommended. He would pick us up at 9:00 AM and walk us through the arrangements with the Parks Service and also arrange our lunch for us. Unlike the package tours we would pay for the van and driver, the Underground River fees and the lunch separately but it actually came out to less than the Package Tours published prices. (They are negotiable and it actually comes out close to the same.) Add to that we had a very personable and knowledgeable driver, only the four of us in the group and a civilized start time!

We got up at our usual time, had our table set and breakfast waiting. Our cheerful little server had everyone’s order down pat by now. Just to be sure, Dan tested her every morning! We took our time over the meal, took more pictures of the flowers and visited with our neighbours. By 9:00 AM we were ready to go. We had our bags packed because we had to change hotels on our return. The Hibiscus Inn was filled and they were unable to find us one more night.

Danny loaded us up and took us to the booking office in town to get our Park Entry Permit. The two Dannys are in the front seats and getting along very well. I am not really sure if letting our Dan deal with government officials is a good idea but they come out with permits in hand. Then we were on our way north west across the island to Sabang. Danny has lived on Palawan all of his life and he gave us lots of information and answered our questions as we drove along. He pointed out Mahogany and Ebony trees. Stopped to show us cashews growing on a tree beside the road. Gave us time out at a lovely viewpoint where we could stretch our legs and look out over the forest to the bays and islands below. I could see the possibilities for some really good snorkeling.
It is a two hour drive to Sabang if you take it easy and stop en route so we were there well in advance of our 2:00 PM tour slot. Danny arranged for us to take an earlier slot available at 12:30 then we would lunch on our return. That would get us home earlier to be ready for our Valentine’s dinner.

First stop a washroom break at the Parks office. Not always a tourist destination you comment on but this one was an experience. In the Philippines it is important to know you must always carry paper. It is not available in most public places. In this case there was a very long line of people waiting when I joined. I was half way through the line when I noticed my pockets were almost empty of that most important commodity. Oh well, I had to stay in line. As I got closer, I watched the front of the line to learn the routine. There appeared to be a large barrel of water in the corner of the room and a small plastic dipper. Most people were using two or three dippers of water to “flush” the toilet when they exited the stalls. They would then hand a full dipper to the next person going in. I’m a fast learner and I did it all right when it was my turn. Smiles all around for the white lady!

I caught up with Riza and we watched the outrigger canoes jockeying for position at the dock and loading groups of tourists. In no time it was our turn. We took our shoes off to walk along the breakwater and climb on board. Watch for the waves coming in! You can get really wet and possibly injured by the movement of the boat. I had no problem - I was wearing shorts. Leroy had rolled up his jeans but not far enough. He did get wet! The boat ride out to the river entry was lovely. It was the perfect day to be messing about in boats! We were all glad we had made the trip.

The outriggers deposit you close to the shore once you reach the beach of the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park. Not on shore - close to it. Again you need to pick your moment to climb off and head ashore. The water is lovely and warm. The beach is beautiful. There are picnic tables there and board walks to explore but we have to stay on schedule. I did stop to get a picture of a monitor lizard in the path. I was disappointed not to see any monkeys. There is a 4 km trail back to Sabang you can walk if you have the time and you are likely to see the lizards, monkeys and many species of birds as well.

Taking pictures, I got behind and never did stop to get my shoes on! I caught up just as we arrived at the starting point for the river ride. There was still time to wait as other boats went before us. Now we are no longer in a group of four but have to join a boat that has four others already. Don your helmet and your life jacket and climb in. Guess what? With four North Americans in the boat there is 1 inch of freeboard remaining! The life jacket may come in handy. Well not too handy - it doesn’t have any working fasteners and cannot be done up. The helmet is useful though - the cave is full of bats. The water in the cave is full of eels and sightless fish. I have no intention of getting out of the boat.

The cave is interesting. The rock formations are beautiful. In the dark it is impossible to focus the camera and pictures are difficult so I abandon the attempt and just enjoy the ride. I am not sure if what is hitting me is dripping water or bat droppings, either way I put my camera away for the remainder of the trip. It does not take long to paddle up the portion of the river open to the public. By the time we return to the starting point we are ready to get off the hard seats and walk freely again.

We walk back to the beach with a little more time to look around. It really is a gorgeous place. I wander on the beach until our crew is able to bring our small craft through the crowd to the shore and we climb on for the return trip.

As we land on the beach at Sabang, a caribou cart is coming toward us. The perfect picture. We walk up the beach to our restaurant and Danny has our lunch ready to be served. We each have a fresh green coconut full of liquid to refresh us. It may be good for you, but it is still not my favourite drink. I had some but I let Danny have most of it. I’ll stick to Mango shakes!

Lunch over we started back to town. It goes much more quickly on the return. We picked up or bags at the hotel and Danny kindly delivered us to our new residence, Kookaburra Travel Lodge. We asked for his contact information before he left. He gave it to us so if anyone is going to Palawan I would be able to pass it on. I highly recommend him as a tour guide.

The Kookaburra is a new bed and breakfast and is good condition. The rooms are very small but well fitted out. Unfortunately, when Dan had his shower, the water did not drain away but filled the bathroom. They came to fix the problem. Then I had my shower. It also filled the bathroom.

We left the staff to sort it out and we moved to another room to finish getting ready for dinner.

We got two tricycles and went back to Kalui for their Valentines special evening. We started with Pina Coladas all around. A nice start to a tropical dinner. Then I took Dan to the art gallery while we waited for dinner to be prepared. I had picked out a painting the day before and thought Dan might like a suggestion for a Valentine’s present. It is a lovely watercolour of a local man preparing his net along the riverside as the sun rises. I think Dan liked it too because there was no real discussion (unusual for Dan). The lady wrapped it for travel while we ate our dinner. I have seen the men net fishing on the Calibago and it reminds me very much of the sunsets on the river. The perfect souvenir.

Our dinner was a set menu on this occasion. Much of it similar to what we had eaten the day before but beautifully served as individual courses. The seaweed looks like little branches off of a succulent green stem. It comes with a very nice sauce and I enjoyed it. We had Tuna steak beautifully cooked. Large prawns, again with a tasty sauce. A rice dish and the vegetable was a stirfry of vegetables with the banana blossom as the main ingredient. That was my favourite. We had the coconut and fruit salad dessert. You scrape the coconut jelly off the sides with each mouthful of fruit. Then finished up with a second pina colada. A grand ending for our last evening in Palawan. We discussed carrying on at some other night spot but we had an early flight the next day so opted to get our tricycles and head back to the Kookaburra.

Bad move, there are not a lot of rooms in the Bed and Breakfast but it was almost full. The rest of the crowd was much younger and in party mode. It was not too bad on the second floor but Leroy and Riza were just off of the lobby where the activity seemed to be continuous. It died down about 3:00 AM which was a little too late if you had an early morning flight as we did.

The next morning, we were not really ready to be impressed by the beautiful third floor dining room looking out across the mangrove to the beach and the sea. Breakfast was not as well cooked as we had grown used to - eggs over easy were sunny side up. I really can’t face undercooked eggs at any time so Dan ate mine too. The fruit salad was one slice of watermelon. Coffee was instant. We really missed our lovely little server and breakfast at the Hibiscus!
The manager did come out to meet me and say good-bye to us. I let him know about the difficulties I had communicating with him both through his website and by email when making my reservation. I did not go into the less than stellar stay. It is a nice place, hopefully it was just one of those days.

My only remaining clean clothes were shorts and a T-shirt. I froze all day in air conditioned airports and planes. Add to that I felt really under dressed as everyone else knew better!

It was good to get back to Calibago.

Touring Palawan - Iwahig Prison

2010-02-20T04:45:00.000-08:00

Saturday, February 13th;

Another beautiful morning and breakfast on the lanai. We have lots of time for a leisurely start before the driver picks us up at 8:00 AM. The cool of the early morning is too pleasant to miss.
We have chosen to have a van and driver for a private tour so Dan and Leroy can stretch out and not crowd into a van full of other people. We can go at our own pace and see what we choose. Our wander about town yesterday has already covered half of the city package tour. The private tour will cost us a total of 1500 P ($30.00 CAD)

Palawan is working to become an Ecotourism destination. The current Mayor of Puerto Princesa has been very strict in enforcing his green policies. Residents can no longer cut the forest without permission so there are still mahogany and ebony trees in the wild. Valentines Day there will be a mass wedding for those who cannot afford individual ceremonies. It starts at 4:30 AM in San Jose and when it is over everyone will go out to the mangrove forest and plant new mangrove. All government employees, students, companies and any individual volunteers will also go out on this one day to enlarge the mangrove areas. This is in sharp contrast to other islands where the demands of fish ponds have removed the mangrove totally in many of their traditional areas. Our guide tells us that bats eat the cashews and spread the seeds so cashew trees are also growing freely in the wild and in many peoples back garden. We are enjoying the cashews as a traveling snack!

We start out heading as far south as we will go today and then work our way back. First stop Iwahig Prison. This is another innovation of the Mayor’s. There is little or no crime on Palawan yet there is a prison. Most of the prisoners are from other areas in the Philippines. The prison has a gate but no external walls. Medium and Minimum classification prisoners wander freely on the grounds and work at assigned tasks. They may be working in the fields as the property is a productive farm. They may be house or garden staff for the homes of prison employees. They may create or sell the crafts available to tourists in the prison store. There are many different ways to learn a skill and earn a living. For many this is the first opportunity they have had to do so. Life inside is far better than any they have had outside.

If they finish their sentence and have nothing to go back to, they can be granted land to farm and bring their families here to make a better life with the skills they have learned. We saw men working in the fields dressed in the prison T-shirts and we saw individuals farming plots on their own. One man was driving a caribou pulling his plow to prepare for planting. Another small home was obviously a family residence and the man was working in his field.

Inside there was a fenced area that appeared to be the residences and would also house the maximum security prisoners. It was obvious that all here were expected to work. The whole area was a very clean and well kept village. Very much nicer than the squatter’s slums I have seen in all of the towns and cities.

The prison was started in 1904 by the Americans to provide food for all of the prisons in the Philippines. The oldest building was a Theater built during the American occupation and it is now a recreation hall for the inmates. It appeared to have games of pool in play while I was taking pictures of the outside. Pictures of prisoners are not allowed for their privacy.

We did the usual tourist wander through the store. I had heard they did carving in ebony and I was prepared to buy a nice piece if I found one but all of the work I saw was of low standard for the tourist trade. Instead, I bought a sun hat as my contribution. I thought it might help in the heat of the day. Instead it felt hotter and got in the way of my camera. Oh well, I can leave it at Calibago.

Our next stop was the Crocodile Farm. It is actually the “Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center”. We joined on to the end of a bus tour group but soon were wandering on our own - too slow to keep up! We got lots of pictures though.

At the front door they have a hide and skeleton of a 70 year old crocodile that measured 16 feet long. There are crocodiles of all ages in the ponds. Someone in the tour group did not understand “Hands Off” and there was momentary excitement when crocodile tried to get the intruder. The poor croc missed.

Once past the Crocodile ponds, you can wander unescorted to see the many birds and animals represented. The Palawan bear cat is interesting. They can hang by their tails so all paws are free to feed. They can be quite snarley with one another at feeding time so I assume they aren’t as cuddly as they look!

There is also a bearded pig that looks quite entertaining but probably has the personality of a wild boar.

The many birds were beautiful but it is always difficult to get good pictures through a cage so we will just have to remember them. Our favourite was the Blue Naped Parrot. It seems very people friendly and gregarious in its own group as well.

Once our time slot was over, we climbed back into the van for a trip to Rancho Santa Monica, the home of Abraham Mitras who is running again for Congressman here. He has opened the grounds to the public as a beautiful picnic place with a view over Honda Bay. I was more interested in the large number of body guards congregating on the lanai. Obviously Mitras was home at this time. We saw another Rancho Santa Fe while driving across the island later. It is also a Mitras property. I assume the family have a connection to or a fondness for the American southwest.

Our time is almost up so we head back to the city and are dropped off at a very nice restaurant for lunch. Kailui is a restaurant and art gallery combined with beautiful décor and grounds. The food was good too! We had traditional food including seafood, seaweed and a vegetable dish based on banana blossom. It was all very well prepared and well presented. The exception was the mashed sweet potato. It appeared to be off. They apologized and gave us a complimentary dessert. It was a fresh coconut filled with fresh fruit steeped in a raw sugar glaze. The fellows booked a table for the next night - a Valentine’s dinner.

We hailed a couple of tricycles and headed back to Hibiscus Garden Inn for a leisurely afternoon, a light dinner and an early night. Tomorrow is our trip to the Underground River.

Touring Palawan - Puerto Princesa

2010-02-16T19:03:00.000-08:00

Thursday, February 11th;

One thing we really enjoyed about the Plaza Astoria Suites was the breakfast buffet included with our suite. We took out time over breakfast and tried many of the international dishes. This day I limited myself to the fruit display and the fresh bread display for toast. I felt I had been eating way too much and we would be having a nice lunch while waiting at the airport. Bad move - take note we have not found a good restaurant at the NAIA 3 terminal. It may be there but we have not found it.

Our flight from Manila to Puerto Princesa was scheduled to be 3:30 PM. All our flights on Cebu Pacific had left early so far so we hung around our hotel room until the noon check out and then headed to the airport. At checkin we discovered the flight was to be delayed 3 hours to 6:20 PM. That was a very long afternoon.

They brought us Jollibee Hamburgers at 5:00 PM but the Lab Tech in me was reluctant to try a hamburger that had been sitting in a very large plastic bag with its buddies enjoying the heat of Manila for an unknown amount of time. I gave my burger and drink to Dan and went looking for the least problematic food I could find. That was easy! Everything had closed! I got a cup of coffee.

We left as per the new schedule at 6:20 PM and arrived in Puerto Princesa about an hour and a half later. It is a small town with no cabs and no short distance jeepneys. Tourist travel is by tricycle. There is very little traffic compared to Negros and organized enough that I might feel comfortable driving. When we landed, the hotel had arranged our pick-up and we were driven by van from the airport to the Hibiscus Garden Inn in less than 10 minutes. We drove in the gate and walked through the lobby to the beautiful walled garden. Our long day was over!

We stored our belongings in our rooms and walked up the street a few meters to the Chicken Inato restaurant. Chicken Inato is a local specialty - a variation on barbequed chicken. Other islands have it as well though the name varies a little from place to place. The food was good, the place noisy and we were glad to get back to “our” garden.

The rooms are built on three sides of a courtyard and the fourth side opens to the garden. It was lovely. Trees for shade and beautiful flowers for colour interspersed with sitting areas, art and carvings. There was a small Sari Sari store for cold drinks and snacks. The lobby had a nice sitting area and locally made goods for sale. The big item was South Sea pearls from Palawan. But there were woven baskets of all sizes, pineapple cloth shawls and the ubiquitous t-shirts.

We just settled in our rooms for the night. For the first night, both rooms had a private garden out the back with chairs and a hammock. We would move in the morning to the “classic room” with no garden. It was not a hardship as we preferred the public garden areas and the international group of people to talk to.

Breakfast was served at tables just outside your room. There were choices on the menu but I liked the continental with a warm French loaf, butter, jam, coffee and a huge bowl of fresh fruit - mango, crisp apple and bananas. What a nice way to start the day! We had the same young lady serving us morning and evening and we certainly enjoyed her sunny disposition.

All of the staff were pleasant and very helpful at all times. The people they recommended from outside the hotel were excellent as well. I highly recommend the Inn, it is a large part of what made Palawan so memorable.

For our first day, we just took a tricycle to the Cathedral and made that a starting point for our own city tour. We learned very quickly that four foreigners are too many for a tricycle that may hold six or more Filipinos! Neither Dan nor Leroy could sit up under the roof so the one on the back of the bike sat sidesaddle with his head sticking out and got sunstroke. From then on we traveled in two tricycles wherever we went.

The Cathedral dominates the town with its lovely white and blue towers. It is very cool and ornate inside with the blue shutters softly colouring the light of the interior. Across for the Cathedral is a square built over the sight of a wartime massacre, Plaza Cuartel. The Japanese forced 154 American prisoners of war to go down into the bomb shelter then poured gasoline on them and into the tunnel setting all afire. The memorial names those killed and those few who survived by swimming across the bay to the current sight of Iwahig prison. One of the survivors created the statue that was erected last year in honour of those who lost their lives. It is haunting.

From there we headed back into the hot sun for a stroll down to the harbour and bayside walk. Palawan is a long narrow island with the Sulu Sea on one side and the South China Sea on the other. Puerto Princesa is about the middle where Honda Bay and Puerto Princesa Bay take a bite out of the east side and Ulugan Bay takes a bite out of the west almost dividing the island in half. The Bayside walk is a lovely walkway along the harbour but as yet there are no facilities there other than shaded picnic shelters. It was much too hot to be wandering about on the pavement so we returned to the hotel to freshen up and then went out to lunch at the Fresh Café. The owners are from Arizona and the menu has both local and American choices. Warning - when they say spicy chicken, they mean set your mouth on fire, two mango shakes, spicy. I actually traded lunches with Dan.

We continued up Rizal Street looking at places of interest and I turned into the Palawan to get a better picture. The rest followed and we explored the building. There was a tourist office so Leroy went in. The ladies gave us some good information and maps. We wandered through the courtyard looking at the fresh fruit and vegetables being sold there. One office had some interesting baskets we did not recognise so we knocked to see if we could get some information about them.

What a good find that was! We met Aimee, a government employee in the Cultural department and a member of the Palawan Dance Theater with a deep interest in the culture of the islands indigenous people. There are between 5 and 9 different groups - depending on who you talk to. Aimee has gone out among the remaining Tagbanua in Southern Palawan with her dance troupe, learning about their life style and heritage. Then bringing their story alive in a mixture of historical and modern dance. They have danced in Palawan, the USA and Europe. Aimee showed us one of the costumes she created and a video of the dance she wore it in.

Both Riza and I tried the headress on. It is very intricate and heavy just standing still!

From there we wandered from souvenir shop to souvenir shop up the main street. Riza found a place to bargain for her baskets. It was still very hot walking so we decided to go to a coffee shop art gallery in the woods. Very pretty setting, nice place, interesting art, big mosquitoes and no service. Don’t bother!

We were glad to get back to the garden at the Hibiscus Garden Inn and relax for a while before dinner.

This evening we decided to walk to the Tom Tom Club. It was a pleasant walk in the cool of the evening. Dinner was OK. The live music was fun. The walk home after dark enjoyable. That said, there are better places in town to eat. Looks like it would be a lively bar though!

We have a car and driver booked for a half day trip tomorrow so we had best turn in.

Malling in Manila

2010-02-15T05:02:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, February 9th;

We had a really early morning Tuesday. We had arranged for Boy and his jeepney to arrive at 3:30 AM. That would get us to the airport by 4:45 in time for a 6:30 departure.
We were all ready and we loaded our luggage into the jeepney followed by ourselves. Riza and I are fine, Leroy barely fits but Dan can only sit up between beams and pipes so he will hit his head in every direction on the rough road. He spent the whole trip bent over his lap to keep his head low.

Gomay, an older gentleman who owns the rice field across the road, is waiting at the gate to join us on the jeepney. Rumour must have flown about the village last night to have someone else ready to go at this hour! He was welcome to ride as far as the highway at Mercia and it made his journey to go and butcher a pig much easier. As soon as we stopped to turn onto the highway he jumped nimbly to the ground. No charge to him since we had booked it for a flat fare.

There are no windows and doors on a jeepney and the wind is cool at this time of day. Riza and Leroy seem to be feeling the cold by the time we near the airport. Then we are stopped by a large army roadblock. They are looking for arms being brought in to disrupt the upcoming elections. Early as it is Dan is prepared to be humorous. I elbow him. Maybe this is not the time. But the machine gun toting soldier with limited English recognizes harmless when he sees it so he smiles, wishes us a good day and lets us pass.

Interestingly, we see a news report that there are groups of mercenaries being brought in from Mindanao to disrupt the elections. Groups of 30 are spread through the highlands in towns like Canlaon City. Will they be able to find and stop them? I am glad we will all be in Canada in May when the elections occur.

We are at the airport in plenty of time and fly on to Manila.

Riza’s cousin is there to meet us with her car and driver. That certainly makes early morning traffic in Manila easier. Dida directs the driver to take a less direct route home in an attempt to avoid the worst of the morning rush but it does not seem to be a successful evasion. EDSA Avenue is a parking lot. Pollution hangs over the city like a grey cloud.

Not having to drive, we are all sitting comfortably in the back seats of the van and can start visiting immediately. Riza and Leroy have lots of catching up to do. We are busy looking around us and asking questions about the very busy city we see.

Dida is Dorothy’s sister and there is a family resemblance both in looks and in entrepreneurial spirit. She runs a successful tailoring business in Manila. We arrive at her home and are served a welcome coffee and the fresh Pan de Sol Leroy has been talking about for days! Dida had picked them up fresh from around the corner and they are warm and delicious little buns. Leroy swears this particular bakery is the only one that can create them exactly right. I have only eaten one other version and so far he is right!

We are introduced to Dida’s son, Rainier. He has cerebral palsey so is limited in his movement but he has a sharp wit. He and Dan have a lot to say as they get to know each other.

One of the tailors is also there sewing as we visit. He takes time to measure all of us for new clothes. I order two pairs of dress pants and three pairs of capris. Imagine, pants that will actually fit! I can hardly wait! Dan is measured for one pair of dress pants and three lightweight summer shirts. Reza is getting three pairs of walking shorts. Leroy has some clothes already on order. I like this kind of shopping. We sip our coffee and eat our buns while looking over fabric swatches, make our choices and the finished clothes will be delivered to the us in four days at the Manila airport during our layover when we will be traveling back to Negros.

At noon, the driver takes us to our hotel in the Ortegas district and Dida goes back to work.
The Astoria Plaza Suites is just a big modern hotel. Like many timeshares the suites differ in design and upkeep. The first suite we see has all twin beds so we ask for another. The second has a very lived in look and the layout is fine for us but gives Leroy and Riza a second rate room. I am not really happy with it so I go to the desk to ask for the first one back. They were very understanding and pleasant. Because the first one was actually a smoking room and they realize we want non-smoking, they show us to a third suite. Two bedrooms both with ensuite, king sized beds, kitchen, living room, no smoking on the 23rd floor. Our room is ceiling to floor glass on two walls with a bird’s eye view out over the city.

Now we are settled. We have a light lunch in the dining room and head for the mall at Greenhills. This is another place Leroy has talked about. Much of it is little market stalls selling everything you can think of cheap. It is attached to a normal mall as well but it is the market that makes it different and interesting. The men go off to look at electronics and computers. Reza and I prowl in ladies wear and the garden area. Nothing we can’t live without but we enjoy looking! We meet up at a restaurant Leroy wants to show us and make up for the light lunch.

Then it is time to head back to the hotel. Our early start is taking its toll.

Wednesday is a day to take it easy and to go to the malls. This city is all about malls! My goal is a fabric shop at SM Mega Mall. Riza knows it as the place to go for trim so that is our first stop. I am looking for cord for Bag Ladies bags. There it is! Every colour imaginable. We choose about 20 colours and it takes three clerks 2 hours to measure them in 100 yard lots and wind them on new spools for us. It starts out with pools of colour on the floor but soon a system is in place and it all goes smoothly. Not only have I never seen the selection, it is less than 5 cents a yard! Now how do I get it home????

That’s my shopping done. We wander for a while but we have invited Dida and her family to dinner so we head home to organize. We calculate dinner for seven but Dida’s daughter brings her boyfriend to introduce to us all and there is the driver of course so it is a cheerful party for nine. We are short on dishes and cutlery but we make do with chop sticks and take out lids as extra plates. The Chinese food is very good and there is enough to go around. No one minds the “camp out” style. There is plenty of room for everyone to sit and visit so it becomes a very pleasant family evening. Both sides are interested in learning from the other. Leslie and her fellow both teach at the university. Going through school he was a tour guide in Manila and is very interested in the history of his country. He offered to be our guide next time we come so we will certainly leave time to see the real Manila with him - no more malls!

All too soon it is time to say good night. Our time here is almost over - we leave for Palawan tomorrow.

Leisure Days

2010-02-12T01:47:00.000-08:00

Running a little bit behind as we are have too much to do to leave time for writing. But here I am in the garden of the Hibiscus Garden Inn on Palawan forgoing my hammock to sit and communicate. I'll have another fresh mango smoothie to keep my strength up! Meanwhile, last week in Calibago...

Monday, February 8th;

We have enjoyed our days at home again. Not much new has happened but there is always something to get your attention.

Friday we went to Bacolod where Dan, Leroy and I got haircuts. Ramona cut Dan and Leroy. She is an interesting girl, dressed more in the skateboard style than the ladylike manner of most Filipinas. She is so short, Dan is taller sitting in the chair. She does do a very good haircut, trims ears and nose, takes a straight razor to the face and finishes with a firm massage. Dan was not sure what to make of it! I got a good short cut - it sure is nice to be a little cooler!

Saturday we joined the other international men with Filipina wives and families for their monthly lunch at a Bacolod restaurant. It was nice to meet the people Leroy and Riza know and mention when they talk about their time here. Steve and Kathy were there as well so we knew someone. We met Sally and Mike who live near Metrotown six months of the year. Their dream house here is nearly complete.

After lunch Leroy and Dan took the Pajero in to have the transmission looked at. Riza and I went to the mall. No danger here - nothing fits me! All we did was have a good walk around and get a few things for dinner.

We always seem to leave for home by three in the afternoon - no matter where we go or what we are doing the gazebo calls us at three on the dot and home we go.

I am sitting there now. It is 35 C. on the lower level 95 F. for those in the south! There is a warm wind blowing and the flowers hanging down from the trellis are constantly dancing. In this spot it is pleasant and quiet. I can see the river and all the activity there below me and the road to the village with people on the move in front of me.

The cats, Cuddles and Hunter, come by to see if it is lunch time or if there are any handouts. Hunter's babies are bigger now, very active and their eyes are open. She had moved them while we were away and no one knew where they were. Interestingly, Leroy saw her and asked her where were her kittens and she led him to them. But she has moved them once again because I went to see them yesterday. I will leave them alone until she is ready to make their debut to the public.

Caesar has been digging trenches around the new coconut trees this morning. It has been so hot and dry they are starting to die. Now he will fill the trenches with water evey evening and that may carry them through to the rainy season.

Dan has been trimming dead branches off of the older trees so no one will be hurt when the winds really blow.

Leroy has been doing maintainence chores as well. There are new cocoa trees to plant and two new bouganvilleas - one a very rich deep magenta and one a double pink blossom that is very beautiful.

Now everyone is resting in the heat of the day.

I have to pack this afternoon and we leave for Manila early tomorrow morning. Let the shopping begin!

Touring Negros - Sipalay

2010-02-07T22:17:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, February 3rd;

Wellbeach to Sipalay is a longer drive. The roads remain good while you are in Negros Oriental but once you leave Bayawan you have some very interesting stretches. We stopped less because Leroy knew we would need the time but we saw some interesting sights as we traveled.

We passed a man on a tricycle, one hand on the handlebar of his bike, one holding a tuna. The tuna was big enough that it almost touched the pavement. As we passed we saw he had his child in front of him, hanging on for dear life.

It was Market day somewhere nearby and many of the tricycles now had cages on the sidecar carrying one or more water buffalo.

A bus went by filled to the brim with people and among the bags and luggage on the top a small goat was all curled up for the ride.

We stopped in a small village of bamboo houses where the road looked down over a valley of rice paddies. Dan got out to take pictures and the children waved shyly to us coming out of their homes to have their pictures taken.

We drove into Bayawan and headed for the waterfront for our mid-morning cold drink. On a side street we passed a garden FULL of orchids and the lady was picking a huge bouquet. The waterfront has been designed as a wide roadway with a boardwalk on the ocean side. It goes far past the actual town as if the city planners have great ideas for the future and expect the town to catch up. At the moment it ends in a lovely stand of nipa growing by the water.

We found an art gallery on the sand and wandered, apparently alone, until we found a mother and child sound asleep on a bed among the displays. One of the artists arrived from across the street and we spoke to him for a bit. Riza liked his painting of African children but he did not feel it was finished so it was not for sale. I liked the yellow beach scene but how to get it home???

We stopped nearby for our soda and then carried on again. We were in lots of time to get to Sipalay before a lunch stop.

Well we were until we heard the unmistakable sound of a flat tire. The one that had been fixed failed us again. A passing motorist stopped to help and the men got the spare back on. We decided to go back to Bayawan as it was large enough to fix or replace the tire. Continuing on over very bad road with no spare would have been foolhardy.

Once again we were on our way and now we had to travel to make the distance before sunset. We still saw interesting sights along the way. A man on a motorbike with his passenger riding behind him balancing a table on his head. The dirt road wound up hills and down to the sea with lookouts often giving marvelous views of bays and fishing villages.

We caught up with a little blue car - Steve and Kathy had decided to join us one more night. We followed them through Sipalay and down to the beach beyond.

Our fist stop was Artistic Divers but it had a much younger more boisterous crowd. We walked down the beach and chose to stop at Robinson@Cruse. Very quiet in a pleasant garden setting with a nice pool. Each raised cabana by the pool had a raised seating area and a private change area as well. The sun was setting as we checked in and we walked down the beach to enjoy the last rays.

As we turned to come back we decided to stop at Easy Divers for dinner. This was the resort where we had planned to stay. I recommend it! Dinner was marvelous, the resort and the dive shop appear very professionally run. The rooms are cottages scattered up the hill. We really enjoyed our evening and walked back up the beach in the dark.

Our last night on this adventure. In the morning we headed back to Calibago. We bought more market baskets from a vendor Riza knew. We stopped at Kabankalan for lunch at a roadside restaurant with amazing orchids. We visited Riza’s father for a few moments and the garden we raided is on the mend! We drove into a small town and into the middle of the fiesta and parade! We saw a long flatbed truck lying down beside the road. The brave driver must have decided to head for the fields rather than kill the people in the van he collided with.

And then we were passing through Mercia and down the familiar rough road to Calibago. The dog was still sleeping in the middle of the road. The bamboo house has two walls and half a roof now as the owner continues to build. There were only two lady water buffalo in the creek enjoying their spa. The roosters on the hill were cowering in their little houses out of the hot afternoon sun. Then we drove down into the village and saw Caesar’s smiling face as he held the gate open to welcome us home. Good to be back in our quiet, cool place on the river!

Touring Negros - Wellbeach

2010-02-07T05:13:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, February 2nd;

The next morning we breakfasted at the hotel and had a leisurely start for Dumagete less than 50 Km away.

Our first stop was to be the Centrop Botanical Garden. On the map it appears to border EJ Blanco Drive. We drove up and down and up and down but saw no evidence it existed. We did see the Sidlakang Negros Villages. A very nicely designed area with a cabana for each of the cities of Negros. The area opens at certain times of the year as an exposition of the wares for each area. Most were closed now but we did visit those that were open. I was particularly taken by beautifully decorated purses made of Pandanas fibre but I could not imagine how to get one home without damage.

Once more down the drive to the waterfront and we were in downtown Dumagete very quickly. We stopped again for a cold drink and walked up to the square and the cathedral. We took some pictures, particularly of the coral block tower built in the mid 1700’s. It is still in use as a shrine but has a very definite lean. We made a short detour to the public market - just long enough to buy plastic bags from a vendor for 2 pesos. It had started to rain and our cameras were unprotected. It did not last and we continued our walkabout heading back to the waterfront.

You do see the unexpected when you tour on foot. This time we the firehall got our attention with an old Isuzu fire engine. A fireman invited us in to see an even more unique engine further back. A three wheeler! Both engines were part of Japanese reparations to the Philippines in the 1950’s. The Isuzu was Engine Number 1 and is still in use today.

We walked back along the waterfront to the Bethel Hotel where we had parked and headed on our way. We planned to have a nice lunch at the Wellbeach resort and a quiet afternoon on the beach. Steve and Kathy were to meet us there as well. As usual the men rested or sat around visiting and nursing a San Miguel while the women took to the pool!

This hotel is owned by a Swiss man and his wife. It is down a hidden right of way between some lovely private properties. You really need to watch for the sign! It is lovely and quiet, well kept and again an unbelievable bargain by Canadian standards - 1500 Pesos ($30.00 CAD) a night.
Dinner and then breakfast in the restaurant overlooking the beautiful gardens and bay beyond - it was hard to leave but our next stop was another beautiful beach and we had a longer drive so on we went.

Touring Negros - Bais City

2010-02-06T21:45:00.000-08:00

Monday, February 1st;

This week we decided to tour the island of Negros.

Monday morning we got up, had a big breakfast of pancakes, bacon, mango and finished off with hot coffee just in case we did not find a good restaurant in time for lunch!

Gino and his tricycle (motorbike and side cart) had been hired to take the cement block maker into town for repairs. He came as planned and the fellows loaded the heavy machinery onto his cart. There was some concern about it carrying the heavy load out the very rough road to the highway. But Gino knows his machine and it was loaded efficiently and went on is way with no difficulty.

We packed up and headed out as planned. The first part of the route was over the familiar road to Don Salvadore Benedicto. From that high point it was steadily up even further before finally crossing the range and down the other side.

Our first stop was Waddy’s Place. A new hotel and restaurant high on the hill looking down the valley to San Carlos and the sea with the island of Cebu in the distance. We stopped out of curiosity. We like examining interesting hotels for future reference and it was very, very hot so a cold drink was in order.

The rooms are very nice with two queen sized beds suitable for a maximum of 4 people. The bathroom was enormous. When we went out on the deck, the view was breath taking. All this for 900 Pesos ($18.00 CAD) per night. The restaurant and gardens were lovely. We enjoyed our cold drinks and carried on.

We wound down and down and down to the town of San Carlos. This was to be our lunch stop because we heard there was a restaurant owned by an American with real hamburgers!!! We found it on the main street - it is rather hard to miss - Eva’s Burgers and Beer. Besides burgers they serve the best Mexican food around. The owner was originally from California. He makes quarterly trips to the US to bring in much of the specialty food. The rest he gets locally from Cebu or when necessary from Bacolod. He has certainly been very selective in his sources. It was a very good lunch. His personality made it fun. He has great stories to tell and obviously enjoys talking to the customers.

He told us of driving up over the mountain to Bacolod on a regular basis. His vehicle is very recognizable and fully loaded he drives very slowly up the hills to Don Salvador Benedicto and beyond. So slowly the children walk along side and talk to him. One day the colorful vehicle broke down up in NPA territory. The children all came running to talk to their friend. One little girl went off, coming back leading her father by the hand. He carried an automatic weapon over his shoulder and walked down to the stranded vehicle. Our host was very nervous! The man asked him what the problem was and then went back the way he had come. Soon he returned with another man. They crawled under the van and worked on it for a short while. Like rural people everywhere they seem to have an built in ability to fix anything with baling wire and chewing gum. When the van was operational, our host asked what could he pay for the repair. The men conferred and decided 30 Pesos was fair ($0.60 CAD). Before he left the armed man came to the window and shook our host’s hand thanking him for being so kind, talking to his children as he traveled and driving them home on rainy days.

We sat and enjoyed our surroundings for longer than expected and we had a longer drive than we had calculated to reach our final destination. Now we had to make time.

We left Negros Occidental and entered Negros Oriental. We did notice a difference. We were now on the far side of Kanlaon and the mountains. The land slopes more gently to the sea. There are beautiful beaches and mangroves. There are more big houses but even the small land holdings are tidier than on the west coast. The roads are in better repair as well. This may be because the main crop is rice and not sugar cane - though cane is still present. The big cane trucks do chew up a road. We saw rail lines and small cane trains where cane was more prevalent.

The vehicles on the road are different. There are almost no Jeepneys. Instead the “tricycles” are much bigger with parts of cars as the superstructure. We assume it is for protection as it rains more here. It does make them more difficult to pass in heavy traffic.

Our goal for the day was La Planta, a historic old hotel in Bais City. We made it with lots of time to spare before sunset. Those who wanted to siesta did. Riza and I chose to swim in the beautiful pool before dinner.

The hotel is owned by one of the “old” families of Negros. The dining room is lined with family pictures and events of the past. The heyday of this place seemed to be the 1950’s or 60’s.
The gardens were lovely, with many variety of palms and fruit trees. The buildings are still beautiful though they are not kept up to the standard of days gone by. Our venetian blinds were broken and appeared to have been that way for some time. Just little things. On the whole it was very comfortable and clean for a modest price - 1500 Pesos ($30.00 CAD). Being in town was much noisier than Calibago - we had the sounds of motorcycles on the street and goats in the next garden. Not your usual city sound!

Don Salvadore Benedicto

2010-01-29T16:48:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, January 26th;

We have had a few quiet days.

Sunday, Leroy and Riza went to church in Bacolod while I prepared a Sunday dinner. I wanted to give Riza a day off. Ingredients are different here and I had to make changes where necessary but the dinner turned out quite well in the translation. Riza had stopped on the way home and brought a coconut pie so it was Sunday dinner with all the trimmings!

With dinner all prepared, we were able to go for a nice walk in the afternoon. Riza and Leroy armed themselves with stout walking sticks in case of snakes and we wandered up the road along the river. The electricity line comes to an end at the far edge of Calibago land. Not far past that is another small village tucked into the edge of the hill.

We greeted a few people as we went by and came to a trail crossing a creek and heading uphill. An Englishman lives there, Leroy said, so up we went. I don’t know what I expected but it was not the beautiful gardens we found. An Englishman does indeed live there or will do when he retires. For now we met his wife who has come from England to oversee the preparation of their property. They have 11 hectares of land from tilapia ponds down by the river to sugar cane high up on the hill. Their house is to be built at the high point of the land, looking over the cane fields and a vegetable garden behind them, down the hills of banana to where the Caliban and Bago rivers meet. They can see all the way to Calibago and our little cottage on east and far across the river valley to the west.

Leroy had seen the land when they were looking for property but it was an overwhelming amount of work to make it habitable. It also had the challenge of removing a number of squatters that made it their home. All but one of the squatters have gone, the final case is before the courts. A lot of work has already been done and it is beautiful now. When it is complete, it will be a little piece of heaven.

As we walked back we could see burning cane fields on the hill across the river. After dark, we could see a red glow in the sky signaling burning fields on our side of the river as well. Unlike Hawaii, they do not burn fields before harvest for greater sugar yield but after harvest to clean up the stubble and prepare for new crops.

Monday was a day to run errands. Leroy wanted to get the Pujero looked at. After overheating on our way to Mount Kanlaon, he had planned to have the radiator flushed. Today was the day.
Riza and I spent the time getting a manicure and pedicure downtown. It costs the grand sum of $7.00 CAD. Not bad for two hours of attention.

The fellows managed to get the windows tinted while we were at the spa but the radiator was scheduled for Tuesday.

Riza and I decided to spend a quiet day at home while they got that done. Good thing! Dan and Leroy were gone all day, some of it very social and some of it very boring. We just relaxed.
While we discussed the events of the day before dinner, Caesar came to say it was time to cut the bananas. One tree had a hand of bananas that was ripe enough to harvest before the bats ate them instead. The men prepared to bring the tree down and I got my camera ready. They roped the top to pull it in the right direction and gave it two mighty whacks with a bolo knife. Down it came! Crash! Next time we will have to consider breaking the fall rather than allow many of the bananas to be mashed into the cement!

Caesar and Anna took the damaged ones home to cook immediately. The rest will ripen slowly. Certainly far more fruit than we can eat so the ripe bananas will be shared as well. The one that was fully ripe now, we tasted. It is still firm as a partly ripe banana at home would be but very sweet. I like fresh ripe bananas!

Wednesday we drove to Don Salvadore Benedicto. It is half way over the mountains to San Carlos on the east coast from Murcia on the west. Often the road is the mountain ridge with a sharp drop on either side. The views were spectacular. There were little houses perched off the sides and rice terraces falling down to the valley in large steps. The road itself is extremely good for this area though the sides often appear unstable. We passed one nice van that had just had the front end damaged by what we assumed was falling rock. The windshield was completely gone.

We passed through a police check point high on the mountain though no one came out to stop the vehicle. Apparently we were now in NPA territory. It was interesting that at our lunch stop Riza did refer to “rebels” in conversation with our host and was gently corrected to “freedom fighters”.

The restaurant we visited for lunch had been part of a motivational retreat. It has been sold to the Augustinian Order and is now run as an educational facility for the Catholic Church. The restaurant appears the same and Riza and Leroy recognized the staff. We were welcomed and discussed the options for lunch settling on some favorites and some new flavours.

We like the noodle dish that is a mixture of Sotanghan Guisade and Pancit Canton, two different types of noodles and stir fried vegetables We decided to try Boneless Bangus, a wonderfully seasoned and boned Milkfish. Lastly we chose Chicken Pandan - chicken wrapped in pandanas leaves and deep fried. It takes some flavour from the leaves and was very good. Steamed rice is included with every meal. After we ate we were served Camote tea and got a chemistry lesson with it. Adding the acid of Calamansy juice changed the sweet potato tea from purple to pink. Then adding the raw sugar, the pH was changed again and the tea turned to orange. Each addition also changed the taste. The juice took away the starch taste but I prefered it once the sugar was added.

After lunch we continued up the mountain to a series of nurseries. Our goal was to get more plants for the garden. I was looking for canna lilies. Riza and Leroy were just looking. We did find some beautiful things that we have no names for. I got six canna lilies - dug right our of someone’s garden for 20 cents each. I also got some impatiens I knew Riza wanted and two orchids beautifully combined in a coconut shell pot.

Once more we went home with the vehicle overloaded and were looking to see Caesar’s face when we drove through the gate.

Thursday is a work day. Riza is painting the storeroom/pantry. Leroy is painting the trellis posts. Dan and Caesar are taking down another tree for Anna. At the same time giving a palm tree more room to grow. The challenge is to have it fall where they plan missing the young palm and the house. I am weeding my new garden.

I am watching carefully where I step now. Caesar has killed two snakes on the upper level in the last two days. I was imagining the lower level was the place to watch, thinking the snakes were coming from the river. I have revised that thought. Apparently they come from the cane fields, so the upper level is their first stop. The closest thing to the cane fields is our little house and garden. I am on the alert!

Dan’s cold has come back so it is an early night. Hopefully the cold will pass quickly.

Mumbucal Morning

2010-01-26T04:30:00.000-08:00

Saturday, January 23;

Today we are going to make a short trip to the Mambucal Resort. It was designed by a hotelier in Bacolod as a place to take the guests at his hotel for a day. Outside the city they could picnic, swim, and relax in a beautiful setting. It was a hotel competitor who then began the original Calibago Resort for the same reason.

The drive to Mambucal is very pretty . Just before the gates you drive through an army base - the 33rd Infantry Headquarters. There are offices, a group of little cottages that appear to be married quarters, some shops and a school. It was very quiet and we did not notice many people about.

Mabucal was the opposite. There were many family groups filling the picnic shelters. The pool was full of happy, shrieking young people. There was a spa with its own pool fed by a flower rimmed waterfall. You could stop by for a massage, manicure or pedicure at very upscale prices. You could rent canoes and paddle the lagoon for the afternoon or zip line across it. A second large pool was almost empty - it may be for the people staying in the cottages rather that the day trippers.

We wandered about the property fascinated by the large numbers of bats hanging from the trees and soaring overhead in the middle of the day. I can see why the picnic shelters all had roofs!

Our goal was the Butterfly Garden. Riza and Leroy had visited it a few times before. They have gotten to know the owner and his wife and were greeted warmly. They visited the butterfly garden first before it was moved to Mumbucal from the owner’s farm where it began. The gentleman and his wife are raising the butterflies that are endangered and releasing them back into the wild. The day before had been a release date so we were not seeing the garden at its busiest. It was still a very interesting place and we scattered, each following our own selection of butterflies to watch and get pictures if we could. As we were leaving, Leroy and Riza were trying to clear butterflies out of the way of the door and ended up with some sitting on their fingers. What a treat!

As we walked about, the smells coming from all the picnics were very inviting and we began to get hungry! Since no one invited us to join them, we had to go looking for lunch. We had decided to try the Bacolod Golf and Country Club. A very good choice!

We drove up a country road to a very nice clubhouse and were shown to a table overlooking both the tenth and the eighteenth hole. It was interesting to see the golfers group up and start off. Each had their caddy to pick up after them and drive their cart around the course. The tenth hole appeared to be a bit of a challenge. There was a heavy wind blowing and it was a narrow strip between the clubhouse wall and a ravine. Without being too obvious I could not see how each player did - other than by the look on their faces.

The steward recommended their tenderloin steak and French fries. It was local beef and we were not sure how tender that would be. Since other choices did not actually seem to be available we all decided to give it a try. It was very good! Riza and I have decided we need to investigate the Burgos Meat Market early one morning.

Our last stop of the day was at yet another garden center! This one was set in a park like area in Panad. Each vendor has a separate narrow strip of land set up as a lovely fenced garden to explore. We walked the full length examining each little garden we passed to see if there was anything absolutely required at Caliago! We did not find any Canna Lilies for my raised bed. We did see a very interesting display of Bonsai. We found one vendor dedicated to fruit trees - durian, mandarin, limes, banana, rambutan and many more. One or two of the vendors are familiar with Leroy and Riza. From one we bought two lemon trees already carrying fruit. That and a few small daisies was all for this time.

The look on Caesar’s face when we drove in with more trees was quite funny. But he was all smiles when he saw they were lemon trees and he knew exactly where they should go. They were planted with the fruit safely tied up in no time!

As we arrived home, we saw that there were men in the village milling the logs for Anna’s home with her overseeing the job. I wanted to get some pictures but I was not sure how I would be received, poking a camera into their village. Riza walked me over and explained to Anna. She was delighted and posed for me with the children, with her logs and then invited us to her home. Many of the people followed along. Apparently, she was considered very fortunate to have a “British” visit her home and be her friend.

Caesar’s wife, Genevieve, is a qualified high school teacher, a very confident, outgoing lady. She saw us in the village and came out to introduce herself to me. For now, she stays home raising her family and teaching the small ones in the village who cannot go out to school. I would love to sit and talk with her one day.

But this evening, I retire to my special vantage point by the river and watch the activity of birds and people as the sun sets in another marvelous show of red.

Planting Days

2010-01-22T05:18:00.002-08:00

Friday, January 22nd;

The next few days went by too quickly to do any writing, or perhaps were too leisurely!
Wednesday was our planting day. Everyone was busy getting the new plants into their assigned places so none would be lost.

During the two days we had been away, Caesar had completely mowed the lower level and cleaned it up beautifully. Now it was possible to walk all the way along the riverside. It also made the young palm trees visible and the new ones we carried home would join the existing coconut palms to create a very nice coconut grove when they are grown.

Leroy and Riza examined the plants that had been unloaded trying to decide where each one would go. Dan, Leroy and Caesar dug deep holes for the larger plants throughout the property using picks, shovels and water. Riza planted many of the smaller ones and I carried and dug wherever I could help.

Dan and Leroy left us for a man’s day out. Riza’s cousin and a friend brought a car and driver to pick them up Thursday morning and they went off to explore over the mountain. That left Riza and myself home for a day of leisure. We wandered the gardens, watering and examining each flower and vegetable bed. Then we went for a walk up the road.

Calibago, as it is now, is only a portion of the original park. Much of the land is still for sale. As we walked along, we walked through the neighbouring land to the river. There we found similar terraces lost in the underbrush. With at least six more of the seating areas and barbecues spaced along the way. The rock work is all intact with an amazing fountain and waterfall at the far end that appears to go into a pond that then drains into two waterslides falling into the river below. What fun that must have been! As we walked up the steps, Riza startled a large snake. It slithered quickly into what had been the water tunnel for the slides. It will be interesting to bring this area back to what it once was!

The river is gentler here. By some beautiful big rocks the women of the area have claimed a spot of their own for laundry and bathing. An elderly lady walked in front of us. She was dressed in a flowing orange skirt, a very nice jacket and walked with a cane. She carried a small bag of laundry. When we got to the river, she had shed her jacket and pulled her skirt up under her arms like a sarong. She was busily washing her laundry in the water and would probably bathe herself while her laundry dried.

I was wishing I had my camera! Dan had borrowed it for his trip across the island so we will have to walk this way again.

We headed home for a light lunch and spent the afternoon each with a good book, seated in the shade of the central trellises.

Friday we went to town again. The road to Murcia from Calibago is always interesting. This morning, the clouds were spectacular, rolling over Mt. Kanlaon as we left. There is a home that raises fighting cocks along our way. It is well kept and I am fascinated by the shelters for each rooster made out of old rubber tires. Cock fighting appears to be a big thing here and some people have very large flocks of roosters tethered individually each by their own little shelter. We pass by the cock fighting ring on our way to town and I cannot get over the size of it. It is like a stadium we would have for baseball or some other sport.

We met friends for morning coffee at a Starbuck’s like coffee shop called Bob’s, admiring (but not eating) the wonderful pastries they had. We did buy some treats at the connecting delicatessen. There were imported cheeses and other food you cannot buy here in the usual stores. Taco mix and black olives will go into a Tex Mex dip one day. Boursin aux fines herbs will add to a happy hour cheese tray.

We stopped to pick up Dan’s $40.00 custom made sandals. It is not easy to find size 14 anywhere and these black leather sandals turned out very well.

Leroy ran a few errands. Riza and I stopped at the Libertad market again for fresh vegetables. Dan was amazed at the “salad truck” he saw picking up the garbage created by the food stalls.

We finished our grocery shopping back at the SM Supermarket before heading home.

And so the days pass. It still seems like a yearly vacation that should come to an end very soon. But I do not have to go back to work and there is still so much more to see!

Gathering plants in Binalbagen

2010-01-20T05:09:00.000-08:00

Monday, January 18th

Got up early this morning for another good breakfast of mango crepes. We cleaned up and prepared for our small journey down island to visit Riza’s father. He has plants for the garden at Calibago. Leroy has hired Boy and his jitney to make the trip with a load in both directions. On the way down, we are sending wood from trees felled here to Reza’s cousin Dorothy. On the way back the jitney will be loaded with plants. We will meet Boy in Binalbagen tomorrow so we can make the journey in a more leisurely fashion today.

Our first stop is Murcia to buy plywood and rice that will be delivered to Caesar at Calibago by jitney. While Leroy and Riza were making their purchases, Dan and I were watching a truck unloading nipa fronds for roofing for the hardware store. We saw the nipa growing along river banks as we traveled later in the day. It grows as tall, straight, single fronds perfect for trimming into lengths suitable for layering on a roof.

Have I mentioned that Leroy has learned to drive in the Filipino manner? Weaving in and out, passing as many as he can at the highest possible speed. What would terrify me in Vancouver seems normal here and there is only the occasional gasp at how close it comes. Adding to the traffic congestion are people, dogs and livestock crossing or even living in the road. Whole lanes are closed off while a local farmer dries rice or coffee on the pavement.

We had planned a nice lunch at the Sol resort. Riza had heard that they have a good restaurant. We found the right area and turned toward the beach on secondary roads following the resort signs to the sea. The neighbourhood seemed very clean and prosperous. The resort itself was beautifully kept and clean but there was no one there. The resort was empty, the beach was empty and the restaurant was not in business. What a waste of so much creative effort.

We carried on our journey, back to the highway and on to La Carlota where we had a very nice lunch at a restaurant Leroy and Reza knew from previous visits. It is owned by a young East Indian man married to a Filipino lady. It was clean, well kept and the food was very good. Their home was next door and the garden was beautiful with a wonderful show of Vanda orchids in the center.

We wound our way back through huge Mango groves and stopped at a farming cooperative for Durian ice cream. No luck! They were all out of ice cream but we did find some Pele nuts, some Mango pure for making drinks and I bought a jar of Mango jam.

Before long we reached Binalbagen and drove up to Riza’s front gate. We were greeted by her father, his housekeeper and her two boys. We had a nice visit then toured the garden with Riza and her father discussing what could go and where it should grow once it reached Calibago. It seemed so many plants were leaving, he would have to start his garden all over again!

We left Binalbagen mid afternoon and went on to our hotel in Kabankalan. The Zycoland hotel and resort is very modern and well kept. The Doctor’s Hospital is right next door and the local Hospitality college is holding classes in the hotel temporarily so it has a regular clientele. The infinity pool was very inviting but unfortunately we left our bathing suits locked in the car while everyone had their siesta and there never seemed to be time for a dip after that. Next time!!!

We had a late dinner alone in the restaurant but breakfast was a busier affair. One table had doctors in their hospital scrubs. Apparently a visiting specialist was here to repair any children with cleft palate. Some young ladies in school uniform were having a lesson on napkin folding. Dan and Leroy were testing their skills - could thy make a bird, a flower? They could!

We heard from Caesar that Boy had left Calibago with the load of wood so we got ready and found our way back to Binalbagen to meet him. We sent him on to Dorothy’s with the wood while we did some banking. That is a different experience. We were greeted deferentially at the door by guard toting an automatic weapon. We walked past everyone queuing for service, past another guard and into the manager’s office. Not a closed office but a raised dais looking over the bank. Leroy and Reza introduced us and we visited pleasantly while our business was being done. Leroy and Reza got hugs and greetings from other employees as we left. It certainly was a different way of doing business but this is the town where Riza was born and raised. Many of the people we meet are related and we feel very welcome.

By the time we leave the bank, Boy has returned with the jitney and he follows us to Riza’s home. Riza’s father has gathered all the plants to be loaded and everyone pitches in getting them into the jitney. Will they all fit? They are literally going in the windows and going in the doors! It did not take long before Boy was ready for his journey back to Calibago. The garden did look much emptier but Riza’s father had already begun replacing the missing plants with others he found.

We went to Dorothy’s for a short visit. Dorothy is Riza’s cousin and helping hand. You may remember her as our driver in Cebu. She is a chemist by profession and she has begun her own business making “peso peso” drinks for school children. Small drink packages they can buy for one peso. It began as a small local concern but is now shipping to a good part of Negros Occidental and provides work for a number of young women.

It is time to head for home. We have some gardening to do!

Note:

Danielle tells me I am not properly introducing my characters!

Calibago: The name of Leroy and Riza’s home outside Murcia in Negros Occidental.

Caesar: He is the major domo of the estate. He is the keeper of the keys, the gardener, grounds keeper, security guard and general “go to” person. He is a family man in the village by the gates and active in his church. He speaks good English and has a great sense of humour.

Anna: She is the housekeeper responsible for the cleanliness of the home and it’s people. She cleans all of the premises daily. She has a rotation of laundry - washing, rinsing, hanging it to dry and then ironing each piece. She also has a family in the village by the gates. Her husband works in the city and comes home as time permits.

Quiet weeked at Calibago

2010-01-18T03:00:00.000-08:00

Saturday, January 16th and Sunday, January 17th;

A quiet weekend at home. The weather is overcast and cooler with heavy rain forecasted for Saturday afternoon. It has not been heavy, but it has come off and on with heavy winds at times. When the wind blows during the night it knocks fruit out of the tree over our cottage so that it hits the tin roof with a BANG! I was picturing something between a croquet ball and a five pin bowling ball. In reality it is a tiny fruit like a small plum. Hard to believe when you hear it!

Anna has been doing laundry but it does not dry in these conditions. The lines under cover are full. We expect bright sunshine tomorrow so she will finish then.

Dan, Leroy and Caesar continue to move big rocks and carry dirt for new garden beds. Monday we are taking wood from felled trees to Riza’s father’s farm in Binalbagen. From there we will be getting a truck load of plants he has prepared for here. Leroy has bargained for a driver and jitney to take time off the bus route and spend a day loading the wood and carrying it to the farm then bringing the plants back. It there is room, it will make a side trip to the nursery and pick up more palm trees as well. Apparently, he just hoses the jitney out and is ready to carry people again on Tuesday.

Dan has come down with a cold. If he is well, we will go along and spend a night in that area. If not, I do not want him taking bugs to Riza’s elderly father and we will only be part of the loading and unloading here.

Dan and Leroy made a trip into nearby Murcia Saturday to give the little Pujaro SUV some attention - air in the tires, brake fluid, transmission fluid and gasoline. Riza asked them to stop by the fruit market for mango as well. They are not ripe here yet. Mango are still my favorite part of any meal! The market sells them by the kilo. You pick all the ones you want and then try and get that last one the correct size to make the kilo. Handing a few back and forth until both the buyer and the seller are happy that it is close enough. Saves having to do any math. Dan and Leroy did not understand the process so I am sure they did not get as good a price as Riza does! They let the vendor choose the mangos as well. That worked out OK as the majority are wonderful anyway.

Riza and I had a relaxing day with preparing meals being our main activity. I am working as sous chef here because I am not familiar with the ingredients. I am thinking of some things I can adapt so I can give Reza time off. I have to do a grocery shop next time we are in Bacolod and see how close I can get to what I need. We are limited by not having an oven. They just moved into the new living area before we arrived and not all is done. There is a beautiful gas cook top but the wall oven is still to be ordered. It will take three weeks to arrive. They had not been able to find one but they let me loose in the appliance center in Cebu City and I found a beautiful Italian made Elba right off the bat. Next year they will have turkey for Christmas!

“Calibago River Resort and Summer Camp” is still on the maps here and the sign is still on the main highway in the village of Murcia. The occasional tourists still arrive at Leroy’s gate asking for space to put up their tent. It was a beautiful campsite with nice facilities for overnight camping and for things like a corporate day camp or picnic. The lower terrace runs along the river where people could swim if they wished.

Leroy and Riza have turned what was the office into their private sitting room and bedroom area. What was the open air gazebo has been walled in with opening windows on every side that allow the breeze to blow through at will but makes a wonderful living room kitchen area with a pantry and another bathroom. It is surrounded with a covered deck where you can sit comfortably when the rain makes the adjoining trellis area less desirable.

What was the piggery, makes a 60 foot garage, workshop and tool shed for the property. Leroy is having cement slabs made for the floor. The workmen have completed one 30 foot section but have not returned yet to finish the job. Menana!

The workman’s cottage has been redone as a guest cottage for us. Caesar will use it when no one is here.

There is one more building not yet decided upon. It was the “Sari Sari store” or supply shop for the campers. It is on the mid level terrace, near the barbecue pit and could make a good summer kitchen for cooking jobs that you do not want to heat up the living area. It is solid and well made so they feel it should be kept. Perhaps they will just clean and maintain it for now until a real need is identified.

Future plans include a main house attached to the gazebo living area. Then the old office will become the guest cottage and the guest cottage will revert to a staff residence. Again, menana! Modifying the residence and improving the gardens will keep them busy long into their retirement.

Today is Sunday. There are three churches in this tiny village of seventy families - Catholic, Presbyterian and what Riza calls a “born again” denomination. Everyone in the village was at church in the morning and we have heard the choir practicing during the week. Weekdays small children play on the playground in front of Leroy’s gate but today I see young men back in the village playing basketball there. There is a sound of motorbikes on the road rather than jitneys and cane trucks.

Leroy and Reza arrived home followed by a tricycle, a motorcycle with side car. Normally it carries passengers but today it has three large palm trees and assorted other plants. They have stopped by another nursery on the way home from church! The men carry the larger blue palms to the next terrace below the gazebo. Dan and Leroy plant them right after lunch. One has about 30 chocolate palm seedlings planted along side so Riza and I transplant them to pots to see what comes of them. Next they plant the bottle palm in the front courtyard alone with another they had already. I weeded the cottage flower bed and prepared space to plant two flowering bushes. Many of the other plants will sit while Reza decides where they will all go. There is still a lot of space to absorb them.

After an afternoon of gardening we all cleaned up for the quiet time before dinner and enjoyed our surroundings once more. The sunset over the river was spectacular!

It seems we will go to Binalbagen tomorrow and we have a hotel with a pool booked for tomorrow night. I am hoping for WiFi as I need to get more minutes for my phone.

Goodnight!

Anna's New House

2010-01-16T05:05:00.000-08:00

Friday, January 15th;

Today is a quiet day at home. We have no plans so will see how the day unfolds.

I spent the morning sitting on the deck typing and watching the activity around me. Dan, Leroy and Caesar are taking down trees, moving rocks and digging a new flower bed for the Anthiriums.

Riza keeps busy in the house and weeding the garden.

Dan made the big discovery of the day. Hunter is a young female cat. When we left for the volcano Wednesday, she was pregnant. When we returned she was not. Dan has found her hiding place in a large hollow of a tree by the main house. The kittens are clearly visible.

Riza went for a look and I followed. Riza talked to Hunter gently as we watched and she did not seem to mind at all. She lay relaxed with her babies squirming around her. The day was drizzling and Riza was worried that the hollow would get very wet as it was open to the rain. She built a shelter above the little family and they have stayed dry during the downpour that followed.

The next big event of the day was moving building supplies for Anna’s new house. Anna’s current house in the village has a definite lean and no door to secure it. If all of the family is out at the same time it is possible for food to go missing. Leroy has given her 6 straight, sixteen foot poles for her corner posts and wall supports. Today she took two more logs to be milled for floor supports. The floor itself will be bamboo. We have a nice new bathroom in our cottage and she now has a second hand toilet in good working condition for her new house. A steady income will allow her to purchase the other materials she will need and friends in the village will help in construction. One is the man who brought his water buffalo to drag the logs to the home site. Anna is very capable and she helped to hook up the yoke and attach her logs for the short journey.

Each day brings a new and interesting peek into this unfamiliar world even without leaving Calibago.

Market Day

2010-01-15T05:12:00.000-08:00

Thursday, January 14;

Today is a quiet day. We had a leisurely breakfast, we planted the plants we purchased on the mountain. Leroy picked a spot by the Gazebo for the fern palm so he will see it from their living room. Reza and I placed the others in the raised bed by the little cottage. I can watch them grow from our living room or from our deck.

I sat on the deck and wrote for a while then showered and changed as I knew we were going into town for lunch and to run some errands.

Suddenly Reza and Leroy were ready to go and go NOW. By the time I had rounded Dan up Leroy had taken the car out of the gate and they were waiting for us so they could lock up. Apparently the businesses Leroy needed to see close for lunch and siesta so departure time had been moved forward!

Dan and Leroy went to the hardware store while Reza and I walked to the market. I stayed close behind her crossing the street because there is no apparent right of way and too many directions to look at once! We found a stall with good potatoes, similar to Yukon Gold at home. But I noticed their onions were not as nice as the next stall over. We found nice onions, peppers, garlic and even nice red onions they call “Bombay” at that stall. Then on around the market for fruit. As we left, Reza handed the vegetable man 5 pesos for hot peppers and he filled a small bag for her. That is ten cents Canadian for a bag of hot peppers! The variety and colour in the market makes an amazing picture but the smell is something else!

We met the fellows and moved on for a very nice lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Then on to the SM Mall for groceries.

On the return we stopped at the fish market for prawns and scallops. I did not get out this time as it was too wet for the camera and Reza gets a better price if I am not standing beside her. I’ll check out the fish market another day!

That seemed enough for this day so we headed home for our siesta.

Another good dinner and an early night.