August 05, 2019

Thursday, August 1st we packed a suitcase and headed south to Rainier, WA to visit our good friends Rich and Tina. It goes without saying, we had a wonderful time! It was a long drive (about 10 hours) to get down there, thanks to backed up traffic on both the the Interstate 5 and the 405. The trip home only took 8. But we did arrive safe and only a bit frazzled. Nothing that a G & T with good friends didn't fix. 








Above is a picture of their house. Yes it is a tree house and they both designed and built it. Pictured left is Rich and Tina on the large deck out back that overlooks the Creek. 



She has a wonderful flair for decor; their place is warm and inviting. We stayed in their Southwind (motorhome) parked out back on their acre or so of land. They have 4 or 5 hookups, so there is lots of room if they get a lot of motorhomers come to visit. 









So this is their summer holiday home ... a 34 Foot Bayliner which they bought a year ago. We left with them Friday afternoon for the coast, as this was the plan, to spend a couple of nights on the water in their new boat. 



Captain Rich backing the boat out of their boathouse at the marina in Tacoma, WA














Here we go, under the Narrows Bridge and out to sea! 
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a pair of twin suspension bridges that span the Tacoma Narrows strait of Puget Sound in Pierce County, Washington. The bridges connect the city of Tacoma with the Kitsap Peninsula.



We spent the first night anchored at Gig Harbor, which only took a couple of hours to get there.

Our first happy hour aboard the Forty Forty Nine.











The next morning we motored for a few hours to Poulsbo Marina where we hooked up to the pier and enjoyed the town amenities. What a lovely little community. This is where Tina was born and raised. She still has family living in the area.  This picture to the right  is of the restaurant and bar (there are actually three of them in there) right on the malecon. 








The town is very touristy now with shops and art galleries that line the streets and we spent a good part of the day wandering in and out  and around. 

Even found an excellent Mexican Restaurant for dinner down an alley and out of the way.  









This photo to the left is the marina. You can't see Rich and Tina's boat from this angle, they are over more to the left....









Sunday late morning we motored out and began our journey back. We stopped along the way to cast a couple of fishing lines, but we didn't catch anything. We had a really good time. But as is said, all good things must come to an end.... and we had to get back so Michel and I could begin our trip back home this morning. 

Thank you so much Rich and Tina for the fun filled weekend, and for giving us permission to "come aboard" Any time my friends, we would do this again any time!!


July 03, 2019

A quick trip to Kelowna, left yesterday and came back today. 


After a visit with Michel's mom, and lunch with Michel's son, we spent the evening and night with Michel's old friend and mentor (in real estate), Terry Gold and his lovely lady Carmelita. 






He has a house located right on the lake in the Mission area of Kelowna. Not too hard to handle!!



























Here we are just relaxing on the deck after a wonderful dinner of BBQ steak, baked potatoes, salad and corn on the cob.

Thank you so much Terry and Lita for the hospitality!

June 28, 2019

Well, time to blog... If I can remember how!


We arrived back at home on April 7th, a few days earlier than originally planned. The weather was wonderful both during our trip as well as when we got home. We busied ourselves in the yard and finally after the long weekend in May we planted the garden and put up our hanging plants. We've been blessed with rain, but just enough.  We've had plenty of sunshine too! So all the plants are growing really nicely.

Michel got himself a new toy this year and last week he took a ride to Osoyoos and brought back a small saddle bag full of cherries.
They were by far the best cherries we've ever eaten. But 10 pounds were not enough for freezing, we gobbled them up so fast we had to go back for more!

This week has been the busiest week since we've been home. I actually have something to blog about. 

Tuesday we took a quad ride via the Canada Trail behind our house.
Just this year the trail has been opened all the way to Grand Forks, so we rode to the Station Pub for lunch and then rode back. The black clouds followed us all the way home, but fortunately for us it never rained. 

Yesterday we took a drive to Osoyoos in the car.
Yummy Cherries! 
The sole purpose was to get more cherries. But while we were there we did our grocery shopping and had lunch. It was a nice day, but on the way home we had a huge downpour of rain. The windshield wipers were on full speed and the traffic was slowed to 80 km. It was hard to see. But that only lasted for a little while and once we got closer to home it was done. 










March 19, 2019

Lunch with girlfriends at the River!
(l to r clockwise:  Doreen, Tina, Myself and Deb)


















Such an enjoyable day! 
The river is a man made stretch of water in Rancho Mirage. Restaurants line the 'shore'...

At one time there were a lot of shops along the route, but hard times and overhead has caused most of them to shut down.



But there is a nice selection of restaurants and bistros to choose from. We at at Acqua California Bistro, and we weren't disappointed.







A photo with the pig at "Babe's" along the river walk. 

March 17, 2019

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Enjoying time with my BFF. 

Deb and Len are renting the apartment here at our park. It's been wonderful having her here.
















Today we served Irish (Beef) Stew for dinner in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. Lots of green in the clubhouse!!

February 15, 2019

 Block Party #2 -- Our Block!

The theme was Hawaiian Luau and a crew of men got together to build this great Tiki Bar. The hall was decorated and many people came wearing grass skirts and, of course, everyone had a lei!!







A good deal of time and effort went into the preparation of this party. The food was pork skewers with veggies and grilled pineapple for dessert (cost $1.00) There was a wonderful punch being served throughout the afternoon (cost $1.00)









There were games played all afternoon with winners receiving small tokens as prizes. I got a lemon!












There was a hula-hoop contest, and hula-hoop races, and even a spot dance. 

Once again, this park likes to party!! 







February 14, 2019

Happy Valentines Day! 

Our Social Committee served a feast of lasagna to over 65 people today, complete with chocolate truffle cake and ice cream for dessert!!


The hall was decorated in black and red and looked wonderful. 







We had a group in the kitchen filling plates and 4 'servers' transporting the plates back and forth. 











It worked out great, and everyone had plenty to eat and had a good time.