Latin (tem-pu̇s-ˈfü-git): Time Flies
It seems that all good things come to and end and this is the travel day for returning to our home in Winnipeg. ?
We’re up before 6am and Gail drives us to the airport. Checkin and breakfast at Tim’s and we’re on our way.
We layover in Calgary for a couple of hours and get some lunch, By 6pm we’re back in Winnipeg and Eric picks us up.
Home, Sweet, Home.
A great trip but glad to be back.
Today we hang around home most of the day reading and packing. We fly home tomorrow.
Later in the day, Gail, Zoe and I take a walk to a nearby park and beach. Which of course has boats.
Yikes, what did we do? There are no pictures for this day. Cameras must have all been dead. ?
What did we do today/
A beach walk at Saanichton
Over to the Brentwood Bay resort and pub
Seafood chowder, first of the tri[p.
Of course some nice boats in the harbour.
One of the boats was for sale. 73’ at a price reduced $550,00. Seems reasonable
/
It’s cloudy and a bit of drizzle is coming down but we’re out for an adventure walking around an area we’ve not seen yet called Resthaven and it’s aptly names. The area is very tranquil as we walk around a peninsula where every house faces the water. There are only about a dozen or so houses. Very peaceful.
Everywhere you look there are signs of things springing to life, like wildflowers and more.
Next order of business is a coffee.
After coffee I browse a marine supply store with lots fascinating things, most of which I’d never use but interesting nonetheless.
Around every corner there are boats and …
… more boats
After the coffee stop it’s back “home”. The rest of the day passed catching up on the blog posts and who knows what else.
Another day is done.
Today’s plan includes a walk at Horse Hill, a drive around North Saanich on the Lands End Road and ogling all the incredible houses overlooking the ocean,
After a restful afternoon it’s out for dinner to 900 Bistro. Again, lots of great GF options, wood fired pizza and many Italian pasta delights.
Another day done.
I refer to this day as the 50/50 day as I had planned for four activities but we only accomplished two. ?
First stop, the Dallas Road Waterfront Trail
After some walking about it’s time for some lunch. Today, it’s the Flying Oyster Grill.
It’s a very nice place right on the harbour in downtown Victoria and they have lots of GF GF options.
Our next planned stop is the Malahat Skywalk which is about 45 minutes away.
I check their website and the last tickets sold are at 3pm. We won’t make it in time, we’ve spent too much time walking around, parking the car and having lunch.
However, item number four on the list is to take a 1/2hr small ferry ride from Mill Bay, which is near the Malahat Skywalk, to Brentwood Bay which is fairly close to Gail’s condo. So, I drive for about 45 minutes and get into the lineup for the ferry. The ferry is just coming in but it only takes 10 cars at a time.
We’re way more than number 10 in line. Shirley talks to the people ahead of us and determined that the wait will be way too long. So, no fun ferry ride as we pull out of line and drive back the way we came. I really dislike backtracking and was looking forward to the ferry adventure.
Back at the ranch it’s dinner, some TV and off to bed. A lot of driving today. Perhaps we’ll get to #3  later in the week.
It’s a nice sunny day with a forecast high of +10° and here is the early morning view from the condo
After breakfast we head out for a sightseeing walk along the Sidney shoreline.
After lunch I’m on my own so I decide to go to the BC Aviation Museum, which is quite close and the ladies are not interested. But, I‘m excited as I like looking at this kind of stuff, almost as much as looking at boats.
There was a very interesting tour of the Hawaiian Mars water bomber. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and to tour was great!
Read all about it over here: https://skiesmag.com/news/hawaii-mars-makes-final-flight-resting-place-bc-aviation-museum/
Dinner and a little TV and the Day Two is done
We’re up at 2:22am and finalizing last minute packing. The Uber arrives and we’re off to YWG to catch the first leg of the journey to Calgary.
While we’re in Calgary we have some breakfast and then catch the second leg to Victoria.
Gail picks us up at the airport and we’re at her condo in a few minutes. After settling in Gail and I go on a walk in a near by park on the edge of the ocean.
For diner we order some Indian take-out and it’s early to bed. Sitting around flying can be so tiring. ?
It’s been a warm dry spring ahead of the May long weekend and if things had been more normal we’d be sipping our morning coffee on the deck at the lake.
But things are not normal
So, here we are, sipping coffee in the back yard.
The view is not quite the same and neither are the sounds. In fact, the sounds are probably the most annoying and something I’m trying to adjust to so I’m calling them the “Symington Symphony” just to put a positive spin on it.
We live close to Symington Yards and when they are busy there is a lot of piercing high frequency squealing from the brakes on the rail cars which is quite something. Mix that in with the pretty much non-stop hum/roar of the traffic on Lagimodiere Blvd, a few sirens for good measure, and you have your symphony.
With the Ontario border being closed until at least June 2nd, this will be the first time ever that we have not opened the cottage on or before the May long weekend. I get the idea about limiting travel and unfortunately we’re being controlled down to the lowest common denominator because some people just can’t follow some common sense guidelines.
For us, we can load up, take the bypass around Kenora, never have to go into town, and come home the same way and most likely see less people that we do now here in Winnipeg, which is almost nobody anyway.
However, with the OPP successfully blocking access on Hwy #1 at the border there is really no workaround. Some people we know have been permitted the one 24hr visit to your property to check on winter damage or make repairs. Some, on the 2nd trip have been turned back so it seems they are taking names and checking a list. 🙁
Hopefully, on June 2nd they will relax the border issue and lake season at the cottage will resume in somewhat of a normal fashion. Looking forward to trying out my new Oarboard with the help of Des’s SUP!