Moving from Saturna

So on Sunday morning we woke up and took the early ferry to Saturna.

The island up ahead is Saturna and there's our moving truck.

They didn't have the right size truck for some reason so they gave us a bigger one at no extra cost. Normally that'd be great, except we had to pay more for the ferry! Also, the back of the truck scrapped the ramp when going on each ferry and the truck was too big to make it up either driveway. On Saturna, the driveway makes a sharp turn and has many trees beside it. We were forced to take loads of stuff down in the van.

Luckily almost everything fit inside the van.
The couch would make a cool new back seat for the van.

Here's their old house on Saturna.We spent the rest of the morning
and all of the afternoon moving loads down to the truck or packing.

While they were packing things into boxes I was carrying more stuff

out of the house and out of the cottage.

The attic of the cottage had a bunch of stuff in it and

walking across these planks is the only way into it.

In the evening we went across the island to their friend's place for a goodbye party. It took place in this shelter which resembled a kitchen and living room with 1 and a half walls. There was plenty of good food people brought and one of the hosts had planned a 5 hole disc golf course. Unfortunately the discs were already on Saltspring, so we played with plastic plates. On hole 3 they kept breaking in half on the trees. I got a very high (bad) score.

After dinner we sat in front of the fire and many people made some speeches about how my parents did some really good things for the island in their 5 years there and everyone is thankful for that and will miss them. Also my dad read some messages my little sisters wanted everyone to hear.

We stayed longer than most people and then got home around 8:30pm. We did some more packing until about 10 and then went to sleep. We kept Triscuit, the cat, inside so that she wouldn't be spooked by the almost empty house and run away. Unfortunately she meowed throughout the night and kept us all from sleeping much.

At 6am Monday we woke up and started more packing. We took one more load down to the van and then went to a friend's house for breakfast. The friend runs the bakery and we ate pancakes, bacon and eggs (fresh from their hens). Then we went right back to packing. Some people came to help including Dave who was driving the truck back to Sidney after. We lugged all the mattresses down the driveway and finished packing the van, while my dad put the kayaks on the car.

We actually got to the ferry dock early for the 10:20am ferry.

We set Triscuit's carrier on a rock by the car and
she kept trying to hide under the blanket.

The ferry showed up almost on time which was a change
from all the other late ferries that weekend.

We left the ferry at Mayne to wait for another ferry to Saltspring which was 45 minutes late. On the 2nd ferry we met my sister Rebecca and my grandma. They squished into the car while my mom and I went in the truck with Dave.

On Saltspring we drove to the new house and Dave walked up the driveway to see if he could turn around at the top of it. After deciding that he could probably do it, he got in the truck, ready to drive forward up it.

Unfortunately the driveway is really steep and Dave did not line up the truck well so when he tried to drive fast from the road one of the wheels missed the driveway. The back of the truck dug into the road with the hitch ball making a big groove across the yellow line.

Then the truck was stuck. It couldn't go forward or backwards. So then we tried unloading everything out of it. We put all the stuff on the side of the road and the side of the driveway. I took a couple turns helping direct traffic since there was only one free lane. After the truck was completely empty it was still stuck. They managed to move it a bit by putting some boards behind the one wheel but in the end they called a tow truck. The tow truck lifted up the back and pulled it back no problem.

After that I helped my dad load the van at the bottom and then unload it at the top a few times. We also moved the really heavy furniture up the stairs and into the house, but then I had to leave. Dave drove the truck to the ferry and I went with him and we caught the quick ferry to Swartz bay. Then I said goodbye and walked onto the big ferry back to the mainland.

It was a pretty ridiculous and tiring weekend. I heard later my sister got a really good workout helping get most stuff into the house before it got really dark. Then they covered the remaining stuff with tarps, which is good because it poured the next day. Also, my parents missed the back to school BBQ they were invited to. I guess there are a lot of worse things that could have happened when moving between islands, like missing the ferry, but it was quite the stressful move. I'm glad it's over and they're all settled into the new place. I'll have to visit them sometime soon.

New Saltspring Home

Last weekend I helped my parents move from Saturna island to Saltspring Island. These are both Gulf Islands but for comparison, Saturna has a population of 350 and an area of 31km squared. That's tiny. Saltspring has a population of 10,500 and an area of 183km squared. That's more normal. Delta is the same size but with 10 times more people.

So anyway, I took a lot of ferries! On Saturday I took a ferry to Long Harbour on Saltspring (it has 3 different ferry dock locations) and then a bus to my parent's new place. I had about an hour to hang out there before anyone else showed up, so I walked around the outside.

At the top of their steep driveway was a shed and a doghouse. My little sister Emily insists my parents have now promised to get them a dog. Currently all they have is a cat.

Most of the house is raised up on a rock so you have to
go up some steps to the porch to get into it.

The porch wraps around 3 sides of the house and is nice and wide. Their house is much smaller than the last place, but will get way more sun because it's up on top of the bluff it's built on. Also, they have way more land. My dad is already planning a disc golf course across it. I'm not sure how that's going to work because some of it is quite steep and it's all covered in bushes.

So next I walked down these stairs from the house.

I went down and down and down. Apparently a stream will flow down the hill under these steps in the winter and there will be a little waterfall or two.

At the bottom of the steps is a little cottage/shed that Emily will eventually move into. Right now I would call it a shed because it is a single room with no insulation. However, it does have a window and electricity. On the side of the little building is a covered outdoor shower. If it's not going to be used, she could always put a desk out there and work outside.

So eventually my parents and Farley showed up with a van load of stuff for the house. Also, my other brother Ben showed up with his new girlfriend to see the place and help unload.

Between the many windows in the living room / dining room is the wood stove.

Adjoined to the living room is the kitchen. It has much less cupboards than their old place and the stove and oven are separate. Also downstairs is my sisters' room that they will share until the cottage is fixed up. It has a skylight and Natalie, who will eventually get the room to herself is going to put her bed directly under it.

In the bathroom there is a big jacuzzi tub (jets included)
with windows right there and a skylight above it.

Upstairs and sort of overlooking the living room is my parents room and their bathroom.

It has a ton of windows like the rest of the place.

It also has glass doors that open up onto the living roof. Yes, this part of the roof is growing and so you are supposed to walk around on it by only stepping on the bricks.

So after unloading at home, some of the stuff in the van was meant for my dad's new classroom so we drove over to the middle school.

One thing going in the classroom is his very first computer from the 90's, a Macintosh Classic. I remember programming in Hypercard on that thing and playing games on it. It still works.

After the school we got some pizza and took it to Fulford ferry dock to eat. Then we took the short ferry trip (5 nautical miles) to Swartz bay, Vancouver Island.

We spent the night at my grandpa's place in Sidney, except for Ben who took the bus home to his place in Esquimalt (suburb of Victoria). The next day we got up really early to go to Saturna, but I will leave the move story for the next post.

Camping at Jones Lake

One weekend in August we camped at Jones lake (aka Wahleach lake) near Chilliwack. It was an awesome trip if a bit ridiculous at the start and the end and perhaps in the middle too. We left Friday afternoon and somehow we only took one pot, my stove, and Q's BBQ and no other means of making food. I was the only one with any silverware, a plate, bowl and cup. We stopped in Chillwack to buy groceries for the weekend (way too much!) and picked up some plastic stuff and a new frying pan.

Jones lake is run by BC Hydro and we chose a campsite near the spillway, a part of the lake meant to flood when water is released...from some direction. I'm not sure if the lake rises and floods the area or if the water comes from the other direction.

We set up the tents and made some food but it was quickly too dark to do much.

There was a fire ban and without a fire there isn't much to do in the dark.

The next day we may have slept in a bit. I have no idea since we don't keep track of time when camping which is awesome. So once everyone was up we had some breakfast burritos sitting in a circle around our imaginary campfire. Then we decided to follow the road some more along the lake and go on a hike among other things.

At one point there was a big dip so we all got out of the car except for Murray to put less weight on it. Then we stayed out for a while and Rob started to steer the car because he could see the pot holes better.

On our hike we followed a small dirt road away from the lake which got less and less used. On the other side of a washed out part where there was a creek it was barely a road. Then we came to another creek.We walked up it to this waterfall. I decided I wanted to climb to the top of the waterfall.

So I had to climb way up and around it in the bush. I think the others were trying to make a dam below the waterfall while I climbed around. I was wearing shorts so my legs got really scratched up but I eventually made it to the top. Gordon took some good photos of me standing on top of the waterfall that I'll have to get a hold of. So then the guys had to wait for me to climb back down.

We kept walking the trail but it turned into little more than an animal trail. Still it would have been cool to follow this trail until the end and see where it goes. We seemed to be getting closer to a glacier way off in the distance. Rob really wanted to find the end of the trail so we kept going but eventually we left Murray and Q behind and I convinced Rob we should turn around.

When we got back Q was up a tree. On the way back down Gordon rolled his ankle on a rock so he had to hobble down the rest of the way. Even though we'd been running through the forest chasing Rob, he didn't get injured until we were walking back in a section where it was easy to see where you stepped. So eventually we made it back to the car.

Back at camp we decided to skip right to dinner since it was later in the day, but first we played a game of Settlers of Catan and had some spinach dip. I came very close to winning the game but my luck had run out.

The team of Q and Gordon almost stole the game in the last couple rounds. At one point Q rolled one of the dice right into his drink. Nice one! Anyways, Murray came from behind and won the game by jumping up from 5 points on his last turn.

Q also tried to open his beer using the fire pit (they should be good for something) but he kind of failed cause he broke the top right off the bottle.

So later that night some of us wandered over to the dam. We found a pipe that brought water up and over it and down the other side. It went into this box which Rob and Q investigated with their flashlights.

A little ways away water shot out from a pipe at a weird angle. Rob and Q put their hands in it. The water was warm but we never did get to swim in it.

The next morning it was raining so we packed up before it got worse. Back in Surrey we dropped off our stuff at our houses and then went to Delta to play Risk at Rob's mom's place. It was Risk 2210 and it lasted a long time. I was dominating it but I didn't play very smart in the middle of the game so the domination happened very slowly. Eventually we gave up on the game finishing anytime soon.