Week twelve @ CMR

July 31st to August 6th 2022

Sunday morning and Miss Laurie is heading out of the coach to work her store shift as scheduled, I’m feeling pretty good this morning, I was able to get last weeks blog finished off and published this morning. The internet is still crap but maybe just because I was up early I had a good enough signal to edit it and then with my cellular data was able to upload it as well.

As I look back over a mixed up week, we have accomplished a number of things, we have firmed up our departure date from Country Maples RV Resort, it will be the 29th of September, apparently they don’t need us through the Thanksgiving weekend. Miss Laurie has also got our accommodations arranged until our ferry crossing back to Washington State in early October. Mister Sam has an appointment set up for early October for a rabies shot which will make him eligible to return to the States.

Another item that was discovered during Mister Sam’s surgery, was that there was an issue with his jaw bone, and the results of the biopsy came back negative, but he will need some oral medication for the next couple of weeks, but he has been taking pills like a champ for the last two weeks, so it should not be an issue.

Still no word from the body shop with regard to the repair of our toad, obviously this BC body shop chain has some issues, so I will have to address this again this week with our insurance adjuster. But I’m definitely seeing a trend here in this province, as no business seems to be very inviting, at least that is what we are feeling. So maybe the attitude here in the park, is just the normal for people here in British Columbia, but it is certainly not anything like the east coast of Canada.

So is it too early to spill the beans on this winter’s adventures? Yea it’s maybe a little too far off yet, but we are well into the planning stages of it now, and I will reveal more on this adventure in the near future. In fact a number of things have fallen into place this week that will steer our direction for some time to come.

I just finished off the blog on Bear Lake and actually got it uploaded today as well, WOW I love it when a plan comes together. It is just after two o’clock in the afternoon so I will have to be getting ready soon, this working the afternoon shift is cutting into my drinking time as have no desire for a beer after returning to the coach at eleven and then that whole being on call all night, could be a bit of an issue, if they were to call me.

Tonight is a busy night for me, I have to repair a “no start” situation on the big lawn mower, I need to complete a material list for the electrical building that some one hit with their trailer, and the internet people are here tonight trying again to get the store back on line so I had to babysit them as they moved around the park. So I just work at the projects as I can between a firewood run, plunging a plugged toilet, and addressing any issues that arise. Along with my regular duties of locking up as well as security checks.

The evening rolled along well other than the time wasted with internet guy, he was called in from vacation and really didn’t want to be here, I know that because he said as much, so after recycling a number of the internet components nothing was accomplished on the internet, so another weekend with the store only able to take cash, and still no internet for the Buchanan’s. The mower needed the battery cable ends replaced, a basic repair other than where the battery is located, the material list will have to wait, after the internet guy, it was just too late and too dark. The rest of the evening rolled along well, with just a couple of noise warnings, but overall very quiet for a long weekend, so I made it back to the coach at a few minutes to midnight.

Monday morning and I’m up at 7:45, heck that’s almost seven hours of sleep, there may be a nap in my future. Today in Canada we have a holiday and depending where you are located, it has a different name, some are almost as original as our “Canada Day” with British Columbia having “British Columbia Day” followed by “New Brunswick Day” and “Saskatchewan Day” then we have a few more creative ones Alberta has “Heritage Day” and Nova Scotia has “Natal Day” while the rest of the provinces and territories use the “Civic Holiday or Provincial Day” label. Why so many names, this is not a federal holiday, so many provinces have tweaked the name to their benefit.

Miss Laurie has made us some French toast this morning before she heads out to work on the gardens. There will be over 100 departures today, as many people head back to work tomorrow, a very good day not to be cleaning departure sites, no this is a good morning to be kicking back with a cup of perked coffee, working on the blog. Then I decide that today would be a good day to shave off the facial hair, I have been contemplating it for a while now, and contrary to popular beliefs a beard is as much work as a clean shaven face, so here is the first glimpse (even before Miss Laurie) of the old fart with a new look.

So Mister Sam and I are in the Clam, he is on bird watch from the comfort of a chair, as this view point offers full view of the feeder on the side of the coach as well as the feeder in front of the coach. It also makes a great place to catch a nap when the bird activity wanes, and that seem to happen quite often.

With this being his first choice because of the gained elevation, but this makes me getting a nap very difficult as when a bird lands to close he pounces using me as his spring board.

Today the children’s activity at the park is free mini-golf so the idea of crawling back into bed is a non-starter this morning, but as trailer after trailer leaves the park, the day will become much quieter. I updated my countdown calendar and it now showing 59 days until our departure from CMR (Country Maples RV Resort) and it also is showing 88 days until our new adventure begins, and just checking the numbers, it has also been 266 days since we left Ontario, and that we have now been in the coach 4 years, 9 months, and 29 days. It’s been one hell of a trip so far, and lots more to come! Very soon!

This being a holiday today I can not follow up on anything today, but tomorrow I need to get on the phone and try to get some things put together. It’s mid afternoon here on the island and while it is still sunny and bright there is a cooler breeze as the temperatures are starting to recede a bit from last weeks seasonal high’s. My afternoon shift was an easy one, other than people that choose to ignore simple park rules, a grandparent that just chose to ignore “NO BIKES” and guided her grand children onto the playfield, then was upset when she got called on it, twice tonight. And I’m pleased to say that another picnic table has been rebuilt and ready for redeployment, before making my way to the coach at eleven.

Tuesday and this is my first day off this week, I’m planning on a trip to Nanaimo to pick up my new glasses, and we are invited to the managers site for a pizza party this evening. Miss Laurie is working all afternoon in the office but we are planning on attending the event, if for no other reason than some free pizza. It is a BYOB event, which seems a little bit cheap, but beggars can’t be choosers, so I will pack a cooler with a couple of adult beverages, to quench my thirst.

So Mister Sam apparently wanted my side of the big bed, as he was trying to get me up and he succeeded to do so by seven. Miss Laurie was perking coffee so it wasn’t too much of a hardship, and after an omelette I prepared to head off to Nanaimo to rescue my new glasses. So after dropping Laurie off at the office I headed out, my first stop was in Ladysmith at Van Isle Truck Tech, I was looking to get some pricing on RoadMaster tow-bars, and this was the only dealer on Vancouver Island, and to my delight they work on motor coaches, in fact they had two Beaver coaches on the lot when I stopped by, and to my further delight they had an appointment available for the 15th of the month, so I booked Thunder in for an oil change and to have the oil seal replaced on the left rear axle. I had noticed it leaking the other day, and was going to start looking for a repair facility.

My next couple of stops were at body shops on my route back, but to my chagrin both said they were busy, and couldn’t get to any new tasks for a couple of months. And the shop I was having an estimate done at, seems to be dragging their feet at getting the repair organized. I’m headed back to the resort now to drop off some items then will head to the body shop and see if a personal visit may help grease the seized wheels of progress, as I need to pick up some things at the Canadian Tire store in Duncan anyway so it is not far out of my way.

Well we have now figured out who is not going to be fixing the toad, that would be Craftsman Collission in Duncan, apparently their wheels a seized solid as they were offended when asked what was happening, so much for all that customer service bull shyt that is plastered all over their webpage. Oh well I was getting to the stage that I wasn’t comfortable with their attitude anyway, and after my visit today with just cause. The automotive service industry is all about service, and you either provide it or you don’t, this organization was a serious don’t.

So onto plan “B” and I’m working with another body shop already, to see if they can help me out with the repair, it’s not that difficult of task, involving no body work, no paint work, just a couple of replacement components and possibly a frame tweak, I could do it myself less the frame tweak.

So it is just after four o’clock and I need to find our cooler and get a couple of adult beverages out, grab a couple of folding chairs to get ready for our pizza party. Miss Laurie is working till five, and then we will head up the hill to the Corrine’s place. Well the pizza party was actually a good event, we were thanked for our work so far, and the way everyone has been handling people through the busy weekends. The pizza was from a pizza parlour in Ladysmith and the delivered to the campground, it was excellent pizza with a thick but very tasty crust, and a lot of toppings, a few beers and all in all it was a pleasant evening.

Wednesday and it is road trip day again, no kayaks today, but we are headed to the west coast of the island again, to an area around Port Renfrew, which appears to have a lot to offer, we will see how much we can take in today, check the blog!

https://thebuchanansrollingdowntheroad.com/2022/08/03/pacific-marine-circle-adventure/

Well we made it back to the coach by six o’clock after a ten hour adventure, and we have settled in to watch some television, have a some dinner and just settle back after a very active day. Nine thirty and I could hear my bed calling from the back of the coach, so I had no choice but to obey and settle in for a well deserved nap.

Thursday and it was a seven o’clock start for me, Miss Laurie was up already, apparently rousted out of bed by Mister Sam, who wanted some food and more importantly her spot on the big bed. So with a coffee in hand I’m working on a few blogs this morning, it appears that our new hub will arrive today, finally internet that we can use, have I mentioned how bad campground internet can be? Yea possibly once or twice, but moving on from that topic, the morning is overcast and 14°C (57°F) this morning and we are only expecting a high of 21°C (70°F) with the sunshine not expected until late afternoon, not your typical August weather.

We are off to Nanaimo again today, the vet has called to let us know that Mister Sam’s new medication is ready to be picked up, I’m going to stop by Costco to get my new glasses adjusted as they are sliding down my nose. And after picking up a few extra items for this weeks supplies and we are headed back to the coach, I had just received notification that our new internet hub had been delivered by FedEx. Hopefully this will be our get out of internet jail ticket, and as I start to switch each device over to the new hub the speed seem as good or better that the company had indicated and I have done up a separate blog on the system see my “Maple-WiFi” blog for details.

https://thebuchanansrollingdowntheroad.com/2022/08/05/maple-wifi-review/

The balance of our last day off this week was spent catching up on the world news as well as some YouTube videos, and then off to bed by ten o’clock.

Friday morning and I rollout of bet near six o’clock, to Mister Sam’s delight as he felt the need for some snacks before taking my place on the big bed. I’m excited to get the laptop fired up and work on some of my current blogs, the new internet hub is kicking butt this morning and I have uploaded numerous photos and have been editing and saving like a champ. But all that aside it is back to work today, my one dayshift for the week, so coffee and a bowl of cereal as I prepare for my day. There will be no shorts today as it is cold this morning, almost to the heater required temperature, but it is to warm up over the weekend.

So a bit of a break today, after opening the clubhouse, I headed to the pool and found it had been vacuumed already. Apparently there had been an issue last night, that had shut down the pool, and had brought on the need to vacuum the pool last night. So this morning we just had to check the skimmers and replace the skimmer socks. So we landed back at the work shop earlier than normal, where I spent some time cleaning up and finishing one project from last nights list, then waiting for today’s departure list.

The list was delivered along with today’s priority items, less that 20 departures, and only four priority items, so it should be a quick morning, accept for the three campers that had to drag their departures until they were a full hour late, but all and all an easy day. So to fill my day it was onto the GEM EV, and switching the batteries back into the golf carts, a new 72 volt charger has been ordered, and should be here next week. In the mean time we need to get the golf carts up and operating, and into the daily demand for carts. At four o’clock I’m headed back to the coach to met Miss Laurie who spent her day working the gardens today.

Friday night – burger night, then just relaxing for the evening, some mindless television to complete a relaxed night. The new hub has been providing seamless connectivity with no buffering, I’m still getting different devices connected to the system, and should have everything connected by the end of the weekend.

Saturday and it’s looking like a day full of sunshine, it is another cool morning with 14°C (58°F) with a forecast high of 28°C (83°F) and nothing but sunshine. I start my afternoon shifts today so I’m running some errands today, Miss Laurie’s camera is finally repaired, so I’m going to pick it up today, yes the summer of iPhone photos will be coming to an end, and some of the adventures that we have been postponing can now be enjoyed.

Miss Laurie has another garden day today, and the park feels full but it seemed quiet last night. We are now under a total fire ban here in British Columbia so there is no lingering smoke filtering through the trees. It also means there will be no firewood truck run on the weekends, gosh I will miss that little hour of heavy slugging … not.

We have retrieved Miss Laurie’s camera, after all was said and done the cost was $300 less than half the price of a new body, so as we look ahead to this week’s adventure it is to rain Wednesday & Thursday our days off. Miss Laurie’s thrilled, she has her camera back and our next days off are forecast to be wet, oh well we will see what happens. It’s 2:30 and Laurie has just finished her garden shift and Mister Sam and I are in the clam, with Sam on bird watching detail while I’m working on this weeks blog, we are back to full speed on the new hub, we had a drop off in speed early, so I rebooted the hub and we seem to be good once more.

This afternoon’s shift will consist of finishing off the battery swap, and getting the electric golf carts back in operation, then on to finishing off the GEM EV to operate on it’s original batteries that have been charged back up and seem to be holding a charge, the new charger should be here next week but I want to get everything else put together and operating. I also have a couple of Brian projects to work on if the evening is quiet, and after all my projects are done of course.

It is just after eleven o’clock and I’m back at the coach, the night seem quiet, with just one group that I had to remind that it was quiet time and that they needed to tone it down, all the batteries are back in their original homes, and every thing is working other than the GEM EV not having a charger in place yet, the electric golf carts are back to operating again, and I finished off a couple of my projects as well.

So I’m closing out this blog as we are closing in on midnight, the week has been productive, with some things falling into place, there are still some loose ends but that’s just a normal week in our lives. Miss Laurie has her camera reassembled and ready to snap some photos, now we just need a new adventure … wonder what next week will bring!

So are the dog days of summer are upon us now?

Blog 434

Day 1768