I am slowly increasing my stamina and bicycle range. Today, I made it past Royal Roads but not quite to Westshore Town Centre before I turned back. Naps anticipated!
Today's goals: Drive up-island to see Ed & Audrey while they are on holiday from the mainland, and to see what the Qualicum Beach market is like.
We were out of the driveway by 7 AM, and the first stop was at they Ladysmith bakery for cinnamon roll breakfast. Then on to the Old Country Market in Coombs, also known as Goats-On-The-Roof Market, where we saw our favorite Australian ginger beer for sale - and goats on the roof! The rabbit picture was taken in Parksville at the Skylite Motel where family was staying. Turns out there was not just one Market happening in Qualicum Beach. There was the weekly farmers market, the annual St. Marks Fair, an arts & crafts market and a flea-market. Each of these events had live entertainment & close access to street food and other eateries. We took a burger & a bacon wrapped hotdog from QF deli to Qualicum Beach beach to eat away from the crowds. While those two word do have a certain association, they are unrelated in this post!
Jan could not find bottles of 4 Mile Mexican Spicy Chocolate Porter in our liquor stores, so we went to the source where she bought her own refillable Meowler (half the size of a Growler). I have a new favorite recycle place. It is in Glandford and it takes a lot of kinds of things that I need to get rid of. It was a warm ride on the Lochside Trail with temperatures in the high 20s. I had already consumed & refilled the contents of my water bottle twice, but I was SO looking forward to another re-fill at this station. It was another 5 km to the next one, where I took time for a good re-hydration.
Empty trails pictured here, but by the time I got back into the city the afternoon commuters were zooming all around. Boondocks eatery in Sidney moved to a new location over a year ago, and today we finally went to see. They did n alright job in the interior decor & the food is good as ever. Oyster burger for Jan & the Boondocks beef burger for me.
Olive Oyl and Popeye poop deck gender doors! Island good! Yes, we support local when feasible. Especially when the loss-leaders are 5 & 6 dollar breakfast plates!
Highlights of my walk today were mirages & fog banks on the US shores. Rubble removal. Only the oldest 3 walls of the old customs house remain. All of the interior and the other half of the exterior (the 50s version) are demolished & await removal.
The Saanich tent city as seen from Switch Bridge by Uptown Mall. One of my favorite bike trail stops just happens to be blackberry central. ;) When the tourists leave the cruise ship to visit our pretty little city, work crews tend to maintenance aboard. Painting anchors is no small feat!
Not in the cruise ship category of water-craft, the outrigger- outboard caught my eye. See the drift logs lined up vertically on sea-wall beach? Someone went to a lot of effort to make them so. I was surprised when I saw a young man climb over the short wall/fence from the Dallas Road sidewalk and use the logs as a stairway down to the beach!
Seagulls love to strafe our windows, especially on windy days. The last pics is neighbor BJ's end unit upper window. It totally amazes me how covered the glass is, and how few white splotches mark the brick & stucco! After a scrumptious lunch with Mark & Tracy at Beacon Landing by the water in Sidney By The Sea, we toured the Victoria Lavender Farm, just north of Sidney. This place has become THE place for goat yoga in this little corner of the globe. Trace got to hold a one day old goat kid!
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October 2018
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