It was lovely to have a meal out with some of their friends
to celebrate my 60th birthday. That was a surprise as I thought I
had planned it to be very low key!! We used their bikes to explore the
surrounds as there are safe dedicated cycle lanes and it gave us a chance to
slowly get used to the ‘right’ side of the road.
Meghan works Saturdays so Blair drove us up Mt Seymour ski-field and then we walked up Dog Mountain. It was a 6km return easy walk
made a little more difficult by snow! They had a late snowfall a few weeks ago and
it has not all melted so not quite what we are used to.
Now we have ventured forth in Blairs car for a trip around
Vancouver Island. Our first stop was very special. We spent 2 nights with a new
‘cousin’ of Rob’s who he has found through his DNA matches. Lesley and Ron live
just out of Victoria in a lovely 2 hectare property. Lesley is a passionate gardener
but also a very talented fabric artist with an incredible purpose-built studio.
Ron is retired but very active in local sailing competitions anywhere around
the Island. We enjoyed a walking tour in Victoria with the history of the BC
capital city and Chinatown. Our next visit today was a lovely lunch with the
parents of Kirsten a Canadian friend of Hayden’s who has done the opposite to
Blair and has residency in NZ.
The weather is very pleasant here and getting better every
day. The days are long starting at 4.30am to 9.15pm. We are heading up the West
Coast but have to criss-cross a few times. We will keep you posted as we
explore.