Skip to main content

Off to Spring

Things are starting to warm up but March/April is an ugly time here. Ice, mud, melting snow, snow....to cheer myself up I have booked to go to Victoria next weekend. Air miles to the rescue! I am just going for four nights due to work commitments and unfortunately I have to fly back at 7 a.m. on Sunday. Ugh! But I looked at another weekend and there were no flights even available on the Sunday. I will be attending part of a walking festival which will be fun but hope I don't embarrass myself. Oh well why not... I seem to be good at that. I will be huffing and puffing along behind all the fit island walkers who can walk all winter long without worrying about breaking bones on the ice.

I am quite excited. And on a roll. The weekend after (Easter) I am off on the hound to visit my family in Lethbridge - that will be fun. Then if I hang in there another four and a half weeks I will be off to Whistler/Vancouver for about ten days for our annual walking conference. (still working on details) Life is getting back to normal. It was a VERY long three months - I fly off on Wednesday and it will be three months to the day that I arrived back home from Nepal/London. THREE VERY LONG HORRIBLE MONTHS THAT I NEVER WANT TO REPEAT AS LONG AS I LIVE. But on the bright side I made lots of money. :)

What a horrid winter...somehow I have to budget to allow for two winter breaks next year.

Anyway I will be staying at the James Bay Inn in Victoria. http://www.jamesbayinn.com/ I had booked the hostel for twenty dollars a night cheaper than thought what the heck I need a treat. If you can call $59 a night a treat...it was a special deal on the Internet and hey I've got my own bathroom and for me that's exciting. No staggering out of the room and down the hall in the middle of the night in my jammies and hoping I don't see anyone. Back in 1996 I stayed at a wonderful B & B in the James Bay area and it is the standard I put all other B & B's against. Can't remember the name of it now sad to say but it has closed and even if it was open I probably wouldn't be able to afford it anymore. But I loved that area so decided to stay there again. I will be close to Beacon Hill park and more importantly close to the ocean.

I will go from work to the airport - how dedicated is that. I plan to do carry on on the way there but all bets are off on the way back esp. as I will be visiting Murchies Tea and Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC - my mecca!) Whoo hoo - can't wait. Stay tuned!!!

Goodbye melting snow, goodbye dirty puddles, goodbye sneaky ice that would love to feel my ass first thing in the morning...hello daffodils, hello ocean, hello green grass and probably hello rain but what the hell...I'M OUTTA HERE!!!!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A walk along the coffin trail (and a couple of lakes) in the Lake District

While in the Lake District I wanted to do some light walking but not heavy duty hiking where I could easily get lost and my body not found for days partially eaten by hungry...sheep?  Anyway, you get the drift...not too grueling and safe for a solo walker.  I get a bit nervous when I am too far from civilization. There are lots of books about walking in the Lake District but they seem to be all about walking the fells in remote places...neither Thelma nor I fancied that.  While browsing in the post office/shop in Ambleside one day (if you are ever in Ambleside you must go there - a treasure!) I found a stand of walk descriptions on post cards.  And there I found my walk.  After all who could resist a stroll on the "coffin trail" in William Wordsworth country... I took a look and thought hmm...cafe along the route...that works for me. (with at least the security of knowing there was an available "loo" along the way.)  Okay, I may not have totally...

Peeing on fish or a fish out of water

Well this morning we headed off by boat to Siem Reap.  Due to the low water on the Tonie Sap Lake (more like a river until near the end of the trip when it widened considerably) the trip would be an 8 hour one... It was supposed to be boring but ended up as anything but...in no certain order...let's see.... We had a rest stop (turned out to be the only one) along the way and the loo was just a hole over the lake and there were fish circling around underneath.  Yes it was just a hole in the floor...you definitely had someone watch your stuff while you went in or one false move and your camera/purse or whatever would be in the lake.  The fish either like the warm pee coming in or they are pervs and like to see ladies parts.  We were just a few minutes out when all of a sudden there was something flying over me and jumping all over the floor - a little fish!  Guess he wanted to join the tour.  Roger reached down and scooped him up while I hooted and ...

Cowboys and Outlaws in the Big Muddy of Saskatchewan

One of the (very) few advantages of being stuck at home during this pandemic has been an opportunity to see more of my home province of Saskatchewan.  Last summer and fall not only did I do a couple of day trips with friends but I took four day tours with Engelheim transport, a local Regina company.   I have to admit my favourite day out was the "Big Muddy Valley and Outlaws" tour. While I had been to the Big Muddy previously many years back I was eager to revisit and learn more of its history.   So in early October, I hopped on board and off we went.  The bus is only booked to half capacity so it was easy to social distance, hand gel was a must each time we boarded the bus,  masks were required when you got on and off the bus and in any buildings we visited.  I felt totally safe and oh my, it was so good to have an adventure!!  Despite the name the Big Muddy isn't a big huge puddle of mud but a valley of badlands that were formed from a glac...