The
Squamidian Report – Sept. 11 / 10
Issue #433
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Hard to believe that the Thanksgiving weekend has come and gone already. Oh, sorry, it was the Labour Day weekend. My mistake. It just felt like Thanksgiving. It was nice and sunny but quite cool with that unmistakable feel of late fall in the air. But we enjoyed it to the fullest. Made a last minute decision to go over to Vancouver Island for an over-nighter on the bike. Of course it would have to be on the bike because on a long weekend, any long weekend, the ferries are booked solid ahead of time and it is hit and miss as to whether or not you will get on with a car. Bikes can almost always get on even if they get there with just minutes to spare. That probably bugs the heck out of the car people who are not going to fit onto the sailing and must wait for the next one. They helplessly watch you ride right past to the front of the line. Pretty cool for the bikers but its not because BC Ferries has somehow decided that bikes should have preferential treatment. Its because they can fit the bikes into the tight front end of the ferries where they can’t put bigger vehicles. They therefore make more money. The catch is that to get the bikes to the front, they must be at the front of the line. It does however work out very nicely for the bikes.
But as usual I am digressing. We headed over on Saturday morning, rolled right onto the ship and away we went. Crossed from Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay in Nanaimo and then headed north up the Island Highway to Parksville where we hooked up with a rider from Campbell River who was expecting us. He was in Parksville visiting a bunch of bikers made up from CMC chapters on the Island who were camping there and were planning for a large get-together for Sunday. We then rode up the old Island Highway to Campbell River, passing through the towns and villages as the highway winds along the east coast of the Island. The highway used to be very busy and over crowded but the newer, inland highway opened several years ago and it takes most of the traffic now.
In Campbell River we found our motel and relaxed for the evening. Next morning we met our friend at a restaurant for breakfast and then headed south, hooking up with a couple of more riders on the way. Worked our way down-island back to the campground in Parksville where the campers were. Bikes had been coming in all morning and there was a pretty good group of riders there. It was basically a visit, eat and visit some more type of event. Relaxed and enjoyable. Our picnic lunch was a sub sandwich that I picked up at the local Mr. Submarine. Not much sense in trying to make a lunch ahead of time.
We headed out in early afternoon to catch the 3:15 ferry back to the mainland. The overhead sign on the highway outside Nanaimo indicated that the ferry was already full, but, like I said, we were on a bike so no problem. We rolled up to the ticket booth, bought our pass and then rolled right on up to the front of the line where there was a dozen or so bikes already waiting. A few minutes later we boarded and were on our way. The crossing takes 1:35hr and then there is the mad dash as all the vehicles disembark and head out onto the highway. Being at the front of the line is a safety feature, we are out ahead of mad dash. Having Squamish as our destination is also a safety feature, we keep tight to the right and turn off into Horseshoe Bay before the mob of traffic even gets up to highway speed. It’s a couple of easy turns for us to get up onto the northbound Sea to Sky and 45-minutes later we were home. Had a great time.
Ryan and Loren had been house and dog sitting for us (they would have come along but he had to work). The dog, Willow was ecstatic to see Sue, all is back to normal and her life is good. Just the way it should be for a dog.
Pics can be seen at:
http://www.thedougsite.net/10-Rides/VI-picnic.htm
By the way, Willow is fitting in very well. She is very well behaved and loves people. She seems to be genuinely thankful for being rescued from her past life. And, she sleeps in our bedroom closet. That’s a bit weird but you get used to it.
doug
****
THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
Well, tomorrow marks the 9th anniversary of the demise of the “Twin Towers” and it’s still on a lot of people’s minds. I guess something that tragic is hard to put to the back of our memories. I’m sure when we think of that day we all still say a little prayer for the victims and their families. I’m sure there’ll be a lot of discussion on TV about it tomorrow. There’s supposed to be a memorial service at the site and it’ll probably be televised as well. Like any other tragedy in history if we don’t remember what happened in detail we will be destined to repeat it some day! God Bless all those affected by that day in history!
*
We’re supposed to be in for a nice sunny weekend and I sure hope we are. We’ve had some cold and wet days over the past week and we’re not used to such changes in the weather this summer. If it is a nice weekend I may just get out on my bike for a couple of hours and a few kilometers of riding. I’ve had such a busy summer that I’ve only gotten out about a half dozen times for a ride. I changed the oil on the bike about two months ago and it’s not even discoloured yet. I think I’ve only put about 200 km on the oil since the change. Oh well, there’s lots of fall left for riding yet. Besides, Doug has more than made up for my lack of motorcycle traveling this summer. He tells me he’s still itchin’ to do more rides of distance before stashing the Hog in the garage for the winter. I’m sure he and Sue will get out some more before winter sets in.
*
We had company all afternoon and evening so I’m a little pooped out. They stayed well into my “Ontarion” writing time so I’m kind of lost for something to talk about on such short notice. There is one thing that intrigued me this week though. Carole has been writing to a first cousin of mine whom I’ve only seen twice in my life and they are both into doing the Payne family tree. Her name is Lesley and she is the daughter of my father’s sister and her husband. They were my godparents and have both passed away. When my dad died back in 1988, his house was bought by my brother and the contents sold off or tossed out by my brother. My sister managed to grab the box of family photos and I haven’t seen them since. She keeps telling me to drop out to her place in the country and we’ll dig them out of the basement some time. I just haven’t gotten around to doing that. I suppose it’s as much my fault as anyone’s. I’ll have to get out there soon now that I’m thinking about those photos once more. Lesley sent Carole a copy of a letter sent by my paternal grandfather who resided in Hespeler Ontario after emigrating from Wales just after the turn of the 20th century. My dad was born in 1913 and his brother and sister shortly after that. Lesley made contact with a distant relative of the Payne family who lives in England, through the Internet. How she found him I’ll never know but she did. Anyway, he sent Lesley a copy of this old letter from Grandpa Payne that has been passed down through the ages within the family. It was really cool to read and gave us some insight into our family that we otherwise would never have known. Carole and Lesley have been talking on the net a lot and Lesley sent Carole some pictures of my parent’s wedding. I don’t even remember what date they were married but Carole has it in her family tree stuff somewhere. Anyway, Lesley asked if we could possibly identify the rest of the people in the photos since she only recognized my parents. I was thrilled to see my folks on their special day once again. I hadn’t seen most of the pics at all but one or two looked familiar. I guess when mum and dad got married they gave copies of these photos to Phyllis my dad’s sister and Lesley’s mother. It was great to see the pictures and it’s inspired me to get out to my sister’s place and look for the rest of the family photos. It would be fun to check them out once more after all these years.
I’ll be sure to write about what treasures we find in that box once I get off my duff and get out to Lynda’s.
*
That’s about it for this week!
Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all again next week in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now… GREG
PS: Something To Think About>
Money can’t buy happiness but…… it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery!
****
Have a good one..
the doug
The Fine Print!
The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.