Sail Away

THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR

2012-01-28T12:38:00.000-08:00

Above is a picture of me with 5 other women who have been my friends for over 21 years. From left to right are Cary, Julie, Fran, Me, Lorraine and Carol.

What a lot the word FRIEND covers.

We started out as a Mom's in Touch group in September of 1990. My youngest had just started Kindergarten. I remember that I kept hearing a woman's laugh outside of the school whilst I was in the office, doing volunteer work. I loved hearing that laugh and finally found out who she was. It was Fran and she invited me to join the group. It gladly accepted, having no idea what a huge part of my life the women I met in the group would become.

We met together to pray for our kids and their teachers. And we did. But it became much more than that... we prayed for everything that was going on in our lives. Women came and went from the group over the years but six of us remained steadfast. I moved away for 6 years but continued to join in when I was back in town and always stayed in touch with the core group of friends I had made. As soon as I moved back into the area, it was as if I had never left. Once all of our kids were graduated high-school we, in theory, should have disbanded the group - which at that point was just the six of us and had been for many years. But there was no way we wanted to quit meeting. And we still had lots to pray about. Some of our kids were in relationships we weren't sure were right for them. Some were about to be married; others now had kids of their own; some were having trouble making career choices; others had just lost their jobs; some were still struggling in desperate ways. LOT'S to pray about. And besides, we had become such good friends - some closer than others; it seems that we tended to pair off a bit outside of the group. Me with Fran, Carol with Cary, and Julie with Lorraine (their husbands worked together and they'd been friends before the group so that was only natural). I spent a lot of time with Carol as well as we lived just a few blocks apart. We really wanted to keep meeting up as a group. So we did.

We have seen each other through so many many things; wayward teens, divorce, death, marriages, births, illness, scary hospital visits, and the horrible empty nest syndrome. I know that I could call any one of them any time of day or night and if I needed them to come, they'd be over in a heartbeat. Sometimes they come even when I don't ask. Fran has driven me to the airport at 2:30 am. She went with me to the hospital when I had to go for a colonoscopy. I took meals to her once a week for a few months when she was devastated over the death of her mother. Cary and Carol helped me move out of my house when I left my husband. I pushed Carol into sorting through all the crap she'd hoarded over the years and FILLED her garage, and spent days in there going through it all with her. I don't know what all each of the women have done for each other but I know that in 21 years, it's been lots. And every single thing has been a gift.

I love these women. I hope we have 21 more years together.

WHERE THE HELL IS MATT?

2012-01-18T12:06:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading the book about the making of this video. There are three video's actually and you can find them all on YouTube, but this is the final one and the book devotes most of it's pages to this one.

I highly recommend reading the book. It is inspirational and a fun read. You can buy it from my Amazon store and I will get a tiny (and I do mean tiny) commission.

SNOW

2012-01-17T18:24:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me knows I hate the snow. Sure it looks pretty on the trees and stuff but that's all the good I can say about it.

Snow on Saturday on a Vancouver Street

It started snowing on Friday night and it didn't stop for over 24 hours. I hunkered down and was glad I'd stocked up on food. And oh so glad I am not working on a show at present (I am, however, writing like mad on my first novel).

Then I ran out of fire logs.

I went all day yesterday without any. I missed the glow of the fire something terrible.

So I braved the snow today and went to buy more. When I got out to my car, it was covered with the white stuff and the bottom layers had turned to ice. And my drivers side door was frozen shut. I could not get it open. Fortunately, the passenger side was against some shrubs that protected it from the snow and cold and that door opened with ease. I crawled in, started it up and turned the heat on full blast while I proceeded to scrape the snow and chip the ice off of my car.

Once I got off of my street, which does not get plowed, the roads were clear but MAN was it cold out. As I waited in line with my three boxes of Duraflame logs, I saw on the newspaper headlines that more snow is coming. So I stopped off on the way back home and got a few more groceries and now I am good for a week.

Snow - I laugh in your face.

(I tried to get a picture of the sun set casting a pink glow on the snow of the North Shore mountains but couldn't get a clear view to them until it was too late.)

RECENT READS

2012-01-15T01:03:00.000-08:00

I had a quick visit with a good friend the other day, someone I haven't seen for a while. She moved east from Langley and I moved west so now we are about an hour and a half apart thus getting together doesn't happen much anymore. She said she missed getting updates from me on what I'd been reading lately. She reminded me of how she always took out her notebook and pen and would write down the titles of all the books I was talking about. I remembered it well. She said she reads this blog faithfully (hi Erna!!) and that I hadn't written about any books for a long time. And she's right. So here, in no particular order, are five recent reads that I enjoyed and recommend:

ENTER, NIGHT Michael Rowe

I bought this book because it was written by a friend of mine, a published author of non-fiction, and this was his first foray into the fiction world. I wouldn't normally have purchased this book as it's a horror book about vampiers and I am not really into the whole vampire genre.

Well, from the first page, it grabbed me. And to me, that is the sign of a book I am going to love. I always read the first page of a book written by an author I've never read before and if it grabs me, I buy it. If not, it goes back on the shelf. I had planned to read this book, grab or no grab, to support my friend. So the fact that it was so gripping right off the bat delighted me; I knew - a bit fearfully- that I was going to enjoy this story. And, sure enough, I could not put it down.

The tale is told from multiple points of view, something that can really annoy me when a book tends to jump back and forth between them. But Michael used this method of storytelling to an effect that was chilling and filled me with dread because some came to a 'dead end' and thus I had no idea who would survive and who wouldn't. The suspense of what may or may not happen heightened the build to an excruciating crescendo. Brilliant.

I don't take many walks in the woods, but the next time I do and come across a pile of boulders or a cave in a hillside, I think I will have to summon all the courage I have to not take a wide detour.

The only criticism I have, well two actually, is that there is a scene missing from the book that I badly wanted to be there, and that the book ended far too soon. I wish it had been twice as long as it just didn't feel like I could sink my teeth into it (no pun intended but, wow that was good, no?).

LIFE Keith Richards

Here, again, is another book I normally would never have read. I am not a Rolling Stones fan. I could (before reading the book) name perhaps three of their songs. But I was lying by the hotel pool one weekend in Kelowna (I was there for a month, shooting a movie) and out of maybe 15 people at the pool, literally 10 of them were reading this book. That told me it had to be good so I bought it then and there - gotta love having a Kindle with Wi-Fi!!

I really enjoyed this read; it's is a perfect example of why I love autobiographical books - they take you inside a personal experience you can never live or be a part of. And what a world Keith Richards lived and lives in. I was looking forward to reading about his life in England (where I grew up for my first 9 years) as he grew up just a decade before I did and I love reading about life in England at that time, plus I was really interested in finding out how they gained fame.

The story is told with an ease and casual honesty that feels like he's sitting there with you just telling you how it was. There's no pretentiousness, no reaching for a fancy turn of phrase to impress you; it's just raw storytelling and I loved it. By the end of the book I honestly felt like I could just call him up and say, "Hey Keith, how ya doing man? Loved having you tell me the story of your life like that. We should get together for a drink sometime." I've never felt that way after reading an autobiography, and I've read loads of them.

I found my lack of knowledge about the Stones music a bit of a hindrance in really getting lost in the story and that was frustrating to me. So if you are a Stones fan and know all of their songs and know what Keith is talking about when he says, "...you hear and see the transformation of the song, 'Parachute Woman', with that weird sound area like a fly buzzing in your ear or a mosquito or something..." then you're going to love love love this raw, honest telling of a truly extraordinary LIFE. (and I have to add that I was -and am still- SO JEALOUS of his ability to buy not one but TWO homes in the Caribbean. I could hate him for that, but I don't.)

FALL OF GIANTS Ken Follett

After reading, and loving, Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, I purchased this book without a second thought. I fully expected it to be every bit as absorbing as those two were and it did not disappoint. It follows the destinies of five interrelated families – one American, one Russian, one German, one English and one Welsh – through the earth-shaking events of the First World War and the Russian Revolution. Now if this time in history is something you like to delve into, then you're going to love this book. If, like me, it's hasn't been something you've studied much more than what you were taught in school, then you're going to find it fascinating. And the history is accurate in even the most unexpected places. One of the characters is a very strong woman who married a bit later in life and came from poor working class in England. Her husband decided to run for civic office and she decided to run also and when she won her marriage suffered due to what her husband considered a humiliating defeat by his wife. This actually happened as I discovered, quite by accident, when researching something else a couple of months after finishing the book. I love that. Historically accurate novels and autobiographies are one of my favourite ways to gain knowledge about the past.

Where the Hell Am I? Trips I Have Survived Ken Levine

Ken Levine is an Emmy winning writer. He travels around America, Hawaii (yes I know that's part of America) and a few other places around the world and - like most of us who travel - has some crazy and hilarious stories to tell. I loved it and laughed out loud. He's no Bill Bryson, but it was an entertaining read nevertheless.

After reading it you will either want to book a trip right away or never travel again. Me? - I wanted to write a book based on my own travels. Boy could I tell you some stories (yes, more than are in this blog!). I just might do it one day.

Manpot's Tales of the Tropics Malcolm Boyes

This book is written by a friend I have yet to meet. He lives part time on Tortola and I have gotten to know him a little through postings on a forum I belong to for people who travel to the BVI, as well as we are now FaceBook friends. He was someone I was really hoping to finally meet on my recent trip to the BVI but he left a few days before I got there and arrived back one day after I left. I was staying just down the beach from his home during my time on Tortola and so was really disappointed that I hadn't timed that part of my trip a little better.

When I read that he had just published a book of stories about living on Tortola, I had to buy it. I wanted to support him and I also wanted to read anything about what has become my favourite place on earth. I really enjoyed being able to visualize the places he was speaking about and even some of the people. It's written in a casual conversational story telling style and I loved that. Even if you haven't been to this part of the world, you will really enjoy the characters that populate this book and their funny escapades. He also tells the story of how he got the nickname 'Manpot', something that had intrigued me for some time.

Malcolm is a Hollywood producer (he produced Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous) and, rumour has it, one of the stories in the book may become a children's cartoon series. Here's hoping!

This book is not available on Amazon. It is only available as an electronic download, HERE.

If you're interested in purchasing any of these books, please consider doing so by clicking on the Amazon link below. I will get a tiny commission from anything you buy from my Amazon Selections and all of these books are part of my collection. (If, instead of the book, you see a flashing yellow Amazon ad, just refresh the page and the book should return).

BVI SUNSETS

2012-01-10T15:41:00.000-08:00

Dreaming of sunsets in the BVI today.

Sunsets are like a gift from God at the end of the day "Here, feast your eyes on this and don't forget that I am still here, even though it's about to get dark." Yay God!!

HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE

2012-01-04T13:05:00.000-08:00

My life is never going to be the same. I have fallen hopelessly in love with a new person in my life and this is a FOREVER love.

Meet my new granddaughter, Malia Katherine.

She arrived 10 days late, on January 2nd at 5:57am weighing in at 8lbs13oz. Mom did AMAZING with instant onset of hard labour that woke her up at 12:30am with less than 30 seconds between contractions. Her dula kept assuring her that she had lots of time thus they barely made it to the hospital in time - mommy got into the bed and not 5 minutes and just ONE PUSH later, Malia arrived! They are both doing fabulous.

My other daughter was down from Kelowna for Christmas and had taken extra time off to be here for the birth but it was looking like she going home without meeting her niece. In fact, she had set her alarm for 8:30 to depart that very morning. When her phone rang at 7:30 I thought it was her alarm except my phone was ringing at the same time, which confused me as it woke me from a deep sleep. "That's your alarm" I mumbled to Shonah then realized my phone was ringing as well so picked it up and saw "Asheigh" on caller ID. I knew right away why she was calling and jumped up out of bed. I was squealing before I even answered the call, I think. The reason both our phones were ringing at the same time was Rob dialed Shonah on his phone and Ashleigh me on hers at the same time and then Ashleigh held them both to her ears and spoke to us together.

We got ready FAST and then headed to the hospital, 5 minutes away, stopping on the way for Starbucks for all of us and for roses, a couple of mylar balloons and muffins (for Rob as I figured he'd be starving) and for photos of the glorious sunset that heralded her arrival. We cried as we got ready at home and we cried again as soon as we saw the baby. I got to hold her right away and as I uncovered her a little so I could see her better I laid my finger by her hand and she grabbed it (she was sleeping) and Ashleigh said that was the first time she had grabbed anyone's finger!!

We stayed a couple of hours and Christopher and Isolde arrived about an hour after we got there - Ashleigh called Christopher about half an hour after we arrived; she wanted us to get there first which was really nice of her to do as this was Shonah's only time with the baby before she left to go home (at noon now instead of 9).

I was so happy that the baby came when she did. When we were going to bed the night before, we had just come from Rob and Ashleigh's place and Shonah was so sad that the baby hadn't come. Ashleigh seemed fine and wasn't feeling any twinges so Shonah was sure it wouldn't be born that night even though I said maybe it would come. "No it won't mom, she will probably be born on WEDNESDAY!" We got to bed just after midnight. After turning out the light, I prayed for about 10 minutes that the baby would come in the night so Shonah could meet her, and then expected to fall right off to sleep as I normally do but I tossed and turned for about two hours. SO not like me. But I never thought that it might be because Ashleigh WAS in labour!! I finally fell off to sleep and then woke to the phone ringing and hearing a baby crying in the background when I answered. Such joy. I can't even describe it.

I haven't seen her since that morning as mommy, daddy and little Malia are spending time alone at home, bonding. My arms are aching to hold her again and I feel like I might go insane if it doesn't happen soon. I had NO IDEA it would feel like this to be a grandma (or NAN as I will be called). As a new mom, you get to have your baby whenever you want it. As a grandma that isn't the case.

Lots of people told me how much fun it would be to be a grandma but no one told me how hard it would be between visits!

CHRISTMAS 2011

2011-12-30T10:57:00.000-08:00

Christmas is over and now we are in that 'no man's land' between it and New Years. I had hoped there'd be a baby to help fill it in but she has decided that she's not ready to make her appearance yet.

Christmas Eve was fun with the kids over in my little place. We all fit quite well and I think all had a good time. Christopher forgot to bring the board games so we were a bit stymied for something to do once everyone was stuffed to the gills with the buffet of food I had prepared.

One thing we did was watch a video one of my friends had posted to her FaceBook page a few days before. I had watched it and laughed all the way through and my kids loved it, so here it is for you to enjoy: T'was the Night Before Christmas - Drunk. It's not like any other you've ever seen. WARNING: bad language throughout.

Watching Muppet's Christmas - Rob had never seen it so was subjected to it.

Christmas Day my youngest daughter and I went to my friend Fran's house for Christmas dinner. Her youngest daughter is the best friend of my youngest so we had a lovely time. Rob and Ashleigh stayed home for the day in anticipation of the baby's arrival as they didn't want to be far from the hospital she will give birth at.

My good friends, Fran and Tom.

The rest of the week I have spent alone and bored out of my mind. I decided to download season one of Breaking Bad as I keep hearing how good it is and I am HOOKED. I am now almost done season two and have three and four downloaded and ready to watch.

I also downloaded the Christmas special of Downton Abbey - one of my all time favourite TV series. I watched it last night and it was glorious. I highly recommend the series.

Happy New Year everyone!!!!

I AM STARTING TO HATE BLOGGER

2011-12-11T12:09:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I was looking at how to add some features to my blog by searching online for tutorials. It all started with a search to try to determine why comments made through DISQUS were no longer appearing on the blog as they were made. One thing led to another and I ended up deleting DISQUS and trying to add the 'reply' feature to the BLOGGER comment form. This way, supposedly, any reply to a comment would appear directly below it instead of in chronological order.

Not sure what I did wrong. The line of code I was to input needed to come after a particular line of code that did not appear in the HTML code for my template. So I gave up. When I went back onto my blog something had changed and my formatting was screwed up. Everything was bigger. The font, the pictures, the layout, even the BLOGGER bar at the top. It looked like I was looking at it all through a magnifying glass.

Thus began hours and hours and HOURS of trying to fix it. I have come close but what's happened now is a lot of the formatting for older posts is all out of whack. The body of the post does not line up with the pictures I have added. I have just spent about 3 hours trying to fix each post, one at a time but I've given up. This is not the first time I have had to go back through every post and rework them to align everything up properly. Each time I change something, this is what happens and I am sick of it. So, it is what it is. I don't know exactly how many times all the old pages are viewed anymore anyway. It can't be enough to warrant all of this work so I am not doing it. It bugs the crap out of me as I am somewhat of a perfectionist and definitely a detail oriented individual, but I just can't keep doing this. It's such a colossal waste of time, not to mention frustrating to the max.

Please accept my sincere apologies to those of you who have just joined this blog and want to start at the beginning. I feel so bad that it looks so awful.

And - ironically - this happend just after I posted a comment on someone else's BLOGGER blog where they were complaining about how difficult they found it to format each post so that the pictures were where they wanted them. I said I didn't understand why they found it so difficult as I don't have any issues with that. And I don't. But every now and then something in the template format changes and it screws everything up. THAT I can't deal with.

SINGING CRUISE

2011-12-09T11:52:00.000-08:00

There is a Christmas tradition that has gone on for years in Vancouver. The Carol Ships. Each night in December several large ships leave their berths and head out, all decked out for Christmas into English Bay and beyond, full of passengers dining on turkey with all of the trimmings and then singing carols as the ship cruises by the city skyline where, hopefully, there are lots of Christmas lights to see.

It's something I've always wanted to do. So when a GROUPON for a 2 for 1 passage came up, I asked a good friend - who I just happened to be working with on a show that day, and who just happend to be standing right behind my chair when I got the Groupon notice - if she wanted to go with me and she did. So I bought the tickets. When I went to book the cruise, I saw that the price I had paid was for passage and a free cup of hot chocolate only. If we wanted the full deal meal, it would cost another $53 each. I called and asked her if she wanted to go for it - I did as I thought it would be torture to be able to smell turkey dinner and not be able to eat it - and she agreed. So I upgraded our tickets and then we waited for December 8th to roll around.

Last night we went on the cruise. When I got to the marina, the gates down to the dock were locked. I had to hang over the rail near the ships and wait for someone to come out of one of them and when someone finally did, I called down and asked how to get down there. A very friendly fellow came and unlocked the gates and, as soon as my friend arrived with the printed tickets, we 'went aboard'. The salon was huge and easily seated 100 people. We had paid $5 extra per person for a window seat and were shown our reserved table. The dinner was buffet style and it was pretty good. Not liked a home-cooked turkey dinner - they never are - but it was a lot better than someone had described to me (a leathery bit of turkey and some soggy vegetables was how he put it). The dessert buffet consisted of profiteroles, sliced banana, a chocolate fountain, and a tray of small dessert pastries (if one wanted the dessert option only it was an extra $13 but was included in our buffet price). In my opinion the meal was far overpriced for what was offered, $20 less per upgrade would have been acceptable.

One thing we noted on the cruise out of False Creek through English Bay and then around the perimeter of Stanley Park and into Burrard Inlet; there weren't many Christmas lights up on any of the buildings. Not the commercial ones nor people's apartments in the high-rises. Usually they're a blaze of lights - especially the high-rises. I wondered if it was because of the incandescents having been replaced with LED strings. I personally detest the LED lights and I think I am not alone. My friend thought that very well could be the reason. There were still a few really nice displays - one was a huge deciduous tree that had been draped from top to trunk with hundreds of strands of blue and lavender lights. It was gorgeous. There was also a nice display in a park close to Yale Town, and some of the boats we passed in the marinas were festively decked out which was really nice. There were also a few cranes on the skyline that were really well decorated with loads of lights and a tree at the end and I always love to see that. It gives one a glimpse to another side of all those seemingly hardened and often crude construction guys.

Another thing that happened on the cruise; when it came time for the carol singing we were handed song sheets with lyrics to 29 songs on them. I later noted that out of that number, only 9 were actual 'carols'. The rest were all about santa and the tree etc. etc. We began to work our way through them from #1 but every time we came to a carol about the birth of Jesus, the guy who was leading the singing would skip over it. He started to ask for people to call out numbers they wanted to sing. One woman called out #11. He said, "Ah, number 11, my favourite." He said that for every number that was called out. But then he looked and saw it was 'Oh Holy Night' and he stammered a bit and then said, "Lets sing #18 - Jingle Bells." I was shocked. This was supposed to be carolling after all. After we sang that song, another woman was calling out #24 - Hark the Herald Angels Sing. She called it over and over and he just ignored her. I was not impressed at all. A bit later he wanted people to be more involved but you could sense that the mood had changed a bit in the room, no one was calling out any numbers. He ragged on us for not being more enthusiastic so I called out, "Well maybe you should stop skipping over all of the good ones." I couldn't help it. I was not happy with the guy at all. I don't have anything against the songs about Santa and trees and reindeer, not at all, but some of the old carols are so beautifully written and perfect for my alto voice and I love singing them. But mainly this guy's blatant bias against religion was getting to me - AND after all, why do we even have a Christmas?? Not to mention it's the only the reason this company has any business this time of year!! He completely ignored me and selected another secular song but, after that, he did not ignore people who called out an old carol and we actually got to sing 3 or 4 of them.

All in all, it was a fun evening. I wouldn't do it again but it's part of Christmas in Vancouver and I wanted to have the experience. I am glad I went. Plus, any excuse to be out on the water.

NICOLE LEE - A PRODUCT REVIEW

2011-12-06T16:45:00.000-08:00

Other than items for travel, I don't review products on my blog as that's not what it's about. But I am so frustrated at a new purse, and more importantly, at the lack of any kind of response from the manufacturer, that I am using this venue as a way to utilize word-of-mouth - a very powerful tool.

I bought my first Nicole Lee bag this fall and I HATE it. I love the look but functionally it is garbage. It is the Crystal in silver/black. When you pick it up by the handles, the front pocket pops open. EVERY SINGLE TIME. It's closed with a magnetic clasp but it should have been a toggle clasp to prevent this happening. AND... if the large compartment of the purse is more than half full, THAT pops open all of the time as well. Just useless. At $69 plus tax (what I paid at LUCY'S in Langley) I expect a lot better than this.

The hateful handbag. Pretty but useless.

Worse... I wrote two reviews on their website about it, the second one when I saw they hadn't posted the first one - the second one wasn't posted to the site either. I sort of get not wanting to post a negative review but.. BUT... not a single email to me to apologise, refund my money, or offer a solution.

I won't be buying another one of their bags... EVER!!

WORK AND PLAY

2011-11-25T17:44:00.000-08:00

We wrapped our last night on the show 'running and gunning' which is basically running from location to location and getting the shot as quickly as possible without setting up monitors, chairs, heaters and maybe one or two lights. We got a lot of exterior shots with a very small crew of about 30. The rest of the crew were left behind in Maple Ridge to get a long list of 'insert shots' that we didn't have time to get for the past three weeks. (An insert shot is close up shots of various items that don't involve shooting actors [other than a stand in for a hand or other body part] such as a file folder, a computer screen, a telephone call ID, etc). It was a freezing cold night and what could have been really miserable was made a lot of fun by our fantastic director.

The director waits while camera crew set up a shot. . . . . An unusual sign on a downtown building.

Before we set off to do that, we shot the last two indoor scenes at the warehouse in Maple Ridge where we had been for the past few days. While the director was in a small room setting up the next shot, the producers whisked away his standard rented director's chair and replaced it with a gorgeous bamboo wood custom upholstered one. He used to have a chair like this that he got as a gift when he was nominated for an Emmy but it broke while filming in Montreal due to becoming brittle in the sub zero temperatures. He has mourned the loss of that chair ever since. So he was rather overcome when he stepped out of the room to see the new chair waiting for him, and the applause of the crew. It was a great moment.

Sunday, the day after we wrapped, we had a lovely cocktail party at the Shangri-La hotel in downtown Vancouver. It was a beautiful location and a fun party.

This week I have been driving my daughter to work each morning and picking her up at the end of the day because she is finding taking public transit very difficult at this stage of her pregnancy and as they only have one car, which her husband needs to commute to his job way out in Port Coquitlam, the bus has been her only option. Unbelievably, at 8 months pregnant, no one will give up their seat for her - this I have known for some time. I found out later that, when the bus fills up, she feels very claustrophobic as people press up to her and she hates having her belly up against someone else. She is also rather sensitive to odours and finds it somewhat nauseating to be among all the different ones people carry onto the bus with them. On Monday I was thinking about her having to stand up for almost an hour each way to and from work. I couldn't stand the thought of it and decided to offer to drive her and she was so grateful. When she told me how really hard it has been for her I was very glad I have the time off to be able to do it. This is her last week of work before taking maternity leave, including Monday next week. She was supposed to go until Wednesday but has decided she just can't do it. She works as a daycare worker and the kids she looks after are so hard to handle. One of them sat right on her belly the other day as she was sitting on the floor with another few kids. It really scared her and the baby was restless for a few minutes right after it happened yet it seems no damage was done. But she really is done with work.

For the 'Play" part of this post:

Today after dropping Ashleigh off, I drove back to the North Shore to Lonsdale Quay to meet a friend for breakfast. There was a gorgeous yacht - Attessa IV - tied to the dock, having some work done. We walked over to have a look at it and as we did, I looked it up on the internet on my iPhone. Turns out it has recently had some major refit and renovation work done to it at a shipyard here and has been on a test voyage around Vancouver Island. I guess not all was good because the starboard rear side is being sanded down to the steel and is being re-finished; it looked like the workers were applying a fairing compound to the starboard rear section while we were watching. When it's done, it is heading to the Caribbean!!!! I wonder if I can get them to take me on as crew?!

Specs of Attessa IV:

At 330 feet, she is the largest yacht to be launched in North America!! (and the largest rebuilt yacht in the world)
42.13 foot beam
13.78 draught
Yacht Design: Glade Johnson Design
Rebuild Company: Washington Yachting Group
Project Manager: Captain Ted McCumber
Accommodation: Able to accommodate up to 36 people on board and has 24 crew members.
Classification: Lloyds and MCA Class
Jacuzzi: Yes
Pool: Yes
Helicopter capability: Yes
Yacht Owner: Montana based businessman Dennis Washington
Yacht Charter: No

The refurbish took 250 skilled Vancouver workers and close to a million man hours

She is the 23rd largest private yacht in the world. It recently won the 'Best Rebuilt Yacht' in the 'World Superyacht Awards' in London.

I can't even imagine what it must be like to have the ability to own such a gorgeous vessel. What a 'toy'!!!

With so many photos today, I posted the small version but just click on any photo to see it full-sized.

WEEK IN PICTURES

2011-11-18T20:57:00.000-08:00

Here's a few photos that put my week into pictures instead of words.

BABY SHOWER FOR MY DAUGHTER:

Beautiful mommy-to-be.

We each painted a bib for the baby. This is mine.

Guess which is the actual baby and which are balloons!

WORKING ON A LEGAL THRILLER:

Perfect cufflinks on our very nattily dressed director.

Trying to stay warm on a freezing cold outdoor night shoot.

The director and director of photography busy on their iToys between setups.

Staying motivated.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST:

Nooooooo!!!!!

(this picture was actually taken 4 or 5 years ago in my house in Langley but I didn't get a picture of the snowfall here in North Vancouver - thankfully it wasn't quite this much snow that fell)

WHICH LEAD ME TO DREAMING OF THIS AND SEARCHING THE NET FOR A GOOD DEAL MOST OF TODAY:

I spent an hour in this very hammock. Wish I was there now.

The last picture was taken by a very talented photographer living my dream life in the Virgin Islands. You can see more of his work here: OLD MANGO

A FUN DAY OUT WITH DAUGHTER #1

2011-11-11T18:29:00.000-08:00

With three days off in a row (four for me as Saturday is my daughter's baby shower) I have some lovely down-time to spend relaxing. Yesterday I spent the day with my daughter shopping for my big gift to her for the baby - a Dutailier glider chair and ottoman. They are the 'Rolls Royce' of gliding rockers and are made right here in Canada. We were directed to a store that carries a good selection and can also place custom orders. We found exactly what my daughter wanted in stock and, not only that, but it's a special design just for that store and was priced at almost half of what they normally go for. I was thrilled to say the least. We quickly spent the other half of the budget on more things for the nursery and those items will make up some of the gifts I plan to take to the shower for her.

After a White Spot burger lunch, we drove into downtown Vancouver for the Circle Craft Christmas Market. We were both quite excited to go as we have done a lot of craft fairs in the past, particularly when we lived in Seattle, and have always found them to be full of wonderful and affordable creations. As we entered the large space that the booths were set up in, we were immediately impressed with what we saw and both of us found items we wanted to buy, albeit a bit pricey. But as we progressed through the rest of the booths, we both became very disappointed at the offerings. There seemed to be a repeat of the same sort of items over and over, such as SO MUCH silver jewelry, and they weren't very creative at that. Also the prices were astronomical for almost everything we saw. I had fully expected to have to seriously restrain myself from buying out the place but, in fact, I didn't see much that I wanted to buy. I did end up buying a lovely hat to wear when it's cold at work. I don't usually suit hats but this one looked great on me and is fleece lined so very warm. It was expensive at $65 plus tax. I bought a little tree ornament for my daughter and her husband made of fimo depicting a cute couple expecting a baby - $15. My daughter bought some herbal cremes for herself and the baby for post-natal care. I found a necklace I LOVED that reminded me of the beaches in the BVI but at $125 for it and $69 for the matching earrings it was far too costly. I reluctantly left it behind. (The link is to the matching bracelet. The necklace was a larger version of the flat circular bead as a pendant on a silver chain.)

Ashleigh buying hand made soap to add to a Shoe Box of items she is putting together to be shipped overseas to a needy child for Christmas

A coule of the booths had items that really impressed us. One was called 'Alphabet Photography' where you could buy a black and white photograph for $5 that had either an architectural item or some other sort of item (like twigs, or rope tied around a post) that resembled a letter of the alphabet. You could then buy as many as you wanted to spell a name or a word and she had frames that accommodated those letters ('artistic photographs of objects that spell words' is how they put it). Ingenious and her booth was packed.

Another, Janice Lutsenko Flower Art, was a huge assortment of framed pictures that were created from dried flower petals. They were gorgeous; a shoe, a purse, a woman in a flowing dress, a quilt on a washing line, the word 'Family'... all very delicate and sort of French looking. Also very pricey.

Another booth, Toad's World, had a huge selection of animals, all hand made by Diane Jordens, dressed to the nines; 'opulently costumed animal dolls'. That booth reminded us both of the sort of thing we were used to seeing in the Seattle area craft fairs. I wish there had been more like it.

One thing I was sure we'd be able to find there was a small accent pillow in a deep raspberry pink - one of the last decorative items my daughter is looking for to add to the baby's room. Not only did we not see one, there wasn't ONE SINGLE pillow or cushion for sale in the entire show. Very strange indeed.

After dropping a very tired mommy-to-be at her home, I drove back downtown to meet Ron Oliver and another friend, Sean, at Gerard - the lounge at the Sutton Hotel. I gave Ron a gift I found for him at the craft fair; a Belvedere Vodka bottle flattened to make a cheese plate. He loved it and said it ranked as one of the ten best gifts he has ever received. He has gotten some lovely gifts over the years so that is pretty spectacular. I also gave him a package of cocktail napkins I had found at a small coffee shop near where I live. He thought they were pretty great. I thought they were too true.

The cocktail napkins

We had drinks and a small dinner and Ron and I shared a visit to the chocolate buffet.

A lovely end to a lovely day.

Spicy fried salmon tacos - not spicy at all but very delicious

MIND YOUR GRAMMAR

2011-10-30T10:15:00.000-07:00

There is a common grammatical error used almost constantly these days that really bothers me. It is particularly bad on reality TV shows when the contestants sit down for an interview. It bothers me so much that I have decided to write about it here today in hopes of educating a wider audience on the correct use of two small words; me and I.

Yes, it's all about the use of "I" when one should use "me" in conjunction with someone else in the sentence.

Rather than go into a long and confusing dissertation about subjective and objective pronouns let me make it super easy.

It is a very simple rule to figure out because there's a nifty way of double checking to make sure you are using the correct word:

"It took George and I just under an hour to finish." is wrong because you wouldn't say:
"It took I just under an hour to finish." you would say:
"It took me just under an hour to finish." therefore:
"It took George and me just under an hour to finish." is right.

"George and I finished the task." is right because you would say:
"I finished the task."

So, to sum up - you take away the other person with you and whichever word you would use without them, you use with them.

See how easy that was?

One use of "I" that really drives me crazy is, "George and Ises relationship is so strong right now." Really? Ises, or Is's, or Is' - there's no way to spell it because it's not a word! It makes my ears bleed every time I hear it.

And while I am on the topic:

Imply and infer are not interchangeable. Imply is what the speaker does; infer is what the listener does.

Wrong: Are you inferring that I am a fool?
Right: Are you implying that I am a fool?

Right: From what you are saying, I infer you think I am a fool.

IMPLICATION: what the speaker has implied
INFERENCE: what the listener has inferred

Now if there was just some way to get this to all of those reality 'stars'. But my guess is that most of them don't read.

NEW DIGS

2011-10-26T18:03:00.000-07:00

I moved into my new little suite a week or so ago and I love it!

It is decorated in a Mexican theme and living here feels like being on a holiday.

From the door looking into the suite(I covered the windows with scarves for some privacy as there's just straw blinds on them - I will find navy matching ones soon to match the fireplace paint)

Looking towards the entrance and kitchen

Pretty bathroom sink

Unfortunately, it's not in Mexico so there isn't a gorgeous beach outside those French doors. Instead, I am way up at the foot of the mountains of the North Shore and right outside those doors is a rainforest. Not exactly my kind of environment.

One feature I really am enjoying is the king sized bed that is suspended from the ceiling with heavy ropes. I have always loved the motion of rocking to go to sleep to - on a boat or in a hammock; now I can rock myself to sleep every night! The only drawback is that it stops rocking too soon and I have to move a bit to get it going again.

Hanging king-size bed

Fireplace & TV across from the couch

The suite comes fully equipped with most everything I need; linens, towels, kitchen utensils and appliances, dishes, etc. I am finding that I would rather have my own can opener, knives, and cutlery as well as I'd like a rice cooker and a grill so come the spring, when I go through the SEVENTY boxes in my friends crawlspace, I will bring those things here and then it will be perfect.

Best part of all, I am friends with the woman who owns the house - we've worked in the same business for years and became good friends. If I have to live in a basement suite, I can only do it if I know the people I am renting from. So this makes me very happy.

Also, instead of 45 minutes from Langley, I am much closer to my daughter - the one who is having a baby in December. I thought she might think I was encroaching on her territory and not be too pleased but she told me that she is excited to have me so close with the baby soon here. Then if she really needs her mom, she can call and I will be there in 5 minutes. It makes me happy to know I will be needed again. The hardest part of the past 5 years or so has been the 'empty nest syndrome' and feeling like I had lost my purpose in life. Granted, I have been doing a LOT better with it all, especially in the past year or two. But I can't help but feel excited at the future and what it will bring.

SLIDING DOORS

2011-10-15T13:53:00.000-07:00

Sliding Doors is one of my all-time favourite movies. One of the reasons being, I suppose, that I often think of how our lives can take a completely different tack than the one we are on by what will seem at the time to be a rather insignificant occurrence. Sometimes it is an event that is far from insignificant but then, I believe, we often have more of a say in the direction we are about to head. I can think of several of those times in my life, but the insignificant ones can go unrealized for a long time.

I had my own 'sliding doors' experience this past week.

I was heading to Yaletown from New Westminster, where I am housesitting for a week, to have my hair done. I had plans to meet a friend later in the afternoon, once my hair was restored to it's preferred state. My friend lives across False Creek in what was the Athletes Village from the 2010 Olympics and if she wanted me to meet her there, I would take my car downtown. If, however, she would meet me in town I could take the skytrain. I called her and she wanted to meet downtown. I still hesitated at taking the skytrain as I really don't like being without my own transportation but, after thinking about having to pay $15 to park for the day, I decided to do the smart thing.

When I got to the New West skytrain station the train was already there so I just walked on with another lady and the doors closed right behind us. Just made it. But then imagine our surprise when the train headed off in the other direction to Surrey instead of downtown! I thought, for a moment, that my infrequent use of the train meant that I had inadvertently walked onto the wrong side of the station and thus onto the wrong train. But I was sure I had seen the sign that said "TO WATERFRONT STATION". This was confirmed when the other woman exclaimed that we were headed the wrong way and was agitated about it. When we arrived at the first Surrey station, we disembarked to find a lot of skytrain employees standing about. We approached one and asked why the train headed the wrong way. He was rather rude and asked "There were employees at the station to tell you that only one line is working so the trains are alternating on that line. Didn't you listen?" I informed him that the train was there when we arrived and we walked on with about three seconds to spare so there was no time for anyone to tell us anything.

We caught the next train and headed off down to Vancouver. I figured the delay had cost me about fifteen minutes, but I had left with plenty of time to spare so I wasn't worried. When I got to the Waterfront station, I got off and boarded the Canada Line which would take me to Yaletown. At the next stop, a gorgeous tall black man boarded. It did not pass my noticing how good looking he was. He sat on the seat next to me and I said hello and he returned the greeting. I was dying to ask him if he was from the Caribbean but didn't like to so, instead, I toyed with my Tortola Caribbean Hook bracelet hoping that if he recognized it he might say something. He didn't. I got off a couple of stops later and as I climbed the stairs to the street level I thought, "Well that was a missed opportunity. I will never see him again."

When I got to the street, I walked around the corner from the exit and stopped to dig my phone out of my purse. I had not had anything to eat or drink yet and wanted to see if I had enough time to go to the Starbucks across the street. I did. I noticed that I had a few new emails so, for some inexplicable reason, decided to read them right there. I was almost done when I saw someone approach me and stop. I looked up. It was the man from the skytrain!

"Hello," he said, smiling, "I was sitting beside you on the skytrain."

"Yes, I know." I said.

"I hope you don't think I am crazy or stalking you but when you got off of the train I thought 'I need to know this lady' and got off right before the doors closed."

I was somewhat taken aback but replied, "That's interesting because I wanted to talk to you on the train but didn't. I wanted to ask if you are from the Caribbean."

"No I'm not but I get asked that a lot," he said. "I am from Nigeria." He had a lovely British/African accent.

"How long have you lived here?" I asked him.

"Eight months but I come from Toronto where I lived for several years."

I asked him what he did here and he told me that he worked for a downtown law firm. He was impeccably dressed for a Saturday so I wasn't surprised to hear he was a professional.

He asked me what I did and I told him. We chatted for a few more minutes and then he said that he would like to get to know me and would I be okay with him calling me sometime for a date. HA! Would I??? I handed him one of my cards and said I would like that.

He called last night. We are going to meet up next week.

So by my reckoning, here's all the things that happened from my side to line this up:

~ decided to take skytrain over the car
~ caught the right bus from the condo to the skytrain station (no small feat as I have no idea of the bus schedule)
~ caught the skytrain running in the wrong direction
~ sat down in the right car on the Canada Line
~ no one sat beside me before he boarded
~ I stopped to read my emails on the street instead of going straight into Starbucks where he would never have seen me and probably walked away thinking I was gone

Here's to Sliding Door moments in our lives!!!

LONG TIME NO SEE

2011-10-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

I have been rather neglectful of this blog as of late. I have had a busy month.

I was in Kelowna for the entire month of September, working on Flicka 3, and spent an extra few days there with my daughter once the show ended. I had a fabulous time.

My car wouldn't start again - on the trip up. I stopped about an hour and a half into the journey to get some lunch. When I left the restaurant and got into the car - nothing. Just a click when I turned the key. My car was loaded down with not only all the stuff I needed for the month away, but extra clothing and items that I couldn't leave with friends (I had to move out of my place and don't move into my next place until October 15th). I sat there not knowing what I was going to do but thankful I had the foresight to leave the day before the show started just in case something like this happened. I called BCAA and then waited for them to arrive. I got out and opened the hood, had a look under it even though I don't know a thing about how cars run so it was futile effort - or so I thought. But what that did was help the engine cool down faster and, about half an hour later, the car started. I canceled BCAA and continued on my way. The next time I had to stop, to use the gas station loo, I didn't turn the car off. I locked it up and used my spare key to get back in as I had determined that the car did not want to start when it was hot - no idea why. But I was planning to take it to my friends brother who lives in Kelowna one of the weekends I'd be there to have him look it over anyway, as the mechanic I bought it from said the muffler needed a small weld to seal up a leak and I wanted him to check to see if there were any other issues. When he heard about the starting problem he said it needed a new starter motor, so that was replaced (so far it seems to have done the trick). And the muffler needed a whole lot more than a weld - like, replacing. But now the car rattles under the hood when I step on the gas. I was told that this could mean the car needs a higher grade of gas but I tried that and it hasn't worked so I need to take it in to have the timing reset. Or at least I hope that is all it needs. I also found out that it has three different types of tires on it so I will have to replace them and the CV boots are cracked and the hand brake cable is pinched. Sigh.

On a much happier note....

I loved staying at the Delta Grand Okanagan Hotel. The staff there were so happy to have all of us as guests (all department heads and producers were at The Grand, the rest of the crew were down the highway at the Days Inn) and treated us very well. The key makeup woman, Lisa, was in the room next to mine and I had worked with her before so that was fun. There was rarely a time I went down to the lobby that one of our crew or actors wasn't there as well. Several of us took to congregating in the lounge after work most evenings for a glass of wine. Our first two weekends in Kelowna were HOT (the hottest it had been all summer) and so several of us spent the day at the pool, tanning, swimming, yakking and napping. I have to say that I could really get used to living like that - hotel life suits me very well. When it was time to leave I was loathe to go.

Day at the Hotel Pool

The movie itself was a lot of fun. The cast were amazing; so friendly and nice to be around. Clint Black and his wife Lisa Hartman are just the nicest and cutest couple. One of the cast who played the kids trainer, Teryl Rothery, will be a life-long friend. The young people that comprised most of the cast were so much fun and really eager. I LOVED the crew and made some more life-long friends (Mark Noda, Neil McBride - fabulous sound team). The director, Michael Damian, and his wife Janeen were lovely, lovely people and I can't say enough as to how much working with them made me happy. The producer, Connie Dolphin, is fantastic and she assured me that we would be working together again in the future. Michael and Janeen told me that the position of script supervisor had been their achilles heel for years, that they had never been able to find one who could actually do the job - but now they had finally found me and they were so thrilled that they want to find a way to take me on their next film, which is to be shot in Romania and Bulgaria. The whole experience was fabulous but not only that, it was very validating after going through a horrible time recently with the producers of Mr. Young. I won't be returning to that show.

The Stars of Flicka 3 and Me

Fun Bunch of Cast and Crew on Our Way to Shoot a Scene in the School Bus

Pretty Flowers in Kelowna - I am Lagging Behind Teryl and Susie on Our Way to Dinner Because I Want to Photograph the Flowers

I can't go into details here, but suffice it to say that I was treated very unfairly - and this is not just my opinion as I took the situation to the union and the shop steward was horrified at how I had been treated. I was never fired, just kept being given excuses as to why I wasn't coming back for August, for September and then for 'the foreseeable future' and I'd finally had enough. It was glaringly apparent to me that I wasn't ever going back but that they had no valid reason to give me as to why, so I sent an email to the producer PM saying basically that and a few other choice observations, and one to the director who started it all. I knew I was burning a bridge rather spectacularly but I didn't care. One of the things that bothers me in this industry is people like me never speak truth to people in charge because we are afraid it means we won't ever work again; thus the ones that aren't the good ones get away with horrible behaviour and practices all of the time. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a strong sense of justice and will speak out when I see injustice, whether it be against me or someone else. I have held my tongue, for the most part, when it comes to my career. I did have a conversation, and just a conversation, with a PM once about an injustice I thought was occurring in the show I was working on and she has never hired me again. This time, I knew there was no way I would ever have closure or feel satisfied walking away if I didn't express exactly how I felt about the events of the past two months. If it meant I wouldn't ever work again in this business, so be it. But I have to trust that the reputation I have built for myself over the past eight years as being good at my job and fun to work with will stand on it's own. And so far, that is proving to be the case. I not only secured a lot of favour with the people I just worked on Flicka with, I have another show at the end of October with one of my favourite people in the world, director Ron Oliver.

I Will Miss the Cast and Hard-Working Crew of Mr. Young

Life is good!!

Mr. Young on Disney XD

2011-09-12T22:04:00.000-07:00

Now all of my American readers, and the European ones, can see the show I have been working on for the past year.

CARS - CAN'T LIVE WITH THEM, CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT THEM

2011-09-03T22:32:00.000-07:00

So after looking at a few motorhomes I have come to the sad realization that the ones big enough for me to live in comfortably and have enough storage for things I must have (I have quite a bit of equipment for work) are too big for me to feel okay driving. And the ones I think I would be ok driving are just way too small inside. I still would love to live in a motorhome for a while, even if just to have the adventure and experience, but I don't think it will work.

I also found out that I need to be in Vancouver at 7am on Tuesday morning to catch the shuttle for crew up to Kelowna. Even though they pass right by here on the freeway, not 5 minutes from where I am, they won't pull off the freeway to pick me up. I had planned to get a cab to the gas station that is right at the end of the off ramp and explained that. But instead, I have to make my way through rush-hour traffic, leaving the house an hour and a half before I have to be there to make sure I'm not late, just so I can ride back on the shuttle the way I just came. It's stupid. And I have no way to get there other than ask a friend to drive me (which I would NEVER expect anyone to do for me) or take a cab for at least $150. Like I said...stupid.

I was feeling very uneasy about not having a car. I haven't ever been without one and I don't want to be in Kelowna and not be able to go anywhere on my days off, nor having to rely on the transport department to get to and from set. I like my independence. So I went back on CraigsList to see what I could find. I found a really nice '03 Toyota Echo - I test drove one back in 2003 and I loved the way the seats felt more like I was in a mini van than a car. But the price was about $600 more than I wanted to pay. I wrote and made an offer but it had already sold for full price.

The next day I went back on CraigsList and the second ad, up for less than an hour, was for a 1991 VW Jetta. Too old. EXCEPT that it had a long list of everything that had been done to it. Rebuilt motor, new alternator, new oxygen sensor, new timing belt, new engine coolant temp sensor, new battery, new oil and filter, recent brakes, new front tires, good back tires, all wheel bearings and axles checked over and in good condition, no rust, perfect glass, no vibrations, steers straight, no oil leaks. The photo showed a car that looked brand new - not a thing wrong with it. All for $2,150. My son, a 2007 Jetta owner, believes German cars are the ONLY cars worth spending money on and had encouraged me to find a good used one when I was thinking of replacing the Jeep earlier this year. And two drivers at this house drive older Jettas and find them very reliable.

I phoned the number and told the guy I would be out to see it in three hours (I was in Vancouver and had to fight rush-hour back and it was another 45 minutes down the freeway from my exit). I went, and spent two hours there - him going over all he had done to it and me taking it for a test drive. I told him I would take it. I left a deposit and arranged to have him drive it to me on Friday when I would pay the balance, insure it, and drive him back home.

Friday came and we did just that. When I got to his place, I parked it on the driveway and turned the engine off. I waited outside in the sunshine while he went to get a receipt for the payment and photocopy all of the invoices for the parts he put in the car. When that was done, we said our farewells and I got in the car and turned the key. Nothing. Tried again. NADA. To say I was upset would be slightly understating the matter. With all I have been through in the past few weeks, this was the last straw. I just handed over $2,000 for a car that won't start. If it wasn't for being in the presence of an almost total stranger, I would have had a complete meltdown. He was stunned that the car wouldn't start. He seemed not to know what was going on. He opened the hood and looked inside and said that maybe it was too hot. He pulled out a hose and sprayed water under there and I started to freak out that he was going to crack the engine block. But he assured me he was only spraying the muffler pipe or something - I can't recall but he said it was fine. He then got his jack and some tools and I went to go sit on the porch in a wicker chair out of the sun and out of his way. He went under the car to see if the starter motor was the issue but he later told me that was fine. After some searching and doing this and that it turned out to be a plug that took power from the battery to wires that went to the starter motor - it had fried. He replaced it and the car started up fine. But my confidence in the car being good was shot. He reassured me that it would be good now but I was visibly shaken. He said that I worried too much.

If it had to happen, I am glad it happened in his driveway and not after I drove away and went to the gas station two miles down the road to fill it up before I went on the freeway. Or when I go to start it next week to leave for Kelowna. Or if I decide to stop on the long lonely road to Kelowna for a break. But geeze. I really didn't need that added stress.

It started up fine after the gas station. It started up fine after the drive home and I parked it and then started it right back up to see if it would. I drove it today and it was fine.

I am starting to feel much better about this car.

NOW this car is MINE!

TOPSY - TURVY EVERYWHERE

2011-08-25T13:02:00.000-07:00

My head is in as much of a topsy turvy state as my room is.

I am trying to sort through stuff in my room and it's hard to do when you don't have any space to divide the 'keep and pack' from the 'garage sale and get rid of' piles. It's a nightmare.

So is my head.

I went out and looked at the Toyota RV I found yesterday. It is owned by an old man who has a big bus RV as well but bought this just for a trip up to Dawson Creek and back, and that is all he's driven it. He got it cheap and in pretty rough shape and proceeded to spend a lot of time and money getting it into shape. It has a rebuilt engine, new alternator and wires, new batteries, new brakes, new rotors, new bearings, new shocks, new toilet, new fridge, new flooring ... and a bunch of other smaller stuff I can't recall. Even though he'd done all that, it was very dirty inside. The vinyl on the cab doors was sticky and dark with grime. The sink in the bathroom was filthy and needed new silicone - what was there was black and no longer attached to the sink. The kitchen taps were loose in the counter. The small bank of plastic drawers inside a cupboard were broken and wouldn't slide in and out very easily. There was almost no storage space other than a small closet and then TINY cupboards up at head-hight. And I do mean TINY.

Even though I thought it was on the small side and storage was definitely going to be a problem, I decided to buy it because I felt it was very mechanically sound. I did discover that the exhaust had a leak up near the engine when I started it up (probably shaken loose on the gravel road to Dawson Creek which makes me wonder what else got shaken loose) and took it for a run around his neighbourhood, but figured it was an easy fix. He wanted $7,500 for it and I left him a $2,000 deposit with him agreeing to keep it until I get back from Kelowna at the end of September.

I had regrets before I left his house. I just didn't feel sure it was the right one for me. And I realized that I had only researched what was available for under $3,000 in a camper van and had no idea what $7,500 could get me. I had sort of jumped at this because it was a good size to drive and park.

When I got home I did some research into the make and model and found that there had been a real issue with ones made just a few years earlier due to being too heavy for the axle and then it would break causing all kinds of collateral damage. This made me feel ill. I then went to an RV board and asked what they thought and got the reply that most of them don't recommend the Toyota because the chassis is too small. I called the guy who owns it and expressed my concerns and he said he never heard of such things and he had no issues with it or another one like it he owned several years ago. Somewhat mollified, I decided to keep it. Then, a few hours later, as I was still feeling like I had made a bad decision - the thing is really too small for me even though I am worried about driving something bigger - he called and said he wanted me to be happy with the decision and, if I wasn't, I had till the next morning to let him know and he would give me all of my deposit back. I really appreciated this and said I would let him know.

After reading some more stuff about it on line that I wasn't happy with, I called him and then drove back out to Chilliwack (an hour each way) and got my money back. I left there not knowing if I was making the right decision but I felt better so I think I am. Who knows? I know NOTHING about RV's and could really use the help of someone who does but I don't know anyone who even owns one.

To top it off - I sold my Jeep for $600 yesterday. It has over 370,000 miles on it and needs new rear brakes, rotors and a new catalytic converter and muffler. I still have it as I told the fellow I needed it 'till Sept 5th and that worked great for him. But now I am wondering if I should do the work on it and hang onto it so I have something to drive when I get back from the job in Kelowna. OR... I could maybe even take it up there if I got all of the work done on it. But I don't think it's worth getting the work done on it. It's OLD... a '93. Who knows when the transmission will go. It seems to all work fine now but I've had one go in another car I had and it's very expensive to fix and definitely not worth doing on this. I don't need to have a car to go to Kelowna as the production is taking a coach bus up for crew that doesn't want to drive, and will provide transport between the set and hotel. But once the job is finished and I come back down here, not only won't I have a place to live... I won't even have a car. So I am thinking I should hang onto it until I get that sorted out. He only left a $200 deposit so I can give that back.

I feel so unstable right now, second guessing myself at every turn.

I wish I had someone to run all of this by and help me think straight... but all of my friends are women and I don't know that they know any more than I do about any of this. What I wouldn't give for a good man right about now.

NO REGRETS?

2011-08-24T09:24:00.000-07:00

Well, how things can change in a day or so - in my life, anyway.

Here it is in point form as I just don't have what it takes to write it all down any other way:

-went into work yesterday to pick up a cheque - after being given the month of August off with assurances that I will be back in Sept., now I won't be back in Sept (due to the next item, it was my suggestion but was very eagerly accepted - too eagerly for my comfort) and maybe not even ever. The script supervisor they brought in for August only seems to be a 'better fit' than I am. There was talk of keeping me on and then alternating with her, which would be better than nothing but a far cry from ideal for my bank account.

-got a call about a job for all of Sept. in Kelowna on a movie. Went and met the director, producers and PM yesterday. My friend, the 1st AD who called me about it said I would be hearing from him, probably in 10 minutes to say I had the job. It's that was yesterday at 4pm. Still haven't heard. This seemed like a great answer to a couple of issues - gave me somewhere to live for a month while I make enough $ to buy a decent small used motorhome. I actually found THE perfect one today on CraigsList for a price I could afford by the time I was done the show. But now I am doubtful I am getting the show as I haven't heard. I will call today to find out once the office is open and they've had an hour or so there.

-so without a job I really don't know what to do. It turns out that the van I was looking at buying has a LOT of issues mechanically as it has sat for 4 years (just to be clear, this is a camper van I was looking at last week NOT the one pictured above that I found today). The present owner is a mechanic so he was listing off all it needs doing. He doesn't want to do it as he doesn't have the time. I think it will take all I have to buy it and get it in running shape so that really isn't an option. It will be 6 weeks before I can start collecting Employment Insurance, so I have to have something to live on between now and then.

-I was thinking of going to my bank today to see about getting a small loan so I could buy something better (like the one I found today) for about $5,000 - $10,000 which, in normal circumstances, I could have paid off in two or three months. But now, with work being so uncertain, this isn't an option.

-I started looking at other job postings but all that does is make it glaringly obvious how unqualified I am for pretty much any other work than what I do. I am useless at book-keeping so most office jobs are out, and I really am not up on all of the usual office software. I have never worked in a restaurant of any kind - well, that's not true - I was a car-hop back in my high-school days but that's not going to get me anywhere)... having said that, I'd love to learn how to bar-tend on the job but everyone wants people with years of experience. Retail work pays slave wages and requires one to be on their feet all day and my lower back just can't take that anymore.

Hind-sight being 20/20, I shouldn't have gone to the BVI. But I had NO idea that my job was in jeopardy, in fact - I was told to order another years work of paperwork with my name on it, I was sent the 'welcome back for season 2' letter, I was sent the schedule for the second season, and - above all - when I was asked to train a replacement I was assured that my job 'was not in jeopardy' but it was just a safety net in case I should get ill or need some time off. So I had every reason to believe I was good to go and that part of my savings could pay for a much longed for trip. I do NOT regret going, however. It was SO amazing and soul restoring and just plain fabulous in every way. But one can't help but think of how I could just go and buy that RV today had I not gone.

So despite all I wanted to do to keep myself from having my back against the wall with no options ever again, I find myself pretty much there.

***UPDATE: Not 5 minutes after posting this I found out I HAVE THE KELOWNA JOB! So I am off to see the motorhome this afternoon, will offer a huge deposit to hold it until the end of the month and then pay for it when I get back. I can't put into words what a HUGE relief and answer to prayer this is. Now to get on with reducing, packing up, and selling what I have in this one room!!

I HAVE DECIDED

2011-08-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

It's about time I wrote again. I have neglected the blog because I have had a lot going on - not so much physically but certainly in my head. There was just too much swirling around in there, and resulting stress, to try to sort any of it out for a blog. It's still a bit that way but I think I can manage to pull together some coherent thoughts.

I have to be out of my place at the end of August. I thought I had to the end of September but that is not the case. So I have been earnestly checking CraigsList and other ads for an apartment within a 20 minute drive to work. I can NOT believe how many scammers there are on CraigsList. It makes me sick. I estimate that for every 10 ad's I answered, 3 were scams. What is the matter with people?! And the thing is, I can't imagine that they actually work because they are all the same - with slight variations, and so obvious.

I was house sitting in New Westminster for a week, for the family of the star of Mr.Young while they went to California. I planned to use the opportunity of staying so close to where I wanted to live view some suites. I attempted. I wasn't very successful. In a week, I managed to view ONE. The reason? Well there were a few. Some stood me up; I showed up and there was no answer on the intercom I had been instructed to buzz. That happend THREE different times at one location. Some wouldn't even let me come and look as they weren't interested in hiring someone who worked in film. I am sure that is against the law as it smacks of discrimination, but I didn't have the energy to fight it. There were a few who asked me to call back or they would call me back to set up a time to view, and then when I called back, it was gone. I was so frustrated by the end of that week.

The next week, I viewed two apartments that couldn't have been more different. One was located on the second (and top) floor in a 90 year old building with 32 suites. The floors were the original oak, the ceilings were high and curved where they met the walls, the fixtures were ancient, the kitchen was miniscule. The view from the livingroom was onto a huge tree in the park next door. The other place was on the fourteenth floor of a 20 floor concrete hi-rise. It was to have brand new carpet, new blinds, new paint on the walls. The view from the livingroom was over the north shore mountains ahead to the river on the left. Both were the same price. The hi rise also had a swimming pool. I filled out paperwork for both places and, two or three days later, I heard back from the old building that I had the suite. I never heard back from the hi-rise.

Then the anxiety started.

I flew up to Kelowna to visit my daughter for 12 days (I am writing this on my last day here as I sit in the coffee shop across from where she works). I was waking up every night between 1am and 4am and couldn't get back to sleep. My stomach was in knots, my heart was racing, my mind was racing even faster. All I could think about was how much money this was going to cost me every month. Not only rent but parking, storage if I needed it, and all utilities. Going from $300 a month at my friends house to $1,300 a month was freaking me out.

I started thinking about the RV option again. I can't park a big rig on the studio lot because there's no room. But if I find something that takes up just one parking space, then it shouldn't be a problem.

One night, while tossing and turning, feeling sick to my stomach and sweating from the stress, I make a decision. I am not taking the apartment. I am finding a camper van or a small motorhome and that will be where I live. As soon as I make the decision, the stress just drains out of me, my stomach stops churning, and I fall promptly to sleep.

I know it's not going to be a cake walk. I am now stressing about how I am going to fit what I need into a camper van. I am stressing about getting rid of all of my stuff (not that I care about getting rid of it - but rather figuring out what has to go and then selling it in time). I am doing lots of research on line about living as a nomad; boondocking, camping, storage, and - worst of all - batteries and amps and converters etc. etc. The whole electrical thing freaks me right out. But I feel I need to learn it, despite my total lack of any brain cells devoted to science, physics, electricity, and my terror at getting shocked (not even electrocuted - just shocked). And, although I am stressing, it's not of the same intensity I was feeling about taking the apartment AND it will be short lived, whereas I really don't see an end to the stress of rent and bills etc. The experiences I have had in the past two years have permanently affected me and I don't know if I will ever be without financial terror in my life as a result.

I plan to keep blogging regularly about my agony and progress through this whole venture. It has nothing to do with sailing. But... BUT... in a way it does because living like this will allow me to save most of my income and then, perhaps... just MAYBE... I can make other dreams come true.

WHERE TO GO?

2011-07-30T22:19:00.000-07:00

I found out on last Friday that I have the whole month of August off of work so my mind immediately began to dream of where to get away. As I wrote in the previous post, the weather here has been miserable. Spending all summer in a dark, windowless sound stage didn't seem like such a bad thing if the weather wasn't going to be summer-like. Usually those places heat up like an oven when it's hot out but not only aren't we getting any heat, we have a new air-conditioning unit that was installed over our break that keeps the place positively frigid. I had to dig out a sweater coat from my winter wardrobe so that I wouldn't catch a chill!!

I thought of a few options for a trip and so started to put out feelers for what it would cost:

Back to the BVI: I found a flight from YVR to STT for $945 - not great but better than I have seen in the past. When we were looking at flights in February of '09 for my daughter's wedding on Tortola, flights to EIS were $1,200+.

I got a smoking good deal on Jost Van Dyke at White Bay Villas. Their biggest unit, Plantation Villa, is a shared accommodation with private bedroom but shared kitchen, living room, and sometimes bathroom. The dates I was looking at, basically all of August, I would have the entire house to myself at $135 a night plus 17% tax etc. which is a spectacular deal as the house is gorgeous. And as I really want to go back to Jost for an extended visit the next time I go to the islands, this was my dream option.

White Bay, Jost Van Dyke

I also got a great deal at Chateau Relaxeau Caribe, a lovely place right on the beach of Apple Bay, Tortola; $100 a night including all taxes. As I really want to get to know the owner, Malcolm Boyes and his wife (who live upstairs) along with neighbours Island Jim and his wife, this was a very attractive option.

Chateau Relaxeau Caribe

I checked with Uschi at Sebastians on the Beach (the place where I spent 9 days on my trip in May of this year) to see what her summer rates are and she also gave me a great deal. The restaurant closes August 17th along with some of the rooms so her offer was a Beach-Rear room at $50 a night or a Seaside Villa Suite (with full kitchen so could cook my own meals if I wanted to save money) for $85 a night. The Villa Suites are up the beach a bit from where I stayed before and right by Chateau Relaxeau Caribe so I could still get to know the gang. This was the most economical BVI option.

Sebastians on the Beach

I then thought about sailing and how I have a standing invitation to join a fellow who is a full-time cruiser in the Caribbean. He is currently in Grenada, holed up for hurricane season. Grenada is somewhere I would love to visit, especially after reading An Embarrassment of Mangoes. There would be no cost to me for staying on the boat other than $200 a week or so for food. I checked into flights and the best I found was $1,100 going Toronto to Barbados to Grenada. I emailed the sailor and he was happy to have me come down but warned that the weather was such that we wouldn't be doing much sailing and so I would not get to learn how. Seeing how the point of going on such a trip would partially be to learn how to sail, this doesn't make much sense at this time.

Sailing the Caribbean

I considered a trip to Palm Springs to stay with the friends I stay with at Christmas as they always urge me to come back in the summer when the pool is open and it's lovely and hot. I checked flights and they were cheap at just under $300 return. So I sent a request down via email to see if the 'Red Room' was available and found out that it wasn't a good time for them. Plus the director friend I love to bits who hosts Christmas down there is in Los Angeles making a movie all of August so I wouldn't get to see him.

The Backyard of Where I Stay in Palm Springs

I have felt that my next big trip should be to England to go see family, especially an elderly auntie that has just moved into a retirement community. I talk to her every week or two on the phone and she really wants me to come and see her. The last time I was over there was 2008 and the last time I saw her was a year ago when she visited here. So I looked into flights there and the best I could do was $1,600+. YIKES!! So I emailed my travel agent and he found a flight for just under $700. This would be an economical option as, again, my costs would be limited once I arrived as I would stay with family. But eating out and other spending would be very costly due to the price of everything being so high and the exchange rate of $1.57=£1.00 - albeit much better than my last trip which was $2.20=£1.00. And it's a bit short notice for everyone who I would be staying with. But I'd really like to go so this is moving up to one of my most probable options.

A Bridlington Street, the Town My Aunty Lives In

I also toyed briefly with the idea of flying to Los Angeles to visit the set of Ant Farm, a show by the creator of Mr. Young (the show I work on). I thought it might be beneficial for me to shadow the script supervisor there and see how he does things. I actually had a telephone conversation with him earlier this week about timings as we were having some issues with that on our show. I mentioned to the AD on our show what I was thinking and before I knew it, she had arranged for me to stay with the people who rent the house she owns in Burbank, so accommodation would be free. Flights were cheap and I could rent a car for under $300 a week. But there were mitigating factors that made me decide against this option. I would have liked to do this though as I could also have met up with my director friend in LA for dinner and perhaps visited him on set at the old RKO studio lot, which would have been fantastic.

Hollywood, December 23, 2009

Then this week, summer arrived!!!!!! FINALLY!!!! The sky is blue, the sun is HOT, and British Columbia is showing it's best side. Do I really want to leave in the only good weather we get all year??? Especially to the Caribbean where it's hurricane season so probably leaving sunshine for rain? It rained for over a week on my recent trip there thus I found that there's not much to do but read when it's raining in the Caribbean.

And to be honest, I am a bit travel weary after just getting back from 5 weeks away. And by travel weary I mean airport weary. I used to love being in the airport, people watching, excited at the prospect of flying away, loved ones waiting with you until you went through the boarding gate. No hassles, no line ups, NO SECURITY CHECKS. I loved flying. Now no one can wait with you unless they are traveling too, line ups everywhere, the dreaded TSA minions, no decent food on the flights AND my feet swell to the size of loaves of bread on the long flights.

So what to do, what to do?

I have decided to stay home for most of the month. I need to save my money for a new (to me) vehicle as mine is on it's last legs. I also need to save up for the rest of my dental work. As much as I love being spontaneous and adventurous, sometimes practicality has to prevail. It's a bummer but that is the way it goes.

But I did book a flight today. Just an hour long each way. I am going up to Kelowna, the lake country, to spend 11 days with my daughter. She is working during the week but I am staying two weekends and I have a good friend up there who I miss dearly and love to bits so we will hang out as much as we can (and she has a pool!!!! - which she even lets me use when they're not home). Kelowna is the holiday destination for most Vancouverites and Albertan's so why not me?

Kelowna, Home of the OGOPOGO

I need to take advantage of the sunshine here while it lasts.

BACK TO LIFE AS USUAL

2011-07-16T18:19:00.000-07:00

I've been back at work for two weeks and we have the first two episodes of Mr.Young 'in the can'. It's been exhausting to say the least. After two months of relaxation, one month spent in the beautiful Caribbean, I have spoiled and softened. Thirteen hour work days with a two and a half hour daily commute are a shock to this system! It doesn't help that we started off hitting the ground at a full run... both episodes were pretty huge with lots going on.

I am still looking for a place to live. But now, I am looking with a friend from work. Her son is one of our cast members and their home is on Vancouver Island so they rent a townhouse close to the studio. But it's not big enough and they are looking to move and we have decided to get a place together. Thing is, there's not many nice 4 bedroom places for rent. The search goes on!

I have been looking for a car to buy. My old '93 Jeep Cherokee is dying a slow and painful death. I first thought I'd get a 2003 Toyota Echo as I like the way the seats are in that car - you sit more upright than low down with your legs extended out; that kills my lower back. But then I went to my mechanic to get my studded snow tires replaced with some cheap all seasons (before I got a ticket!) and he has some Suzuki Grand Vitaras for sale at a very reasonable price. I saw a 2001 for $5,000. It is a rebuild from being a write off, but all he had to replace were the headlights and the hood from it rear-ending another vehicle. He said, and it's true, that ICBC write off older vehicles for the slightest thing these days. It is a 4 wheel drive, which I like, and felt quite compact inside yet with lots of leg room. So I am saving up and hope to have it or one like it by the end of summer. I hope the old Jeep lasts that long.

My Blurb photo book arrived this week and I am really pleased with it. The upgraded paper quality and a linen cover were totally worth the extra few dollars (under $4) and the only thing I would change is the size of the font on some of the writing; the stuff on the inside of the flyleaf is kinda small. I would probably go for a bigger book next time too. I had it delivered to work, as that is where I am all of the time now, and so people got to see it and were really impressed. One of the boom operators took it home for her husband to see - he is a camera operator, and he not only liked the book itself but said I had a great eye; that the composition of the photos were really good. That made me feel pretty great. It is a really wonderful keepsake of a fabulous trip.

Speaking of which, I can't wait to go back to the sunshine of the Caribbean. The weather here is HORRIBLE. It has rained most all week and today, Saturday, it's just pissing down rain. July 16th. You'd never know it. I have decided that I need to give some serious thought to how I am going to move to a warmer climate in the future because I really can't take this weather any more. Life is far too short to spend it in the rain if you hate the rain. It's too short to spend any time doing anything you really hate doing. And if I lived somewhere warm and pretty, my kids would come and visit me and I'd actually get to see more of them... two weeks a year would add up to more than I see them in a year as it stands right now.

I need to figure out how to increase my income to make this dream a reality. I am open to any and all serious and practical suggestions (no multi-level marketing schemes please - I detest them).

BLURB!!!

2011-07-04T11:15:00.000-07:00

I got a great GROUPON deal Saturday for a photobook from BLURB for $20 ($45 value). So I spent the entire day yesterday creating it. I am so happy with the results and can't wait for it to get here.

I upgraded the paper quality, endpapers and linen cover, with the dust jacket and it only cost me $11 extra including priority shipping.

Below is the link so you can take a look at it. You can even order one for yourself if you like and I will make a small commission!

MY PARADISE

A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

2011-06-25T00:27:00.000-07:00

I am missing the islands and I decided to make a video of White Bay, Jost Van Dyke because I couldn't find one I really liked on YouTube.

I hope you like it.

SOMEONE, TAKE ME AWAY!!!!

2011-06-20T17:26:00.000-07:00

Sunset on Anegada

Tomorrow is the longest day of the year. Tomorrow is the first day of summer.

You could have fooled me.

The weather in and around Vancouver since my return from the BVI has been nothing short of MISERABLE. Cloudy, cold, raining... I think there have been three days where I have actually seen the sunshine. Gladly, one of them was last Thursday on my daughter's birthday. I took her out shopping for some makeup at a fabulous wholesale place (I can shop there because I have a movie union card) and then for a lovely lunch at Havana on 'The Drive'. The day before was the first time she had managed to keep her food down in 13 weeks and so we had high hopes that she would not only enjoy lunch but be able to hang onto it. Alas it was not to be. No sooner had we left the restaurant than she felt the meal was very heavy in her tummy. I took her home so she could have a nap before going out for a birthday dinner with her hubby later that evening and she called a bit later to say she had lost most of her lunch. Poor girl! She's lost 10lbs or more and it has really sapped all of her energy. (You know, writing this I don't think I have written on my blog that I am to be a grandmother come the end of the year [I just updated this post where I sort-of hinted at something when I originally wrote it]. I was told on the day my kids and I went to White Rock for a Mother's Day fish & chips lunch [although I had to pay for my own lunch so not sure if it was for MD - it was supposed to be, because I was away on actual MD]. I had suspected that they were going to tell me that very thing and had said as much to my friend the day before. I have no idea how I know these things but I often do. Anyhow I was very excited at the news and am really looking forward to this new chapter of my life.)

This card was in an envelope and with all the other mail my daughter had collected for me while I was gone. That is how they told me!

Anyway, back to this CRAPPY weather. I feel like I am going to go insane and I am not kidding. I just want to scream at the top of my voice that I HATE HATE HATE it here and I want out. People tell me "oh you would miss the seasons if you moved south." Oh really? What seasons would those be, exactly? The fall, winter and spring which is basically one long season of GREY and RAIN and COLD?

Vancouver in the rain. That sure is no Caribbean beach!

I love the Caribbean and would live there in a heartbeat but I can't work there so that is out. AND the cost of living is stupid high so even if I could get work, which I can't, I couldn't afford to come home to see my kids (and now a grandchild as of the end of this year) as much as I'd want to - if at all. I'd move to California - I love Palm Springs despite there being no beaches - but I can't work there either. I have never been so frustrated in my life as I have these past two years. I am SO DONE with the Pacific North West.

If anyone knows a way out - I am all ears.

Palm Springs

P.S. Sorry for the rant but I am seriously at the end of my rope and very stressed out at the moment. I know I should be just grateful that I had a month in the Caribbean while everyone else was here, toughing it out - I really do. But some people can handle this weather better than I do. I feel like I have put up with it for years and I am DONE with it. I just want to run away from it all. Also, it is hard not to have someone to share life's ups and downs with and I am weary of going it alone. In the rain. And then an invitation to THIS that I can't go to, and the fact that Walker and Nancy are back at Hidden Treasure as of today was sort of the last straw. I want to be there.

FOUND IT!!

2011-06-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

I have found a fabulous suite in New Westminster. It's not the one pictured in yesterday's post - that place was really tiny. Those photos were nothing short of miracle photography, making the rooms look at least twice the size they actually are.

No, the place I found was the second place I mentioned. The woman who owns it called me the evening before I was to head over to New West and I scheduled a time to view it right before I went to the other one.

The house is AMAZING. It is a genuine New Westminster heritage home, one of the larger beauties. When I was ushered into the main floor, where the owner lives, the grandeur of the dark wood-paneled entrance hall with high coffered ceilings took my breath away.

The house is divided into four additional suites, one in the basement, two on the third floor, and one in the attics. The suite available that I was shown was on the second floor. The door into the suite opened to reveal a roomy, sunny living room with a large bay window on one end. An antique brass chandelier hung from the center of a 12 foot ceiling and underfoot (throughout the whole suite) was the original wood flooring. This, at one time, was one of the bedrooms in the home. The suite ran the depth of the house and through a doorway was a small kitchen on the left and a place for table and chairs on the right. Continuing through, past a small open storage closet, was the bedroom - about half the size of the living room. Each room had a door that lead into the common hall where, down at the end, was the bathroom. That's right, there's no bathroom in my suite but the one down the hall is mine (as the other suite on that floor contains a private bathroom). There is also a bedroom on the floor that the owner reserves for her daughter when she visits from New York, and for when missionaries that her church supports come back for a visit. At those times, the bathroom is shared with whoever occupies the spare room. I was concerned about this at first and it was almost a deal breaker for me. But when I asked further, she divulged that she only has female visitors stay in the room and not all that frequently. The commode is in a separate room from the bath and shower. I decided that I could deal with it. The price is right and the rooms perfectly suit my taste in decor and furnishings - Shabby Chic.

I told the owner that I would take it but she wanted to hold it for me for 10 days until I am sure. She is a bit nervous that I only saw two places. But I don't need to see more. I love this suite! I sent her my references today.

The James Gilley House. The suite is the bay window on the left (second floor); the two windows on the side are in the kitchen and bedroom, in that order.

Here is some history on the original owner of the house:

JAMES ROGERS GILLEY

For many years connected with the firm of Gilley Brothers of New Westminster, James Rogers Gilley occupied an important position in the commercial life of his community, being highly regarded by all who knew him for his straightforward business methods and his honorable dealings. His death, in August 1906, removed from the city's activities one of its foremost citizens and a man who even in a short span of life had done much to promote the
general welfare.

James R. Gilley was born in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, June 12, 1863, a son of Walter and Sarah (Rogers) Gilley. There he was reared and educated but in 1886, when twenty-three years of age, came to British Columbia to join his brothers, Walter R. and H. Gilley, who had located here a few years previously. After his arrival here he engaged in the teaming and livery business in company with his brother Walter at Port Haney for a year. In 1887 they removed to New Westminster, establishing themselves in the same line, and here the three brothers were associated in business for about five years, at the end of which period the livery stable was disposed of, all their attention being given to their teaming. Gradually the present extensive business of Gilley Brothers developed and new lines were taken up, including handling of building materials, coal, crushed rock and sewer pipe, they also becoming in time owners of extensive quarries. The firm gradually built up a business which was second to few, if any, in their line in the province.

In 1890 James R. Gilley returned to New Brunswick for his bride and on the 2nd of October of that year was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Adelma Dean, a daughter of Rufus P. and Mary (Smith) Dean, of St. David, New Brunswick. Mr. and Mrs. Gilley became the parents of eight children: Reita Sarah; Edgar Roland and James Royden - twins; Rufus Walter; Marjorie Evelyn; Beatrice Adelma; Verna Muriel; and Jean Rogers Dean.

Mr. Gilley always took an active interest in fraternal affairs and was a well known member of Union Lodge, No. 9, A. F. & A. M. Beside his connection with the firm of Gilley Brothers he was interested in other commercial enterprises, having made judicious investments as prosperity came to him. He stood ever ready to give his support to any worthy movement that he considered would benefit his adopted city and gave an example of public-spirited citizenship well worthy of emulation. Strictly temperate in his habits, he was upright and honorable in all his dealings and although entitled to prominence and recognition, was modest and unassuming in his demeanor. Frank, open-hearted and genial, he was easily approachable and personally popular, his generous nature making him a favorite among all who knew him. He was always willing to give his share of time and money to any measure that had for its object the good of the community, never taking into consideration if such measures would benefit him financially or not. Naturally his death therefore was a heavy loss to the city of New Westminster, where he died August 1906, the news of his demise bringing sorrow to many a home. Mrs. Gilley, who survives, makes her home in the beautiful residence which he erected on Eighth street shortly prior to his death. She is a woman of many charming qualities and is rarely accomplished and is socially popular among the best people of New Westminster.

CHANGE OF PLANS

2011-06-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems my quest for a nice RV to park on the studio lot for season 2 of Mr.Young is for naught. There isn't going to be enough room to park it there. Plans are to build a couple of outbuildings to get paint and construction out of the studio - which is a great idea as the smell and sawdust drives us all insane. Parking will be at a premium; there's more than enough for all of the crew but come Friday nights, when we shoot before a live audience, there just isn't enough.

So, growing ever more adaptable in my new life of scaled-down living, I switched my search from the RV'S to apts/housing for rent. I kept my search to New Westminster and South Burnaby, as both locations would be very close to work. I found a few that seem to suit and I have one, hopefully two, lined up to see tomorrow. I spoke at length with the owner of the one I am booked in to view and it sounds like it will be mine if I want it. It's two large rooms on the top floor of a small-ish heritage home in New Westminster. It has wood floors, sloped ceilings, and a fairly large bathroom. I would share the kitchen (although have a bar fridge and cupboards for my food upstairs) with the family; a couple with a four year old daughter. The dad is away lots on business. I would have preferred something with a small kitchen of my own, but this has a lot that I couldn't either find or be sure of in any of the other ad's, namely; right price, quiet assured, top floor, wood floors, parking, and enough space for a separate bedroom and sitting room.

Photos of the suite from the ad.

I like what I see in the pictures, but I'd like an appointment with the second place I found to at least compare what is available for the same price in the same area. Here's hoping they call me back today.

IT PAYS TO RESEARCH (AND I LOVE RESEARCH!)

2011-06-13T09:48:00.000-07:00

So I received several emails and a few posts on FaceBook from friends concerned that the deal on the motor home I wrote about yesterday could be a scam. Let me say that the thought did not originate in my mind with these expressed concerns. I didn't fall off of the cabbage truck yesterday but I do tend to be more trusting than most people. However, I tend to research something until the information starts to repeat itself and this was no different.

I started out by checking eBay's Vehicle Purchase Protection; the way the seller wished to handle the transaction. It looked pretty iron-clad as far as protecting me from fraud. I then called a friend who had purchased a Land Rover from eBay using this method of payment. He said that, if the vehicle wasn't being sold on eBay (it wasn't, it was Craigslist) then the seller would start a private auction, once I had decided to purchase, and I would buy it on eBay at the 'buy now' price. Then eBay would contact me and I would place the funds with them in escrow until the vehicle arrived and I had 5 days to inspect it. Other than my friend finding his Land Rover on eBay initially, this was exactly how it worked for him and it worked well. Reassured, I felt I could move on with securing financing from my bank today.

I also had Googled the title of the ad on Craigslist to see what would come up. It turned up three more identical ads in PEI, Edmonton, and Richmond BC (the one I was replying to was Vancouver, BC). When I checked the ads, the one in Edmonton had been flagged for removal. This did not give me a huge concern as Craigslist does not allow multiple posts in different cities for the same item. But I filed it away in my mind as something to remember.

Another friend from work offered to find someone who lived in Yellowknife, where the rig is, and have them go take a look at it and make sure it was legit. I took him up on it and he posted to his FB page asking if anyone knew anyone who lived there and I did the same thing.

This morning I was about to put together my proposal to the bank and was checking emails to see if the seller had replied to my request for a VIN# and the name and address of the shipper in the Yukon who has possession of the RV. There was no reply as of yet (they are in London, England) but there was a message from a good friend of mine. She wrote to say to be very careful as the deal sounded too good to be true (which was my biggest concern thus far) and that they had nearly been scammed in a similar deal last week. She urged me to Google 'car selling scams', something I had not thought to do. I did and the first site on the list had all a list of typical scams and the first one I clicked on was almost exactly what I was experiencing. Here's a list:

The seller is almost always from London, England. Check.
They will want to use eBay Protection. Check.
They will have some excuse as to why they don't want the vehicle where they live now. Check.

The first experience listed also stated that huge red flags for her was when, once they had agreed to buy the vehicle, the letter from eBay was full of spelling mistakes AND they required the payment be sent through Western Union only.

Had my dealings with this RV gotten that far, they would have stopped right there. I have an active eBay account and have received several emails from 'eBay' over the years claiming various things that all required me to visit the site - link kindly provided in the email - and sign in to verify this or that. Every time I have sent the email straight to eBay's spoof department. As for sending the payment through Western Union, I would NEVER EVER EVER use Western Union to send money in a transaction of this sort. The money would be wired from my bank or they could forget it. Like I said, I didn't fall off the cabbage truck yesterday.

So I would have discovered that this was fraud eventually, but it is really great to have done so before it got that far.

As for advice I received to get the VIN# and then run it through CarFax:
quote from the website I found: Anybody can get a VIN and pictures of a legitimate car off of any number of websites, like AutoTrader.com or even eBay. CarFax does not show the owners name, and they know this. The vehicle will show to be free and clear of any loans or liens and they know this too as they will have checked already.

Lastly, this morning I tried something I attempted to do yesterday but couldn't figure out - I clicked on the little down arrow beside 'reply' on the header of one of the emails from the seller in Google Mail. This opens a drop-down menu that gives me several options. I selected 'show original' and a page of details showing the path the email took to get to me opened up. In there I found the originating ISP# on this line:
Authentication-Results: mr.google.com; spf=pass (google.com: domain of chandelle.kies63@gmail.com designates 10.231.67.79 as permitted sender) - *I put the ISP in bold.

I then typed: Who is 10.231.67.79 into Google search and up came a map of a range of ISP's including that one and their place of origin; off of the coast of AFRICA, not London England as the sender claimed.

So it pays to do your research and I hope this helps anyone who might be considering an internet deal that seems too good to be true because it really is true that if a deal seems too good to be true, it usually is.

Please, Please, PLEASE?!

2011-06-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

I first got the idea of living in an RV full time in the winter of '09 when I was kind of at the end of my rope with my situation. Actually, I was trying to wrap my head around the idea of converting my mini-van into a camper-van and living in it full time. You can read about that time in my life here. It was a pretty low point for me in that season of no work and no money. But the seed of an idea that really appealed to me was planted - namely, living full time in an RV and being able to go wherever I felt like going whenever I wanted to, and always having a place to live.

Since that time, I have moved in with a good friend who gave me a large room for a very good monthly rent. It allows me to have a place for things I need to have with me (and the rest is in 74 - yes SEVENTY FOUR boxes in another friend's crawl space) as well as afforded me the opportunity to save up for much needed dental work and a trip to the BVI (also much needed, for my sanity's sake. I have nearly driven myself mad for two years with longing to go back).

I have known that the living situation with my friend was not permanent as she has a big family of adult kids that keep coming home as well as wanting to renovate her basement, where my room is. Add to that a commute in horrendous traffic for an hour and a half every day into my job as a script supervisor on a children's TV series (and up to another an hour home) which is more than I can face for another year or more. When I saw, last season, that two crew members had brought motor homes to live on the studio lot, the seed of the idea began to bloom. How very much time and money (in gas) I would save if I could buy a motor home and do the same. And when not filming the show, in the summer months I could take it up to Kelowna to visit my friends and daughter, and in the winter I could head south to get out of the weather I hate so much in Vancouver. And most attractive of all, I would always have a place to live, even when there was long stretches of no work. It seemed like the perfect solution to my situation and inherent longing for adventure.

I decided that should the show go to a second season and should I be asked to come back, I was going to buy a motor home. I would have to scrimp and save for the first three or four months of the show, but I know I can do that. And once in a motor home - I would not only save on gas but on rent. To me it seemed like a total win situation. So I started to look online for motor homes for sale to figure out what sort of rigs fell into my price range.

I figured that $10,000 - $15,000 was my range, with the high being a bit of a stretch because it would put me into a motor home rather late in the shooting season, and would take a lot of my income for the entire second season (and I need to consider the fact that I must to save up to get the rest of my dental work done). I decided on 'C' class RV's because - although large 'A' class models are roomier and have lots of storage, are often comparable to the smaller 'C' class models in price for the same year, AND tend to have lower mileage because people just drive them to a pad and then park them for years - the thoughts of driving what amounts to a bus is daunting to me. I quickly discovered that I wasn't going to get anything newer than about a '95 for my range. I also found that there are quite a few 'C' classes available with low mileage for either the same reason that 'A' classes are so low, or people only use them two weeks out of the year to drive to a destination they will stay at the entire time.

What I realized over a three month period of checking adverts was, there's lots of choices out there and there wouldn't be any trouble finding something I would be happy with once I had the cash to pay for it. So - no need to get anxious or stress out about losing out on a good deal, I would get back to work in July, save like mad and buy something in September or October.

All of that changed yesterday.

First of all, when I got back from Kelowna, my friend told me that she needs me to move out soon because she is going ahead with plans to renovate the basement and she needs to put one of her daughters in my room. We talked about it and she is agreeable to me not moving out until our hiatus in October, so that gives me time to save but no time to fart around. I had been toying with saving for the dentist first and getting that over and done with in October but now it has to be the motor home that comes first. I also have to get serious about paring down, yet again, my belongings so that I can fit my stuff comfortably into the motor home I buy.

Secondly I started searching again for what is out there in my price range. As I looked, I found one or two that I really like and so wrote to the owners to try to set up times to go see them so that I can get a good idea of how much storage there will be, the condition I can expect the unit to be in - that sort of thing. Then, as I continued to look, I found one that made my heart skip more than a few beats.

I know I can't buy something I am going to be truly happy to live in full time for the price I can afford. But my thinking is, if I buy a decent one with low miles and then we go to a third season on the show, I could probably sell it for what I paid for it and then trade up. If we went to season four and five, I could do it again - twice - and end up with something really nice; newer, with push-out's, roadworthy (because I am not entirely confident that I can get something right off the bat that I would feel confident driving to, say, Arizona in). I could end up with something like I found yesterday - the one that made my hear skip beats.

As I read the very short ad, I felt there had to be a mistake. The only two pictures in the ad were of the exterior of the vehicle showed a beautiful 'C' class RV with a truck cab. The description: 2006. Diesel engine. Three slide outs. No leaks, no rust, no dents, no accidents, no smokers or pets ever inside. $14,500. I have looked at enough RV ads by now to know that has to be a typo. So I email the owner and ask if the price is actually FOURTEEN THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS. Today I get a reply. That is the price. I hardly dare breathe.

I write back and asked why it is that price, what the mileage is, and does she have more photos. She writes back to say that she has moved to London, England and just wants it sold. It only has 65,700km on it. It is in the Yukon and the price includes delivery to my door! She wants to sell it using eBay Vehicle Motor Purchase Protection - which I look up and is a fabulous way to go as it protects both the buyer and the seller. She includes about 30 pictures of both the outside and inside and it is honestly the Cadillac of RV's.

I then do a search online for the same make and model. What I find leves me stunned; this motor home sells anywhere from $65K - $99K. It was $150K brand new. I read a few RV sites where people sing the praises of how it handles, how much storage there is, how well designed the interior is, how it comes with everything you can think of... on and on. The only negative thing I read is that upgrading the shocks will improve the drive at higher speeds and that installing 'air bags' will improve the low riding rear end.

I write back and tell her I want this RV. I tell her that I need two days to go to my bank and see if they will give me a loan for it. She says she will hold it until she hears back from me.

So now I am driving myself mental with anxiety wondering if the bank will give me a loan. Having declared bankruptcy two years ago is not going to be hugely in my favour but I read an article that said it's not necessarily going to hinder me either. I figure that the RV is worth so much more than the loan that it is a good risk. Also I can prove my earning income and they can see from my deposits and savings last season that I can save a LOT of money when I want to. I can have the loan paid off by January for sure. I have a good friend that is a bank manager and I need to talk to her today to see what she thinks my chances are.

Oh, please, please, PLEASE let this work out. It would be AMAZING if it did.

Five Days in Kelowna, B.C.

2011-06-11T12:21:00.000-07:00

I decided to escape the cold and wet of the coast and head up to Kelowna, B.C., home of the legendary Ogopogo, to visit my youngest daughter who lives there.

Statue of Ogopogo

I can't drive my old jeep on the Coquihalla Highway as it has long, murderous hills that I don't trust it can live through so I looked at flights and found a seat sale on West Jet but by the time I was ready to buy, the sale was over. I ended up finding a friend who was heading up that way on Sunday so hitched a ride with him. I would have liked to have left on Friday so I could have a weekend with Shonah, but beggars can't be choosers and I was very happy to have a free ride. (I offered to help pay for the gas but it was a business trip for him thus covered).

The weather in Kelowna was warmer than the coast by about 10 degrees, but still not the hot sunny days one expects up there by now. And a trip to the lake on my first day, to a beach I took the kids to almost daily when we lived there, was a huge disappointment. I guess coming right off of a trip to paradise (where visions of beaches that are straight out of Islands Magazine were still dancing in my head) made this beach look dirty, pebbly, and the water brown and cold. I dipped my toe in and cold doesn't quite cover it - it was freezing! So I left and never went back to the lake.

Certainly not the Caribbean.

Instead I spent my days (while Shonah was at work) reading, doing dishes, visiting with a couple of friends (one I had really wanted to see came down with a terrible cold the day I arrived so I didn't get to see her), and a bit of shopping. In the evenings Shonah and I went to see Pirates 4, had ice cream down in the City Park while people watching, walked through a pretty Japanese garden in the city center, went to Kelley O'Brian's for patcho's (YUM!), and watched a couple of DVD's and a Canucks game together. One day I went and had lunch with her at Disney Online Studios. What a great place to work. Their lunchroom is AMAZING with foosball, video games on a giant screen TV, a fully stocked kitchen - yougurt, fruit, veggie plate, granola bars, pudding cups, chips, pop, water, two $45,000 cappuccino machines, and lots of windows and nice seating.

The Japanese Gardens.

We headed back together on Friday after she was done work, and after we had 20 minutes or so with an old friend I hadn't seen for 15 years or more that we spied at a coffee shop right across from where Shonah works as we were driving away. That was really nice. Roberta and her husband, and me and mine were best of friends from just before we got married right up until we moved to Kelowna in '93. And, strangely enough, they lived in Kelowna and we had kept up a long distance friendship for years by visiting them every Easter and some summer weeks. Now that we lived there, we never saw them. I think they were really disappointed in us not joining their church, going to one we had heard about and wanted to check out instead. Whatever the reason, it had been too long since I had laid eyes on her. Funnily enough, my daughter and hers work at the same place and have continued their childhood friendship for the past few years, so I had sort of kept up with how Roberta was doing through them. Next time I go to Kelowna, the two of us have plans to see much more of each other and renew our friendship. I am really looking forward to that.

OH VANCOUVER!!

2011-06-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

It's been miserable since I got home - raining and COLD!!! And that isn't just me not being able to acclimatize because the furnace has been coming on. It's actually COLD!

I arranged to meet a good friend in Vancouver for the day on Sunday and it ended up being partly sunny and actually warmish when the sun was out. We met at her place near Gastown for brunch and then went for a walk. (I had lunch on Saturday with two of my kids but I can't talk about that just yet. UPDATE June20: Ok now I can - I am going to be a GRANDMA!!!! - but I won't be called grandma or grannie or nana. I like Nona but my daughter doesn't so we will see. The baby is due December 23.)

This city can be gorgeous when it wants to be. I hope it 'wants' to be more often and soon. That was our only good weather day since I got home.

Memories of sand between my toes and humid air warms my days and haunts my dreams. My head is still back in the BVI.

SECURITY, SECURITY, STUPIDCURITY

2011-05-27T16:09:00.000-07:00

It cost $7 to drive literally 3 minutes to the St. Thomas airport. My hotel was as close as you could get to the terminal without being on a runway so I was shocked at the cost seeing how it was only $10 from the airport to the ferry when I arrived, and only $3 from the ferry to Neptune's Treasure on Anegada.

I hate clearing security. And on this trip I have attempted to get liquids through in my carry on luggage that I didn't put in the zip lock bag as it was already full. And I can report to you that I got them through without detection EVERY SINGLE TIME. We're talking 5 times through security because I went through from YVR to Yuma, from Yuma to Los Angeles and three freaking times on the way home - that's right, for all three connections on the way back I had to go through security again. Of course I had to clear security in St. Thomas, then on my first stop in Miami the arrival terminal and the departure terminal for the next flight were not joined behind security so I had to exit into the general population area and cross back. In Toronto, I had to clear Canadian customs so had to leave the secure area to do that and then, go back. What a pain in the rear. Anyway, way to go TSA. You didn't see the two small tubes of moisturizer on the way down to the islands nor the two small (a couple of oz's) bottles of Pussers Rum on the way home. Good thing I wasn't planning on blowing up the plane with either of them.

When the plane banked, this island came into view. I have no idea which island it is but it was right out of the St.Thomas airport. I love the look of it.

Another lovely little island. Kind of bat shaped.

This amazing stretch of water went on for miles. I remember my friends from Zero to Cruising saying that they sailed for a long time in water that wasn't more than 12 feet deep and clear as a pool to the bottom. I have a feeling this might be it.

When I arrived at the Miami airport I was hungry and planned to get a meal but, as usual for me, wanted to find my gate first and then buy something at one of the great little restaurants that are all over the place behind the security gates. Well, I guess they don't think much of those of us traveling to Canada at that airport because the departure terminal for West Jet was way down several mile-long corridors to who knows where, and when I got there it looked like the waiting room for welfare and not a shop, restaurant, or even news stand in sight. Nothing. I had to walk for another quarter mile to find a Burger King and a Pizza Hut. No nice restaurants like the part I walked through when I landed. I ended up buying a bag of cinnamon pretzel chips at a news stand. Not exactly lunch

Ugly gate at Miami airport.

Ugly, ugly, UGLY.

When the agent was about to start boarding, she came on the intercom and said, "I have some good news and bad news." There was a collective groan from everyone waiting. "The good news is you will be flying on a brand new 737 with only 30 hours on it so far." Now I don't know how everyone else felt, but this was not exactly good news in my books. As far as I am concerned, that's not long enough to make sure everything is in good working order and it's not going to fall out of the sky. So I was not looking forward to the bad news. Turns out that was just that the plane was so new, there were no TV's installed on it yet.

The plane was so new it smelled like new car. Or new plane, rather.

Spotless new carpet.

Usually the plane wing and engine is crusted in dirt and always looks to me like it's about to fall apart. You could eat dinner off of this one.

Bye-bye, Miami. I wish I could have stayed a bit because I think you're great.

One real concern I have when flying is my swelling feet. By the time I reach my destination my feet look like two loaves of bread. So I was thrilled to find out that I had a whole row of seats to myself on my flight from Toronto to Vancouver and could put my feet up the entire way. Consequently my feel were barely swollen by the time I got home. Seeing how it took two weeks for my feet to go down after arriving in the BVI, I was really thankful for this.

When I was planning my trip to the BVI I was worried about cockroaches and spiders in my room so I bought sticky pads to put on the floors to trap any that strolled by. But I couldn't fit the ones that were shaped like a small box in my luggage. I had opened one up at home and decided to put it down on the floor by my bed to trap anything that might stroll by at home while I was gone. I am very happy to report I didn't need them in the BVI - I never saw a single spider except for a couple in webs in the vegetation, and I never saw a single cockroach at all. But when I got home.....

This thing is freaking HUGE!! Or was before it curled up and died. I hate having a basement room.

I have made a little arrangement to remember my time in the BVI with things I found on the beach along with a card I loved, a Christmas ornament I got on Anegada, and a magazine that captures the color of the water. I will try hard not to worship at this little shrine to my wonderful month in the BVI.

St. Thomas

2011-05-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

I am all packed and ready to go. I have left all of my liquids and gels that I bought on my first day here (except for the OFF and the bug killer spray) along with a Prairie Dance Club CD and a tip, in my room for the housekeeper. I don't know if she will want all of it but it's there if she does.

I have lots of time before I have to catch the 2:30 ferry to St. Thomas and I want to walk the beach one last time. I cross the road between the building with my room in it to the restaurant and through the outdoor patio area down the stone steps to the beach. On the right I walk down as far as I can until I get to all rocks - this is just a few feet away from the backside of The Bomba Shack. Then I turn around and walk all the way to the other end where there are more rocks.

When I was swimming a couple of days ago, a fellow walked from this end of the beach to where I was right in front of Sebastians and called out to me "Are you Sandra?" "Yes I am." I called back, mystified as to how he knew my name. I got out of the water and he introduced himself as the fellow who ran the Facebook page BVI Network and whose picture I had commented on just an hour or so ago. It was one he had taken of the waves coming in on the sand and I had asked where it was taken and he had replied that it was here, on Apple Bay. So then I replied to that saying I was on Apple Bay at Sebastian's right this moment. So as he had walked by, on his way to work, he saw me and recognized me. We chatted for a while about his work and how long he'd lived on Tortola - 18 years. He makes his living as a web designer and lives at the end of the beach that I have now walked to.

I have noticed, while at this particular beach, how the waves come in in sets. There will be a few small ones and then they will get bigger until about the fourth or fifth one is really big and then it goes back to the smaller ones again. I guess this is what my daughter is talking about when, as a surfer, she talks about sets of waves. It's something I had never noticed before. So I wait for the largest one to hit so I can get a picture of it hitting the big rock that is on the sand here.

The fellow was telling me that, at this time of year, the surf brings in the beach - that is, it dumps so much sand on the rocks that they are completely covered, even this big one, and it goes partway up the retaining wall in front of the houses. That's amazing to me. I had no idea that a beach could come and go like that. He said that, all it takes is a northern wind and the beach will be gone in two days.

At 11:30 I check out and pay my restaurant tab and then get in my car and drive away from Sebastian's for the last time, over the killer hill for the last time.

I drive to Soper's Hole to have lunch at Pussers and take a table right on the water. I order the Shepherd's Pie. When it comes, it's smothered in melted cheese, which I haven't ever done with Shepherd's Pie - or seen done before this, and the meat and gravy is way too salty. So I just pick at it and leave most of it.

I can see that the people who own that gorgeous sailboat that I saw the last time I was down here have arrived from Great Britain and are getting her ready to take her out.

After lunch I pop into one of the gift stores here to buy a couple of presents for people back home and then head out to return the car to Jerry's. After a short wait there for another customer who also needs a ride into Road Town, we all climb into a nice SUV and a very pleasant woman drives me to the ferry.

When I get to the ticket booth for the Road Town Fast Ferry to get a customs form - I already have my return ticket as I purchased a round-trip, the agent tells me that the 2:30 ferry has been canceled. Before I can panic she says that a different ferry service will take me instead, 15 minutes later at 2:45. Phew. So I go to the next window, Speedy's Ferry Service, and sign in for that ferry.

When I get on board, the air is still and stuffy. We get underway and there isn't a lot of air movement where I have chosen to sit but I notice that the big loading doors on either side, just behind me, are open. So I stand in the doorway and not only is the breeze fabulous but so is the view. With the wind whipping my hair about, it reminds me of my boating days. I stand in the doorway on one side, and then later the other, for the entire hour and a half trip.

Bye bye, Tortola!

Loving this!

Oh yes! I'd like to live right there, please.

I didn't realize we'd be stopping in Soper's Hole for more passengers - I had lunch there just a couple of hours ago.

The Jolly Roger, a famed restaurant that is known for its Jerk Prime Rib, a meal I would have loved to try but the teeth just aren't up to it yet.

And just on the other side of the Jolly Roger's parking lot, the family plot. You see that a lot on these islands, people bury their families in the front yard.

An island we passed on the way to St. Thomas. If anyone recognizes it and knows what island it is, please leave a comment letting me know as I have no idea but would like to know.

We finally arrive on St. Thomas and a 15 passenger van/taxi takes four of us at once. We're all headed in the same general direction. Two are dropped off at a business. The fellow left with me wants to go to the airport and when we pull off the main road at the turn off for the airport I figure I am going to be the last one dropped off. To my surprise, my hotel - The Best Western Carib Resort - is right at the entrance to the airport and so I am the next one dropped off. I knew it was close to the airport but I had no idea it was this close.

I get checked in and before I go to my room I sit down at the business center computer to print out my boarding passes for tomorrow. That done, I go find my room which is on the first floor and off of an interior hallway, which I really like. The Best Western I stayed at in Yuma had the doors off of an outdoor walkway and I never feel as safe in that situation. There's a lot of crime on St. Thomas so this is great.

All of the rooms at this hotel have been recently renovated and when I get inside my room, I am really impressed by how nice it is. Especially the bathroom which has a lovely stone tiled shower with a huge rain shower head.

As soon as my stuff is in my room, I head back outside and down to the pool and restaurant area. Apparently the restaurant is Mexican and quite good.

There are several ancient Cannons on the property; these are on the stairs leading down to the pool and beach area.

The Mexican restaurant to the left of the stairs.

And the pool to the right.

And further to the right, the beach area.

I test the waters of the pool and it's a lovely temperature and I am tempted to go back to my room and change into a bathing suit. Instead I head to the restaurant and order a Taco Salad and a virgin Margarita for dinner. It's delicious.

After dinner I head back to my room to repack my bags. My 'purse', which is actually a beach bag, is far too heavy and so I need to get more of the contents into my pretty-full wheeled carry-on bag. I manage to lighten the load considerably and still get the suitcase zipped up but I decide to use the beach bag I bought for the groceries in Tortola (and have been using for taking my stuff to the beach every day) as my purse and to leave the woven grass bag behind - which I love and was a gift from a friend but it has started to fall apart on this trip - just barely started falling apart so it's still got a lot of use in it, but it's not holding what I need it to very well. In the morning I drop the 2 bug sprays into it along with my toothpaste and some moisturizing cream and hope that the maid or someone can make use of it all. Meanwhile, I take a shower under that decadent shower head and then make it an early night as I have to be up at the crack of dawn to catch my 9:15 flight.

JOST VAN DYKE - I LOVE YOU!!!

2011-05-25T07:18:00.000-07:00

I arrived at the West End ferry dock at 9:30 to catch the 10:00 ferry to Jost Van Dyke. When I was here two years ago, we stopped at this island on our day sail but only had about an hour and a half there. It was the most beautiful beach I had been to on that trip and so was very loathe to leave. I am excited to be going back!

Just as the boat arrives, two sisters arrive that were at Cane Garden Bay the last time I was there. They are about my age or older and really friendly so I am happy to see them here. We chat about where we're from and where they've traveled (they are beach people so have been to most all of the beautiful beaches in the world) and what they do for a living. While we are waiting, a nice looking island fellow shows up and flashes me a big smile. I smile back and he asks how I am and I say I am great.

We all board the ferry and, although there's seating outside on the back deck, the whole deck is full of cargo; mostly beer and food for the restaurant bars over on the island so we all have to sit inside the stuffy passenger area. Fortunately, the windows are open and once we get underway there is a bit of a breeze.

The island fellow from the dock popped onto the boat so I thought he was traveling with us but I look out of my window and there he is on his own boat!

When we arrive on JVD, he is there on the dock waiting for us. The two sisters and I are talking about where we want to go first - they decide they want to walk over the hill to the Soggy Dollar Bar. I want to go to Foxy's first and the fellow tells me he is Foxy's son and he will drive me there if I like. I tell him I met one of his brothers on Anegada and as we try to figure out which brother it was - as I am useless at names - we get in his battered little Suzuki jeep and head over to the bar. On the way I find out his name is Dean and he shows me where Foxy lives and where he lives and stops to chat to a cousin who is working on a boat.

We pull up to Foxy's bar and I am so happy to finally see the place as we did not get here on our last visit. I have seen lots of pictures though. I ask Dean if his dad is there and he says he is but that he's old now and not always in the mood to visit with the tourists. But as I walk past an open doorway near the gift shop, an older man comes out and smiles at me. "Hi!" I say, "My name's Sandy." I shake his hand and he tells me his name is George. So it's not Foxy. Then some people from a dinghy that just docked walk up and say, "FOXY!!!! SO good to SEE you again, man!" and hug George. I look at them, mouth agape and Foxy laughs at me. "You scoundrel," I say, "you had me completely fooled." He laughs again. I watch and listen as the boaters chat with him and then have their pictures taken with Foxy. So I ask if they'll take mine and they do. Then Foxy sits on a log stump and starts making remarks about Americans being so politically correct and I say I am Canadian. He then launches into a rap/poem about Vancouver that is hilarious. He then does one about Toronto. The guy is amazing. He is in his 70's and yet he can remember all of this... but then he wrote it so I guess that is why.

Foxy regaling us.

Eventually I make my way into the huge gift shop with the best selection of clothing I have seen so far. They even have women's T-shirts with a deep V neckline (which I love) that has Foxy designs on them. I buy one. Then I go sit at the bar and order a Carib beer. I don't like beer much but I grew to like Corona when I was in Mexico (it was the only thing to drink at the beach restaurant) and I am dying of heat after being in the stuffy gift shop for so long and need something refreshing. As I sit at the bar, Dean walks up and sits with me. We have an interesting conversation about how he can read people's auras and he read mine as soon as he met me. I ask him what he saw and he says 'a good heart, and some other things'. I ask what 'other things' and he says, not now - maybe later. The aura talk started by him guessing my exact age, which no one ever does; most people think I am a lot younger than I am so it shocks me when he is exactly right. He makes me guess his age and I am way off. I thought he was about 32 but it turns out he's 46. He also tells me that he is single and a musician turned DJ.

Foxy's Bar.

He asks if I want to go see the beach and I think he means the one out front so say yes, but then he walks away from that beach and to the car. We get in and he drives over the hill to where Ivan's Stress Free Bar and Campground is. When we get to the beach, I can't believe how gorgeous it is. The color of the water here is unmatched in the rest of the BVI that I have seen. And it's so clear you can see the bottom no matter how deep it is, and it's all sand. We get in the water and just float about for over an hour. It's pure heaven. We meet another woman in the water who is from one of the charter boats. She's really friendly and when we get out of the water to go sit on the beach, we join her friends and have some good laughs. What a fun bunch!!

Beautiful water.

Fun bunch!

Dean and I take a walk farther down the beach and go for a swim again. As we float he tells me what else he saw in my 'aura'. One thing he says is that I have had a very stressful life. That's pretty accurate. He also tells me that I haven't had anyone special in my life for a long time and he's right about that as well.

After about another hour in the water we walk back down to Ivan's and gather our stuff to head over to the Soggy Dollar beach. As we leave, Dean introduces me to Ivan. He's so cute! He's obviously old by the way he moves and is eating a sandwich so slow and carefully, but his face is unlined and looks so young. It's amazing how young all of the islanders look - it must be this languid, stress-free life. How I envy them.

We drive over to the Soggy Dollar and wow! it's so crowded today. There's a webcam on top of the bar roof that has live pictures and I visit it almost every day when I am at home and I don't think I have seen it this busy this time of year. (And, by the way, I am really wishing someone I knew was watching the cam and could take a screen shot of me on it. That would be so cool!) Dean needs to go see his brother who has a bar just behind Soggy Dollar up the road, and so he heads off and I go to the beach. It's just as I remember it... the water is the most amazing shade of blue/green and warm! The sand is softer than any other island I have been to. It's heaven. I go in for a swim and see the women we were hanging out with at Ivan's so we stand around in the water and chat some more and I get to meet more of her friends from another boat that they are sort of traveling with. Everyone is so friendly that it has made this whole experience so much richer for me. I am happier than I can ever remember being - and so relaxed it's ridiculous. I have noticed that I even walk like an islander now with that slow, unhurried sway.

White Bay in front of The Soggy Dollar.

A group of teen girls and their mom's try to get back to their boat without getting the merchandise they bought at the gift shop wet. Funny to watch!

The Soggy Dollar Bar.

It seems way too soon when Dean comes back and says we should think about heading off soon if I want to make the ferry. He had offered to drive me back in his own boat after the party at Foxy's tonight, which he is DJ-ing, and at first I accepted the offer as I knew I wouldn't want to leave at 4:30 like I am now. But then I thought about the trip back on the water in a small power boat in the dark and it scared me. Also, Dean has been making overtures to me that, quite frankly are not unwelcome and - had this been the first day of my stay in the islands instead of my last - I would have returned. But there's nowhere this can go now and I don't want to encourage him. So, after a quick trip into the gift shop where I buy a cute tank top, we climb into his jeep and head back over the mountain to the ferry dock. On the way he takes a detour over a hill on a path that isn't more than two rocky ruts with high grass in the middle and scrub and cacti on either side. He wants to to show me the best view on the island. But, unfortunately, when we get up there, the trees have grown higher since his last visit and obscured the view. There's also a cell tower here and he tells me he wanted to buy this property to build his house on but these guys got it first.

Back at the ferry dock, we say our goodbyes and I thank him for a wonderful day. He drives off and as I walk to the dock I see the two sisters, who I haven't seen since we arrived. Turns out they took the opposite tour of the island from us and so we just missed each other.

I had a fantastic day on the island and I can't think of a better way to have spent my last day here. If I ever come back, I am staying on Jost Van Dyke for half of my trip as it really is paradise.

Leaving. (this is not Jost Van Dyke, just an island on the way)

I just found out from a friend that I am on the front page of The Vancouver Sun today!!!!!

DON'T STAND ME UP

2011-05-24T05:27:00.000-07:00

There are a few things in life that I can't stand:

People who spit where others have to walk.
People who spit when there are people right there watching (it makes me feel like throwing up - seriously, I have to fight down the bile sometimes).
A shower that keeps changing temperature.
A dog that barks incessantly for no reason.
People who slam doors when others are trying to sleep (or make other noise that isn't necessary).

But I think the one that I hate the most, so much that it makes me livid, is BEING STOOD UP.

I drove 45 minutes from my hotel in to Road Town over a hill that makes me nervous and roads I don't much enjoy driving due to other lousy drivers to meet a woman I met on the beach a few days ago. She had already stood me up once when I had offered to drive her to Long Bay to spend the day together at the pool there; she was supposed to arrive at 11:00 and I waited until 11:45 before finding out she wasn't coming (via a comment on here).

We arranged to meet at a place called The Watering Hole, which I had never been to and had no idea where it was. I looked it up on line and then on a map. There are no addresses here, just vague area's. This one said it was on Wickham Quay I. There's a lot of stuff on Wickham Qyay I!! And so I drove around for about 10 minutes trying to find the darn place and had to pull over and ask someone. When I arrived, finally, it was 11:00 on the nose. She said she would be there from 10:30-11:00. To say I wasn't happy when I looked around and she wasn't there would be an understatement of huge proportions. I was truly angry. It took me so long to get there, in blazing heat. I drove around and around on roads I was completely unfamiliar with, which I hate doing - especially here where one is on the other side of the road and often on roads that has room for only one car so someone has to back up. I bought a drink and sat and waited for half an hour just in case she was late. She wasn't. I just don't understand why, when arranging to meet someone, you wouldn't wait an extra 10 or even 30 minutes just to make sure they're not running late. And especially when the person is in an unfamiliar country, for crying out loud. I honestly can't recall when I was so angry. I spent the drive back to my hotel trying to calm myself down so that the entire day was not ruined.

I went back to my beach chair, that I left at precisely 9:45 to go get her, on Apple Bay and enjoyed the sunshine again. That worked on my boiling blood. I probably wouldn't have been anywhere near as angry if it wasn't the second time she'd stood me up. I think I was as angry at myself for allowing her to do it to me a second time as I was at her for doing it.

After a couple of hours on Apple Bay, I drove up to Long Bay to use the pool for a bit and stopped into the office to ask for Carlotta. She's the event planner at Long Bay resort and did a stellar job of Ashleigh and Rob's reception. She was there and remembered me and the bridal couple. It was lovely to see her and we chatted for 15 minutes or so before I had to let her get back to work.

By the end of the afternoon, the sun and pace of this place had worked it's magic and my blood was no longer at the boiling point. But I still say that to stand someone up twice in a few days is beyond rude.

My View from Little Apple Bay - right in front of Sebastian's.

My View from Little Apple Bay - right in front of Sebastian's - tomorrow I plan to be on that island right there!

SPA MORNING - BEACH AFTERNOON

2011-05-23T05:37:00.000-07:00

The day dawns sunny with puffy clouds high in the sky. I have decided to go back to Sopers Hole to Serendipity Spa and have a body scrub, rain or sun. I am still peeling and it looks disgusting. They said that the treatment would get rid of all of the dead skin and I don't want to go home looking like this.

When I get there, the fellow I spoke to yesterday isn't there, it's two women. They are from India and they don't speak English very well consequently I can't make them understand what I want. I have decided to have the package that includes a massage and facial along with the scrub. They call their boss, the guy from yesterday, and I tell him what I want. I hand the phone to one of the women and he translates.

The room for the massage etc. is right off of the reception area, divided by just a curtain. And the curtain at the moment has enough of a space between the two panels that I can see inside. I don't like that much - I like privacy.

I go in and get ready and she starts with the body scrub. It feels and smells great. After about 45 minutes of scrubbing she tells me to get in the shower and wash it all off. I am kind of horrified when I see the shower. It's tiny, it's old, and the door is a DOOR - like a wooden door so no light gets in except for a small window in it. I ask if there's a light but there's not. So I leave the door open a bit while I shower off. This is certainly no luxury spa, but their prices hardly reflect that. Someone had suggested, when I asked on TTOL what to do in the rain, to go to the spa on Peter Island. I wonder what that place is like.

I get back on the table for the massage part and it feels great. 45 minutes later, she says she is done. I ask about the facial. She looks confused. "Facial? You want facial?" "Yes, I asked for the package." "Package? You want package?" Oh dear. She calls her boss. I ask, "What did I just have done?" "The body scrub." "That's it?" "Yes." So I decide to leave it at that as it seemed to include the massage and is almost $100 less than the package, meaning the package wasn't really all that good of a deal at all.

I leave there well oiled, my hair as well as she did a scalp massage with oil, so I go straight back to my hotel to wash my hair.

It's still a nice day out and I decided to go to Cane Garden Bay for one more visit. I like that beach as the water is really clear and the bottom all sand. And on Sunday's The Elm has a famed bar-b-que and live entertainment from a band called The Elm Tones that I have read about on TTOL and it's supposed to be very good.

It starts to rain as I am driving there.

When I pull into the parking lot behind all of the bars, the rain has died down to a drizzle so I head to the beach. All of the wind and rain from the previous day or so has fouled the water. It is just like Anegada - no longer crystal clear and clean. I can't see the bottom at all. Bummer! And I braved that horrible hill to get here!

I go up to Myette's bar and see one of the couples I met from the last time I was here. We sit at the bar and chat for an hour or so until the sun comes back out then I head to the beach for some rays. I find a spot where the water is actually still quite clear and walk in but right away the white angel fish start bumping my legs again. Did I mention that from before? The same fish that followed me around Loblolly Bay are here but these ones bump into my legs and arms and nibble at me. It doesn't hurt but it freaks me out. So, today, I never get in above my thighs before I have to turn and dash out as fast as I can.

I decide not to wait for the bar-b-que to start as it's 4:30 and it doesn't get going until 6:30 and the music at 7:00. It's that darned road that I hate driving, especially at night. It's stressing me out thinking about it and it doesn't help that I can clearly see the cut in the trees for the road down into the bay from the beach and I keep looking at how high it is where it starts and how steep it is. As I really enjoyed the ribs at Myette's the other day I decide to order them again and then go home.

Cane Garden Bay.

As I am just finishing up, the very handsome bar tender, who has the day off today, walks in from the beach and goes behind the bar to make himself a drink. He is talking with the other bartender and I can hear a very British accent that I didn't notice when I was here a few days ago (because he hardly spoke). I ask him where he is from and he says 'London, born and bred." He's only been here for 14 months. I ask him what brought him here and he tells me he was writing a novel set in the Caribbean and wanted to be here to learn more about the people and the culture. He's ready to leave though, he doesn't like the smallness of island life or the work he is doing - bar tending. His dream is to live in New York and be a published author - he's just finished his novel. He gives me his web site address and I promise him I will go have a look at it. I give him my card and tell him if he ever writes a script, email it to me.

Stephen, the handsome bartender.

It's dark by the time I leave so I could have stayed for the other bar-b-que after all, which I can hear is in full swing just down the beach. But I am okay with it and eager to get the drive over with. To be honest, the worst part of the drive going back is meeting another car coming at you on a curve as you head down the hill, and as long as that doesn't happen it's not as bad as going up - that's just awful, cars or no cars. And, happily, I don't come across any cars on the curves. I so wish there was a way for me to accurately convey what it's like going up hill, coming to one of those hairpin curves when you're on the inside. The blacktop is actually vertical right in the elbow of the curve. I wish I could stop to take a photo of it to show you but there's NO WAY one can stop on those hills... you'd never get going again. I've heard stories of people rolling back because they were going too slow. Terrifying.

I get back in time to watch the end of Celebrity Apprentice on the TV instead of having to download it like I have done for every other episode. John Rich won! YAY!!!

NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT...

2011-05-22T17:24:00.000-07:00

Here's the trailer for a movie I worked on in the spring of 2010. It's called DOOMSDAY PROPHESIES.

I can't wait to see the movie.

WHAT TO DO, AND WAY OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE

2011-05-22T07:54:00.000-07:00

I wake up to more rain, torrents of it. I think that, perhaps, the rainy season has started and it's not going to let up before I go home.

Not sure what to do, I post on TTOL asking what there is to do in the rain here. I don't get any replies before I decide to drive to Soper's Hole - a small marina with some nice shops that I remember visiting when I was here two years ago. There's also a Spa there. Maybe I will go have a body scrub to get rid of all this peeling skin. Sounds like a plan!

When I park and walk across the road, there's a fellow in a white van from a sail charter company. He waves me over, tells me his name is Captain Pete, and asks if I am interested in going for a sail. I tell him I had thought about it but decided not to. He then say's, "Where are you staying? At Sebastian's?" I am taken aback by this and ask how he knows that. He tells me he has seen me there, in the restaurant and outside at the table on my laptop several times. He said he saw me there last night and was going to come over and talk to me but I got up and left before he could do it. He asks if he can take me on a sail now and I lie and say I am meeting someone for coffee. He then asks me what I am doing tonight and my first thought is 'oh no, here we go again', but say "I have no idea, I don't really make plans. I am on vacation." He says he would like to take me out for a meal or to hear some good music. I tell him that's nice of him but I really don't know what I will want to do by this evening. He says he will drop by Sebastian's tonight. Great.

He drives off and I bypass the shops for now and go down to the docks for a look at some of the boats.

A really beautiful sailboat.

Love the name of this boat.

I finally get to the shops and go into one or two and then, as I am walking past Pusser's I see a young mom and her 2 year old daughter that I met while at Long Bay yesterday. I say hi and she invites me to sit with them so I do. I guess I am meeting someone after all! The mom is Melissa and the daughter is Stella and she is super cute. They had spent 4 or 5 days on a sailboat with some relatives and are now at Long Bay until tomorrow when they return home to Seattle. As we chat, she tells me that she took a taxi here and needs to go into Road Town because the bank machine here is not working (probably out of cash - as usual). She said that when she went into Road Town yesterday, it cost her $50 in fare. I tell her that I have a car and will take her into town to the bank there. She is very grateful and so, while they finish a bite to eat, I go to the Spa to get a brochure because I think my idea of a body scrub is brilliant and will go another day, and then for a quick look in some of the shops.

We head into Road Town and I park in the big lot by the sea and we walk to the first bank. It won't take her card. Stella is making some noises and pointing and, when we turn to look, there's a huge blueish crab in the corner of the tiled area - he's pressing himself right into the corner like he is terrified. I can't believe he climbed four stairs to get there. When we leave I am wishing I had taken a photo but figure I will on the way back, but when we return, he's gone.

We go to Scotia Bank and she get's what she needs and we head back to the car and then to Long Bay. I stop at Sebastian's on the way to get into a swim suit and then spend a lovely and SUNNY!!! afternoon in the pool with my two new friends. Stella seems to warm up to me and I help her go to the top of the small slide there and her mom waits at the bottom in the pool to catch her. She is fearless and goes straight down and then wants more. She goes for a dozen times or more and then, suddenly, freaks out at the top and needs to be carried down the steps. And that's it for the slide.

Someone just woke up from a very short nap and doesn't want to have her picture taken.

The best we could manage.

There's an outdoor movie night, a Disney film. at 7:00 at Long Bay. Melissa decides to try to get Stella to have a nap before it starts and so I head back to Sebastian's. I am invited to come back for the movie but I decide to stay in. I head down to the restaurant so I can use the wifi - that is the biggest drawback to this place, no wifi in the room, only at the restaurant. As I am sitting there, Pete, the boat captain I met earlier, shows up. I see, now that he is standing, that he has a very bad limp and that his left arm seems useless, curled up into his side. I ask about it and he tells me he had a stroke a couple of years ago. We sit and talk and he says that he wants more business from the internet but can't figure out how to get it. I take a look at his website and instantly see why he's not getting it. The site is dated and amateurish. Also, in a Google search of BVI CHARTERS, he is buried on the 8th page. He asks how he can improve the site and we spend the next hour talking about that.

After a bit he asks what my plans are for the next few days and again, I tell him I don't really have any. I have three or four places I still want to go to and I will go as the fancy hits me. One is Jost Van Dyke and he tells me he will take me there on his sailboat. I know he does this for a living and that he charges $100 for a day sail, but I am not sure if he is offering as a customer or as a friend thing and doesn't expect pay. So I ask; How much will he charge me, and he thinks a moment and says "If there are other people coming, nothing. If just you, $50." It's a good deal but still twice as much as the ferry. But then, I'd have to take a taxi from the ferry dock to White Bay. And I'd have to leave at 5:00 - the last ferry off of the island. This way, there'd be more leeway. But I don't want to give the guy the wrong idea because I am not interested in anything more than friendship.

I am so not used to handling this sort of situation. It's way out of my comfort zone.

DRIZZLE, RAIN, DELUGE

2011-05-21T06:24:00.000-07:00

When I dial my cell phone voice mail and there's no message, a woman's voice says, "Not much to tell you." Well, that's how I feel about blogging today.

Yesterday morning, I was at Sebastian's outdoor area, on the computer, killing time until Jo's daughter dropped her off as planned. She said it would be around 11:00 and when she still wasn't here at 11:45 I began to wonder. Then I checked my blog for comments and Jo had left two saying that she wouldn't be coming by after all. I was pretty bummed as I was looking forward to the company.

So I headed up to Long Bay Resort alone, planning to enjoy their pool and deck chairs for the afternoon but just as I pulled in, it started to drizzle. Drizzle soon turned to rain, and then rain to a downpour. So I sat at the outdoor bar, half under cover, wrapped in a towel, and got to know the bartender - a very pleasant woman.

Again, it was a bit nostalgic being up on the pool deck as that is where Ashleigh, my daughter, had her wedding reception. I will never forget walking up the stairs and seeing the setting for the first time - it took my breath away, it was so beautifully transformed. Now it's just a regular pool deck with deck chairs lined up, waiting for sunshine and sun worshipers and it's hard to picture it as it was that night.

The pool deck all 'decked' out for the wedding reception.

The pool deck today. And look at the clouds on the hill, where the weather is coming from!

I tried waiting it out, but after an hour or more, I gave up and drove back to my hotel room. And good thing I did because, no sooner was I in my room than the downpour turned into a deluge. I mean, it rained so hard I couldn't hear the TV at the highest volume setting.

So - a day spent in my room, watching TNT movies (Lake House, The Last Samurai) and then went down to the restaurant for a bowl of lentil soup.

Exciting stuff, huh? But what is great is that even on the worst rainy days it's still WARM here. I LOVE that!!!!!

APPLE BAY AND BANANAKEET

2011-05-20T08:18:00.000-07:00

Note: You can click on the photos to get the full sized version and see all of the detail!

Seeing how my plans to go to Jost Van Dyke were off, I decided to stay at my hotel for the day as the beach here at Apple Bay is really nice, even if the waves are a bit rough, and I haven't spent any time on it yet.

The weather has been iffy. Rain then sun then wind then more rain then sun. I need to keep this tan for when I get home so I can make everyone jealous! I'd like to get about twice as dark, actually. But with this intermittent sunshine, not sure it's going to happen.

I take a walk down the beach a bit to see if I can find Malcolm Boyes' beach-front home and I think I found it but not quite sure. He is someone I was really looking forward to meeting on this trip as he seems like a friendly and fun fellow but, to be honest, I couldn't have timed my days on Tortola better if I was trying to avoid him. He left a couple of days before I got here and arrives back mere hours after I leave.

The waves here are rough and there's a yellow flag out just down the way warning of strong undertows. This beach is a surfing destination when all of the conditions are right, which I think is Jan-Feb. I wade in a bit and the bottom is soft sand with no rocks, there seems to be no fish to nibble at me, and once past the breaking waves it's quite lovely.

Cheryl surprises me and stops by while I am sunning on the beach. She is one half of a couple (Pete is her husband) I met while at Neptune's Treasure. They came the second week I was there and took the room next to mine. They are going to Bananakeet for dinner tonight and want me to join them. We had talked about this before they left Anegada. Her timing is great because I had just been thinking about them and wondering if they'd be there tonight, as it's their last night on the island, or if they'd already gone. So I plan to meet them up on the hill where the restaurant is, at 5:30.

I am really dreading driving that hill again and especially coming back in the dark, and so toy with the idea of getting a taxi. But that seems silly when I have a car and I did drive it in the dark when I was here a couple of years ago, albeit with someone else in the car with me. I have determined that I took a lot of bravado from the people who rode with me back then. Now I am alone and have only my own courage to draw from and, honestly, I don't have that much for driving these roads.

If you look at the first video I posted yesterday of the hill from here to Cane Garden Bay, you'll notice on the 5th hairpin curve there's a yellow sign on the left; that is the driveway for the restaurant. It perches on the side of the mountain with incredible views over Tortola and the water to Jost Van Dyke.

I had asked for restaurant recommendations on TTOL and Bananakeet was one that was mentioned several times; their spring rolls and satay were highly recommended. I order both and the spring rolls were fine, I don't know that I'd order them again but the satay was really delicious. I also ordered the chicken and black bean Pad Thai for the entree and it was very good but I barely ate any as I was quite full from the appetizers. I brought the rest of it home and now I need to find a way to heat it up for dinner tomorrow night.

The restaurant is a great place to watch the sunset but, unfortunately, there isn't much of one tonight as it is very cloudy. The mist covers the top of the hill we are on, just behind us.

The drive home went without incident. It wasn't that difficult really. It's just those hair pin curves that are so hard to stay in your own lane when negotiating. I can't do it so just honk my horn as I approach and pray to God that there's no one coming.

If you haven't done so already, please take a moment and scroll down to the bottom of this page and click on the 'Follow This Blog' button on the white Networked Blogs square on the right side of the page. I am trying to get at least 20 followers on the Networked Blogs site so that I can start gathering some stats with them and also get more readers. They will feature this blog if I get enough of you to follow. THANK YOU!

CANE GARDEN BAY

2011-05-19T07:38:00.000-07:00

Today dawned sunny and clear and I am so happy to see that sunshine again.

After breakfast of scrambled eggs with a pastry basket (yummy biscuit, and a muffin & banana bread which I am too full to eat so save for tomorrow's breakfast) I pack my beach bag and hop in the Sidekick to head over the hill to Cane Garden Bay.

Now, when I was here two years ago, I drove this road at least 20 times. The house I rented was on Windy Hill - the hill between Sebastian's and CGB. Long Bay Resort - where Ashleigh was married, is just past Sebastian's. So there were many, many trips between the two points in the course of the week. But that was two years ago. And although I recall the road with pretty perfect clarity, my recall of the actual steepness of the hill and sharpness of the curves has softened with time.

Oh. My. Dear. Lord.

I didn't take a video of the road up the hill, that would be lunacy - trying to hold the camera and negotiate those hair pin curves - but here's a video someone else took.

And, as an aside, here is a video someone took of the hill I drive to get from from the north side of the island (Sebastian's) to the south (Road Town). And let me tell you, these video's do not do the incline or tight curves justice. At. All.

I did take a video of the road down from Windy Hill to CGB but my card filled up half way through so I didn't get all of it. I will on another trip and post it.

I arrive in CGB without incident, other than a racing heart, and parked behind Myette's. I walk down to the waters edge for a look. The beach here is really nice with soft sand which goes all the way into the water with no rocks or coral underfoot. The water is clear and warm, and there's lots of bars and restaurants. When a cruise ship or two is in town, this is the beach the excursions take everyone to so I am glad to see that there aren't any ships in town today because the beach is almost deserted.

Last time I was here I was with Shonah and Amy, and we went into the little gift store that Mayette owns but never went into the bar/restaurant. I have seen many pictures and videos of it online since, and can't wait to see it for myself so I head in there. I am no sooner up the few steps off the sand than a man welcomes me into the place and asks me to sit at a table with him. His name is Julian and he captains a small motor boat and takes visitors back and forth to other islands for day trips. He is very friendly, too friendly after a short period of time, and starts making unwelcome overtures to me. Soon a friend of his - a tall, super skinny Rasta with the requisite knit cap hiding his dreads - joins us and he is very 'friendly' also. I don't understand how most Caribbean men seem to think they are God's gift to women and there's nothing more a white woman would want to do than jump into bed with one of them. And, so far, the guys who have behaved like this aren't anything at all to look at. There's a gorgeous young fellow behind the bar named Stephen and he is polite and friendly, but not forward like these older and decidedly un-handsome, un-couth men. Now if he were to show interest.... but of course why would he - to an old broad like me? It's all rather backwards and sad, really!

View of the beach from Myette's.

Julian.

In the course of 4 or 5 hours at CGB, I meet two couples from the states who are really nice. And I meet another woman, Jo, who is there alone; her husband left yesterday and she is here until June visiting her daughter who lives here. I have made it clear to Julian, who also told me he's been married for two years to an American who lives in Philadelphia, that he has absolutely zero chance of getting lucky with me (as he put it) and so now he has moved onto Jo. She makes the same thing clear to him after a while, and then the Rasta starts in on her. He had tried earlier on the beach, and now he's trying again. She tells him that she is trying to be nice about it but he is being too forward and she doesn't appreciate it. He finally gives up and leaves her alone. She tells me that she really likes this beach but she doesn't want to come back if this keeps up. But her daughter drops her off on the way to work and so she's kind of stuck. I offer to have her dropped off at Sebastian's and we will go together to Long Bay Resort and hang out at their beach and pool as this unwelcome attention won't be an issue there. She is thrilled and gladly accepts. When her daughter arrives to pick her up it is all arranged for Friday. I can't do it tomorrow as I am supposed to be meeting Captain Fishy and his son and we are all going to Jost Van Dyke together.

While I am lounging on the beach, I can smell bar-b-que and it's an incredibly mouth-watering aroma. I wish I knew where it's coming from and what it is. A bit later I decide to order the appetizer size of ribs at Myette's and BINGO! that is the aroma that was wafting down the beach. That never happens to me; where you smell something great being prepared in a restaurant and then manage to order that very thing. They were absolutely delicious, and very tender - which is the most important thing when it comes to ribs.

I stop in the gift shop on my way out and find a great design on a t-shirt that is so appropriate for me and this trip. I don't wear the typical t-shirt as I can't stand the neckline but I buy one to cut out the design and sew it onto a t-shirt I will buy that I prefer.

I mean, how perfect is this???

I also buy a bag of caramel popcorn because I had been craving just that very thing a few days ago. Later in the evening, when I sit at an outdoor table at Sebastian's and peruse the net while carefully (the teeth aren't perfect yet) chewing on one piece at a time, the moist air turns all of the rest soggy in the bag. Lesson learned: don't buy popcorn in the Caribbean.

While I am sitting at that table, one of the staff come to tell me there's a phone call for me at the desk. It's Captain Fishy and he's sorry to tell me that the trip to Jost Van Dyke is off as he is embroiled in some tax issues in Road Town that will take a few days to sort out (he had delighted in telling me he hadn't paid any taxes here for seven years as he has friends in high places in the tax office. But it seems the staff have all changed and it's caught up with him).

I am disappointed as I was really looking forward to going there with him as he knows so many people and had arranged for Foxy's son to pick us up at the ferry terminal. Oh well, I will go by myself another day.

BACK ON TORTOLA

2011-05-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

It is with some sadness that I bid farewell to all of my new friends on Anegada. I have really loved my time here and intend to return some day - I just have no idea when that might be.

Linda Soares, a wonderful woman and part owner of Neptune's Treasure.

As I sit on the ferry waiting for it to be loaded and on it's way, Sue Wheatly - the owner of The Purple Turtle gift shop where I spent a considerable sum, gets on board. I had met her one afternoon at the bar at Cow Wreck. I call out to her and she comes over and sits with me and we have a lovely chat for the hour or so trip across the water. She was married to Lowell Wheatly, the founder of The Anegada Reef Hotel. He died, tragically, in a propane tank explosion, and his children took over the hotel, leaving Sue without a home. She has done very well for herself since, living on Tortola and owning the nicest gift shop on Anegada. She is originally from England and listening to her tell how she came to live on the islands is very interesting. I love people's stories!

I didn't realize that we were stopping at Virgin Gorda on the way, and as we pull into the harbour I can clearly see Fischer's Cove just down the beach. It brings back a flood of happy memories of the week, two years ago, that I spent there with my youngest daughter, Shonah.

Eventually we arrive on Tortola, and when I step off of the ferry on to the dock, I am wondering how I will know who, out of all the men milling about - most of them taxi drivers, is there to fetch me from the car rental place. All of a sudden a fellow steps out of a vehicle and says to me, "You are Sandra? You're renting a car from me?" I have no idea how he knew it was me and say so. "I have been doing this for years, it's my business. I always know." Wow. Impressive.

It takes about 20 minutes to drive to the west end where Jerry's Car Rental is located and, once I sign the paperwork, I get into my slightly battered Suzuki Sidekick - with the removable soft top!! - and make my way up over the island via Zion Hill (steep!!!) to Sebastian's on the Beach which is, very conveniently, right where the road ends at a 'T' intersection.

I get checked into my room which, although a little dated - especially the bathroom, is huge (free upgrade) and has a view of the water over the roof of the restaurant across the tiny road. I am really pleased with all that is provided in the room: a flashlight, an umbrella, a hairdryer, an iron and board. All items I could have used at Neptune's but they don't supply.

As I check the beds, I notice that the one on the right has bits of dirt and loose grime on the otherwise pristine white pillow slips. I pull back the curtain and the window ledge, right next to the pillow, is FILTHY. It's coated in dust, dirt, and grime. I spend the next 10 minutes cleaning it off with wet tissues. The other bed doesn't have that problem, although the window ledge isn't much better, but the billowing curtain in front of a closed window kind of makes sleeping there impossible. So I pull the bed on the right about 8 inches away from the window and swap pillows with the other bed.

I had wanted to sleep in this bed as it seemed the 'cleaner' corner of the room but that billowing curtain is in the way and I can't figure out where the air is coming from.

After unpacking, I go across the road and have dinner at the restaurant. Vegetable pasta and the portion is huge. I only eat half. The vegetables were nice and cooked just as I like them but the sauce was kind of bland - right out of a can I think with not much in the way of spices added, if any at all. I wouldn't really recommend.

The next morning I am up early, thanks to being back in the land of the natural alarm clock - roosters. Everywhere.

After breakfast in the restaurant, very yummy rum battered french toast, I hop in my little Sidekick and head off to Road Town. Sebastian's want all of the payment for the room up front and I need to go get more cash out of the bank. Also, while I am in town, I want to get another bead or two for my Pandora bracelet (which is BVI themed) that is actually from the BVI.

But before I head over Zion hill, I drive down the road to the west a bit and pull into Long Bay Resort. My daughter was married here in February of '09 and I want to see the place again. As I walk towards the spot where they exchanged their vows, I see that nothing has changed and I love that. When I get to the place where my daughter walked through the palm trees to stand by her fiance, I get quite emotional and teary. It was such a beautiful day, perfect in every way. And their marriage is so wonderful and strong, they are absolutely pie eyed about each other and that is a huge blessing for a mom who thinks the world of her daughter.

The wedding in February 2009.

The gazebo has been painted white since the wedding (the wedding planner tried to insist that my daughter get married here instead of the gorgeous beach they had traveled thousands of miles to be married on).

Where the 'isle' to the 'alter' was.

The very spot they said their vows.

I take a stroll down the beach a ways, remembering the day, and being very thankful for all of the blessings in my life.

Come to the beach with me!!

I drive into Tortola and I can't believe how awful the drivers are here. They speed around you on a blind curve, even though I am doing the speed limit. They ride my bumper, they take up more of their share of the road when coming towards me, forcing me onto the shoulder or to slow way down until they pass me with inches to spare. I think that having special blue license plates for rental cars is a big mistake because, I believe, the locals see that and then delight in terrorizing the poor drivers.

I decide to park in the big lot by the water and proceed on foot as it's easier to do that than try to figure out my way around the roads in town. Some are so narrow there's only room for one car and if one comes at you, someone has to back up and with my blue license plates, I am sure it would have to be me and the visibility out of the plastic windows of the soft top is almost nil thanks to the salt air.

I first stop by the craft hut of the artist I met the day I arrived in the islands. He recognizes me right away and says I look very different; rested and happy. And thinner and tanned. All good things. We arrange for me to come back after I am done in town and he will go with me to Josiah's bay to see a little cottage that is for sale there. Not that I can afford to buy it but my son has posed the idea of us going together in a condo or cottage here and this one is going for a very reasonable price.

I head to the jewelry store, Little Switzerland, to buy a couple of Pandora beads. They are not only cheaper here than at home, there's no tax. I select one from my wish list, Happy Fish, and impulsively decide to buy the turtle as well. The staff are super friendly and helpful and the store was deliciously cool inside.

Turtle and Happy Fish with Rooster - no need to explain why HE'S on the bracelet!

I then head into the backstreet where there are lots of colorfully painted little shops and find
Serendipity Bookstore. I have befriended, on FaceBook, one of the girls who works there and am anxious to meet her. Happily, she is working today and she seems as excited to meet me as I am to meet her. She is so friendly and lovely, it's a real treat to spend a bit of time with her before I have to keep going and let her get back to work.

So nice to meet Ser of Serendipity Books.

I head down the lane aways and come across Sunny Caribbee, a fabulous little place that creates their own spice blends that are packaged in the cutest tins. I buy several gifts for some very special ladies in my life.

Sunny Caribbee.

A bit further down the lane I find Roti Palace, purported to be the best place in the Caribbean for Roti.

Roti Palace, upstairs above the jewelry shop.

Miss Jean awaits some customers.

I order the boneless chicken roti and it comes with a sweet chutney and a spicy green mango blend that she tells me to mix together on my plate to make a delicious dip. I do and it is! But, unfortunately for me, all of the meat in the roti is dark and I don't like dark meat. And when I come across several pieces of gristle and some veins, I can't eat any more.

My lunch.

I head back to my car, deposit my purchases, and head over to Joseph's store. He is read to go and so we get in the car and head over to Josiah's Bay.

The road is terrifying. Narrow, windy, up hills that look more like walls, down hills so steep I can't see the pavement in front of me - it's like driving off a cliff. At one point he has me pull over at a little bar on the peak of a hill, so he can go buy a drink for himself. He says it's too far a drive not to have something to drink. I have a bottle of water so I am fine. He waves to some guys sitting under the shade of a little lean-to under some palms, and they eye me with what looks like suspicion and talk among themselves. I am sure they're talking about this white woman with Joseph and when they all laugh are laughing at me (as they are all looking right at me through the windshield) but I couldn't care less. He comes back out with a very strong rum drink and we get back on our way.

I have no idea where exactly the cottage is, I just know it's in Josiah's Bay about a 5 minute walk from the beach. I know what it looks like and feel confident that we will see it without having to search for it. Joseph doesn't seem so sure but, sure enough, we come across it just after the road flattens out near the beach. I spot the for sale sign outside the fence at the same time I see the cottage colours through the shrubbery.

Lime Leaf Cottage, Josiah's Bay.

We get out and go through the gate to have a look at the property. It needs a bit of landscaping. The cabin is shut up tight with louvered shades so there's no way to see inside, but I have seen the pictures online. It's tiny inside, but adequate. And, if I were to buy it, I would completely repaint everything inside as the colours are awful.

We drive on down to the beach and park behind a building that turns out to be a fairly large bar and restaurant that is owned by another branch of the Wheatly family. It's a common name down here.

The beach is spectacular; a lovely little cove with fairly substantial waves. Apparently it is a surfing destination in February or whenever the waves are much much bigger than today. That would make Ashleigh and Rob very happy as they love to surf. I can imagine them coming down to stay in the cottage and having a fabulous time here. And I would love it because it's a pristine white beach with nice shallow areas for swimming and floating around in.

Josiah's Bay, with the yellow flag warning of strong undertows today.

As we drive back to Road Town, we talk about whether or not I want to go to Trellis Bay tonight for the Full Moon Party there. It is something I have really wanted to attend and was excited when I realized I would be on Tortola for it. But now the rain is coming and it's a really long drive from the west end where I am staying. It's over roads I am unfamiliar with and would have to traverse in the dark coming back. Joseph offers to come with me and drive us there. But I would still have to drive back as he would be too inebriated to drive and I am also not sure I want to drive with him like that as I don't know him very well and I don't know how he behaves when drunk. That, coupled with the rain that eventually hits and hits hard, I decide not to go. After I drop him off back at his shop, I decide I will go to the party at the Bomba Shack which is just down the road a bit from Sebastian's, because Mike and Rebecca will be there with their friends, even though I know it won't exactly be my scene - too much weed and magic mushroom tea for my tastes. But when I get out of the car to dash into Sebastian's, I get soaked to the skin. After a nice hot shower to clean up, I don't feel one bit like going out so I don't. I guess I might never see a full moon party on Tortola, at this rate.

I head over to the restaurant and order their individual size pizza with mushrooms and pineapple. When it comes, it reminds me of the pizzas I had in pubs in London. The crust is like thin cardboard and, again, the tomato sauce on the pizza has no flavour. I wouldn't recommend it. I think I am going to have to find a different place for dinner.

MEETING GOOD FRIENDS FOR THE FIRST TIME IS FABULOUS

2011-05-16T12:45:00.000-07:00

Even more seagrass was dumped on the beach after the storm came through yesterday afternoon and last night. Linda Soares, the other sibling that runs Neptune's Treasure, knowing I wasn't very happy that my beautiful beach (yes, I think of it as 'my' beach now) has been so ruined, sent me a photo of what it looked like after hurricane Earl had passed through.

The beach now.

The beach after Earl - the guys are rebuilding the dock that blew away. All docks on the island except for the big gov't dock blew away.

Here is a video of Earl while it was raging at Neptune's Treasure.

I lay down for a nap at about 11:30 because my eyes won't stay open while I am trying to read. I wake up an hour later and check my FaceBook page and there's a post from a couple who's blog I have been following for two years. They have arrived in Anegada on their PDQ catamaran, Zero to Cruising, and hope to meet me. As I have been following their travels, in the past month or so it seemed to me that we might end up in the BVI's together. Sure enough, we arrived at almost the same time. They have been over at Jost Van Dyke and Virgin Gorda and Tortola for the past couple of weeks. I jump up from the computer and go outside and try to spot their boat but can't be sure which is theirs. I head into the bar at Neptune's and ask to use the radio. I hail them and they reply. I am so excited. They are going to have some lunch and then come over to the dock in their dinghy. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas morning for the half hour or so that I have to wait before they arrive. I keep my eye out as I sit and try to read a book on the porch of my room, and when I see two people get into a dinghy and start to head over, I hurry to the dock to greet them and it's like meeting old friends.

Zero to Cruising is the second boat from the right.

Rebecca and Mike, in the flesh - finally!

I arrange for us to have dinner together with Gary and Beth, as I think they will all get along really well. We have a wonderful time together and I have to say, today has just made this trip even more fabulous than it already has been.

Gary and Beth.

Me (looking like crap), Rebecca and Mike.

They wrote about meeting me on their blog today. If you like, you can read about it HERE.

DIRTY BEACH!!

2011-05-15T17:55:00.000-07:00

The stormy weather over the past few days has pretty much kept me in my room. If there is one thing Neptune's Treasure really could use, it's a common lounge area. When my daughter and I were at Fischer's Cove on Virgin Gorda two years ago, we made a lot of use of their fabulous common area. It overlooked the beach and was open on three sides (the fourth side housing a restaurant). There were couches, rocking chairs, tables to play games on or have your laptop at with a very strong wifi connection, there were bookshelves with lots of books to take. Even though we had the best weather the entire time, we went to that lounge every evening to watch the sunset while enjoying a drink and a good book until it was time to go to bed. Here at Neptune's Treasure, there's the indoor bar and that is it, and I do not enjoy being perched on a bar stool for two hours. Once Happy Hour is over, it's back to my room alone, and during the day, when it's raining, same thing - in room, alone. And there's no comfy chairs in the room so I am sitting on my bed which, maddeningly, keeps sliding away from the wall when I lean back. The bed needs to be on one of those boxes that most hotels use. They serve a double function; keep the bed from sliding AND keep you from inadvertently leaving something behind under the bed.

I heard talk of them putting in a pool by the, at the moment, unused outdoor bar right out front. But as far as I am concerned, the ocean is amazing here and more than good enough to swim in. The money would be far better spent on a lounge area and more people would use it.

Shonah enjoying the lovely lounge at Fischer's Cove.

Yesterday I decided to go for a walk and take a swim in my favourite spot that I found and have only been able to use once, due to the weather. How very, very disappointing. As soon as I stepped on to the beach, I was shocked at the change. Huge amounts of seagrass washed inland during the storm and has been deposited on what was pristine white sand and huge amounts more of it floats in the waves right at the shoreline making it impossible to go in and swim. I continued walking the 10 minutes to my spot and found it to be the same the entire way along.

My favourite swim spot - ruined.

I decided to keep walking to around the point to see if it was any different where the wind would have been blowing in a different direction. On the way I came across huge clumps of another kind of seaweed.

Different seaweed closer to the point.

Remember the picture I took of the waves coming in from different directions at the point? Well this is what it looks like now. UGH!

When I get around the corner, sure enough, the beach and water are clear BUT there are fairly large, churning waves breaking on the sand. It's too rough to go and swim in unless I am into body surfing, and I am not. I prefer all of my bones in one piece.

Clear water - big waves.

I decided to video the waves after an especially big one came in. It took a minute or so before more eventually came in. Looking at the video though, it doesn't do them justice. They looked a lot bigger and violent in person. I think the sound gives a much more vivid idea of how strong they were.

So I walk back along the messy beach without setting more than my feet in the water. It's a super muggy day again and I forgot to take along a bottle of water so I am parched by the time I get back.

On the walk I pass a house under construction. It belongs to Kenzie, the man I met while waiting for the ferry over to Anegada from Road Town. It will easily be the nicest house on the island when it is completed, and will be the only house with a (two car) garage. It's been under construction for two years because, in the islands, people build as they have the money. They don't take out loans. Apparently, according to Walker, it should be all done by this winter.

Kenzie's new house on the beach.

After I guzzle down half a bottle of water, I walk a few yards behind my room to Pam's Bakery. Pam is married to a Soares, one of three siblings who own Neptune's Treasure. I have been buying a brownie each day for the past few days as I can't eat anything much and so it fills me and they are yummy and soft, without any nuts, more like a chocolate cake. Today I decide to try the fish sticks. They are home-made from marlin that Mark, her husband, has caught. Mark, along with Dean - the other brother, have a boat moored out front and they go deep sea fishing once a week and supply not only their own restaurant, but several more throughout the islands. They also catch lobster and conch.

Pam in her bakery.

Yummy!!.

I haven't ever had marlin before so am not sure what to expect. It turns out to be delicious. It's a thick, non-oily white meat with the dark fatty meat around the edges (kind of like the darker meat on a salmon). I don't like that part on salmon and always pick it off, so I pick it off of the marlin and it separates easily. I seem to be able to chew on the right side without pain, although I am taking it easy. But it feels like progress is happening with the nerves. Yay!!

At happy hour I meet up with Gary and Beth, just as they return from a walk down the same beach, and she declares that it was a 'dirty walk' and I agree. It's a shame that the water won't return to it's beautiful clear self until after I leave the island. No more skinny dipping for me!

Gary and Beth's sailboat.

While we are all sat at the bar a man arrives who I haven't seen around here before. It turns out he is the brother of the man who built and ran this place (but is now in his 80's and pretty much stays in his house on the property). His name is Roderick Soares but is known throughout the islands as Captain Fishy. He is in his 70's and has been in these islands for over 40 years. The man can talk!! He immediately regales us with stories from his past and most of us listen intently. His family was originally from the Bahama's but his parents moved to Cuba, before Castro took over. When Castro was taking over, he and his brothers and father were thrown into jail. They eventually were set free and moved to the BVI's. He settled in Tortola and his stories of how it was back then, when there were no roads and Road Town was a tiny hamlet (I picture it as much like The Settlement here) are nothing short of fascinating. He owns property all over the islands and in Britain and France. He owns a lot of property all over Tortola and he got most of it without paying a dime for it. He said that most of the businesses he started, he sort of fell into due to seeing a need. For instance, when he first imported a small car to Tortola for his own use, people wanted to borrow it all of the time so he imported a second one to loan out. Before long he had 60 of them on the island that he rented out. He was friends with all of the locals and when more visitors started to discover the islands, they wanted to buy property, so his friends would call him up and say "I have some land, I don't know how much, but I want to sell some of it. Can you help me?" So he would go see the land, survey it and then say "Here's a parcel you could sell." They'd ask him how much it should sell for and he'd say "To an islander, maybe $5000 but to a visitor? Maybe $8000." and so the person would ask him to help them sell it. When they'd ask how much commission he wanted he said, "No money. But give me a lot sized piece of your land, 100 yards by 100 yards." and they'd gladly agree. He did this over and over until he owned huge amounts of land, and some larger pieces that I assume he bought and has condo's, houses, and hotels on. Some he reclaimed from the sea. He told me of a house he bought in Bermuda that a friend was trying to sell and couldn't. He bought it 20 years ago for $300,000 and it is now worth nine million dollars. In England he bought Sir Lawrence Olivier's childhood home, in New Milton which is in the south of England, looking over the Isle of Wight. He fixed it up and uncovered the gorgeous beams in the ceiling, a huge stone fireplace, and more. His wife complained for years that he owned all sorts of land and houses and she didn't have a single one with just her name on it so he gave her that house as a gift.

Captain Fishy with a grand niece and a grand nephew.

Apparently, someone is writing a book about his life and I really hope they are because I will buy it as soon as it's available.

Today another storm front has moved in and as the clouds moved in closer, the wind started blowing and then the rain came. I am ready for the sunshine again!!

Stormy skies.

The storm is moving in.

You can see the wind on the water here, before the waves start to kick back up.

Today is my last full day here. I hope the weather clears up enough to allow the ferries to run so that I can go to Tortola tomorrow, as planned.

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Hanging About

2011-05-13T22:40:00.000-07:00

This week has been spent hanging around this side of the island. I am really enjoying the relaxation of it as I kind of hit 'vacation mode' a couple of days ago. I don't really want to do much more than read, walk the beach here - which is gorgeous and I don't really need to find any other - and swim. I found a fabulous spot just an 8-10 minute walk down to the point where the water is clear, the bottom is sandy and it gets to about chest high deep at the most before the seagrass starts. There's not much wave or current so it's perfect for just lazily swimming and floating. It's very private - no houses nearby, about a mile of beach in either direction so you can see someone coming, literally from a mile away, so I decided to skinny dip. I haven't done that since - oh, about 1981. There really is nothing to compare with swimming in the buff. I plan to go back pretty much every day until I leave and, as long as there's no one about, do it again.

The view from my hammock.

The other view from my hammock.

Just as I am looking forward to this daily trek, the weather turns. Huge clouds roll in and Tortola is obviously being doused with heavy rain - rain that will arrive here by nightfall and drum down on the patio outside my bedroom window, thunder and lightening booming for hours.

Right side in the distance is Tortola, behind that grey that reaches the water - rain.

I have met another two couples from TTOL; Bill and Di, and Cheryl and Pete. Both had contacted me letting me know they'd be here the same time as I. So we've been hanging out. One day we all went to Cane Garden Bay and Bill and Di taught me how to play Mexican Train. I am kinda hooked and will need to buy a set when I get home. New game for when we're together, kids!!

Di tabulating the scores.

Gary and Beth who are anchored out on one of Neptune's mooring balls on a gorgeous wooden sailboat.

Cheryl and Pete, who leave on Friday for a week on Tortola so will meet up with them when I get there next week.

The next day (Friday) is a super muggy day, overcast but HOT HOT HOT. Bill and Di ask me to come along with them on a drive to 'the bridge' and into The Settlement. I haven't been that way so am happy to be asked.

The view from the bridge is of an amazing aqua sea on one side, and the salt marshes on the other where, in the far distance, I spot 8 flamingos.

Can you see the flamingos? (Click on the picture for the full size.)

Facing the other way, out to the gorgeous aqua sea.

A pelican on the sea-side.

I didn't take any pictures of The Settlement but, other than a few government buildings, the place was a bit of a dive. The houses there - wow - I don't know how anyone can live in most of them as they're basically shacks - very dilapidated. And there are rusted out cars EVERYWHERE. Someone seriously needs to start a scrap metal business on this island. There's nowhere for all the cars to go so they just sit where they broke down and rust out. There's even a rather new looking motorbike at the side of the road from Neptune's to Cow Wreck that, apparently, has been there for over a year. Walker said that it must have broken down and the owner just walked away. So strange for an island where people have to really scrabble to make a living. Some do really well but most, not so much.

When we get back to Neptune's I go to my room for a lie down as the heat has just worn me right out. As I am laying there, it starts to rain again. Hard. And there's more thunder. The thought crosses my mind that this is too early for hurricane season but it's been a strange year for weather all over so it could come early. I sure hope not.

After the rain.

Every afternoon at 4:30, the seven of this weeks regulars, of whom I am one, gather in the restaurant bar here at Neptune's for Happy Hour. I don't drink anything stronger than ginger ale since the embarrassing episode at Potters. I honestly don't enjoy alcohol all that much - except for Strongbow Cider and the odd Malibu and Coke. And now, since my night at Potter's, even the latter is ruined for me. So, seeing how there's no Strongbow in the BVI, ginger ale it is.

Niurka (I am sure I am not spelling that right) behind the bar.

The Happy Hour gang.

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Loblolly Bay

2011-05-07T04:02:00.000-07:00

Since coming to Anegada, and before actually, I have been hearing a lot about how great Loblolly Bay (named after a tree which grows here) beach is and the restaurant there - The Big Bamboo. (In a book about the history of Anegada that was at Nancy and Walkers cottage, the native spelling is actually Lo Blolly and was once pronounced low-blolly, almost as two words).

Today the booking agent for Neptune's Treasure, who has come over from Tortola for the weekend, is heading over to Loblolly and has offered to take me along. I gladly accept.

It's across the other side of the island and east a bit so it takes about 15 minutes or so to get there. It's a really hot day and, thankfully, Linda's jeep (that we have borrowed) is air conditioned.

When we arrive, we walk down a sandy path, past the restaurant, and continue past some Sea Grape trees to the beach - and it IS gorgeous. There are palapas with bench seats underneath, something I haven't seen on a public beach on this island, so far. I am happy because it means I can get out of the sun, even if the benches do lean forward quite a bit - it seems that the front legs have sunk into the sand a lot more than the back ones have.

I settle in to enjoy the view before I go in for a swim. There's a young boy who has found an abandoned kayak and is struggling to get it up the beach a ways. Soon his young friend joins in to help. As I watch, it doesn't escape me how what I am looking at I have seen the like of captured in many an Islands Magazine.

When I decide to go in the water for a snorkel, I find the current coming into the beach rather strong to swim against and, although the reef is not that far out - maybe 70 feet - I am not comfortable swimming out that far so I just float around where the bottom is fairly sandy and see what there is there. Turns out not much. But soon I am joined by a single white angel fish. He follows me wherever I go. Then I notice that he's been joined by another. Then another. And soon there are eight or nine of them - all following right beside me wherever I swim. I do a few about turns and, sure enough, the turn and stay right by my side.

After a nice swim I decided to walk to the point on the far right. The shore became increasingly rocky as the coral came closer inland and then right up onto the beach. I went barefoot so didn't make it right to the end of the point as there were too many coral fragments underfoot and it became painful to walk on.

Where I am headed.

Coral close to the shore.

Coral right at the edge..

I've walked from as far as you can see. The beach here is littered with broken coral.

After my walk, I am hungry and - despite sore mouth - go to The Big Bamboo to sample the lunch menu as I have heard it's the best on the island. I order the chicken strips and, as the menu says it is served with side dishes, ask what the choices are. I am told rice, coleslaw, and fries. I am about to make a choice when the waiter just walks away. Oh well, that's fine - I will just let them surprise me. When the meal comes I am surprised all right, it has all three!! The pile of home-made chicken strips is huge and I know I won't be able to eat anywhere near all the food that is placed before me, although I give it a valiant effort as it is all so very delicious. I end up taking home most of it and it lasts me two days. The prices were a lot less than I have seen on the rest of this island so I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone heading out to Loblolly for the day.

From inside The Big Bamboo.

The Big Bamboo. - Note the bag of water on the table; every table had one and I have no idea why.

A WALK INTO 'TOWN'

2011-05-06T17:49:00.000-07:00

I need to do a bit of laundry; I have been washing stuff by hand but there's a couple of things that I need to put through a washing machine. They used to have a service here at Neptune's where the girls would wash your stuff for a small fee, like $5 or something, but I ask about it and they don't really do that anymore. The girl I talk to says she will do it though, but now I feel like I am putting her out so I decide to take a walk down the road to where there's a little laundromat.

It's not really into the town, or what is called The Settlement, that is too far to walk. Rather it's down close to where the ferry comes in, and to get there is actually the road side of the walk I take down the beach to get to Anagada Reef and Potters by the Sea - instead of the water side of the properties, it's the road side.

It's a really hot day out and, as soon as I am on the road, I am away from the sea breeze so start to really feel the heat. But it's not far to walk so I should be okay. As I make my way, down the paved road - there are no sidewalks - I see a cow in the distance. Cows roam freely about here, they are not owned by anyone. They seem harmless enough so far but as I get close to this one I don't like the way she stops eating and starts eying me so I cross the road to be at a safer distance. She watches me as I pass and then goes back to munching the bit of grass at the side of the road.

As I get to the crossroads, I have to laugh. There is hardly any paved road here on Anegada. It seems that what happens is, every four years when there is an election, whoever is in government on Tortola sends over some trucks to pave another mile or two of the road to garner votes, then nothing for another four years. Yet here, in the middle of pretty much nowhere, is a roundabout. And not a single car in sight. Not one. And for the whole walk, 20 minutes or so, only one pickup truck passed me and one police SUV. Yet someone, in their infinite wisdom, decided that a huge roundabout was needed at this junction.

The center of the roundabout has some lovely plants, one of which is a lily you see all over the place here. It has a beautiful bloom that only lasts a day or two. I walk right up to it to take a photo, not something I could do at any other roundabout I have ever seen or driven.

Once I get to where the shops are, and there isn't much in the way of shops - just one short row that houses the laundry mat, a small grocery store, and a restaurant and then two tiny gift shops across the way and one bigger one, The Purple Turtle a bit farther down the way - I head straight to the laundromat. There isn't a dispenser selling those one-use boxes of soap so I go to the grocery store next door. They have a small box of soap that would probably do 10 loads or so, and it's $15.00. There is NO WAY I am paying that so I decide that I will take the laundry back to Neptunes and get that girl to do it for me after all. I will pay her; I'd rather pay her than spend that sum on a bit of soap.

While I am in town I decide to look at the couple of gift shops and am surprised to find that the three of them don't all carry exactly the same items, there's actually a variety of really nice things. Purple Turtle has the nicest stuff and I end up buying a couple of small gifts and a glass Christmas ball for me that is painted locally and has a pink flamingo against a swirl of aqua and blue like the sea, and Anegada written on it. It's really pretty. I hope I can fit it in my luggage. At another store I buy a lovely cotton white blouse to wear over a tank top or bathing suit for when the sun is just a bit too much. It's surprisingly reasonably priced - I had expected it to be twice as much when I checked the price tag.

I decide to stop at Anegada Reef Hotel for a cold drink and as I am walking there, I realize I left my bag of laundry in the change-room when I tried on the blouse. I go right back to the store but it's closed! I see a sign saying that they are closed from noon to 2:00. I decide to have lunch at the hotel instead of just a drink and that will kill the two hours. Except, when I finish lunch, which I dawdle over, I ask the waitress what time it is and she tells me it's 12:15 - I have been here at least an hour, which means that the store closed early. I didn't bring my Kindle with me so I have nothing to do to kill the time. I sit there a while longer and finish my 1 litre bottle of mineral water and then decide to walk back to the store and wait in one of the chairs on the little porch out front. I no sooner sit down and get settled than an SUV pulls up - it's the husband of the owner just driving by after dropping his kid off at school after lunch at home. He saw me there and so stopped to see what I needed; one of the great things about such a small place!! I tell him and he lets me in to get the bag and I thank him profusely. He seems like a really nice person and says he is glad he saw me there.

I head back to Neptune's along the beach and as I climb the steps from the beach to the property I see Nancy and Walker. They arrived about half an hour ago and are talking to Linda, the owner. They have come to take me to Hidden Treasure for their last afternoon before they leave later today. I was over there yesterday, supposedly to help them pack up all their stuff and put it in a closet they lock up - their place gets rented out when they're not there - but I ended up not doing much. Nancy had some printed lists of consumable items and, as she emptied her kitchen cupboards, she had me tick off what they needed to bring next time they come. So today I ask if I can help at all with packing and they tell me it's all done and in the closet! So we spend the afternoon sitting under their palapa, enjoying the breeze and the view one last time before they go home.

AN EVENING AT POTTER'S BY THE SEA

2011-05-04T17:47:00.000-07:00

It's Wednesday and I spend most of it just hanging around Neptune's Treasure. I go out for breakfast at the hotel down the beach about half a mile - Anagada Reef Hotel. I sit at a table in the shade of a huge hot pink Bougainvillea vine and order an omelette with onions and mushrooms. But there's no mushrooms so I get it with onions and a bit of cheddar instead; it comes and it's really thin. With a glass of cranberry juice and a bottle of mineral water the bill is $19.00. Ouch.

View from under the Bougainvillea vine.

As I am eating, birds come by the table looking for scraps. I break up the crusts of my toast, as I can't eat it, and toss it to them. They love it. A fellow comes over to take some photos of the birds and starts talking to me. He ends up sitting down and we try to have a conversation but he is from Dominica and has a very thick accent that I struggle to understand. He tells me his name is Franklin and that he catches lobster for the restaurants and makes $1,000 a day (when I tell Nancy about him, she has no knowledge of a Franklin on the island. When I show her the photo I took of him she laughs and says "That's SHORTY!"). I ask if he uses traps and he says no, that he dives for them which extremely difficult, it takes a lot of strength and the ability to hold ones breath for a long time. I know because I am reading a book at the moment set in Anguilla and she talks about how difficult it is.

Walker and Nancy drop by Neptunes at about 3 and see if I am still taking them out for dinner. Of course I am. They say they will pick me up but I tell them I can walk to Potters - it's the next place past the Anegada Reef Hotel so not much of a walk... so they head back to do some stuff and I go to my room to have a nap before I get ready.

I end up getting there a bit early because I didn't want to be walking in the dark. I order a rum punch and nearly gag on how strong it is. Down here, rum is cheaper than Cola, than juice, than pretty much anything so more of that goes into the drink than the mixer.

There's a cute little kid running around and I say hi to him and the next thing I know, he is sitting in my lap. He speaks Spanish and is trying to say something to me but I have no idea what. It seems that a lot of people that live on this island and married the locals came from Dominica.

I notice that there is a huge Canadian flag beside a huge American flag pinned to a wall and people have signed each one, along with the wall, the posts, the beams, the bar and pretty much any available space in the entire place. I decide I want to sign the Canadian flag before I leave tonight.

Nancy and Walker soon show up and they order drinks and I have a Malibu and coke. A bunch of guys around my age have arrived and I notice that they are all dressed the same, down to their shorts, and they all have English accents. They are in a lively mood, obviously have been drinking before they arrived, and I grab one and ask him why they are all dressed the same. He tells me they are part of a Rugby club on a 'world tour'. I ask him about the club and I don't remember all he said but basically they were all serious players in their day. I ask him if he knows the name Keith Mumby. Keith is married to my cousin and is a very well known player from the past. He played for the Bradford Northeners and the Bradford Bulls over a 20 year span. He seems to think he knows the name but couldn't place it. I put that down to an alcoholic fog because any rugby player of his vintage knows Keith. Despite his foggy memory we have quite a good conversation about his career (a lawyer for the rugby union which he helped found) and life in England.

Nancy and Walker are finished greeting all the people at Potters they know so we sit down and our pre-ordered meals show up pretty quickly. I have ordered the Pasta Alfredo because it's the only thing on the menu I am able to eat. I ordered the chicken version but I should have had it without meat as I just can't eat the chicken and so leave most of it. We have a bottle of wine with dinner - I have just one glass and lots of water.

There's a table full of sailors (men and women) from Spain or somewhere, next to the rugby players out on the start of the dock which is wide enough for two long tables, and they break out into a song that sounds very much like an anthem. When they are done, the table of British rugby players, not to be outdone, stand and sing a rousing chorus or two of some song. When they finish and sit down, looking very pleased with themselves, the other table gets up and sings their anthem again. This goes on, back and forth, for a few rounds each and it is very funny and entertaining. Then all the people from the USA in the restaurant decide that they need to show some patriotism so they all stand up and walk down the dock singing Row, Row, Row Your Boat - which gets them a few laughs.

There's a group here from a boat out in the water that Walker and Nancy know well. After dinner they invite them onto the boat for a drink and Nancy asks me to come along but I decline. I don't want to be climbing in and out of a dinghy in the dark, I am not good at it with my bad knee and I am wearing a short skirt to boot. No - I will just hang about here for a bit. As the waiter comes to clear our plates and I pay the bill, he asks me if I was drinking a Malibu and coke earlier and I say that I was. He tells me to come up to the bar for another one, compliments of the house, which I sip as I soak in the atmosphere.

I remember that I wanted to sign the flag so grab a sharpie that is at the bar for this purpose, and go over to the flag and sign my name. I am not sure I did it very well so I do it again. I sign it ScriptySandy as that is how the people from the BVI web boards know me and, happy that my visit has been preserved until the ink fades away in a couple of years, head over to the rugby players table.

The fellas are done dinner and milling about. They ask me some questions about myself and what I do for a living, which they find rather entertaining. One thing that makes me laugh; the guy I first talked to is so drunk and one of his friends has taken it upon himself to interpret everything he says as he believes that, once the guy has had two drinks, no one understands a word he says if they're not British. Thing is, I understand every word he says so it's hilarious to hear everything repeated by this very earnest, short, sightly drunk friend of the lawyer.

I am feeling the rum and cokes and the wine myself. The rugby lawyer brings me another Malibu and Coke but I can't drink it. In fact, I am feeling rather ill and have to make a dash to the restroom, which I don't quite make. Fortunately for me the floor here is all sand, but I am mortified. Thank goodness the place has emptied and it's just the British guys on the table at the dock that are left, so there is no one to witness my complete embarrassment.

I am thinking of walking back home, but it's pitch dark with no lights along the way, and I am not sure I can make it. The guys are all concerned about me walking alone in the dark and want to get me home safely so one of them is talking about calling a cab and going with me. Just then Walker and Nancy arrive back from their time on the boat so, problem solved, I hop in their truck and they drive me back to my place - after hugs from a couple of the rugby players. They made the night super fun.

When I get into my room, I empty my purse to put stuff back into my beach bag and notice that my money belt is unwound and unzipped. Earlier in the evening, before leaving my room for the restaurant, I took out three $100 bills to pay for the dinner (it ended up being half that but I had no idea how much it would be) and put them in my small wallet. I noticed that I had three - $100 bills left along with several $20's and $1's in the money belt as I zipped it back up, folded it in half, and wound the elastic belt part tightly around it. (I have been doing that with it since arriving here as I can't wear it everywhere I go under the kind of clothes I wear here - it'd be visible.) I placed it at the bottom of my purse and put my camera, wallet, sunglasses case and a small notebook over it. Now when I look into the belt, the three $100 bills are gone. I hesitate a moment or two, trying to recall if I had left them there or if those were the three bills I had removed and put in my wallet for the evening. I am positive they were in the belt but I go and check the figures of what I have spent so far against what I have left and I am exactly $300 short. So someone stole the money from me. I can't think of when I left my purse long enough for someone to do that... only when I went to sign the flag, I think, and that couldn't have taken more than 5 or 6 minutes - tops.

I am upset about it but I am also dog tired so I fall into bed and a deep sleep. I wake up at about 2 in the morning and can't sleep for thinking about the money and if I am right, so I get up and go through all the numbers again, and yes - I am right. It's gone.

I hope whoever took it needs it more than I do.

LAZY DAYS IN THE BVI

2011-05-03T23:27:00.000-07:00

The day I walked to Cow Wreck Beach, Nancy was at the bar painting names of drinks on the backs of new chairs for Belle, the owner...

...while Belle looked on. I have been to the bar a few times now and this seems to be Belle's favourite spot and position to take up when business is slow.

The day after I ate the CHEESEBURGER IN PARADISE at Cow Wreck Beach, I was in agony. It started that evening actually, and went through the night. It seems my teeth aren't ready for solid food yet. I downed ibuprofen that Nancy gave me like they were candy.

I spent the entire next day in my room, lying on the bed reading and nodding off and eating pain pills. This is the view from my room that day.

And this is the sunset that night. I had to go out and take a picture or two (or seven) it was just so gorgeous.

The next day I was back at Cow Wreck at Hidden Treasure.

Cow Wreck Beach

Hidden Treasure from the beach.

It took 3 tries to get this - every time I was about to take a picture, a wave came in and washed it away.

Looking down the beach towards the bar at Cow Wreck.

Walker and his beloved view.

Nancy is starting to pack up the cottage on Thursday. I want to take them out for dinner to thank them for all the meals and driving and general hospitality they have so generously bestowed on me - someone they had never met before a few days ago. They decide that tomorrow, Wednesday, will be a good evening as Thursday they will be deep into packing up. Wednesday it is!

A LONG WALK PT. 2

2011-05-02T23:17:00.000-07:00

...Continued:

On my way down a dry sandy road to see something I have always wanted to see with my own eyes...

I was surprised to come across this little basket tucked into the bushes that lined the road.

The sign says 'No Trespassing' but I was told a day or so ago that I could ignore it and walk through to continue along the beach. Regardless, I have wanted to see this in person for some time now, so there was no way a sign was keeping me out. During a particularly rough sea storm, the beach front washed entirely away and the ocean waves have been eroding the land that these rental cottages are built on ever since.

As you can see, there are huge sandbags in place to try to keep the sea out - except for the cottage that is too far gone to save; it is well into the sea on the outside of the bags.

Seeing this reminds me of a song we used to sing in Sunday School: The foolish man built his house upon the sand...the rains came down and the floods came up...and the house on the sand fell flat.

The barge out in the water has a loud pump working on it that is pumping sand back onto the beach to try to shore up the cottages that are listing.

Apparently it is costing the owner $3,000 a day. I think it's a fools errand, throwing good money after bad. The sea will win this one (or so I believe).

Walker took this photo of the cottages from the water.

Continuing on, I found the best piece of beach of the whole walk - there was no waves and hardly any current...

...the water was warm, shallow, and crystal clear. I was HOT after walking the road, so I got in and floated around for 15 minutes. Refreshed and wishing I could stay all day, I moved on to my new goal of walking to Cow Wreck Beach, where Hidden Treasure is, and where there's a bar and grill - I was looking forward to a much deserved drink and lunch.

See the flock of birds in flight? They were all over the sand and as I walked closer they would move down the beach a few yards...

...settle in, and then repeat the process as I got closer. A couple of them got really pissed at me for this and started to fly behind me, squawking and swooping at me, trying to scare me away.

After three and a half hours of walking, swimming and resting - Hidden Treasure is finally in view!

Finally at the Cow Wreck Beach Bar and Grill, I sit down and enjoy the view while I wait for...

...a CHEESEBURGER IN PARADISE!!!!!

And again - for the second time in a week, for most of this walk, I heard no noises - nothing but the sounds of nature. BLISS!

Note: The cheeseburger was okay (not well done like I asked for, but the fries were home made and fabulous) and have I paid for it since. I should not be eating stuff like this yet I guess because now I have a tooth that is giving me so much pain I can't bear it unless I am popping Ibuprofen every three hours. I wrote to the dentist about it and he's chided me thoroughly - so it's back to only soft food for me for the foreseeable future.