A month in the Lower Mainland

Horseshoe Bay Ferry

April 6th, time for our whirlwind trip to Vancouver Island.   Because we are not planning on moving to Comox this summer we left the motorhome in Aldergrove and stayed two nights with friends in Courtenay.

Two days of appointments; six months of mail to go through and paper prep for drop off with the accountant (tax season is upon us), meet up with financial planner, realtor (just to set up online services to see just what might be out there for the future), doctor, etc.

After enjoying a nice evening and watching a movie, off to bed for a restful nights sleep before heading down to Victoria.   
Only problem was, around 11 pm Marc became violently ill and spent the night (and into the time the birds were singing) at the oval office, throwing up.   

Kylie and Tazz were super thrilled to see their familiar territory; the trails and creek at the local Fairgrounds.

Forest floor is full of lush green and the gorgeous trilliums.

Next day after no sleep and him lying in the back of the Honda on a makeshift bed, we made the three hour drive to Victoria.   

Fortunately, the 24 hour flu bug (or food poisoning) disappeared and we spent a day around Victoria (nice to play pickleball again with Beverly B. now that she's moved from Comox to Victoria).  Next day, had to get up at 3:15 AM in order to drive to Nanaimo for Bev's minor procedure at the hospital.   Incredible staff and feeling just fine, no issues with anesthetic and off we go, back to Aldergrove.

My plan worked;   decided I'd had enough getting my rain clothes on and getting my sneakers soaked every day when taking the dogs out so bought a pair of rubber boots.   Next day - and now for a week, we have had sunny days.

The athletic park has been the perfect place to walk, play frisbee and watch the multiple sports that go on; lacrosse, soccer, baseball, skateboarding, kite flying and this mt bike park.  Too bad our bikes are in the locker down the road (temporarily rented to keep everything locked up and dry).

Not sure what this is - some kind of obstacle in the mt bike park (?)

Marc renounced his US citizenship.   This meant driving to downtown Vancouver and four separate interviews and approximately $3400.   The official documentation he will receive could take four to six months to process.   

Our Nexus cards are both coming due this winter.   The cards were good for five years and we went to border services downtown to give all our updated information with the hopes that we will not have to drive back to Vancouver from Kelowna when the cards expire in the fall.   Have had new photos and fingerprints taken.  For renewal now, apparently you do not need to come in for the formal interview process (unless you have a criminal record).

As we were just around the corner, we made a breakfast stop at Granville Island Market.  

Would be difficult living close to here - would be eating out everyday!   Every type of food imaginable, plus arts and crafts galore.

Skyscraper views along False Creek.

Marc is Out of This World . . . . . 

Took in a show at the Vancouver Planetarium on Our Universe.   Fabulous and certainly makes you realize how teeny, tiny our world is.

A great display of the first Space Shuttle  (1969) and photos/videos of the first moon walk, history of the Hubble Telescope, etc

A kayak group out for some "re-freshing" practise.   Refreshing because this ocean water is around 7C (44 F) and they are practicing roll overs.   We've done it --- only thing was, it was at an indoor pool.

The Annual Vaisakhi Day Parade in Surrey.

One of the largest outside India, the Vaisakhi Parade is a celebratory event marking the New Year, to pay tribute to the harvest and commemorate one of the most important days in the Sikh calendar, the creation of the Khalsa.

It has become a holy day to mark the birth of the Khalsa.  The Khalsa was founded to fight adversity over 300 years ago and since has continued to be at the heart of Sikhism.

A family-oriented day full of performance, live music, decorative floats representing local Sikh schools, community groups, humanitarian organizations and a float carrying the Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh holy scripture).








The event celebrates the harvest festival in Punjab, which is one reason why so much food is given away.


Hundreds of residents and businesses cook and provide free food for everyone.

Looking a little like string cheese, this is called Jalebi - a crispy dessert fried in a homemade syrup.   Yummo!   The pie shaped piece is Aloo Tikki - a plate of herb filled potato patty fried until crispy and golden.










Cotton Candy

And much more; spicy lentil and chickpea dishes, samosas, pakora, vegetables, water, tea . . . all for over 300,000 people at an all day event.

Some tents and floats were definitely carrying a message.

With the creation of the Khalsa the adoption of the 5 Ks would identify members.

The 5 Ks symbolizes that the Sikh who wears them has dedicated themselves to a life of devotion and submission to the Guru.   The five Ks are:  Kesh (uncut hair), Kara (a steel bracelet), Kanga (wooden comb), Kaccha (cotton underwear) and Kirpan (steel sword).

The turban of a Sikh is his or her primary identifying feature.   It is a statement of belonging to the Guru and a statement of the inner commitment of the one who wears it. For women, they also wear a chuni (scarf), usually at an early age, by the time they are an adolescent.  The chuni worn under the chin and across the shoulder protects the grace and integrity of a woman so not to attract the wrong kind of energy.

Definitely the largest crowd either of us has ever experienced, an incredible experience and felt like we parachuted into the middle of a market in India.

We may not be traveling in a stretch limo but this is our last day in the Lower Mainland.   Has been a very quick month.   

We leave tomorrow (Apr 21) to our new digs - Kelowna, to stay in an apple orchard.