Category: Daily Blog

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Last Day with K

On our last day with Kathryn (who lives on Galiano Island, not in Victoria), she gave us a tour of the Victoria Flying Club‘s flying school, where she has 15 of the 200 hours she needs to get her commercial pilot’s license. She’ll be flying high then, but for now she’s grounded unless she’s with an instructor (phew for now, says me! it’s not a small thing to imagine your youngest daughter flying a plane!). I tried to drop hints that Gander might be a good place to finish her program- if only because then I’d at least have one daughter in the same province as me!

Needless to say, Kathryn is excited about this new venture. I was hoping to see a takeoff but logistically it didn’t work out this trip. But you can see video on her blog of one such takeoff. It’s pretty awesome.

We had a great lunch at the school’s cafe, hugged and kissed, leaving us wondering when we will see each other again and thankful for Skype. WWV (Wonderful World of Victoria) and my WWW (Wonderful World of Whiteway) are so far apart – there’s a continent between them – and I’m cherishing every moment I get with my family while it lasts.

Now The Berry and I are enjoying our last few days – rainy weather be damned – but also looking forward to getting back to our cottages, back to work, and back to our first busy summer season.

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Galiano Tripping

Big things on a little island! As I blogged yesterday, we got to visit my youngest daughter, Kathryn, who lives off the BC coast on little Galiano Island. This is a beautiful place with lots of wonder. The forests are lush, the trees so green, wildlife all around and friendly people, too (that last bit reminds me of another island I know!). It was a real treat to be there and to visit with my daughter.

And don’t let the size fool you – there was lots to do (just ask The Berry who got a first-class massage for her aching shoulder at the Galiano Inn and Spa!). Lunch at the Hummingbird Pub was good – I got fish and chips, made out of Pacific, not Atlantic, cod, and I enjoyed it – which is a big stamp of approval coming from a Newfoundlander! Then we went to the sand caves, the marina, the sawmill where Kathryn works, then Montague Park, then the  bluffs and Mount Galiano, then a nice fire, soft music, a little wine, and a nice meal. We went to bed tired and woke up refreshed – just the way it should be!

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On Galiano

We came on this trip wanting to recharge our very-depleted batteries, and what a spot to do it. We’ll be coming home for the summer season recharged and more. Here I am heading on the ferry to visit my youngest daughter, Kathryn, who lives on Galiano Island. It’s a tiny little island off the coast (only 1200 or so people live here), so you have to take a ferry to get there – and boy, is it worth the journey. I’ve been coming here for a few years and they ferries have never been anything but easy to navigate. Here we are docking at Sturdies Bay, on the southeast of the island:Galiano is the perfect spot for a picnic – and nap! – on the beach, and for barbeques and wine late into the night. We’re staying at the lovely Galiano Inn and Spa, and we got to see my daughter’s place – she, too, is right on the water. Seems like my daughters are just like their Ocean Delight-loving father, hugging the coast and loving the ocean!

Kathryn’s place is actually sustainable. All their water comes from rain fall and they burn mostly wood. Very inspiring for us, given our goal to make our cottages more efficient by 2014.

Here’s The Berry and Kathryn getting ready for our steak barbeque. We’re going to have to make a trek out here more than once a year!

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The Oracle is Coming

Look out, Readers: I got a Nikon D-3100 camera – my ‘Oracle’ who sees all -for my birthday.  My first entry into high end photography, I looked at the manual, all the buttons and icons, the software, and all the paraphernalia and remembered that I am 62.  I’ll need another manual just to learn the basics.  But I will rage on in my ignorance (you know me) and take my rightful place among the other 500 million “would be” professional photographers of the digital age.

Unfortunately, the memory card was not included, so I didn’t get shots of the great, romantic day The Berry and I had in sunny Victoria, perusing a farmer’s market, having lunch outside, a little shopping, more than a little wine and napping, and floating away on my daughter’s float home.  Yesterday, we headed over to Galiano (a small island off the coast) to visit my other daughter. We’re staying at the Galiano Inn & Spa, which is just awesome. This is a cute little island, and I’ll try to get some shots if I can figure out The Oracle in time!

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Sunday Church Blogging: Christ Church (in Victoria!)

 

As you may know, I reserve my Sunday posts for highlighting Newfoundland churches. So I’m changing things up a bit, now that I have on my ‘tourist’ hat as The Berry and I explore Victoria. Here is Christ Church Cathedral, right in the sunny downtown. This church has a long history, starting in the mid-1800s, and the Queen attended a service here in 2002. I love the green space on either side – so ‘Victoria’!

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Happy Birthday to Me

 

My daughter lives on the water here in sunny Victoria. Her balcony lends itself easily to sitting and musing, chatting and drinking wine, all while listening to sea birds, waves, and tourists, and outlasting the setting sun. Which is how I got to spend my birthday yesterday – pure bliss. Purely blessed. On a decked out balcony with homemade molasses birthday cake – too cute.

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Here Comes the Sun

Our first day in Victoria was cloudy/rainy/foggy/you name it, and the forecast suggested it was going to stay that way for the rest of our trip. But yesterday, out came the sun and what a difference it makes. Here I am with my daughter after sitting out for a nice leisurely drink outside near the water (we had to rest after The Berry shopped!). I’ve renamed this place the WWV – Wonderful World of Victoria – since I love it almost as much as my WWW. Which, from reports from Joe Friday, is shaping up for a nice and busy weekend as well.

Notice the horse-drawn cart in the background on the left – lots of those around. Makes me think of Clifford!

Today’s my birthday so wish me a good one! Don’t think I have to worry about that though!

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Boy from the Bay

The shirts say it all! There is a saying – “you can take the boy from the bay, but you can’t take the bay from the boy.’ So even in the lovely Fisherman’s Wharf in Victoria, I’m still a bayman at heart. Just ask my daughters, raised in Mount Pearl and Virginia, who always teased me for talking about their ‘b’y-friends’, not their boyfriends!Even looking out over the Pacific, we show our bayman pride! Just teasing of course! Nothing quite replaces the WWW (Wonderful World of Whiteway), but family, good food, relaxation, and the pretty city of Victoria (even if the sun was hiding) come close. We’re having ‘a time’ so far – explored a little of the downtown, a few good meals, and some great conversation (and planning – for Ocean Delight!) over wine and supper yesterday. Today, the sky’s the limit! Thanks for all the well wishes – we’ll keep you posted!

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Another Jerryism

As you may know, yesterday I set out to visit my daughters in British Columbia (one in Victoria, one in a small island off the coast). I’ve spent countless hours travelling and flying, so getting across the country is normally a piece of cake. So I woke up after a good night’s sleep, anticipating a wonderful flight time at 8:00 AM  – aaahhhhh!!!!! – Westjet – I love you!  I got up at 5 (early bird gets the worm), did some work, took my time and went to the airport.  There was no one at the counter.  I am thinking “cool!!!!”

I go up to the counter and give my name.  “What flight are you on, sir?” says Cory of WJ.
“I am on the 7:57 AM flight and I love WJ,” say I.
“We don’t have a 7:57 flight,” says Cory.
“Yes you do,” say I, as I scramble for the computer to pull out my confirmation.
“What’s your name?” says he.
“Jerome Byrne,” say I.
I show him my confirmation. He points and says, “7:57 AM is the time you are supposed to be in Toronto.  You missed your flight by two hours.”

“Holy FRIGG!**” says I, and I repeat it several times, and say, “What the FRIGG am I going to do now?”
“We can get you there by 7:35 PM for a late fee of $50,” says he.
“Sign me up,” say I.

I call The Berry who is getting to ready to leave Guelph on the shuttle to meet me at the airport. I tell her what had happened.  Then, needless to say, I had to put Cory on the phone to confirm it (she thought I was joking – as if!).

“Jesus, Jerry” says she.
“Sorry” say I.

We all had a laugh, especially Cory (at my expense due to my stupidity – but for me, it was just another Jerryism!). And all’s well that ends well. No need to get into the details of weather delayed flights – we’ve all been there, done that – so let it suffice that I had a long day and got in a lot later than planned. But I’m here! We have lots planned (and by ‘lots’ I mean, lots of sitting around and relaxing!) and I even got to sit next to a special neighbour on one leg of my journey – little Yoshi. I would have preferred The Berry, but he was pretty cute, too.

** I can neither confirm nor deny any expletives that may have ocurred in this transaction.

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The Hangman

If you follow this blog, you may be wondering how I had time to post this morning – shouldn’t I be on my flight? The answer is, yes! But due a Jerryism, I missed my first flight and got some extra time in the good old St. John’s airport.

So here I am last weekend, building a platform for a clothesline. This is a baby step towards Zero Energy and Sustainability. We made a commitment to ourselves (and a bet to others) to get off the grid by March 31, 2014. ‘So it is written, so let it be done.’

And keep your fingers crossed for no more Jerryisms today, please!

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