29th June - Winnipeg
to Weyburn - 520 km
This was the most
BORINGGGGGGG drive so far...The
roads were so dang straight and
everything so flat...you could see
for milesssss, and not even as much
as a hill in sight. At least my trip
was broken up by meeting Jess aka
JrDragonJess for lunch in Moosimon.
She took me to a nice restaurant and
was great to catch up with her on my
way through.
Then back on the road
again....more straight road until I
left the major highway and onto a
smaller road to head to Merles. Well
guess what...more straight road but
wait...I got bumps...was the most
bumpy road yet..but gee the bumps
kept me from falling asleep. lol.
Arrived at Merle's late afternoon we
then went out to the lake to the
Jamboree, a cancer fundraising day.
Sat and enjoyed a few cold ones in
the blistering heat. When was time
to head home I got to drive the 1929
Model A home from the lake, that was
an experience. I think Herb (
Merle's hubby) thought we may have
to peel the gearbox up off the road
with the amount of times I crunched
the gears...lol When we got home
Merle insisted Herb get out the
Model T and take us for a spin in
that one too. I think Herb was too
scared to say no...already
supporting one black eye...I'm sure
he didn't want another....lol. So
Merle, Herb, Margo and I went off
touring round the town...well we
ended up at Dairy Queen...just a
nice way to end the day which
turning out to be really warm.
Thanks Merle for a nice time meeting
your family and all your cars.
30th June - Weyburn
to Saskatoon - 378 km
Set out from Merle's
for Saskatoon, I decided to go
through Moose Jaw instead of Regina.
The drive to Moose Jaw was more
straight road, but then after that
wow.....I actually got bends in the
road.... and curves and the
occasional hill. lol. I arrived in
Saskatoon around 1pm met up with
Mike aka sspoilers by the river and
we set out on the river cruise. It
was nice to be on the water in the
breeze cause the day was very
warm...35c Mike was all
dressed for me so I would recognize
him....lmao in his Beer Police
singlet. After the cruise Mike took
me around the city to fill in some
time while I waited to meet up Greg
aka bcbandit from work. Thanks Mike
for meeting up with me and spending
the afternoon.
Met up with Greg in
the city then went for a cool drink
before taking off and following him
to his home. I literally ate
his dust for a few kilometers and we
headed to his place on the country
road. After arriving at Greg's and
meeting his wife Jenny, we set out
to wander the property and check out
his horses, one of which has blood
lines to Seabiscuit. Came back for
dinner.... barbecued buffalo
burgers....weeeee they were yummy. I
was kinda exhausted by the end of
the day after traveling in the heat.
We then had a thunder storm brewing
so I shut down my puter and sat
outside just watch the night sky
light up. The lightning was
incredible.
Woke the next
morning, we were going to go fishing
for the morning but the wind got up
and was too risky to take on the
lake. We headed back into the city
to the park for the Canada Day
celebrations. With everyone really
in the spirit with masses of red n
white all over, we listened to the
music a while then for a drive along
the river to the weir. Jenny and I
climbed the stairs then walked over
the weir bridge. Back home we went
and was nanna nap time before
dinner. Thanks Greg and Jenny for
having me in your home and was great
to meet you both.
2nd July - Saskatoon
to Calgary - 616 km
Set out from Greg's
bright n early to face yet another
longish drive. The drive wasn't
quite as bad as the rest of
Saskatchewan, at least there were
some bends in the road and the
occasional small hill..lol. I went
through Drumheller, famous for its
fossils and the worlds largest
dinosaur. I arrived in Calgary mid
afternoon and met up with my old
friend Steve from before league
days. Then set off again to get
further down the road. As I climbed
up the hills and out of Calgary
there they were all in all their
grandeur, I was gob smacked...yep
the Rocky Mountains it was just an
awesome sight and then I saw it
finally !!!!! snowwwwwwwwwww !!!!! I
just kept driving and taking in the
scenery and of course taking pics
along the way. I finally stopped at
Canmore right at the foot of the
mountains, the view from my room was
breath taking. I tried to get some
league things caught up on, but I
was totally distracted by the
surroundings.
3rd/4th July -
Calgary to Vancouver - 971 km
Well !!!!!!!!! I was
gonna simply set out on my way to
Vancouver...BUT. I was in the
mountains and there were rivers a
plenty... and where this is rivers
in the mountains...there has to be
rapids !!!! Soooooooo I just had to
do it !!!!!! I left Canmore early
and stopped at Banff in search of a
thrilling tour rafting. Boy did I
find it.... we were 2.5 hrs on the
Kickinghorse River in the YoHo
National Park and yep it bucked
good......was such a thrilling day.
After all the excitement and BBQ
lunch back in the bus to head back
to the car. I set off on the road
again and spent 3 hrs driving
through the mountains. Just when I
thought I had seen it all, around
the next bend was always a bigger n
better mountain and more snow. The
heavens then opened up and rain was
getting harder so I stopped at
Revelstoke. After such a big day
full of excitement I needed the
break.
I was up bright n
early to make my way to Vancouver,
unfortunately it was raining in
parts and the mountains were clouded
over so the views were not so great.
Was a pretty drive though all the
way to Surrey. I arrived at
Fran aka startwinfran and Rod's home
early afternoon, had time to relax
and chat for a few before getting
ready for the nights entertainment.
There were 8 of us meeting at the
The Giggle Dam Comedy Theatre.
Darlene aka xXXDARoseXXx, Sheryl aka
skary110, Juanita aka bluedarling02,
Len aka cameo206, Ken aka kencribber,
Judy and her son Spencer, (crib playing
friends). It was great meeting up
and was lots of laughs during the
evening. The entertainment was very
funny and very talented
entertainers.
left to right: Front -
Darlene, Me, Sheryl, Len.... Back -
Judy, Juanita, Spencer, Ken
Saturday was Crib
Party Day !!!!! The Addicts arrived
first at Fran's home, Claudette was
visiting her daughter in BC so got
to catch up with her again. Stu aka
grumpyminer also got to meet us all.
We all mingled and I was given a
crash course lesson on playing 10
card crib...lol with real cards and
a board !!!! The boys (Stu and Ken)
then got a little cheeky and decided
it was time to throw Lozzy in the
pool. All captured on video of
course. There was a total of
28 peeps arrived late afternoon for
a BBQ supper and then crib. I did
get one big surprise though...The
attempted arrest of Lozzy by a Royal
Canadian Mounted Policeman....weeeee
for stealing a car in Florida was
quite hilarious.....lmao...I was
awake to that one pretty fast !!!!!
It's all on the video.....lol As for
the crib side of the evening
well...I met some wonderful friendly
peeps, and the crib....got my
ass kicked so bad. It was all fun
!!! Fran must have been cooking for
days and Rod setting up the yard and
house ready for the onslaught. I
can't thank them both enough for
opening their home and the work they
both put in to make this day and
evening such a memorable one. Thanks
also to Dar and Juantita for your
organizing skills too.
Dar, Fran, Claudette, Me
Claudette, Stu, Me
Ken, Juanita, Stu
Len
Left to Right: Len,
Juanita, Ken, Fran, Dar, Me, Sheryl,
Stu, Claudette
Rod the Magnificent Chef
Darlene
Stu
Sheryl
Len and Juanita
Griff my poor crib partner sufferer
Sunday was Ladies Day
out... Dar, Fran and I headed out to
the flea market first of all then
was off into the countryside to Fort
Langley for lunch. We browsed around
the shops and was nice little
village. We dropped Fran off then
collected Juanita to drive through
Stanley Park on the way to the foot
of Grouse Mountain, then up on the
gondola to top of the mountain for
dinner. The views of Vancouver were
spectacular not only on the way up
but also from the restaurant. We all
enjoyed a lovely dinner, thanks Dar.
After dinner there just happened to
be some snow on the mountain and of
course a snow ball fight was in
order. That dang snow was so frozen
and so dang cold I had frost bite...lol
see the video !!!! I had a lovely
day and evening, thank you Dar, Fran
and Juanita.
Monday was Juanita
and Len's day to be tour guides,
along with Dar we drove into the
city through China Town then onto
Gastown. We stopped and had coffee
in Gastown, watched the steaming
clock at midday and shopped a
little. Then off to Granville Island
for a browse around the market place
and lunch. Was a nice day and the
view of the city from Granville
Island was cool. After lunch was
back home in time for baseball....lol.
That's when I hit the wall and
needed a nanna nap, I slept for 2
hrs. I woke to the smell of Fran's
wonderful cooking, we had dinner
then sat outside chatting away
before taking a dip in the pool then
the hot tub. Thanks Juanita, Len and
Dar for yet another nice day out.
Tuesday was Fran's
day to show me around her area in
White Rock. With the ocean close by
that's where we headed. It was a
beautiful sunny day and we started
by walking the pier and then right
along the waterfront. Of course the
white rock on the water front is the
main attraction. This area was
beautiful with the water on one side
and the quaint little shops on the
other and the snow capped mountains
in the background. I really enjoyed
the walk and taking in the fresh air
and views of the ocean. Rod came
down and met us for lunch...Yummy
Fish n Chips at Eddies. We then
headed back home for yet another dip
in the pool and hot tub. After
almost falling asleep in the hot
tub, I went for yet another nanna
nap before Bingo. Fran and I met up
with Dar and Juanita at the church
hall for Bingo. Yes I just had to do
it play Bingo...lol. With my new
dauber in hand... I had to look the
part at least...lol. It was
fun and I won a few dollars in the
very first game, but then my luck
dried up. I thoroughly enjoyed my
day, thanks Fran and the evening
also.
Wednesday was catch
up day... I finally got some spare
time in the morning to catch up with
league things and my page. Then off
to yet another new experience ..lol
I had my eyebrows threaded, instead
of waxed. I'd never heard of this
before and was totally different. I
met up with Brandon aka saxmaster
for coffee n lunch. I'd known
Brandon for around 4 - 5 years and
was nice finally meeting him. Then
off to the spa for a leg wax...lol.
Back home again for dinner before
Crib. Wow was I treated to a special
dinner...Rod the magnificent chef
treated me to rack of lamb on the
BBQ.. It was superb!! Fran's
lemon meringue pie was really good
too. Is it any wonder I'm piling on
the kilos??? being too well fed
here...lol. Was then time to head to
the Legion for crib... across the
road just happened to be a fire
station...I'd had my pic with just
about every man in uniform but a
firey....well I didn't just get one
I got 3 hunks to boot !!!! and of
course a shiney red truck...lmao.
After that experience was time to
get down to some serious cribbing,
with my partner Ken, my new lucky
pegs and table 13 of all tables the
fun started. We won 3 games straight
then our bubble burst somewhat
losing the next 2. We bounced back
to win the next 3. I think there was
around 50 something pairs playing.
We just scrapped into 5th position,
that was enough to get us in the
money !!!!! Weeeee. I had a great
evening and now I know I can play
'real' crib...lmao and with 10 cards
whats more.
Thursday I was
treated to a yummy breakfast by my
resident chef Mr Rod..French Toast
smothered in syrup and raspberries
with fried potatoes..mmm so good !!!
Then was off to into the city to
visit Fiona, Margie's daughter who
moved to Vancouver from Australia in
April to work as a Nanny. She is
living in a nice home and enjoying
her work there.
I then drove to
Squamish north of Vancouver to visit
Jay aka gentledad. The drive was
beautiful with the cliff faces on
one side and water on the other. It
was great to catch up finally
although my visit was short n sweet.
I headed back to
Surrey and on the way called into
Delta where I got the sad news that
Tim aka bctim777 had passed away 4
weeks ago. Tim was a great guy and
those who remember him will surely
miss his humor in the league. Tim
battled leukemia for the past 4 - 5
years that I knew him. RIP TimTamMan.
I then met up briefly with Al aka
cardfanatic. We enjoyed a bite to
eat and a couple of a drinks and
chatted away. Was nice to meet you
Al.
11th July - Vancouver
to Seattle, WA - 184 km
Party Saturday Night
in Seattle 7pm at Malarky Sports
Grill, 1025 NW Gilman Bvld, Issquah.
All Welcome....Hope to see you there!!!
15th July - Seattle
to Rufus, OR - 229 miles Going
Fishing !!!!!
Here's the link to YouTube
for all the laughs
!!!
~*~ YouTube Videos ~*~
Upcoming dates to
mark your calendar
July 11/12/13th weekend -
Seattle, Washington
If I'm close to you along the way please give
me a yell either on msn or send me an email to
loraway50@hotmail.com,
would love to meet you.