Port Renfrew still

We are still here at Bill Jones' place on the Pacheedaht Indian Reserve in Port Renfrew, British Columbia. The weather is great -- no heat wave here. Manfred is still not over his virus, so we have not been able to do much, but we went to Victoria to see the "fixer-upper". We will probably be moving into it as soon as Manfred is better. It needs a bunch of work, but it's in a very nice location. The phone number here is: 250-647-0022 (Canada) street address: 150 Pachidat Rd. Port Renfrew BC V0S 1K0 Canada email (always): observer@islandnet.com our cell: (please only call from U.S.) 678-516-6907

In Port Renfrew, B.C.

We came to Port Renfrew over a week ago, and have been unable to update this blog since then. Manfred came down with a particularly virulent virus shortly after arriving here, and has been "sick as a dog" ever since. I have never seen anybody be so sick -- he can hardly walk across the room. It is getting better, but he still coughs all the time, which causes him terrible pain in muscles and head. Most of the people here seem to have had it, and it lingers. So, we have not been able to deal with our stuff very much, but we have a good possibility to stay in and fix up a house in Victoria. We are going to look at it tomorrow or Wednesday, but it is probably "a go". I am still OK -- been taking echinacea and Xango and resting a lot (mostly reading). It's been nice seeing old friends and enjoying nature, although the heat wave has gotten here too, the temperature was in the 80s for a couple of days, but we are staying at Bill Jones house which is quite cool. The telephone number here is 250-647-0022. email is still observer@islandnet.com

Still here

We are having such a good time at Rosemary's that we stayed another day (again!). This time we are leaving for sure. Next post will be from Port Renfrew, guaranteed.

Victoria

We found some ways that we could help Rosemary, so we are still here, putting off going to Renfrew and dealing with our (groan!) stuff. Incidentally, the van did not get 16 MPG. That was a miscalculation. It got 11 or 12 on a good day. Manfred had it weighed and it was over 7,000 lbs.

Still in Victoria

The picture shows a deer that was resting under a bush in the yard of Rosemary's neighbor. We are staying in Victoria with Rosemary untill tomorrow or Sunday. Then we will go to Bill's place in Port Renfrew. The phone number here is 250-385-5195 (but don't call unless it's urgent) and the number at Bill's is 250-647-0022 (after Sunday). We don't have a proper phone line, yet. If you call our old number (678-748-5806) that's the Vonage internet phone, and we won't have it hooked up until we can get a hi-speed internet connection. Port Renfrew only has dial-up, so far. You can leave a message on that phone, we check the messages every 2 or 3 days. Calling our cell is a call to Atlanta, and counts against our minutes. And we cannot call out on the cell from here in Canada without paying 40¢ per minute. The best way to contact us is to put a comment on this blog or email to observer@islandnet.com.

Victory -- Victoria

So, we finally made it across the border at 6:45 p.m. Then it took us 2 hours to clear customs and we had to pay $160++ tax for the vehicle. So the van has paid tax on both sides now. It was so good to see Rosemary -- and she even had champagne chilled for us. We will stay with her for 2 nights and then go to Port Renfrew. Or at least that's the plan so far.

In Port Angeles

We finally arrived here in Port Angeles on the 4th of July, but we couldn't get our mail because of the holiday. Today we got it and the passport is here, thanks to Steele's prompt sending. We will be going to Victoria today, provided they let us in. Then we will be heading for good old Port Renfrew -- after visiting with Rosemary, of course. On the way through Oregon, we stopped at Ken Roberts' place, which was closed (Sunday).

Traveling

We've been on the road since Thursday morning, wending our way up the coast of California. We visited Hearst Castle, which was something else. A ranch house that rivals Biltmore Estate. See Citizen Kane. We couldn't make the Monterrey Aquarium, but have had a good time taking in the great views and interesting scenery. Internetting has been a problem -- wireless internet at several motels didn't work -- but we finally got one that does, here in Eugene, Oregon. We will probably be one more night on the road before arriving in good ol' Port Angeles, WA. If you want to tell us something, you can put a comment on this blog, or write to observer@islandnet.com