Another rainy day in Fanny Bay.…what else is new?
Oyster fishing boat in Fanny Bay.
We woke up to a nasty weather forecast with a wind warning heading our way from Midnight tonight until early Thursday morning. The southeasterly winds will be 70-90km/hr, and 100% chance of rain. After yesterday’s glorious weather, it was too good to be true to last!
This morning we were very busy! I had a workout in Newman, and I was also having 2-3 conversations via text going at the same time. We also were FaceTimed by Richard’s brother Norm and his lovely wife Jo in Florida, who took possession of their spot today in Coquina Key. We had a video tour of their winter home until March and it looks like they have already settled in nicely to life in Florida! We are definitely looking forward to some nicer weather. Its getting a bit depressing here on the Island…
The only thing to do with bad weather, is to get outside and try to make the best of it!
So in the spirit of getting out of Newman, we set off to Bowser! We picked up a few groceries in Bowser for our taco dinner this evening. I’m trying to use all the meat in our freezer and also use up the fresh vegetables we too. I’ve also found a Trader Joes in Bellingham, Washington, so once we cross the border, that will be our first stop, to stock Newman back up again!
We wanted to have lunch at the Sandbar Cafe in Bowser today. We had lunch there once last year and were impressed with the food as well as the local artwork on the walls. Last year I had picked up a couple of pieces from the artist Carla Flegal who does amazing water-colours and displays them in this cafe. Of course as we drove to the Cafe, it was closed today! UGH. Richard said “We’ve got one more chance to go to Qualicum Beach, so maybe we can go there for some lunch!” That was a good idea and so we continued on down the Highway to Q. Beach. The rain actually stopped too, just as we got to Q. Beach.
We saw this little spot called Bailey’s in the Village and thought it looked like the perfect place to get a soup and a sandwich for lunch. We didn’t want anything too heavy, because it was already 2pm by the time we started looking for a place to eat.
I was intrigued by what was going on outside the restaurant window.
The workers were putting the greenery at the bottom of the tree and around the fountain outside the Qualicum Beach Municipal building downtown Q. Beach.
The workers were having their picture taken from the front, so I took their picture from the back.
The Christmas tree was going up in Q. Beach! We saw a lot more places decorated today, since Q. Beach is having their Christmas market this weekend.
Yummy, homemade turkey vegetable soup!
Look at the size of the fresh mushrooms in that cream of mushroom soup?!!
We split a grilled cheese sandwich to eat with our soups. Bailey’s seems like a local hangout for all of the retired people in Q. Beach, since we seemed to be the youngest folks in the joint! We caught up with the Vancouver Island news too, since they had a local paper we could read over lunch.
After lunch Richard said he would really like to get a pedicure. The pedicure place in Q. Beach is one of the best around, so he went in to check if they could take him and he was in luck! Its the first pedicure he has had in two years, so he really needed it! Hot stones and all!
Richard having a pedicure.
While Richard had a pedicure I went shopping in Q. Beach. I really hadn’t ‘done’ the stores in Q. Beach, so I had about an hour to do some shopping!
At this store downtown Q. Beach, everything was locally sourced within 100 km of the store and all made by local artisans.
More local goods. There is a lot of pride on Vancouver Island about buying local and supporting local artisans.
This clothing store also had giftware.
I have to keep reminding myself I don’t need to buy any warm clothes, because where I’m going it will be a lot warmer! I did buy a cozy warm shawl from this store though, as the nights do get cold in Florida and its always nice to have a warm shawl for going out!
This gift store had a lot of Christmas goods and ‘beachy’ stuff which I love.
I finally bought a sturdy straw basket in Q. Beach today. Most people on the Island carry a basket with them for shopping at stores or the local market. I had bought a cheaper version of a straw basket last year, which fell apart. This straw basket is a lot better weave and will be great for going to grocery stores as we travel - especially since we won’t have a car to go to stores on this trip and need some sturdy grocery bags to carry our food back to Newman!
Its looking a bit stormy down towards the Salish Sea at the bottom of the hill in Qualicum Beach.
The last roses of the season hanging on for dear life. So long and farewell Qualicum Beach! I’m not sure when we will be back again, but we’ve enjoyed visiting and playing golf at Q. Beach Memorial Golf Club.
A foursome waiting to tee off on the 9th hole - an uphill par 3 at Qualicum Beach Memorial Golf Club.
I asked Richard to pull over at the bottom of the hill, on the Coastal Highway in Q. Beach so I could take a few last photos of the stormy Salish Sea in Q. Beach.
The wind was really blowing the Salish Sea today at Q. Beach.
Crash! The waves were crashing onto the rocks at Q. Beach. If you look really closely behind the big rock with the wave, you can see the head of a seal, bobbing up and down with the waves.
We drove home to Fanny Bay, stopping in Bowser to get some gas at the Esso station. We are trying to keep Kramer, the Kona always above 1/2 full, in case there is a fuel shortage. We are still restricted to 30 litres of gasoline for the car, with the State of Emergency in B.C. Its best to keep the car as full as possible, so when I return it on Sunday, I can still return it with a full tank of gas.
As I’m writing the blog tonight I’m sitting here listening to the wind flapping off our slide toppers on Newman. We’ve not had any issues with the toppers so far, with lots of high winds, but its still very disconcerting sitting in Newman and listening to the wind. Its a creepy, eerie feeling knowing that the winds can push the rain onto Newman’s roof and blow the RV around. With one more day of rain to go, before a brief reprieve on Friday, we are looking forward to saying ’So long and Farewell‘ to Vancouver Island this time. We definitely need some warmth, sunshine and new places to explore and that’s why we’re heading south!
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