Posts from — July 2008

Today was Seniors Day and you must be 55 years old to belong to Seniors for all Zone #2 events. However, I am allowed to play Eagle Point Seniors events as a Junior Senior since I am over 50 and I am an Eagle Point Member. I like to tell folks that I am on a Sponsors Exemption, it sounds like the “really guys”. Today I started off by skying the ball about 150yds then mis-hit to short of the green, made a great chip and then got the putt to drop for a par……….. really lucky. However, the tee shot was a sign of things to come. I took a triple bogie on the Par 5 which is #5 and 4 of the 8 shots I took shots came from less than 100 yds off the green and I could clearly see the green. Trying to hit the ball from the sandy soil where the trees were is very difficult, the ground looks hard however you need to play the ball as if you are in a sandtrap. Do you think I could get my brain and muscles coordinated to make that happen?????? The bright spot was chip in birdie on #8 and I finished the front nine with a 43. The back was about the same and I ended up with a 44 for a total of 87. By the time I adjusted the score for the triple bogie I entered an 86 and my index stayed at an 11. The good news was for the chip in birdie I won 4 bucks in the side games we had going.

Today we played Eagle Point and we started on the back nine. I started not too bad, however I took a double on #11 the second hole, as always it was a real stupid double where I lost focus on the approach shot and the putting. Finished the back nine with a 43 after a few other screw ups. The bright spot of the day was that I hit the 14th green Par 5 in 2 shots, almost made the eagle putt and tapped in for a birdie. The front nine started well and then I doubled both of the par 3”s ……. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid. In the end I finished with a 44 for an overall score of 87. My index went up to a 11, so still pretty good, but I have to stop taking those doubles. Seniors day tomorrow, I provide an update after that.

On Sunday Brenda and I went to Pineridge Golf, it’s a fun 18 hole Par 3 course. We had a great day, the weather was okay and we never got rained on, although the clouds were certainly threatening. As far as the golf we both played pretty good. Brenda was hitting the ball very well, she didn’t keep score but I know she shot better than she ever has before. I ended up 8 over par, as good as that is the bad part of my game was that the 8 strokes were all on the front nine, the good news is I shot even par on the back. Attached are a couple of pictures from our golf outing.

Today I went to Eagle Point with our regular golfing group. We all shot pretty poorly, no one could get anything going. In the end I shot an 86 which had no affect on my Handicap Index. So, after entering the last 2 games I am now at a 10.9 Index, this is lowest I have ever been. Retirement is very good for my golf game. More later.

Well since the start of the golf season and the start of my retirement vacation, my Golf Index has been rapidly dropping. I started the year at a 16.8 Index which translates into about a 16-17 handicap depending on the course slope rating and all that other golfing technical stuff. I played quite a few games immediately after going on vacation but have backed off a bit with suite renovations, trips to Victoria, Calgary, Vancouver Island, Vancouver and Princeton. So right after I got home this week I went out on Thursday (after my dentist appointment) and without expecting too much I played Sun Rivers and shot a 79. It was a bit of an up and down round but you can’t complain about the final result. The scary part is that it could have easily been a 75-76, the greens were like putting on the hardwood kitchen floor….. super fast and it took a few holes to get used to them. Then today I golfed at my home course Eagle Point and shot an 82, another up and down round. But as Walter Gretzky would say (when people complained how Wayne would score goals from the odd angles and back of the net); “they don’t ask how they ask how many”. I just need to stop taking those 1 or 2 double bogies at some point during the round. So, after all the scores have been entered my updated handicap index is an 11.2 or a 12 Handicap. I am really happy with that and am working to get it lower over the next couple weeks. I’ll provide updates as I go.

Well, we just got back from a trip to Princeton to see Kevin, Tamara, Sage & Conrad. Boy, was it ever a busy few days. Kevin and I completed fencing the majority of their property. It included cementing in all the posts and then stringing out and attaching the Deer/Rabbit Wire Fencing. Thank goodness Kevin had pre-dug most of the holes and we only had three left to dig on the first day. I believe in total it was 46 fence posts and 300 ft. of fencing, so a lot of work. The 30 deg. temperatures made it seem a lot hotter.

While I was helping Kevin, Brenda was busy helping out with Sage and Conrad so Tamara could get a few minutes to herself. Brenda always has a project or activity for Sage, she is 2 1/2 years old and it keeps us young trying to keep up to her. Conrad just loves to be held, watch T.V., eat food and sleep; although he does fight taking a nap somtimes.

We had some great dinners on their deck. The view is spectacular, you get to look out over both valleys and it is positioned so that it cools off real nice in the evening. On the last nights dinner Sage managed to eat almost an entire container of whipped cream for desert; with some help from Grandpa.

I have attached a few pictures of the cutest little grandchildren in the world. Oh! Ya, there are a couple picutres of Mom & Dad also.

Conrad in his Tigger Jumper 

 Sage and Namma – Sage waking up after a nap, there’s nothing like Namma’s knee to sit on. 

After we left Vancouver Island we headed to Vancouver for a couple days with Dean & Judy. On Monday morning Dean & Judy headed to Burnaby to look for new furniture for their house. They are just finishing up a home renovation that started back in June. Brenda and I headed of to walk the Seawall around Stanley Park.

Here are a couple pictures of us at Siwash Rock, in the first you can see the tide was out and it was great opportunity to get down near the rock.

This above picture looking back towards English Bay and False Creek, at this point you are about 7km around the Seawall, as you can see the day was spectacular. If you have never done the Seawall Walk you really need to the next time you are in Vancouver. Of course Stanley Park is named after Lord Stanley who was Govenor General of Canada and who donated the Stanley Cup Trophy that NHL teams compete for each season. Tuesday we went off to play 18 holes of golf at the Stanley Park Pitch and Putt. A short par 3 course that is perfect for a couple hours of golf, laughs and fun. Then off to Granville Island for the afternoon for lunch and to sea the sites. That evening we took in the Musical “Monty Python’s Spamalot”. It was everything you would expect from a Monty Python (Eric Idle) Production, you had to really be paying attention or you miss some of the humour. 

Wednesday we headed home to Kamloops and Dean and Judy stayed in Vancouver for a business conference. More adventures and blogging later.

This years reunion was hosted by Betty-Anne and Ross. They are always the most gracious and giving hosts that anyone could have as friends. This year we were at Horne Lake on Vancouver Island, not too far from Parksville. Betty-Anne and Ross purchased the property with Cabin, Camper, out buildings, etc.  a few years ago and it’s appropriately named “Diddly Squat”. Because you get to do a whole bunch of Diddly and a little bit of Squat………. well that’s the story they tell us from their Australian adventures. Anyway, it’s a great place to just kick back and relax.

This year only Betty-Anne and Ross, Rick and Gayle, Dean and Judy and Brenda and I were able to make the Reunion; Ed was unable to attend as he is supporting his son Danny who is going through a very tough time with childhood cancer. We all had a chance to talk to Ed on the weekend and everyone misses him and all our thoughts and prayers are with Danny and Ed!

Apart from all the regular reunion hijinks where; Someone Gets Wet, Someone Falls Asleep and is Decorated, Too Much is Drank, Too Much is Eaten and/or other Adult Activities, this year we visited Coombs on Saturday to see the Old Country Market and the Goats on the Roof! It was a great adventure and certainly something we have never done before. As always, leaving good friends on Sunday is tough, however we always look forward to next year.

So  it’s early Friday morning and we are in Burnaby at the Executive Inn. We think Dean & Judy are probably still sleeping since they were scehduled to arrive very late the night before. I head off to Tim Hortons for Coffee and Muffins. Side Discussion: How many of you out there buy the 6 Muffin Deal versus just 4 Muffins; since you save the GST etc. and you get the additional 2 Muffins for about $2.00? Anyway, on the way back to the room I run into Dean and he says they are ready to go. So, we check out and meet in the parking lot to combine luggage etc. and then head off to Horseshoe Bay. Brenda and I took the road to the ferry tolls and Dean & Judy went off to park their car. it’s about 8:15 a.m. and we never expected to make the 8:30 a.m. crossing. We moved down the lane and then it looked like we may have a chance of getting on the ferry, we quickly called Dean and Judy; no answer…….. yikes! We finally got through at about 8:22 a.m. and they were at the ticket counter; then we got a call back saying that they missed the cut off time (FYI – Ferry Cut Off time for Passengers is 10 minutes prior to sailing time). So, we are in our car on the ferry (3rd to last car allowed on) and they are stuck in Horseshoe Bay……. next ferry 10:10 a.m. Anyway we were sailing on the new Coastal Renaissance, what a beautiful ship. 

More about Reunion Weekend on the next post.

So, we started off our adventure by driving to Abbotsord and crossing into the USA at the Abbotsford/Sumas Crossing, the wait was about 40 minutes. Not too bad, but we thought we got in a slow line up by tracking our progress against a motorhome that we could have followed. However the motorhome line up came to a halt (they had one car at the immigration gate for about 10 minutes) anyway we flew by them and into Washingtom State. The reason for crossing was that I had to hand in my USA Immigration L1-A that allowed me to work in the United States for the last few months; it’s no longer needed since I am retired.

So we figured we were here anyway and we drove down to Bellis Fair for a quick look see, filled up on some cheaper gas and then headed north to Canada.

Then it was off to the Passport Office in Surrey to renew Brenda’s Passport, so we are ready for our winter vacation to St. Martin. More on that later this year. With out a doubt, It was the fastest passport renewal in recent Canadian History. I dropped Brenda off at the front of the building at about 4:22 p.m. She got to the office in record time; up 9 floors. The security guard closed the line behind her and she went directly to the immigration assistant counter. By this time I had parked the car and got there I had time to pull out my Visa pay the renewal fee and we were out of there by 4:30 p.m. Yowzer!!!

From there we headed to the Burnaby  Executive Inn for the night and to meet up with Dean and Judy for our trip to Vancouver Island and Horne Lake.

Now the excitement really starts……… next post.

A real quick update. We’re back from a week adventure to the USA, Vancouver, Horne Lake and then back to Vancouver. I’ll provide more details and pictures once we get them downloaded. We didn’t have a laptop and although we did quickly check our e-mail at an Internet Cafe on Robson Street. Side note: Have you ever gone into an Internet Cafe and the Google Text is all in Chinese and you have no idea what anything means??? Or how about you go to sit down at the computer station and there’s a unopened condom on the chair??? Well perhaps now you understand why we didn’t stay there long!!!

Enough said! A detailed trip report to follow.