July 15, 2007: Ride to Lake Cowichan, BC

See route
After a good night's sleep, I
woke up to a wonderful breakfast
made by Judith...
...and met my fellow B&B person,
Jen, from San Francisco.
I took advantage of Jen having lived
in SF for some time (moved from Long
Island, New York for school) to get some
ideas of places to visit there
Judith told Jen & I this story:
She went to buy this painting of
her husband's boat but it had been stolen
from where it had been displayed.
Two year's later in an ugly divorce,
one spouse reported "a stolen painting"
to the police and the artist recovered
his work. Judith's husband finally got
his birthday present!
Other watercolors in the house are
by Judith. Here she is, standing by
a ocean sunset.
Before Jen and I left, I got a picture
of the three of us together, using
my "long arm" technique.
Before leaving town, I backtracked
a bit to get a picture of this boat...
... and this statue (made of
driftwood) beside and in front of
a place called "The Wreckage".
When I left Ucluelet, these clouds
(and rain) followed me to Fort Alberni.
At the gas station in Fort Alberni,
I saw this Lab/German Shorthair cross
who I thought Nicole & Geoff would like.
Past that point, the skies cleared
and I was able to stop to get a
picture of this shoreline...
...and this kayaker. Despite the
warm day, the lakes are evidently
not much warmer than the ocean.
What's not to like?
I didn't stop from that point
until I got to Lake Cowichan.
Was it ever exciting to see Del
waving at me as I drove onto Gravelle.
Gil had seen me from the kitchen window
and alerted Del to my arrival.
Del proudly showed off their new
back deck which Gil had finished the
day before.
We made good use of the deck, enjoying
ginger ales and conversation.
Then we went into town for a walk.
This river meanders through town
and passes very near to Del & Gil's
house.
It seems to be a hub of activity.
Gil & Del swim there and they are
planning on "inner tubing" next weekend.
This picture of the river looks
back towards where Del & Gil's house
is.
They also intend to try kayaking.
Del is going to take lessons this
summer and if she likes it, they are
either going to buy two single or one
double kayak.
The dam keeps the level of the lake up.
One finger of Cowichan Lake
Did you know that the Trans-Canada
trail begins (or ends depending on
which direction you travel) in Lake
Cowichan
We drove to another nearby beach.
If anyone at Daniel is wondering how
Del is doing out in BC, take a good
look... the air out there is doing wonders!
Look how tall she is now!!!
A back yard of a ritz-y house
on the lake.
All you need to buy this home
is a mil or so...
The two Italian chefs made me
a pasta dinner to die for!!
After dinner we went for another
walk, this time in their neighbourhood.
I met the hardworking fellow who
built their house. Hardworking because
there he was on a Sunday getting some
earth moved and some pipes laid out.
The day wasn't done! We drove
to other areas nearby Lake Cowichan
and we visited "Small Beach" which is
the part of the river closest to their house.
The enjoyable day was finally over.
I took yet another "long arm" picture,
this time of the three of us.
Before I fell asleep, I noticed this
in the dormer window of my room.
How true! See you in October, you two,
and thanks again!
Next Day

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