July 30th, 2020
So we are back in our “homeland” and the sun is shining. We made our way to the ferry only to be told at the ticket booth we were only allowed one jerry can (we have three). No offers of assistance were forthcoming except to say “you can go back down the road a bit to a gas station and get rid of two of them”.
So we did go back down the road, but not all the way to the gas station; we stopped at a pullout and dumped as much of one can into the tank as possible and removed it and a full one. We hid the full one under the couch and the nearly empty one in the bathroom.
We returned to the same ticket booth but a different person was now there. We were asked about the other two cans (guess other ticket takers were watching or were made aware of the situation). We told them we had gone “down the road as instructed…..”. We paid the hefty fee for being an oversize vehicle ($128 total including us!) and got in line. Now if we’d been allowed through the first time, we probably would have made the 3pm sailing but as there is no 4pm we were stuck in line till the five (and of course, complying with quarantine regulations meant we were not to leave our vehicle). The ferry boarded and we stayed on deck inside Tigger. It was rather warm with NO ventilation as they’d put us on the lower level, so we got out our 12V to help us keep comfortable.
Upon disembarking we drove directly to Doug’s brother’s place near the Gorge River. He had emptied his driveway for us and we set up. Unfortunately, when we plugged in, we were once again tripping the breaker! WTH? Luckily, it’s not so hot here and AC should not be needed. We did use two extension cords to power up things so we wouldn’t have to use our solar batteries for anything other than lights and the fridge. (We just string it through our kitchen window to power laptops, etc. and set up a second for any power needs we have outside while Doug does work on the rig while we are here.)
D’Arcy’s home has a basement bathroom that his girls normally use but they agreed and he “cordoned” it off for our use with private access via an outside door. It has a toilet, sink and shower.
After a happy hour with D’Arcy and one of his daughter safely distanced on their deck, (he shares custody with his ex of their two girls, Emma (16) and Sophie (12)) D’Arcy mentioned that maybe his electrician buddy could help us with our power problem but it would have to be after our quarantine of course.
We had come with enough groceries for about 4-5 days so we were good on that front. Friday we decided that for the next several days, we’d spend the mornings doing “chores”: repairing, replacing, cleaning etc. and have our afternoons to get our steps, read, meditate and chill. Let us tell, you trying to get 10,000 steps a day without leaving the property gets old fast!
Friday, we managed to get the following done:
- Replaced table base
- Swapped out old cooler for new one
- Replaced Smoke Alarm
- Emptied all packages
- Replaced Propane Regulator but still leaked; need proper tape
- Completely cleaned out the bathroom
- Fixed rear tire wheel well
- Emptied and cleaned our outside cubby and contents
- Moved front License Plate
- Swapped out fabric on lawn chairs (we bought these camp chairs back in 2012 from REI – they have a large cup holder and a pouch on the arms; it’s hard to get chairs with two cup holders so back in Costa Rica when the frames went, we just bought two new cheap chairs and swapped out the frames with the REI fabric – we’ve now done this again! Fran was able to soak and wash the fabric and it looks almost new – just faded from the original colour.)
The afternoon Doug’s buddy, Byron and his wife, Sharon, stopped by with a “goodie bag” of food and asked us if we needed anything. Doug needed a few items to work on the repairs (like the proper tape to fix the propane leak) and Fran needed a package mailed to her sister which they kindly offer to take care of for us.
Over the weekend, we got the following done:
- Replaced the sewer hose and its housing
- Attached the new Fantastic Fan vent cover (we sure wish we’d had this on our trip – it allows you to leave the roof fan open so air gets is and the rain does not). We really wish we had this years ago!
- Laundry
- Installed a new indoor/outdoor thermometre
- Sorted out cupboards; cleaned of all upper ones
- Several articles of cloth sewn up
- Replaced passenger side mirror
- Replaced caulk around kitchen sink
- Replaced engine air filter
- Swapped out our microwave with a new one (the Brazilian one went kaput just before we left due to wrong power voltage)
- Fixed the access to the propane gas valve and complete the leak repair (Byron brought us the correct tape)
- Fixed the hot water heater
Saturday night we had dinner with D’Arcy and his girlfriend, Jess – they ordered pizza and we ate our own food out on the deck safely distanced apart.
Sunday afternoon, Byron dropped by again with some things had Doug asked for; he took away our dirty air filter and brought it back Monday all clean but oily so we now have a spare.
Monday, we spent the morning removing the NVR and the three cameras to give to D’Arcy. Doug then had to do some fiberglass repair work to cover the holes. It ain’t pretty but will do until we can get cheap repair work done (maybe Mexico…..). D’Arcy only worked a half day as it’s a holiday today so we spent some time out in the front yard with him and his youngest when she returned.
The weather has been quite pleasant; mostly sunny, temps in the low to mid 20’sC – 70 – 77F with the odd bit of cloud cover and even less sprinkles.
Tuesday, we worked on:
- Fixing the cupboards in several places
- Doug mowed D’Arcy’s lawn
- Fran cleaned out the closet and sorted through summer clothes
- Doug worked on making the couch/sofa bed easier to open and close
We learned that D’Arcy’s electrician friend, Kevin, confirmed he’d help us sort out our electrical issue, possibly on the 13th when our quarantine should be done.
Doug has been communicating with his sister on the mainland about a visit with his mom the week after next and that’s not been finalized as yet.
Wednesday, our chores were:
- Doug washing Tigger outside
- We found a place to do an alignment on the 19th – finally!
- Fran cleaned out the remaining cupboards/closet & finished two blog posts
Byron stopped again today with a spray adhesive we needed. We sat outside with him, D’Arcy and Sophie safely distanced.
Thursday we:
- Cleaned the “Patio”
- Glued up the dropping liner in the cab of the truck
- Emptied and cleaned out the cab of the truck, then returning everything
- Did some trip planning for after quarantine
Fran received another call from the BC Gov’t today checking in; they advised our last day of quarantine will be August 12th and we were “free” to leave the property on the 13th adhering to rules of course. Yeah – we are over half way!
We went online and ordered groceries to last the final half of our quarantine and since it was our first time, we got free delivery. They will arrive tomorrow. Doug heard back from his mom’s care home and has scheduled two visits for August 20/21st so he’ll go to the mainland for those two days.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday were pretty uneventful other than a few calls/chats with family and friends. The weather is cooler – low 20’s C / 70’s F for highs and at night dipping into the low teen’s C / mid 50’s F.
Monday, Doug spent a few hours emptying the storage hauler/trailer parked next to us. D’Arcy and Byron had come to an agreement on a price when Byron mentioned looking for one last week and it just needed to be cleaned out of D’Arcy’s construction things in order to Byron to take it away (and D’Arcy needs to find the hitch key!). Since Byron has been doing us so many favours, Doug took it upon himself to empty it. One of D’Arcy’s employees was over on Saturday to help with a few things, one of which was clearing out and organizing the things under the back deck. So this is where Doug moved the things from the trailer using a wheelbarrow.
Our last two days of quarantine were pretty quiet; Byron stopped by Tuesday to pick up his trailer and we were alone all day Wednesday. Tuesday evening, one of D’Arcy’s neighbours whom Doug has been chatting with across the street, dropped by with homemade apple crumble al la mode (even the ice cream was also homemade!).
It’s cooling off a bit more; not nice to sit outside unless you are in the sun as there’s a good breeze. We finally heard back from the electrician and he’s rescheduled for Tuesday, so we are going to head out on Thursday and do a circle tour (Victoria to Sooke to Port Renfrew to Duncan back to Victoria) returning to D’Arcy’s by Tuesday afternoon. We
To celebrate the end of quarantine, we ordered pizza to share with D’Arcy (his girls are vegetarian and vegan respectively so did not want to eat with us). Thursday morning Doug went “out” for his walk and we left his place around 9 to run a few errands before our first visit with friends. It was SO nice to be out of lockdown!
