November 20, 2015. Chilling on Bainbridge Island

LOCATION:  House-sitting on Bainbridge Island

WEATHER:  Sunny, cold.  Highs in low 40s

After Marley's morning treatment and feeding, we went for a mile hike around the neighborhood.  

We then spent several hours on the internet, plowing through our "to-do" lists.  After a lot of frustrating searching, I found a beach house in Todos Santos in southern Baja California, Mexico where we will meet up with our daughters and son-in-law at the end of the December.  It will be such fun!  George worked on selling the Airstream and truck.  Our plan is to sell everything after Mexico, when we go to New Zealand and Australia for 6 months.  We will buy another rig when we return.

In the late PM, we made our way to friendly Bainbridge  Island Brewery, then to a very nice grocery store.

DINNER:  Shrimp and soba (Japanese buckwheat noodles).  I found a delicious recipe online.  The key was the sauce which included sesame oil, soy sauce, Sriracha, and minced garlic. I boiled up the noodles with some edamame, then sautéed shrimp and green onions, stirred together, and drizzled a soy sauce dressing over it.  Oishikata!  

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November 19, 2015. Getting acquainted in Bainbridge Island

LOCATION:  House-sitting in Bainbridge Island

WEATHER:  Mostly sunny.  Getting cold.  Highs in 40s

Marley, the cat we are caring for, has asthma.  RN George is in charge of his twice/daily treatments.

Marley tolerates the inhalation treatments surprisingly well, probably due to the treats he gets before and after.

Taking advantage of good internet, we caught up on some business.  I booked our ferry to Tasmania and our flight from New Zealand to Australia.   We also mapped out our route to Baja California for early December.  We decided it will be too cold to return to Bend, Oregon, our original plan, so we will most likely travel on Interstate 5 most of the way, trying to avoid Los Angeles.

The house here is beautiful.  We did a little work outdoors.

In preparation for tonight's predicted very cold temperatures, I covered plants on the porch.

There is a nice view of Puget Sound from the kitchen, dining room, and porch.

A friendly neighbor invited me to take a hike with her.  We walked 4.5 miles around the neighborhood.  A good work-out!

We did a little shopping at a charming local "hay and feed" store and Ace Hardware. 

DINNER:  Michael, the homeowner, has kindly left us some cold cuts, so I made paninis on the George Forman grill.  Green beans on the side.  

November 18, 2015. Getting settled in Bainbridge Island

LOCATION: House-sitting on Bainbridge Island

WEATHER:  Cool and sunny. Highs in 50s

We spent most of the day getting oriented to the house and to Marley, the cat.  We are in a beautiful house with a view of Puget Sound.  The driveway is big enough to accommodate our Airstream, so we maneuvered it around this AM.  

We took off for lunch so Michael, the homeowner, could get some of his travel preparations completed. He is off to Spain tomorrow.  We went in Poulsbo, a nearby Norwegian community.  We found a super tapas restaurant.  We sat at the bar and chatted with the bartender.  His parents live in Eyota, outside of our former residence, Rochester, Minnesota. It was fun talking to him about Rochester.

Back to the house, we also got oriented to the carriage house on the property, used as an airbnb.  Some guests will arrive in a few days, and we will do a few things to welcome them.

DINNER:  Michael prepared a delicious veggie frittata.   

November 17, 2015. Miserable traveling weather

LOCATION:  House-sitting on Bainbridge Island, Washington, across Puget Sound from Seattle

WEATHER:  High winds, pouring rain. Highs in 40s

We boarded the ferry in Victoria with no problems.  We thought perhaps that the crossing would be canceled or delayed due to the weather, but this ferry is known for its reliability, and departed on time.  The crossing was about 90 minutes to Port Angeles, Washington in the north central part of the Olympic Peninsula.  The crossing was pretty choppy.  People staggered around as if they were drunk.  Children squealed with delight as we rose up and down.  A couple of huge waves pounded hard against the hull, making for an exciting ride.

It is amazing how they load and unload big trucks, RVs and cars.  The car deck was full..

Once on land, we cleared customs very quickly and headed for Bainbridge Island.  My google map showed a very circuitous route, instead of a direct line.  I finally figured it out.....the direct route took us over the Hood River Bridge, which they just closed due to high winds.  So, we took a 60-mile detour around the Hood Canal.  It was quite windy.  Lots of downed branches littered the highway.  We drove through areas where the highway was flooded.  Electricity was out in several towns we passed through. 

We arrived on Bainbridge Island where we will house-sit for 2 weeks.  It is a lovely house that we will care for along with a cat that will require some medical treatments by George, RN.  We went to a "public house" for dinner.  We shared a seafood stew that was out of this world.

November 16, 2015. Hiking around downtown Victoria

CAMPGROUND:  2nd night at Westbay RV and Marina

LOCATION:  Victoria, British Columbia on SE point of Vancouver Island

WEATHER:  Cold, windy, some rain. Highs in 40s

Not to be deterred by the weather, we bundled up (George with 6 layers!). We hiked the beautiful 2-mile walkway to downtown.  We could see our RV park and marina across the bay.

Once downtown, we found ourselves in Chinatown.  It is very authentic.

To quench our thirst from the hike, we visited the Vancouver Island Brewery.  Then, we had some hot chili at Moon Under Water brewpub.  

We then headed back toward downtown to the Fairmont Empress Hotel.  It is very elegant and European-feeling.  

It is famous for its afternoon high tea.  We watched some people being served a 3-layered platter of exquisite pastries and a pot of tea.

  We decided to forego that experience (at $53 pp), and instead sipped a scotch in the hotel's elegant Bengal Lounge, decorated with Indian pictures and tigers skins. The bartender, who has worked there 45 years, was the best we've ever experienced. 

Finally, we stopped at a very popular local Italian restaurant recommended by our friend who used to live here.  It was fun...super crowded with tables close together, encouraging conversation with neighbors.

 

 We ordered pasta to go, so that it wouldn't be so late for us to return.

As we left, we saw the harbor lighting up.  The beautiful Parliament building was lit and another government building had special French flag colors reflected on its front.

 

We were lucky to almost immediately catch a bus back to the RV park.

What a fun day!

November 15, 2015. Loving Victoria!

CAMPGROUND:  Westbay Marina and RV Village.  Full-hookups.  $42 Canadian.  Tightly packed.  Most are snow-birders, staying here over the winter.  Good bathrooms. Pay showers. Internet for purchase. Cable.  4 stars. Our site is right on the water. Location! Location! LOCATION!

LOCATION:  On Victoria's harbor. We can see downtown.  In Victoria, British Columbia on SE tip of Vancouver Island.

WEATHER:  Mostly sunny.  Cool. Highs in 40s

We moved to Westbay, and are thrilled that we did.  We are on a marina, on the harbor facing downtown Victoria.   The view is incredible.  Part of the marina are darling floating houses.

We watch the float planes and ferries arrive from our RV site.

We took off to visit the famous Butchart Gardens.

 They were built by Mrs. Butchart for her private use, and continue to be managed by the family.  There are several sections, including the sunken gardens with this water feature.

The gardens are being decorated for Christmas.  We enjoyed the Japanes and  Italian gardens,too.  

From there, we followed some of the sight-seeing recommendations sent to us by our friend from Nova Scotia who used to live here.  We drove up to a mountain peak with incredible 360 views over the city.  Then, we drove a beach road around the perimeter of the harbor, gawking at beautiful mansions.  

I'm using paper maps to navigate around the city, since we don't have internet maps.  My directional ineptitude makes for some interesting excursions!

Back at the RV park, we hopped on a 2-mile walkway that circles the harbor, connecting our marina to downtown.  We hiked about half-way and stopped at a brewpub since it was beginning to get dark.  We enjoyed a drink at the bar and picked up some fish and chips to go.  Victoria is quite British.  The menu included bangers and mash, Yorkshire pudding, and Indian paneer.

As we walked back home, we were amazed by this view.

November 14, 2015. Long car trip on Vancouver Island

CAMPGROUND:  Fort Victoria RV Park.  $44 Canadian. Huge commercial park, packed in with no green space. Nice bathrooms. Internet and cable.  2 stars

LOCATION:  Victoria, British Columbia in  SE part of Vancouver Island

WEATHER:  Partly cloudy turning in to afternoon/evening rain. Highs about 50

We chatted with our Alberta neighbors in the RV park office.  They told us about a much nicer RV park in Victoria than the one we are staying at tonight.  We will check it out. 

We hit the road back across the island.  It was a long 190-mile drive from Tofino, on the west side down to Victoria on SE tip.

 There is only one road that crosses the island.

We stopped at a brewpub in Nanaimo for lunch.  In the USA, I depend on my google app on the iPad to guide us around, using AT&T.  Here, I don't have cellular data, so it is harder to navigate.  We did find the RV park and settled in.  It was raining pretty hard.  It is not too pleasant here.  Using the RV park's internet, I reserved 2 nights at the RV park recommended by the Albertans. Since we weren't unhooking and since it was raining, we just hunkered down for the night.

DINNER:  Chicken vegetable soup made from the chicken stock I made the other day.