Dinner with Jan and Caron, Chemainus, BC, Canada 8/10/2013
AUGUST 10, 2013 (Saturday)
Excited for today. We had been contacted about a month ago by a couple who live on this beautiful island. They were very kind and invited us to dinner. We arranged a date that worked for both of us and today is that day!
We left about noon and picked up the cupcakes we had ordered yesterday at Ooh La La, got gas, and stopped at a couple of garage sales. Didn’t buy anything but had fun looking. We then just started driving around Highway 17. We explored the cute little town of Sidney, drove around and saw Brentwood Bay then back to catch up with Highway 1.
Once we caught up with Highway 1, we went to Langford to the Costco there. We were wanting to get some wine to take to dinner tonight. We were surprised that you can’t buy any liquor in any store, that you need to buy at a specially licensed wine store. We found the “Everything Wine” store close to the Costco and then hit the road again. We stopped at the Malahat Lookout, which is spectacular and informative.
Then on up the road to explore Duncan. Duncan BC, the town of totems, and that’s no lie. What a great place. I’m sure we didn’t see all the totems but we saw at least a hundred. Lovely.
After that we headed on to Chemainus. Love this quaint little place. Pictures don’t do it justice. Didn’t appreciate how close to the water it is.
We got to Jan and Caron’s place a little too early so we went back to the Saltair Pub and had a drink. Great place. The food looks delicious too, and reasonably priced. We saw a bench just outside the pub that was dedicated to “John Higgins.” We asked the employee inside about John Higgins, who died in 2012. We had a friend named John Higgins who also died in 2012. Not the same one, but small world. Also, while we were visiting with Jan and Caron, we told them about the bench and they said their names are on the plaque for the dedication, that John Higgins was a good friend of theirs.
We got to Jan and Caron’s place around 5:30 PM. What a beautiful home they have and what fun, generous and welcoming people. They showed us around their place. They have a little over an acre with three places on it. Two are occupied and the third is a “vacation retreat.” All beautiful. They have it decorated beautifully and it was such fun getting to visit with them. Jan had made the most delicious lasagna, garlic bread, and salad. Extra lean ground sirloin, excellent cheeses, a great sauce. It was an excellent dinner. We got to share information about timeshares, booking strategies and personal stories. We got to laugh a lot.
After dinner we had the cupcakes. The cupcakes were a surprise because there was a little bit of “surprise filling” inside each. Mine (lemon) had a raspberry surprise. Michael’s (triple bypass) has a chocolate surprise. Very good. We could have talked all night but the drive back in darkness and dodging deer is always worrisome so we left around 9 PM to head back to Victoria BC. We are hopeful we’ll get to catch up with them again. They are now part of our “blog family.”
That was our wonderful day. Hope yours was good.