21 Aug 21
We slept in again, but got up in time to join Michael, Matt and the two J’s at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, Coal Harbour, for brunch and a reunion. Michael and Matt have joined the YC to get on the waiting list for a slip. At the YC restaurant, we ordered our brunch and then went around the corner of the building to find more comfortable seating, which, to our surprise, was on the cockpit of a 1986 Nonsuch 26, “Whimsey”, that the boys have bought together. She is a beautiful boat previously owned and lovingly cared for by one of John’s marina neighbors in Canoe Cove. After brunch, John and I drove by Michael and J1’s new (to them) townhouse; they have not moved in yet because they are waiting for the previous tenants to depart and get some major work done on the house. Then, we drove over to Lee Valley Tools for some essential marine supplies for the boat, followed by a stop at Industrial Plastics, where John needed some stuff. We also stopped at BC Liquor for some wine for tonight’s dinner at Matt and J2’s new condo; the whole family was there, along with J2’s parents, Adam and Anna, whom we had never met. After dinner, Matt and J2 announced that they were engaged, another surprise to us. A lovely evening to finish off a day of wonderful surprises.
22 Aug 21
John and I had a date to go sailing with Matt and Mike on “Whimsey” at 11:00, so we did not sleep in too much. Matt was unable to join us, but Mike took us out to English Bay, where we had a very nice afternoon sail. The Nonsuch 26 is a Freedom rig, with only one big main-sail, so tacking and wearing ship are very easy. We were back home by 16:30, in time to get ready for another dinner party, again with the whole family, with the addition of neighborhood friends Ken and Sally. Ken plays guitar and Sally plays the recorder, so after dinner, we had a big sing-along, although the kids had to leave a bit earlier than us “adults”, as they had to go to work. A good time was had by all.
23 Aug 21
Once again, I did not get down the stairs until nearly 10:00. I finally got through to Raymarine regarding the recent non-performance of our Auto-Helm wireless remote controller; they agreed that the battery needs to be replaced and gave me a part number, which I was then able to order on-line for delivery to John and Laurie’s house (hopefully) by 26 Aug, when we are scheduled to catch the ferry back to Sidney. While I was searching on-line, I found a good deal on kayak racks (for the stanchions), which I ordered from West Marine; we will collect them in Anacortes. John and I went to Pro-Tech, where I ordered a shoreline/sternline roller, then stopped at EMCO for some extension tubing for the solar showers, a stop at MEC for some essential equipment, and a final stop at Alma Guitar shop for new guitar strings and a Capo for Laurie’s guitar. In the meantime, the Admiral’s made a run to Granville Island Market, the museum and the shoe store. We were back in time for Captain’s Hour and a quiet dinner at home.
24 Aug 21
I did not drag out of bed until after 09:00. We pretty much just hung out at the house all day, relaxing, although the Admirals did go for a walk in the afternoon. Ashley called and advised us of a couple of constraints during her upcoming trip, so I spent another hour or two working up new potential itineraries; we will not get in quite as much wilderness time as she was hoping for, but we will still have fun. I read “Matterhorn” (a gripping novel about a Marine rifle company in Vietnam deployed near the DMZ and Laos), which I started last night, and occasionally went down to the basement when John needed help with lifting cabinets up to the wall. Later, I hung a number of paintings on the wall for Laurie. We had another quiet evening at home.
25 Aug 21
We started off a bit slow again, but it was a gorgeous morning. With no particular plans for the day, we decided to just hang out again. In the late afternoon, John and I went back to Pro-Tech to collect my new shoreline roller. Then, we went straight on to Adam and Anna’s (Julia (J2’s) parents); they had kindly invited us all to join them for dinner while we were still in town. Adam and Anna treated us to a traditional Polish feast: borscht, tripe soup, pirogies, cabbage rolls, and a mushroom stuffed pastry (can’t remember the actual name). We got home about 11:30 and went straight to bed.