May / June
2019
Oh Canada, our home
and native land…well actually our home is our sailing vessel, KaijaSong,
currently in Indonesia, but yes it is
our native land. It is where our oldest
friends and family reside and where Kaija and I spent the majority of our lives
going to school, growing up, our working years and where we met.
Our friends and family
are spread from the west coast, Vancouver Island, Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary,
then Ontario, Toronto, Oshawa, Hamilton, Cobourg, Ottawa & Owen Sound. Given the size of Canada, it is no small feat
to cover all that territory in a brief amount of time…and brief best describes
our short visits. We were lucky this
time to have set aside two months for this visit and still we would not see
everyone we wanted to see, or spend near enough time with those we did. But such is life.
Part of the problem is
that old word…scheduling…trying to coordinate what we could do, working west to
east and then back again with the busy lives of those we wanted to spend time
with. Life happens, and plans change,
and we were forced to change with them…that is life and we are flexible!
Our first week in
Vancouver was part business, and part pleasure.
We needed to renew our Indonesian Visitors visas which required a visit
to the Indonesian Embassy in Vancouver.
Kaija needed to spend time with her mom and siblings and we had a list
of friends who wished to see us.
Top of that list is my
oldest living friend, Wayne H. We grew
up as young boys together and have followed each other’s careers, loves and
lives ever since. It is always special
spending time with Wayne.
Tony G, Barry VL and
Dan S, are among my oldest Vancouver friends. I’ve spent many hours
on the water with these men and I value their skills and friendship. These three are excellent sailors having
participated in World Class sailing genres and winning the Worlds in the Star
Class and big boat events like Transpac and Vic Maui.
Spending time with Tony and Jane at Barry and
Katherine’s beautiful new home was an evening full of laughter and giggles…it
was fun!
Those first few days flew by. We flew directly to Ontario where we would
spend the next 6 weeks doing needed maintenance at our summer cottage. Lucky for us, we picked the time of year when
the weather should be most conducive for outdoor activities. “Should” being the
operative word. This was the working
part of our trip and while looking forward to it, it was what it was…a list of
projects that needed doing and only so much time to get them done. We love the cottage, but being on Lake
Ontario has both advantages and disadvantages. If the weather is hot, it is
wonderful, as the lake works to moderate the temps and supply enough lake
breeze to make even the hottest days pleasant.
But when it’s cold…it can be brutal.
Unfortunately for us, it was COLD.
Not only cold, but the Lake levels were historically high and that was a
problem for our boathouse and dock…underwater…which just made for more work.
Despite the cool temps
and rain…we managed to get the projects done one by one…doing inside jobs when
it was too wet, and outside when the sun shone.
Cobourg is close
enough to Toronto and Oshawa and Ottawa to make daily trips to catch up with
old friends and family. What a treasure
for me to meet up with some of my oldest friends, John L along with his wife
Cathy, Raul and Lea P and John & Debbie W.
I have known them
since my teen years when we traveled and sang together in a Gospel Group we
called The KJV (King James Version). The
group was originally called the Churchmen,
Dave M, Raul P, John L and Ed W welcomed me when their original piano
picker left. I was young and not very
bright and how they put up with this obnoxious clown still amazes me…but they were
patient, long suffering and very good and keeping me humble. Eddie left the group and became a backup
singer for Elvis, not a bad gig. John W
joined the group as bass singer and did a wonderful job. John L, Raul and John W can still sing the
pants off most any song worth singing. The years may have flown by, but being
with them, never gets old and despite the fact that years go by between visits,
it is like we had just seen them yesterday.
In hindsight the years I spent with John L, Raul, Dave, Ed and John W
were certainly some of the best years of my life!
My extended family are
mostly in the Oshawa, Hamilton, Owen Sound area and it was terrific to spend
time catching up.
It was good to see my
Aunt Jean who is doing remarkably well in her later years and with the support
of her ever faithful sons here pictured with Lloyd and wife Marilee, Luther,
Lindsay and wife Coleen, Daughter in law Jan with Paul, Kaija and me.
After enjoying a fine
service at Ralph and Patsi’s church we enjoyed a lovely Sunday visit with my precious
Aunt Pat, daughter Bev with husband Bruce & daughter Laura, and cousin
Lloyd and Marilee, Kaija and me.
I always enjoy
spending time with cousin Steve. He was
a cop for many years, and I enjoy his dry sense of humour. He is now retired and we share a passion for
all things boating. Being an old Rag
Hanger (sailor) I can find it in my heart to forgive his yearnings to be a
Stinkpotter (motor). He was happy to
show off his new Yacht, aptly named After Taxes.
Our friends John and Rosemary are sailing
friends we met in Tonga and who so graciously invite us for dinner and we spend
three days. It was the nite of the
championship Basketball game and we were all rooting for the Toronto Raptors as
they claimed their prize while we garfed down some of Ontario’s best butter-tarts. Oh what fun we had.
Just before leaving
for the west we had a lovely visit with good friends Sue and Arnie who share
our love of Gospel music and were delightful hosts in their beautiful new home.
Our cottage projects
were finally completed and a couple of days before leaving we awoke to hear the
sounds of heavy machinery which sounded like it was about to invade…getting
quickly out of bed and running outside we saw that our neighbouring cottage was
about to be no more. It took less than an hour to totally demolish a cottage
that has been beside ours for 60 yrs…new owners and soon to be a new look. We will have to wait till our next visit to
see it.
Good bye Chateau du Lac until we
return.
It was time to head
west. It is not possible to go back to
Canada and not stop in Calgary to visit with my good buddy Brian S his wife
Roxy and their family. These folks know
how to make you feel welcome. We have
known each other for decades and it is like putting on a comfortable sweater to
just spend time with them.
This was a special visit with the addition of new grand-babies in their
lives. The oldest son Phil and wife
Kelly have two of the cutest children on the planet. And this year their daughter Brianne and
husband Patrick gifted them with a healthy baby boy Parker Roy. It was a special time.
Brian and I share a
wonderful history and have many things in common, including his love of big
bikes and our history of selling pianos. It is always fun me to spend time with
him at his very successful store whiling away the hours talking about old times
and playing some of the finest pianos ever built. Roxy and Kaija get on
like sisters and we enjoy visiting with the "Grinch" Jeffy. Roxy is a gourmet chef
and her culinary skills are legendary.
Combine that with the fact that she likes me…and I am in little Piggy
heaven. YUMBO…I just need to remember to
push away from the trough…but it ain’t easy…Just sayin!
Next stop was
Vancouver for Kaija’s 50th High School Reunion. My oh My where have all the years gone. She enjoyed visiting with old classmates and
catching up on their lives.
Our final Canadian
stop was Vancouver Island for more good times with friends Tom and Jane B. They have built a beautiful home in the woods
in Nanoose Bay…a quiet sanctuary where you will see deer grazing on the
grass…just not on the front lawn, which is well guarded by their Canine child Gina…ever
watchful loyal Gina.
We had a fun outing
driving down to Victoria to visit friends Darlene and John V. We met John on his yacht in Cuba and have
enjoyed his friendship and introducing them to Tom and Jane. The meal was outstanding as was the fun and
fellowship…another special evening with special people.
Our time in Canada was
at an end. We boarded our flight to Hong
Kong returning to our beloved boat in Indonesia. We had a stopover in Bejing.
Up until now, all of our
flights had been trouble free. Well, all
good things must come to an end. Our
connecting flight from Bejing to Hong Kong was cancelled. Thus began the ordeal…to make a long story
short…we were rerouted on another flight and made to our hotel in Hong Kong but
no such luck for our luggage. Somewhere,
somehow during the rewriting of the tickets, the original luggage tags
disappeared…TRUST ME WHEN I SAY…THIS IS NOT GOOD!
I can now say…Thank
you to the wonderful hotel manager Eddie at Novatel in Hong Kong for his
diligence in helping us. Thank you to
the Air China for finding our luggage and making the effort and going the extra
mile to get it done and thank you to Garuda Air for finally delivering our
luggage to us in Sorong Indonesia.
Lesson Learned…take pictures of your luggage, make something about your
luggage Unique and keep your luggage claim tags separate from your boarding
pass. In our case, it was a particular
Travel strap that we had used and the fact that our luggage had Canadian
Flags…OH CANADA!
It is a small community, and I recognized his
unique little water craft enough to do a drive by of my own the following
day…he knew that I knew who he was and he also knew just how much trouble he
would be in with the local authorities if I made them aware. In the end, I did let Mr. Wick know of the
event and he acted accordingly. I doubt
other cruisers will be bothered by this young roudian in the future.
