Lisa and I played tennis twice while in Burnaby and once more since returning to Honeymoon Bay. Lisa fit in one long bike ride and we continue to walk twice a day. We were pleased to learn that seven of my photo submissions were selected for inclusion in a local 2017 calendar. More than 250 people voted on those entries which had been shortlisted to select thirteen photos in all. We are especially happy and honored that Vecsey will appear as a calendar girl!
We spent the first two weeks of the month on Rarotonga and then returned to the Lower Mainland. Lisa had a few workshops to attend, so we stayed in Burnaby and Langley for ten days. While in the Cook Islands it was about fish and flowers, but while in the Lower Mainland it is often about food and flowers. Once again it was nice to reconnect with people face to face, but trying to coordinate schedules with everyone proved impossible. It was especially great to reconnect with former students after nine years! We ended up having a few beers and chatting for 5.5 hours until 1 am. Hopefully we don't wait so long to do it again. We also finally got to see George & Joan back in their newly renovated home. We met friends and family for meals, drinks, coffee, and chats. Not only was it nice to see Joe again, it was great to meet Janelle in person for the first time. It's also nice to still be welcomed when we arrive unannounced - thanks Karyn! We always enjoy spending time with Katrina no matter what the activity (ie. moulding Playdough, playing boardgames, scootering, playing at the park, and visiting in the hot-tub). When we finally returned to Honeymoon Bay, June accompanied us for another visit to the island. We'd been away for almost an entire month, so the lawn was in dire need of mowing and the plants badly needed watering. June wasted no time tending to the gardens - watering, weeding, planting, and pruning (only being halted by the presence of snakes!). I managed to get the lawn mowed and do some pruning before the evening rain arrived. We ran errands and did lots of grocery shopping to restock our reserves. We also had time to watch some movies and do plenty of visiting.
Lisa and I played tennis twice while in Burnaby and once more since returning to Honeymoon Bay. Lisa fit in one long bike ride and we continue to walk twice a day. We were pleased to learn that seven of my photo submissions were selected for inclusion in a local 2017 calendar. More than 250 people voted on those entries which had been shortlisted to select thirteen photos in all. We are especially happy and honored that Vecsey will appear as a calendar girl!
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We spent twelve relaxing nights on the island of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. It is only 32 kilometres around the island and 11 kilometres across it, so we were able to fully explore this destination. The flight from LA to Avarua featured two decent meals (both dinner & breakfast) with New Zealand Steinlager, allowed me to watch "How to be Single" and "45 Years", and get some sleep. After looking at nothing but postcard-worthy online photos of Rarotonga's perfect days while anticipating our vacation, we arrived to overcast grey skies. The cloud cover did not diminish the 27 degree temperature, so after checking in at the Aremango Guesthouse, we were still able to explore the Muri Beach area and spend the afternoon walking along the lagoon. I was amused and intrigued by the appearance of Edmonton on this signpost as well as the observation that the nearest McDonald's was 2851 kilometres away.
We ate starfruit that we picked on the guesthouse grounds for breakfast each morning, and enjoyed mini-bananas picked from the roadside. The cloud-cover still hadn't left on day three! We spent almost three hours walking along the island's southern beaches today. We were accompanied for much of this time by one of the many local "feral" dogs who I named "Sandy". We encounter several loose dogs roaming the beaches on our walks, but this one stayed with us for kilometre after kilometre. We of course provided her with plenty of affection (as well as cracking open coconuts and squirting water from our own bottle). These dogs are all quite gentle and friendly, but Sandy went the extra mile (quite literally!). We spent much of today on Titikaveka Beach (perhaps the nicest stretch of sand on Rarotonga) before returning to Muri and its night market for curry chicken. We vaguely remember having already seen the movie "Lions for Lambs", but it was still good nonetheless. We were no longer paying much attention to whether or not the background noise at night was rainfall or just our overhead fan; either way, it was still cloudy after breakfast so we decided to go on another run. Once again we ran approximately seven kilometres, this time up the East Coast. With no pressing appointments, we decided to just walk back this time. By late afternoon / early evening there were finally some blue skies! I went exploring Muri Lagoon and walked across to two of the motus. Thank goodness Lisa reminded me to wear my reef shoes, as (much to my surprise and disgust) the lagoon is overrun with sea cucumbers, or as I like to call them, "slug dildos". There are thousands of them in the shallow waters of the lagoon and one needs to be aware of each and every step. After crossing the lagoon, I walked completely around one motu accompanied by a dog. At the completion of our circuit, we encountered Sandy! The dogs swim back and forth across the lagoon and spend hours "fishing", although we have yet to witness any success despite rooting for the dogs. I made my way along a sand bar to a second motu, while Sandy swam across the lagoon to greet Lisa. I literally had the island to myself. Thursday night we had chicken vermicelli, tuna stir-fry, and tumeric curry vegetables at the night market.
Ugh, another overcast, windy day! We went for a short three kilometre run and then lounged around reading and napping for most of the day. We completed our leisurely day by watching “Flyboys”.
Apparently the websites we consulted were overly optimistic regarding the weather during this shoulder season, as it was another wet and windy night. The continuing morning rain did make us feel better about our decision to hike cross island yesterday, as the conditions would now be much worse. We had a slow morning while we monitored the weather, but there seems to be no way to predict what it will be like from one minute to the next. I worked on writing my book while Lisa read. After lunch I decided to go snorkelling regardless. I did see fish, including two varieties I hadn’t previously seen, but the strong currents and high tide meant that it required much more effort to stay away from the rocks and reef today. I got a good, unintentional workout today before coming to shore and visiting with various tourists from different parts of the world. Later, we returned to Muri to have dinner at the night market once again. Lisa had chicken rukau (boneless chicken cooked with local spinach and coconut milk in a taro leaf) and rice while I ordered four chicken kebobs with rice. After our evening coffees, we watched “I Could Never be your Woman”.
The weather was somewhat better for our last morning on Rarotonga, so not only did we walk along the beach accompanied by one of the “free-range” dogs, Lisa even waded into the sea with me to view some fish. After our late check-out at noon, we began the waiting process that was the long return home. We had many hours before our 11pm flight and then another five hours connection time in LA before flying to YVR. I watched “Smokin’ Aces 2: Assassins’ Ball” at the airport and “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”, “Mistress America”, and finally “Mr. Holmes” on the plane. As always, we were happy to return to BC.
April showers are said to bring May flowers, but Spring was already in full bloom this month. As usual, we spent as much time as possible enjoying the great outdoors and the natural beauty that surrounds us... hiking, kayaking, running, walking, and even quadding. April 10th was the saddest and most difficult day of our lives. It was with heavy hearts and thousands of tears that we bid farewell to our best friend and beloved family member, Vecsey. The previous day she completed her daily hour long walks and was swimming in the lake. This made it hard to accept when her body failed her the following morning, but we are grateful that she was active and happy for her entire life. We had been noticing signs of aging and I was trying to bring myself to terms with the realistic possibility that this coming summer might be our last to spend together. An apparent early morning stroke changed everything and forced us to part ways earlier than hoped. We are trying to celebrate her life and the abundance of love she brought to ours, but we certainly feel the void caused by her absence. The vet was remarkable and came to us in the sunshine in our own backyard for a peaceful, loving passing, but the pain and loss is still immense. We will always love and cherish our angel of love and the wonderful memories we created together. Needing something positive to look forward to and to occupy my mind, I have begun planning more extensive vacations for later in the year. Lisa and I continue to explore our local hikes and are coping a little more easily each day. We look forward to when life's daily reminders of our lost friend will bring only smiles and no longer the tears that still come even with happy memories. We checked out the views of Cowichan Lake from Christopher Rock above Youbou and explored two West Vancouver parks: Whytecliff and Lighthouse.
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