Canadians always begin July with a celebration - Happy 150th Canada! At our local Canada Day ceremony, the national anthem was followed by honouring Bryan Peters as the Honeymoon Bay citizen of the year. Rhiannon Morrison received this year's bursary for post-secondary education. There was cake and hot dogs for everyone. Our small community always provides me with photo opportunities. Lisa and I hosted an afternoon get-together for several of our neighbours and local friends to meet and visit over drinks and plenty of snacks. The Honeymoon Bay Days celebration was limited to a single Saturday, but still featured a free pancake breakfast, a short parade, a car show, live entertainment, and a "talent" show. Lake Cowichan is the hub for summertime river tubing. Mesachie Mountain still offers great views for just an hour of effort. We continue to enjoy the flowers blooming around our yard, particularly the different rose varieties. We've exhausted our regular television program viewing, but did watch many movies and read several more books this month. We continue to enjoy spending time on the deck listening to country tunes. We hiked to the top of Cobble Hill for this wonderful view. After the kids paddleboarded to Lily Beach, we skipped and threw rocks while enjoying a beautiful sunset. Our buddy Shaun came through again, letting everyone ride his quad up the back logging roads for views over Honeymoon Bay to the lake. We hiked Mesachie Mountain, but Mesachie Man continues to elude us. While Elliott and I ran errands, the four others biked to Gordon Bay Provincial Park. The kids swam from "The Point" to the small nearby islands. Having completed our tasks, Elliott and I enjoyed the lovely view from the beach. Afterwards, the boys went to play some basketball. On the third and final day of their visit, they went canoeing while Lisa and I got to try their stand-up paddleboard. We then spent some more time at Lily Beach and on our own deck before they had to pack up to go. The Honeymoon Bay Retreat once again featured its "West Coast Buffet", and this time around two other couples joined us for dinner after enjoying celebratory champagne. The meal was delicious and the company was great. We also had the pleasure of eating at Debbie & Shaun's (both for pizza and to christen their new smoker) as well as hosting Elliott and his family (mostly for barbecue). YUMMY! Although our photos don't reflect it, much of this month was conducted under a cloud of worry and concern for my dad who was hospitalized for over three weeks with a severe infection that then caused kidney failure, and for my mom who relies heavily on his care, company, and support. Dad is grateful to be back home, but is still healing and recovering.
0 Comments
|
Archives
January 2024
Categories |