Harrison Lake Adventure Truck Camper Saturday Morning

Yesterday, I got the electric bicycle onto the front carrier of the truck.  No small task, finding bungee cords, keys, locks. Eric, from Starfleet RV Repairs, had finished the improvements to the camper, second battery, tv mount, level indicators, new Venetian blind, coat hook.  Special little treats that personalized the already fabulous Alp Adventurer Camper.

 Laura arrived in her red Smart Car, pulling her overnight bag like a beautiful stewardess in Birkenstock’s and jeans.  Gilbert was beside himself with doggy glee to greet her.  I remembered to winch up the stabilizing struts of the camper with the remote.  Almost makes it feel like I’m preparing for a space ship take off. Next year. I’m in the space cadet program. My camper and truck a proto flitter. Gilbert my Chewy buddy and Laura, my Barbarella are with me.  We depart.    

At Fraserway RV we picked up our new mattress. Sounds like an easy thing.  Nope.  Lots of grunting and pulling to get the old 6 inch mattress out. Then with the help of a darling warehouse girl and handsome strong young man we all shoved the new 9 inch mattress into the camper catching the factory plastic on every door handle. Laura was not pleased with the extra ‘3 inches’.

“I had trouble getting up on the bed before. Now it’s three inches more. I don’t know how I’m going to do it.”  I witnessed a very creative struggling crawling pulling bed mount by Laura later.  To be honest, it was harder for me to mount the bed despite legs 3 or 4 x the length of Laura’s.  But the bed is still heavenly.  “I love bed!”  I opined. So comfortable.  

I arranged storage in Chilliwack with John. His son was there too. The two of them are such fine men my faith in the future is restored.  Good people. Caring and helpful.  John at Chilliwack RV Storage has helped me, above and beyond, so often over the last couple of decades I’ve stored an RV or camper there. His son last year was the muscle and genius behind my getting my KTM 690 motorcycle stored safely on a rack behind the old Camper.  We have the key to the gate for the return, our return when we drop off the camper. 

At Superstore Chilliwack where the weekend crowd was competing with Walmart for best dressed awards I got the steaks for the weekend. I’ve the little propane bottles for the barbecue this weekend.  We missed the Agassiz turn off so drove up to Hope only to find too much snow and the RV campground we like there closed still.  Back to Harrison, A little sight seeing along the way. The mountains around Hope were beautiful.  We saw a water fall frozen on the side of rock, a great fluffy snowy product of a white witch’s wand.  Lovely sunset as we passed through the truly pleasant and welcoming town of Agassiz, one of my favourite places next to Rosedale. 

Sure enough Glencoe RV park in downtown Harrison had our spot from last week free and waiting.  “Gilbert will recognize this.”  Laura said. I thought given the poor little guy is blind, it really is a good thing that I balance my own drive to explore new territory with his appreciation for the similiar.

This week there are several other RV’s here. Bookings are coming in for the rest of the month though. In summer this place is booked months in advance and the whole of the town is overflowing with tourists.  

I took Gilbert for a walk leaving Laura cursing, grunting, sputtering in a fight to the death with the new mattress and the sheets.  After Gilbert had reacquainted himself and marked his territory we returned to find that Laura had indeed vanquished the mattress.  She’s was not impressed when I said,”You won’t have to go to the gym this week.”  She’s not her normal self on Friday night. A week of patients demanding and angry at the waitlists and delays steals her normal joie de vie.  It’s takes hours of Gilbert, the therapy dog,  working his magic. I made her dinner, roast chicken and potato salad while Gilbert snuggled. Paper plates.   The people at Superstore had roasted the chicken and made the salad but left me all the heavy lifting of spooning and slicing. 

I tried setting up the tv but can’t find a cable plug on the outside wall. I did get DVD and tv working.  I love getting systems up and running.  Heater, refrigerator, shore water, electricity.  I might well be docking with my sailboat, the camper so like a land version of my yacht. 

Climbing into bed I loved the mattress.  So incredibly comfortable. I believe there’s a lot to be said for 9 inches over 6 inches but Laura insists that the 6 inches is easier to handle and leaves her more room. I hope no one heard that conversation . 

Great dreams of childhood adventures with friends.  Waking in this spectacular location, white capped mountains about, blue sky, Gilbert thankful that I lift him up on the bed so Laura can scratch his tummy. I love my indoor flush toilet and the electric fan.  I’m on my second cup of java and hearing the Manhattan Transfer singing in my mind, “I love coffee, I love tea, I love the Java, Java and it loves me.”  I heard them play at the Vancouver PNE and they were terrific. 

I might be coming down with a cold, raspy throat, sinus, but it’s probably the pollen. This is the BC time of hay fever. A Reactine with the coffee. A further reason to rest and do nothing except walk the dog and maybe get on the bicycle for an electric ride.  Life is good.  The winds of mood blow through with the endearing love of fair winds and following seas. This is just that. Some time this afternoon I’m going to ‘take the healing waters’  of Harrison Hotsprings.  I love this roughing it wilderness camping in downtown Harrison’s Lake. 

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Gratitude Tuesday

Thank you Lord for Starfleet RV Repairs. I woke to my cat fussing beside me and the dog restless. The air was so chill were it not dark I might have seen my breath. I checked the stove to find the propane was out.  So dressing in slippers and coat I changed the propane tank and climbed back in bed.  The cat and dog stayed in bed with me.  In the morning though I had heat for coffee and hot water for showering the furnace didn’t fire. I tried all I knew, just as I had a few years ago.  Sometimes air gets in the propane lines so you bleed them by running the propane in the stove and recycling the furnace heater.  No luck. That’s all worked before except that one time in the past and now this time. Thank God for Eric at Starfleet RV Repairs. I have the poor fellow on speed dial.  Telling him my problem I went off to work not worried I’d return to a cold and miserable night.

When I lived on the boat I’d have no such saviour.  I’d have these heat problems in winter and have to wait until he weekend when I could fix them myself.  I’d have electrical outage, water shortages, propane problems. At the time it was a bit of an adventure. Going to work smelling of diesel and sometimes without sleep and cranky, showering at the office, getting my first coffee at MacDonald’s, was a challenge. Looking back I can’t imaging how I managed the home front and did the 120 hour work week running a business and managing large clinical practice. I keep thinking I was young.
Today I’m so thankful for Eric and Starfleet RV Repairs. Not only that I have Dave, and Rick and Mack as competent friends in the park with lots of advice and solutions. I had that too in the yacht world but it was a steep learning curve.  Thanks to that world the RV world is much less painful.
Today I woke to heat. Neither the dog or cat fussed in the night. The minute the alarm went off the dog was woofing and the cat was running around my legs hoping to trip me and eat my dead body.  I made my own coffee.  I love my stove top expresso machine.  I love the honey and the cream. I love the Harley Davidson mug. I love my refrigerator. I had marvellous fresh bread and peanut butter and eggs I’d boiled yesterday. Yoghurt and vitamins. I fed the dog and cat their ‘wet’ food. I changed their water then I sat on my couch, my glorious couch, looking out the large slide window at the thin line of pink dawn sky.  I love heat.  I read my emails and Facebook.

The fellow who was threatening to kill me last year had stopped sending vulgar emails after the police called to say he was threatening the prime minister. I had a few months reprieve. He’s started up again. He’s always changing he email address.It’s a reminder daily how impotent the police are today and how powerful the criminals have become. And our government says ‘trust us  we’re the government”, don’t lock your doors, don’t have a base ball bat (and glove) by your bed, know that if you pepper spray someone in your house Justin Trudeau personally will visit him and apologize to him for dinosaurs like me. I hate that I am despised by my own government and can’t defend myself while Justin Trudeau surrounds himself with walls and dozens of men armed to the teeth, just like a Mexican drug pusher.  I on the other hand wake to more threats and can’t even retaliate and frankly there is no place to hide.  Canada is a criminal country. ISIS terrorists are welcomed back to Canada and compensated for their loss. Killer Kadir is paid $10 million dollars and ‘scab voters’ ranges the city taking millions of welfare and health care dollars creating longer and longer waitlists and bankrupting the country so that none of the middle class will have a pension or time off for good behaviour, 40 years of working in Canada and giving 50 to 75% of earned income to the government who then gives it to their criminal cronies.  Quebec flourishes under the liberals and the Huffington Post girls of Toronto sound more and more shrill as they scream safe place and hate speech 24/7 .

It’s good I have heat. I am really thankful for heat. I love the running water. My missionary friend back from the Sudan talks about the lack of water for the Christian children whose parents were killed in the latest jihad.  I look forward to seeing her.  In contrast to the silly Canadian women of Toronto and Montreal she is off in Africa facing bullets and saving little children from starvation. I’m thankful for such friends.  They give perspective.
So today I drove my British Racing Green Mini to work with my wonderful blind Dog Gilbert and am thankful to be alive.  It’s a good day. I can always find things to complain about but there’s heat in my home, my car is running smoothly, my dog is well, we’re walking, I have worthwhile work to go to and the commute wasn’t delayed by bad drivers and insensitive construction.  All is well God is good.
Thank you.

It’s Tuesday.  Another day. Another dollar as they said in my child hood. Another day, one day closer to the celebration of the birth of Jesus. I love the choirs singing caroles. I love watching and hearing my friend Ben Nuttall-Smith, Christmas story the Shawl on You Tube. I loved hearing Pentonix. And I loved listening to 5 minute History of the Church on the way to work learning about St. Basil and St. Nicholas of Cappadoecaian and the Baptist Spurgeon.  What a great day. I’ll bet I even get another coffee later.
Now I must see a patient. Thank you for the knowledge to be of service.