Jodi and Maisan in B.C. part three

Sunday morning was pretty much the same as Saturday waiting on Maisan to get out of bed and get his butt in gear so we could get a move on. Then we stopped at a little market and waited for Maisan to finish his shopping.

We left the market and went to Beacon Hill Park where there is a little petting zoo. The weather wasn't the best but we made the best of it. It didn't rain hard but it kept trying to rain. We had a lot of fun walking around looking and taking pictures of the animals and some of us even went as far as Kissing them as you will see in the photos. The best area is where the goats are because you can go right inside the pen and walk amongst them. They run around and climb stumps and each other as well climb on unexpecting people who bend down. I even had one push behind me while I was sitting down resting only it stopped half way to pee on my jkt. It was a lot of fun but it was just a spot to kill some time before our next stop.











We left Beacon Hill Park and headed to the Wharf but made a pit stop for a cash machine and some munchies. Maisan and I waited till we got to the Wharf and we got a Halibut Burger at Barb's. I'm pretty sure I have had one before every whale watching trip I've gone on. I went down to talk to Cpt Ron to try and get us a little better deal. Being the first trip with him this season he was only going to give us 10 dollars off the price but after chatting him up and I had sent him an email the night before he gave us a much better deal. Probably not as good as Maisan's cousin could have gotten him but it was a pretty good deal. Not sure if Tove could have gotten all 5 of us a deal but the boat we went on was a lot smaller and more personal. Tove's is a double decker that probably holds at least 50 or 60 people. So after eating we suited up and got on board the boat to set out on our whale watching expedition. The weather was looking better but the water was a bit choppy especially out in the open. We stopped once along the way to check out a huge cormorants nest which just happen to have a young bald eagle sitting on it probably resting after its feast on the eggs or young baby birds. The water was still pretty rough so we headed off again. The trip to where the whales were was about an hour away from the Wharf near some Islands called San Juan Islands. I found out yesterday that the San Juan Islands are about 50 minutes away by boat from Cowichan Bay not far from Duncan. We got to the area where the whales were and I was surprised at how few boats were out. The rough water might have kept a few away. We sat and watched and were amazed by the whales for at least an hour. I didn't take as many pictures as I normally do because I wanted to share the moment with my family. The Sun was now blazing but the boat was still rocking quite a bit. The whales always seem to surprise me and do something different. This time I got to see some spy hopping where they poke their head straight up out of the water to look around. One whale called granny because she is the oldest in J Pod even breached but it happened too quick and too far away for pictures. She did it right beside a whale watching boat. We all enjoyed watching the whales and our time ended too soon but we had to head back. The ride was pretty good for the most part because we had taken a different route back but once we hit the open water it was pretty scary for a bit. I've never been out in such rough water with at least 5 foot waves rolling by. Jodi, Maisan and Ben were all up front and were getting a pretty bumpy ride. Our ride in the back was less bumpy but we were getting soaked by the spray of the bow hitting the waves. I was surprised at how much Patty enjoyed it seeing that she can't swim and isn't crazy about water. I'm not sure she will rush out again too soon but she might if we hook up with Maisan's cousin Tove probably when she gets back from Ontario. When we were back on solid ground and heading home we made a quick stop at Tove's to drop off her Save On card and for another goodbye and one last stop at a place on the hwy for a drink or ice cream treat on Patty. Other than the fact Maisan's camera was hurting after the trip (hope its OK now Maisan!!) we had lots to talk about and pictures to look at on the cameras. I told Patty that I'd drop them off and go get pizza for supper which Jodi decided to come along for the ride. On the way back we stopped and checked out an umbrella that was in a driveway with other stuff that said free. I made Jodi hang on to it out the window while I drove home. Since then I have picked up 2 more from a guy at work. I priced out wood for building a table which I hope to do/start Sunday. Maybe I'll take pictures like I did when I made that game for dad and Jean a while back.












Well this is the last part since after this day it was mostly rest and a lot of tears. It meant so much to me that Jodi and Maisan could have taken a trip anywhere like Florida, Mexico, Rio or even New York but they chose to come here. This is Jodi's second time out here too the first being my first year out here for her birthday and now on my birthday. It really meant a lot since she had wanted to come out for my wedding and for reasons we spoke about was unable to make it. It would have been nice for anyone to attend but I know it all happened so fast and that time of year its more expensive to fly. I had met this wonderful person after returning from a stay in Ontario that was hard on all of us and I knew this person was the one for me and just wanted to end the year off on a good thing and start a new year as happy as I could ever be. The end of June will be 6 months and nothing has changed. I'm still as happy as I could ever be and in Love with this wonderful person that I married on December 31, 2006. Every day is a new day and I just hope I make her half as happy as she makes me. At the end of the month I hope to take her down to Victoria and take her beach combing for the day then for a nice supper and then a horse and buggy ride along the ocean. Hopefully most of you will get to meet Patty next summer when we go to Ontario for Shawn and Marianne's wedding. Wow this was about 3 posts for the price of one.