On the Island

We woke to thunderous rain during the night but when Monday morning dawned, it was sunny. Its rays poured into our condo because we lack window coverings. The ones we originally had no longer fit. The only window we now shade is our bedroom and we do that with a bedsheet.

We decided the barbeque was our first priority yesterday. We had dragged it out of the garage but there was no way we were going to use it on the new deck without a protective mat beneath it. We also needed to fill the gas bottle. So we headed up to Home Depot and found a barbeque mat with little difficulty (the van started with no problems). We stopped at Petro-Canada on the way home and had the bottle filled and got a car wash as well.

I know that blogging about a car wash is perhaps the low end of the literary scale but this one was unique. Instead of being dragged through at a speed determined by the car wash, in this one, you control the speed through which you pass. First, though, you park and the car wash implements--brushes and those felt belts--pass over you. If you get a superior wash, it does it three times. It looks like you are moving forward but you are not, a sensation akin to an amusement park ride.

After the wax is applied, you drive under an arch labeled 'rinse'. If you want a long rinse you linger under the spray nozzles. The dryer arch buffets the car with wind. Glen waited until the last droplet disappeared. It had been raining when we entered the car wash so I thought a long dry unnecessary. By the time we exited, the rain had stopped.

After lunch, we walked down to Willows Beach. We wore our raincoats and brought umbrellas even though it was a sunny start. It was a good thing we did as it poured as we reached the beach. Very few souls had braved the weather to walk on the sand so we had the beach to ourselves.

We stopped at the butcher on the way home and bought a small pork roast which I marinated in a Thai mixture. I asked the man behind the counter about lamb for Easter and he said it was best we pre-order it so we did. This is the first Easter we have spent in Victoria. It will be interesting to see how I fare at making the traditional Easter bread here. Glen has been hinting that the Easter Bunny had better bring him chocolates.