Last Friday, we drove to Cedar Hill golf course to check it out. We like looking down the first fairway of a course to see if it scares us or not. It didn't so we're ready to tackle 18 holes there next week. Then it was off letterboxing. First stop was Mount Tolmie. It was a showery day so we figured there would be fewer people but we weren't the only ones enjoying the misty view. We heard fog horns and ship horns sounding across the strait which was beautifully eerie.
Glen has a knack for finding boxes and he found this one easily once he brushed away the spiderwebs and their resident predators.
We then headed to a park which we'd never seen before. Playfair Park is definitely a place to be when the rhododendrons bloom. There was one mistake in the clues but we'd expected that so found the box with relative ease until Glen discovered it was guarded by a giant spider. This one he used a stick to pry out the box as he felt the resident arachnid could have done battle with a tarantula and won.
Happy in my ignorance, I was able to stamp in and then we headed to Penny Farthing for lunch. The patio was set up for large groups so we ate inside (it was still drizzling so that suited me). We both ordered Guinness and shared a bowl of Island mussels. They were delicious. Glen then had fish and chips while I ate a seafood club where the layers were not bread but shrimp and smoked ahi tuna. My caesar salad was laced with garlic but I had no reaction to it so now believe my illness in SFO must have been bacterial/viral.
Saturday I had reserved for shopping. Yes, me the great anti-shopper forced Glen who loves shopping but not for clothes, went to Sears. They were selling off their summer stuff so we got great deals on shorts. Glen needed pants, socks, etc so the final tally wasn't cheap but better than expected. We bought a pork roast for dinner and headed home. My backpack weighed in at 13 pounds of clothes but they were lighter than my usual 3 bricks. Glen carried the one pound roast.
Sunday, after going to the driving range, we went on another letterboxing expedition but this one was not successful. Both boxes had last been found 5 years ago and the rainforest around one had made the path impassable. Glen tried clambering over some of the fallen trees near the Elk Lake box (see above photo--he is in it) then plowed through the thousands of spiderwebs but the way became more treacherous so he returned empty-handed.
The second box was on Bear Hill. This hidden gem would have been a nice hike had we known where we were going both in distance and time. Turns out it was a moderate climb and took 20 minutes. The view was of the surrounding farmland and ranches. This box must have been buried deep in leaf litter and with obscure directions, we could not find it. We should have brought a shovel as well as a lunch as it would have been a great place for a picnic. Instead, we abandoned our attempt.
Monday was a work day. Well, Glen worked while I did a laundry and caught up paying bills etc. I had sprained my thumb at the driving range (no, not by hitting a fantastic drive but by having my falling golf bag pull my thumb back on itself) and I think my body needed to work on repairing it as I had a nap after lunch.
It was a great morning for golf on Tuesday and half of Victoria was at Mt. Doug. We had to wait an hour to tee off and were paired with a grandmother, Pat, and her grandson, Caleb. She was very worried we'd not be patient with Caleb but he turned out to be a pretty good golfer so she really shouldn't have. We had a great round but it was long--2 hours. I didn't do my best but I blamed my thumb and empty stomach. Glen had a wonderful round with all his drives sailing out beyond 200 yards. He also had 2 pars, one being almost a birdie.
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