Golfing at the Ridge

Today we planned to golf. Rain or shine. Not that I would golf in the rain but I would go to the covered driving range if it were wet. Well, it was mix of sun and cloud when we left the condo and headed up the peninsula to The Ridge. I brought my rain coat but never used it.

We had a great time playing this par 3 course overlooking Cordova Bay. The cherry blossoms were a mass of white on the trees bordering the course and red rhododendrons were scattered among the holes. The daffodils had seen better days but were still a show of yellow.

Not many souls had ventured out on the wet grass to play so we pretty much had the course to ourselves. It was the first time we'd been on a golf course since the fall so it was good to play again. I floored myself by making par on the first hole and landed my ball on most of the greens. My putting was horrid but I was very happy with my irons. Glen struggled with the first 6 holes but then did a great job on the last three sinking a fantastic putt on the final hole. I had a great iron shot on the 9th hole except it hit a rock along the edge of the green. It bounced a good 20 feet in the air before plopping into the water. A spectacular end to my game.

Out of India

We had a great visit yesterday with former Edmontonians, our friends, Diane and Tony Taylor. They are renovating their Gordon Head house built in the 70's and we can relate to their ups and downs. We always love seeing the progress they have made each time we visit. This time they had new windows which had been custom-made here in Victoria.

What of the title and photo? you ask.

Well, Diane and Tony don't spend their whole time renovating. They also travel. In January, they traveled to India to spend three weeks in the State of Kerela. Yesterday, we watched a slide show of Tony's pictures and felt we were almost there when Diane served us an authentic meal from the area. We dined on rice with peas, yellow cabbage and Kerela chicken curry which melted in your mouth. The flavours were intense and wonderful. We wiped our plates clean with roti, a type of flatbread much like a tortilla. Our dessert was a rice pudding made with rice flakes instead of grains of rice. It was delicious!! Diane is a wonderful cook.

The photo shows Diane and Tony atop an elephant at the Periyar Tiger Reserve. Here's what Diane wrote about this experience:

"You walk up a ladder to a platform where you mount the elephant. We didn’t see any tigers (probably just as well) or any wild elephants, which we had hoped to see, but we saw many birds, also flying squirrels and monkeys."

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.

Arrival

As usual, flying is an adventure no matter how many times you do it. One would think a simple trip from Calgary to Victoria would not involve any grief but on Sunday, it did. And I can't blame the airlines for what happened as it was our own fault.

Our plane was due to leave at 7:20 a.m. so we figured that getting to the airport around 6:20 a.m. would suffice since it was early Sunday morning and we didn't have to clear customs. We could not have been more wrong.

First, it was the beginning of spring break in Calgary so many families were travelling. Second, our flight left at the same time as ones to Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto. The line-up at the Air Canada check-in was very long. We had our boarding passes but still had to wait. We were supposed to have printed out our luggage tag but we didn't realize that until talking to others in the line. In the end, it was just as well since the counter clerk flagged it with a priority tag.

We reached the counter at 7:00 and I must say, Air Canada had plenty of people working so they had anticipated the crowds. However, we weren't sure security would have done the same. Turns out they were also well staffed but the 'wand' didn't like my jeans or my shoes. I had to remove my shoes but they let me keep my jeans on.

We made a quick bathroom stop then hit the gate just as the last person was boarding. Definitely not good for my blood pressure. Once we were sitting in our seats, Glen muttered something about hoping our checked luggage made it onto the plane. My heart sank.

It was pouring rain when we landed on The Island but we weren't surprised. What did surprise us was our luggage coming off the plane first. The priority flag had actually worked!

Seeing our apartment building with all the scaffolding and the green, billowing weather-sheeting gone was a shock. What was left behind is simply gorgeous. The sage green siding is trimmed with wood and looks very modern. The balconies have frosted glass panes and the windows are fantastic. We love what has been done and it is so worth the cost.

However, inside our unit, was a mess so as I unpacked, Glen got out the vacuum. We also loaded up the dishwasher as they had removed all our dishes from their cabinet in order to fix the wire that powered our dishwasher and dust had settled heavily on all of it.

As I made our grocery list, Glen went down to start up the van. He always holds his breath as he never knows if the battery's charge has lasted the months we've been away. This time it hadn't. So while I continued cleaning, he called BCAA to boost it. They got it going and then he drove halfway to the airport and back to charge it up.

Meanwhile I discovered the dishwasher was not working. Again my heart sank. I just didn't want to deal with that as well as the van in one day. It turns out Glen hadn't turned the machine on as he felt the hot water wasn't up to temperature. When I did start the machine all was well. Yay!

We did our shopping and I was getting pretty hungry by this time. It had been 7 hours since breakfast. I couldn't wait to get home and eat what we had bought. But, you guessed it, the van didn't start. So again we called BCAA. In the meantime, I went back to Safeway and bought some sandwiches and drinks. Glen had said he wasn't hungry but I knew I could last no longer.

So we had a picnic in the parking lot. Food has never tasted so good!! Even Glen said he didn't realize how hungry he was. We ended up buying a new battery as we couldn't remember how old the one in the van was. Best guess was greater than 10 years.

We spent the rest of the day cleaning or napping (I had been up at 3:00 a.m. so was working on sleep deprevation). Tradition is we go to Christies for supper which meant I didn't have to worry about cooking. Glen had their shepherd's pie while I had Thai coconut prawn curry but we started with potato wedges smothered in cheese.

Since it had been that kind of day, when my meal arrived it was a piece of garlic bread and a ramekin of shrimp. Nowhere to be seen was the basmati rice, the naan bread, or the vegetables. I never complain about mixed up orders but I could not face such a pathetic meal. Turns out the chef read the order wrong and I got what I wanted lickety split and it was piping hot.

We were home by 7:00 p.m. and in bed by 8:00 p.m.