This week

Miss Lions Club in the Sea Fair parade. Every year high school girls are chosen by local service clubs as youth ambassadors for the year. April has been with Lions all year, attending lots of functions, meetings, learning public speaking etc.

This week we slept overnight on the boat at Sturt Bay on Texada Island. Met lots of nice people, a few not-so-nice mosquitos, slept very little, but it was fun.
This is SeaFair weekend, so we took part in the parade on Saturday.That's me fishing in the front of the boat.
We are both on the very first BC Senior's Games Dragon Boat team-the "Silver Dragons"-a demo sport this year in Nanaimo.
Ken is finding out that paddling in unison is harder than it looks.Today maybe we will explore another trail we just heard about, maybe stop at Mrs Clancy's berry farm to buy fresh eggs and pick some blueberries.

The blackberries are nearly ready.

A bomb threat on BC Ferries is causing havoc leaving Vancouver-seems nobody is interested in bombing us.

The Patriots

For a year now, our flag has hung on Tony's clothesline pole, usually wrapped in a tangle around the line.

Today the guys decided to change all that by adding an extension.

This involved 2 ladders, moving Tony's boat, bringing in a utility trailer (for added height) a trip to the plumbing supply store. You will notice that Ken is staying close to the ground, since ladders are not his favourite device.

Tony on the other hand seems quite at home, but firmly trussed.

All done, and ready for Tony's Italian flag should Italy win any sporting event....

And high enough to be seen from Comox...

Newspaper story

Powell River's Paddling for Life dragon boat team stroked to a third place finish at the Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival recently and were awarded a bronze medal in the women's division, Jade category. It's the second medal they have won, the first being awarded at the Comox Valley Nautical Days Dragon Boat Festival in 2005.

Tonight from the deck

Michellie and friend

David just sent this picture.

Their family spent a few days in Orlando and the highlight of the trip was Discovery Cove, where Michellie got to swim with a dolphin. She's a bit timid so there was always the possibility that she would freak out (her words) but obviously she had a ball.

Hot weather

A few days in the 30's was enough for us.

A nice breeze this morning means cooler weather is on the way. We will spend the rest of the week and weekend working on security for the BC Disability Games-the athletes are housed in the local high school so we keep them safe from 7-11 each night.

Special challenge last night was to find shade for a guide dog.

They too will be glad to have cooler temperatures.

We're off this morning to pick a second batch of raspberries. Then there will be blackberries and blueberries....

We need a bigger freezer.

Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival-Bronze medal winners!!!

I got to sit out the first race (too many paddlers) which was fine with me, so I got to see the team at work-a bit of a timing problem I see.

But hey, we were just getting warmed up!!!

Very windy, wavy and strong currents that day.

Much better on Sunday when we won our first race, came 2nd in the breast cancer challenge

and 3rd in the Jade women's division overall.

Lined up and ready to go.

4 teams line up, head out and jump in the boats as the previous 4 come in.

Like clockwork and usually on time.

4 more are waiting to get in, when we arrive back, soaking wet.

Nora out front is the drummer.

The next 2 are "The Strokes" and they set the pace .

You will see that Barb on the right has a pink ruffle around her arm and Lorraine has pink gloves. That's so all the rest of us watch them, and hit the water at the same moment they do.(hopefully).

The paddlers are divided into a front section, mid section and engine room.

I'm usually in seat 2 behind the strokes.

Summer has arrived

frogs
lunch with good friends

canoeing and kayaking on Inland Lake with Bensons.

This was the first time Ken & I had tried a kayak-we all want to take lessons. As you can see we weren't alone-lots of people fishing for trout.

And catching them.

We caught a few tadpoles which are happily swimming in our pond.