Frosty Welcome

OK, it is winter on the coast too.

Temperatures hovering around freezing during the night and rising to 6 or 7 degrees during the day is not exactly balmy. The frost on the docks in the morning can look quite pretty but is treacherous to walk on.

Early morning walks to the washrooms are an adventure all to themselves. From what we have heard, we have actually missed the worst of the winter - lots of fog and snow and such. Can't say we are too bummed about it. We have had quite enough of winter in the last month in Edmonton, so we have paid our dues.

The boat seems to have weathered our time away quite well, although it looks a little neglected. We feel a bit sorry for it at times.

Now that we have been on board for a few days, running a small electric heater and the diesel stove occasionally, the interior is at a comfortable temperature and we are feeling more at home.

We plan to visit the Vancouver boat show in a couple of days, where we can drool over all of the goodies we would like to have. We will see just how much will power we have. Very little, I suspect.

This trip will be first for us, as we will not be taking the car. In the past, it seems that we were always in a hurry and drove everywhere, sometimes at ridiculous expense. Now that we are sort of retired and have more time, we are learning to take it slower. In the case of the boat show, we will walk onto the ferry and use public transportation to get us to the show venue. How novel.

In case you are wondering, these people are some of the typical boat-trash that haunts our marina. Notice how they try and lull you into thinking they are normal human beings with their friendly non-threatening appearance.