We were enjoying the lovely, warm sunshine of southern California when the ugly face of SARS-CoV-2 hit the air waves. We continued to play waterball in the chlorinated pool and even enjoyed a small Minnesota Canasta ‘tournament’ with our American friends. As the time drew closer to our scheduled leaving date, it became clear that the world was changing.
On our journey north, we had originally planned to stay for a few days in Auburn, California to visit with our daughter, Jill and her family. As we were leaving Desert Hot Springs, we received notification from the Government of Canada that there was the strong possibility that the Canada – USA border was closing to all non-essential travel. So, we decided in the interests of everyone’s health and anxiety to head directly for home. We did meet for 90 minutes with Jill at a parking lot near Sacramento before pressing on. She had driven down to meet us and it certainly was nice to have a few hugs and chat with her even for that short time, not knowing how long it would be before we could meet again face-to-face.
As we drove up Interstate 5, through Oregon and Washington, we only stopped at fuel stops and tried to limit our contact with others. At RV parks, we didn’t use their washroom facilities and basically “sheltered-at-home” on the rig.
HOVER OVER THE PHOTOS TO SEE THEIR LABELS
We did some grocery shopping in Washington state, where they had implemented distancing for the cashiers but no masks yet. We then caught the COHO ferry from Port Angeles back to Victoria on March 22. The car deck on the ferry was a little more than half full, mostly with snowbirds in RVs returning from the southern US (we stayed below decks in the rig). When we docked in Victoria, there were only 4 cars in the parking lot, looking to return to Washington state. Thanks to Black Ball Ferries for accommodating our revised reservation and continuing to run their service until the end of March so that returning Canadians could reach Vancouver Island without having to travel through Seattle, a nightmare for RVs at the best of times.
Our return to Victoria was bit surreal as the downtown streets were deserted when we drove from the ferry terminal to Oceanside RV park on the Saanich Peninsula.
We managed to cope with 14 days of self-quarantine at the RV park near Victoria – the border agents had reminded us that we were required to do so (no grocery shopping, no laundry at the RV park, no visiting) but there was no follow-up and we were not required to submit a written plan as was implemented later. Several kind folks offered to secure groceries for us but we managed with the materials that we bought in the States. Slim pickings at the end but it meant we were grateful to go looking for fresh fruits and veggies when we were finished our quarantine.
We spent the quarantine time editing photos, reading and phoning local friends. We also cancelled our European Cruise (Gate 1 Travel refunded our payment fully and promptly… YES). Still waiting to hear from Air France and the cancellation insurance company – sigh. The only trip we have a down payment on now, is for a repositioning cruise from Sydney, Australia to Seattle in April 2021.
While we were in quarantine, we were corresponding with Jim and Renate Mendria, via email and Facebook, where they were sailing in Belize, as they usually do during the winter. At first, the push for them to return to Canada was not strong but once the Guatemalan government declared that they were closing their borders, ‘Emerald Seas’ headed back to port on the Rio Dulce in Guatemala. The Mendrias and several other yachties were checked for symptoms before being allowed to enter back into Guatemala from Belize. Several boats were not allowed to enter as they hadn’t registered with the Guatemalan government beforehand. And were refused entry to Belize, Honduras and Mexico. They were able to secure supplies but some boats had to sail back to their ports (France), a long way from the Caribbean.
Jim and Renate eventually were able to pay for a Canadian government sponsored flight back home (non-stop from Guatemala City to Toronto, then to Vancouver and Nanaimo). They were quite happy to self-quarantine on arrival at home.
Life did not change much once we finished our 14 days, as everyone else was on ‘physically distancing’ measures with instructions from the Provincial Health Officer to ‘Stay at Home’. Grocery shopping became our big adventure of the week, to which most of you can relate. Most parks were closed for a few weeks but the waterfront and beaches were open.
Signs of the times:
Jim’s sister, Margaret, soon became part our ‘bubble’ as she needed the closer contact but we started out with take-out dinners at her front door and then moved to taking her grocery shopping on Sunday afternoons.
We stayed connected to our Royal BC Museum friends by Zoom meetings. Now there is a word (Zoom) that took on a whole new meaning. Later, we progressed to small backyard gatherings when the weather improved but goodness knows when we’ll be back gathering at the local watering hole called Barts.
With a fair number of Zoom meetings, it was just a matter of time before we were porno-bombed during a Natural History lecture on Turkey Vultures (sorry no photos LOL).
Jeannie arranged a Zoom meeting with all the Byerrum grandparents, to be entertained by our talented granddaughter, Aarilyn. She played ukulele, guitar, flute, saxophone, and piano for all of us as we sheltered at our respective homes in California and Canada. Congratulations to her on the Rotary Award – Student of the Year. A teacher nominated award, given to the Grade 8 student who is active in the school while maintaining good academic grades.
We even celebrated Jim Mendria’s 70th birthday with a Zoom meeting organized by Renate for 75 people – that big a gathering probably wouldn’t have happened without this beast called COVID-19! It was awesome to ‘see’ some folks that we hadn’t seen for years. So, there are a few positives coming out of this pandemic.
We had planned and booked a trip this summer to Haida Gwaii with Jill and family. We would then take the ferry back to Prince Rupert and drive on to Smithers to attend the AGM of the BC Field Ornithologists. In the past, we have often stayed a day or two after the AGM to do some solo birding in areas new to us.
Alas, we had to cancel our Haida Gwaii trip as the Haida Nation was asking folks not to come and then our Smithers trip was cancelled as the BCFO decided to do the AGM by Zoom. That also meant we wouldn’t be traveling to Dawson Creek to see Jeannie long-time friends, Lynne and Halvor – another sigh.
In British Columbia, we have been guided through the pandemic by our Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry. She has appeared on local radio and TV every day, with the exception of a few Sundays, to detail the number of cases and deaths in the Province. Her words of wisdom have reassured us that someone is staying on top of this pandemic. Here is a quote from her predecessor Dr. Perry Kendall, “She's an example of grace under pressure — of honesty, straightforwardness, empathy and communication."
Dr. Bonnie Henry says her inspiration on fighting the virus, comes from the public. “Every day when I walk home and I watch people lining up to the grocery store, [I see] most people are patient and they're working it through and they're working it out. That's what allows me to sleep."
As the ‘lockdown’ continued, we all yearned for the time when we could resume life as normal and continue with our usual pursuits. Here at Oceanside, we were restricted by the First Nation band as a precaution to protect their elders and members, from using the lovely beach which is so close to the RV park which meant bird-watching by walking the road or driving to a deserted space of land.
More signs of the times:
It has been a very distressing period of time for us all, and in particular we sympathize with our neighbours to the south as their COVID cases spiked and they were further beset by the additional challenges of social unrest and divisiveness. The wildfire season in the western US states was particularly vicious this year and resulted in heavy smoke cover several times on our Canadian west coast.
In British Columbia, masks and social distancing became the norm and creativity blossomed as the signs appeared:
Some of our favourite activities started again, like birdwatching and yoga but this time yoga was held outdoors at the community park. Fighting with ground sheets flapping in the wind and becoming centered on the sound of the weed-eater took some getting used to but Patricia was steadfast in hanging in there for us.
Jim was interviewed over Skype for a 30-minute episode which appeared on Shaw’s Coast Connections. Of course, he talked about the Giant Pacific Octopus. You can view the interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VTHNPj7bj8E .
Just as this blog was going to press – World Octopus Day occurred on October 8. Jim was interviewed by CTV Vancouver Island for a Facebook posting. You can see the post at https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/campbell-river-described-as-hotspot-for-octopuses-on-world-octopus-day-1.5138992
While we were stuck in the rig during quarantine, we realized that the pandemic was not going to be leaving us very soon. That meant we were going to be spending the winter in Canada, without our planned excursions to warmer climes. Having spent one winter in Victoria in the RV, we were not keen on doing that again so we decided to look for a small house. We spent several months looking at a variety of mobile and manufactured homes. We did find one that we liked but a building inspection gave it a failing grade.
Eventually, we did find a very nice place. Our new home (after 3.5 years of living in the RV) is in Hawthorne Village on the Saanich Peninsula. It is a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom home all on one level with a small yard in a 55+ development, of 106 homes.
Our new address is #27-7570 Tetayut Road, Saanichton, BC
The postal code is V8M 2H4
We hope that we will be able to see many of you over the winter if the virus will allow, during our “new normal”. But there won’t be any large pot luck dinners, Wizard games or pizza nights after Underwater Hockey.
The rig is for sale, on consignment at a local RV dealership, with hopes that someone will want to continue to have amazing adventures with a Palazzo. Oceanside RV Park, where we parked the Palazzo while in Victoria, is now full of RVs staying for the winter - from northern BC and some prairie provinces. Victoria's climate is certainly warmer than other parts of Canada.
At this point, we can only have ‘hopes’ of traveling again (with a trans-Pacific cruise in April 2021 not likely to happen). We’ll do some arm-chair travels and catch up on rainy day projects, like jigsaw puzzles, cribbage games (tied after 444 games) and maybe even some cold water scuba diving and local birdwatching.
And anticipating that at some point, this part of the adventure will be over and become “Remember when….. we met with friends in their backyards with chairs spread about in a big circle, stood in lines to enter stores rather than running in for a quick purchase, tried to make sense of the arrows on the floor of the aisles in stores and wore masks while out shopping.”
We're not sure when we will be posting the next blog.
But in the meantime, in the words of Dr. Bonnie Henry: “Be calm, be kind and be safe”.
J&J
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