Danielle is 21! and Different Golf in Canada

*Happy 21st birthday to our dearest daughter, Danielle, today!

Written on 7-28-16.

     We are having some quiet time after a busy day here, and this is our last night at the VRBO.  Working backwards, I’ll recount what we’ve been up to.  All four of us just came back from playing frisbee golf together at the RV park I mentioned above.  The other three “chose to love” and come play with me (even though Eric was the one who came up with the idea), and I did my best to contain my excitement about having us all do something that I enjoy (golf of any kind) more than anyone else.  Belinda and I took on Amanda and Eric in total stroke play and we got away with the win by one stroke.  Go, Swopes!  

     Although, Eric was definitely the undisputed King of the Billiards Table at the VRBO.  He beat me resoundedly over and over again with some amazing shots, and we played multiple games the last two nights.  I learned that I play worse when I have had three Budweisers, but Eric plays better with more margaritas.  The Democratic National Convention did not upset him too much either, and he certainly was not distracted by any of Hilary’s remarks.  Incredulous, but not distracted.    

     Before that, we drove out to Huson Lake and Caves.  It was incredible!  The scenery here is...

amazing and new to us.  We are not used to so many tall trees, some easily 100 feet high or more.  The woods are thick, too.  If we were to walk 20 paces into the woods without a trail, close our eyes and spin around, we might not be able to find our way out again.  In some places, we are completely surrounded by tree trunks brown and forest green.  When we are driving, the trees fill up the windows to the left and the right of our rental car, and when we look out the front windshield, a giant mountain fills the view to the very top.

     We hiked down to the caves, and as we walked, the trees kept us cool and in the shade 98% of the time.  The caves were not what we expected.  They were not the type where you walk in and go down into the darkness and the temperature remains the same throughout.  It wasn’t Carlsbad.  These were open, carved out types of caves with no single entrances, more like alcoves.  After we walked down to the “caves” and took multiple photos near the river that flowed through them, we hiked back up and then headed down a different path/road to the lake.  

     That road was also engulfed in shade, and it wasn’t until we got to the bottom and took one last narrower shaded path when a wide open view of the lake and surrounding mountains blossomed in front of us.  It was gorgeous there, and it reminded Belinda and me of a lake we’ve visited near Grand Lake.  Eric took a brief, refreshing swim and we took some more pictures.  

     Earlier this morning, I chose to play golf alone while the other three gave the kayaks a go off of the private rocky beach here at the home.  It was a bit choppy for them, though, and Amanda actually tipped over and fell in once, but they can now say they got the use of the kayaks.  

     I played nine holes of “golf golf” and then nine holes of frisbee golf.  The quaint little RV park golf course was short (holes from only 63 yards up to 116 yards).  

     If each hole was a par four, I would have been even with seven 4’s, one 5, and one 3.  I would just miss the green, chip it out of the thick grass and onto the green, and then finish with two putts on most of the holes.  The greens were extremely fuzzy, so I had to make big swings with my putter to get the ball to the hole, and it wasn’t until the last three holes of the frisbee golf that I figured things out, and I was able to finish with three pars.  I had a blast, and I was smiling the entire time.  The views of the ocean on several holes were fabulous and surprising…for an RV golf course.  I’m glad I didn’t bring my own clubs, and playing there was the perfect golf diversion.

     Yesterday evening, we chose to go back and have dinner at Telegraph Cove at a restaurant that had an outdoor deck area above the harbor.  It was a bit chilly, but it was worth the view and it was delicious!  The salmon here is yummy; I had seafood chowder with chunks of salmon in it.  Then we had ice cream after dinner and took a walk out on the boardwalk.  Telegraph Cove reminded us of Silverton, a tiny town with historic buildings, gift shops, a general store, and lots of fun and interesting stories from the past.  It took Amanda and I over a half hour to walk through the place because we stopped to read each story placard when we could have walked through in five minutes.

     Yesterday’s biggest event was definitely the whale tour, something none of us have ever done before either.  We chose the Mackey tour because the VRBO owner, Nancy, recommended him.  He was less of a tour guide and more of an expert, giving us insights we would have never known had he not educated us about these “wolves of the sea.”  For example, they have all been classified into groups, and some of the groups are more like permanent residents while others are transients.  

     It was frustrating at times because we would take pictures, but the killer whales were so far away that they looked like black specks, not orcas.  If one happened to swim up right next to the boat, we couldn’t get our cameras out in time to get a photo.  We were at the whim of these large ocean mammals.  We did, however, get some great video footage (thanks to Belinda) of one orca swimming with some dolphins right next to our boat, and I got one more than decent photo of that same event.  We also saw an eagle and its nest on one of the islands on our way back in, and we saw a different eagle on a telephone pole welcoming us back to Port McNeill as we got off the boat.  

     The day before that, we visited Telegraph Cove for the first time, and I bought a jacket, a black one similar to one of my favorite jackets from Grand Lake.  This has been one of the best vacations ever so far!  We haven’t even been to Victoria yet.  I better go; I smell our last dinner here at our VRBO cooking upstairs.