Booked On The MV Coho & A Garbage Verdict

As the end of November approaches fast we are getting ready for at least 2 big events – Christmas and, right after that, our departure for Palm Springs.  Christmas will happen by itself as it always does, but I took one action today to guarantee we will be able to get off of Vancouver Island on our planned date of December 29th.  I made a reservation on the MV Coho Ferry to take us to Port Angeles.

Today’s photos were taken Tuesday at Cobble Hill Quarry Lake

So, with our reservation in hand we only have to show up at the ferry terminal in downtown Victoria about 90 minutes before the sailing time of 10:30am.  Then it’s a 90 minute ferry ride to Port Angeles, hopefully get through Customs without any delays or problems and we’ll be on our way to our first night’s stop at the Midway RV Park in beautiful, downtown Centralia, WA.  But, that’s a month away!

Back here at home, there’s another big event happening Wednesday night to close out November.  It’s Paulette’s turn to host her Sorority meeting and as I mentioned a few days ago the cleaning frenzy continues.  I’ve been trying to stay out of the way so as not to get caught up in the whirlwind but I couldn’t escape yesterday.

It was noted that our driveway was kind of a mess what with leaves, pine needles and stuff being blown across it during last week’s big storm.  That was my cue to ‘volunteer’ to power wash it before our guests arrived to see our leaf covered driveway.  Oh, the shame of it!   My power washer, however, was buried deep in the back of the garden shed behind all the lawn furniture.  Why not?  Who in their right mind would want to power wash a driveway in late November?

I don’t own a leaf blower as most of the trees nearby are evergreens so there’s not much need for one.  What I ended up using was an old steel bristle broom to sweep the entire driveway.  What a job.  it was pretty much like shoveling snow.  That’s pretty much how I spent my morning.  I hope the Sorority ladies are impressed. In the afternoon, we went for a pleasant hike around Quarry Lake.

A slide show showing 21 of my dozens of Bald Eagle photos

A group opposed to the idea of our local government taking over the job of collecting trash and recyclables failed to get the required signatures necessary to force a district wide referendum.  They had until November 24th to sign-up 10% of eligible voters but only got 5%.  This means that contracts with private contractors will not be renewed and instead garbage collection will be handled by the CVRD local government.

I wrote about this garbage collection fight in my November 24th blog and there was quite a bit of feedback about it. One comment, in particular, stuck in my mind and it was from a reader who is a local resident.  It read in part: “then we have to employ more government workers with good pay, benefit packages and pensions.”

While I certainly respect the right of anyone to hold and express such an opinion, it is probably the worst argument to use with me.  I’m glad to see more “workers with good pay, benefit packages and pensions.”  I’m tired of reading about ultra-rich business owners with their huge mansions, luxurious yachts and exotic cars while they pay their workers minimum wage and no benefits.

Have a great Wednesday, and thanks again for visiting!