Tag: BC

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Dec 25 2021 to Jan 16 2022: Vancouver, BC – Christmas, Snowboarding Another Dog & A New Job!

Kim & Curtis Hale

Christmas

Well hello! It’s been a while, as expected, but we have some recap to do!

Christmas happened and we had no plans, but that was great. We had a nice veggie roast and had some chats with our families throughout the day.

Snowboarding

Kim went out snowboarding with a colleague. They went for an evening and got back fairly late, but had a really fun time! Kim basically had to re-learn from scratch, but her friend was happy to teach her again.

Kim loved it so much and is going again this coming Tuesday!

Another Dog!

We fostered another dog! August, the previous dog, went on to a long term foster and we didn’t have a dog for a bit, but then we went down to the boarder to pick up Harper!

He’s a very good boy! He’s a German Shepherd, Husky, Malamute & retriever mix!

Very lovable dog who loves cuddles and we’ve loved having him around.

We took him out to Steveston today. He loves car rides and seemed to enjoy Steveston and meeting all the dogs. We let him run around a bit (on the lead) and he was having a great time.

A New Job!

Curtis is starting a new job in a week!

Curtis will be joining Legible, where Kim works, as their solo IT person (as a Senior IT Specialist). He’s very excited and glad to be able to get in and help them out with IT and also advance his career!

Mr And Mrs Hale

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Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Nov 3 to Nov 13 2021: Vancouver, BC – Fostered A Dog & Kim’s Birthday!

Kim & Curtis Hale

We fostered a dog!

On Wednesday 3rd November, Kim went out to the airport to help people unload dogs that had been rescued from China.

This took a very long time, about 3 hours or so, but after it was done Kim was offered a dog to foster! The foster had pulled out, so she got the chance to foster a 1.5 year old Samoyed for about a month or so.

The dog was so good! He was a little hyper when we got him and he did pee inside overnight on the first night, but other than that, he was awesome to have around!

We got him some toys, treats and a bed (which he doesn’t use) and just hung out with him for a bit.

On the Sunday, Curtis went to hockey and then Kim got an Uber out to catch his game a little later!

Whilst Kim was out, she setup cameras to check on the dog to see how he was. We weren’t sure how he is being left alone, but turns out he’s fine!

Unfortunately, once we got home, we took him out for a walk and he vomited many times. We then had to take him to an overnight vet, which took 3+ hours and we didn’t get to sleep until 4:30am!

The vet thought he was just a little sick and gave him a little medication and fluids to get him sorted.

The place we fostered from then complained that we took him to the vet and seem to be refusing to refund us for the treatment now, which is very fun.

He was sick for most of the week this week, but has now improved a lot!

We likely won’t foster again from these people, either, as they keep saying the dog will be leaving within the next day and then we hear nothing…It’s all a little crazy and we got no information on the dog, either!

Kim took him out today to hang out with another dog and her friend and he was a very good boy!

We did get to go out for dinner on Tuesday for Kim’s birthday, too. Kim’s friend came over to pet sit and we walked down to Gastown to a French restaurant we went to when we first moved to Vancouver.

The food was alright but the service was pretty awful. We probably won’t be heading back there.

We still have the dog now, even though we’ve been told he’s going 3 times! We are still awaiting a call from them to tell us more about the plan, but for now, we are having a great time chilling with the awesome, chill doggo.

Mr And Mrs Hale

Victoria,BC

Place 70 – Day 35: Victoria, BC – Day Trip To Sidney

Kim & Curtis Hale

We woke up and slowly got ourselves ready. We didn’t sleep well at all last night, so it was a slow morning.

We had some breakfast after we showered and then we relaxed for the rest of the morning.

At 12:30, we left to drive up to Sidney. Linda wanted to go back there after not being there for a while, so we took her there for a wander.

We got a coffee and a treat from the bakery and enjoyed those before walking to the waterside and enjoying the weather and the sea.

We managed to see a beautiful seal, until someone scared it away!

We then sat for a couple of hours facing the water just enjoying the scenery and enjoying people watching. There were a lot of kids playing around us, so it was fun to watch them.

We eventually got hungry so we headed back to the car and got on our way to the place Linda had booked for dinner.

We had planned to meet Linda’s friends, Dee & Steve, there (we know they read the blog…Hello!) But they were unable to attend, so we just went with the three of us.

Kim got a chicken burger and Curtis got a burger and they were alright!

Kim had a chocolate brownie for dessert and then we drove back home.

Curtis was pretty tired as he didn’t sleep well at all last night, so he had a little lay down and Kim did a bit of research for some things.

We didn’t do too much for the rest of the evening, just relaxed and chatted, really!

Kim did go out and check out Ogden Point, which she likes to do when here.

This Time Last Year

Mr And Mrs Hale

Victoria,BC

Place 70 – Day 34: Victoria, BC – Hot Stone Massage & Mattick’s Farm

Kim & Curtis Hale

Hot Stone Massage

We woke up after sleeping very early last night and felt very well rested.

We had some cereal for breakfast and Kim then went out for a hot stone massage! She really enjoyed it, actually. She felt like jelly!

Mattick’s Farm

Kim got back and we went out to Mattick’s Farm.

This was only about 20 minutes away and once we got there, it was coffee time!

They had a restaurant and tea room, so we went to the tea room and got ourselves coffee and snacks. Curtis got a cinnamon bun and Kim had a tuna and mayonnaise sandwich.

We left here and went to play mini golf! They had a mini golf place at the farm, so we took Linda to play her first round ever!

The game was pretty close, actually, with Curtis coming out with the win in the end.

We really enjoyed that, actually, and it wasn’t really in the sun either, which was good for us.

We drove back toward Victoria and on the way, we stopped at a supermarket which is known for really cheap fresh fruit and vegetables, so we got in there and got some produce there.

Delicious Dinner

We got back home and relaxed for an hour or so and then we went to a restaurant that Linda has been visiting for a long while.

Curtis and Linda shared a ceasar salad and Kim had a French onion soup, which was her first time trying! She really enjoyed it actually, though it was a lot for her!

Curtis had a steak which came with potatoes and veg and Kim had chicken marsala with mushrooms and veg, too.

We really enjoyed our dinner and were perfectly full.

We headed back home and had some strawberries which Linda bought at the veg store today.

Drinks With Another Friend

We went for drinks with a friend of Kim’s from work just down at the brown’s social house in Victoria.

Curtis hadn’t met her before and Kim hadn’t met her in person but we had a good chat and a drink before heading back home to Linda’s.

We’re heading out again tomorrow, so that should be fun!

This Time Last Year

Mr And Mrs Hale

Victoria,BC

Place 70 – Day 33: Victoria, BC – Beacon Drive In, Another Friend & Delicious Italian Food

Kim & Curtis Hale

Beacon Drive-In

We woke up around 08:30 and we got ready to go out for breakfast.

We both walked up to the Beacon Drive in, a staple for us when we come here, and got ourselves some nice breakfast and relaxed there for a bit.

Linda came and joined us and we chatted whilst Kim ate an ice cream and then we left for a walk.

A Nice Walk

We planned to go into the petting zoo that was in the nearby park, but unfortunately it was closed! We were able to see some goats and other animals through the fence though, which was really nice.

We did a bit more of a walk around the area and Linda pointed out a few new places and points of interest nearby that we’d not seen before.

A Friend

We headed back to Linda’s place and then after a while, we both walked down to meet a friend of Kim’s for a coffee and we got to meet her child who is now nearly 1!

After a great long conversation, we walked back to Linda’s and got ready for dinner.

Delicious Italian Food

We met a couple of Linda’s friends at an Italian restaurant across the street which we had been to once before. It was AMAZING food! Kim had mushroom pasta and Curtis had lasagne. Both were phenomenal.

We got profiteroles to share for dessert and then we were truly stuffed!

Fisherman’s Wharf

We managed a nice evening walk to Fisherman’s Wharf just down the street, though it was pretty cold, so we came back to Linda’s and relaxed before heading to bed.

This Time Last Year

Mr And Mrs Hale

Victoria,BC

Place 70 – Day 32: Victoria, BC – Airport Pickup & Finally Seeing Linda!

Kim & Curtis Hale

We woke up at a good time, though Kim woke up early as a dog was barking constantly in the hotel and she heard that so she couldn’t get back to sleep.

We got up and ready around 10:00 and packed up the last few things, showered and then took our stuff down to the car.

After checking out, we went to grab some breakfast. We found a cafe and Curtis got a breakfast muffin and Kim got a pesto and brie toasted sandwich, along with a coffee each.

We ate our food whilst sat in the sun and then we got the car and drove to a car wash. We vacuumed the car and then tried to go to a car wash, but it was too busy so we had to head to the airport.

Somehow, Curtis managed to lose his mask during this time, so had to use a disposable one for the time being.

We met Linda in the airport as she was returning from Kelowna on a flight and we were very happy to see Linda again after what must be at least 2 years!

We had a great chat on the way home and once we got back to Linda’s place, we had more of a chat with her and then we went out to the mall to see if we could get Curtis a new mask.

We found a mask, but it wasn’t actually that great. Linda then remembered she had a perfect one lying around, so Curtis has that now instead!

We went out for dinner with Linda to a place down the road called the steamship grill, which is somewhere we had been a few times with Linda.

Curtis had a salmon burger and Kim had a Nashville chicken caesar salad. Unfortunately, Kim’s food tasted a little fishy, so she didn’t really eat much, but we did have a lot of bread and chips so she ate those!

We walked back to Linda’s and spent the remainder of the evening having a great conversation, as always with Linda!

We have some fun times planned, and lots of dinners, over the next few days.

This Time Last Year

Mr And Mrs Hale

Vancouver, BC

Place 90 – Day 2: Sidney, BC – Meeting Our Helpful Friend!

Kim & Curtis Hale

We woke up LATE and needed to get some food!

We walked down to the Sidney bakery to get ourselves some treats.

We got a wide range of items, from croissants to doughnuts and all of them were pretty good!

We ate those and were very full, and we had that alongside a coffee we got from a nearby coffee shop which was tasty!

Once we were showered and ready, we took ourselves out for a bit of a walk and explore.

Kim wanted to get ice cream, so we found some and then we walked to a nice grass area by the water where we sat and enjoyed the sun!

We walked a little bit more and found some places we may be interested in for food and we found one that we thought we’d like.

We then met with someone who is also English who helped us with our PR application and was super helpful with providing information on it.

We bought some drinks and sat on the grass and chatted with her for a while. She was super lovely and this was the first time we had met her with it not being over messages. We’ll definitely be seeing her again!

We then decided we really fancied Subway for dinner instead of going to a restaurant, so we got Subway and headed back to the hotel and watched some TV and relaxed for the evening.

The entire plan for today was to do very little, so that’s what we did!

This Time Last Year

Mr And Mrs Hale

Courtenay,BC

Place 89 – Day 1: Courtenay, BC🇨🇦 – Forbidden Plateau & ‘Medicine Bowls’

Kim & Curtis Hale

Forbidden Plateau

We work up at a good time again and Kim went out to get us breakfast.

We ate our breakfast and slowly got ready and managed to head out around 11:00.

We drove out to Forbidden Plateau which took us about 1 hour and 30 mins.

Forbidden Plateau used to be a ski resort but now it’s a short hike which allows everyone to get a great view of the water and surrounding areas. It was really quite beautiful!

‘Medicine Bowls’

We drove back down the road we came and took a sharp left to head down towards medicine bowls. This is a small waterfall with rock pools that people jump into and also just swim in. We didn’t have much interest in doing either, because it’s cold and jumping in is scary, but we walked to take a look.

We parked up in a safe location as, unless you have a truck, it’s not possible to drive the entire way there.

We walked for about 20 minutes to make it to the pools. There was a little hike involved but it was beautiful!

We really, really enjoyed this area! We were there for way longer than we expected but we just enjoyed looking at the water, sitting down and relaxing and just enjoying the quiet.

We walked back to the car and saw someone try and drive through the part just beyond where we parked where it was not really possible to drive and they scraped/damaged the bottom of their car!

Beer & Snacks

We drove form here to the nearby town Courtenay, where we had actually been before when we visited Comox in the winter a couple of years ago. We got ourselves a beer at a brewery and relaxed.

We left there and walked to a restaurant to get a quick snack. The snack turned into a huge meal and we really didn’t want that much food. We ate what we could and then we drove back to the hotel, which took about 1 hour 10 minutes.

We were tired, as expected, so we relaxed for a bit at the hotel and then went out to get some snacks and drinks for the evening.

We leave this area tomorrow and head out to a new area to do very little, though!

This Time Last Year

Mr And Mrs Hale

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 1000: Vancouver, BC – Away We Go!

Kim & Curtis Hale

Curtis’ Day

Curtis got a bit more sleep this morning and then he jumped on a call with a colleague to figure out some strange permission issues.

There was a team meeting and once that was done, he had some tickets to get done as well as having to call someone and get something fixed for them.

Throughout the day, when he had time, Curtis got the packing done and a few things around the apartment, like taking out the rubbish.

Kim’s Day

Kim left early-ish and took laptops over to the office she was working from during the day.

After that, she went and got some breakfast and even took Curtis a croissant and coffee!

She got some of the laptops sorted today and it was nice to be in an office with colleagues.

Kim left the office around 13:00 and went bowling! She organised this with people from her company and a fun company event!

After bowling, Kim headed back home.

Away We Go!

Off to the island we go!

After work, we drove out to the ferry terminal and took the ferry over to Vancouver Island! We have a fun 10 days planned and we’ll be visiting Kim’s great auntie Linda for the first time in quite a while.

We got some easy food on the ferry and then drove out to Port Alberni! We’ll arrive there super late, but then we’ll be up early tomorrow to do some exploring!

We’re super happy to have some time to travel around and see things, whilst being careful, of course.

Today is also DAY 1000 in Vancouver! Crazy.

This Time Last Year

Mr And Mrs Hale

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 993: Vancouver, BC – Finishing Work At A Good Time!

Kim & Curtis Hale

Curtis’ Day

Curtis had a bit more of a relaxed morning today. He needed to call a courier and organise a pickup for an offboarded user.

Once he did that, he did some tickets and that was pretty much the rest of the day.

The day was pretty quiet, so when he had spare time, Curtis got some Norwegian homework done.

Curtis did an offboard at the end of the day and then it was the end of work for the week!

Kim’s Day

Kim started the day joining the new weekly finance meeting and they discussed a process to fine tune it. It was a great meeting. A fair few people from here were meant to head into another meeting but it got pushed back so Kim sat and had her breakfast and then helped someone with some IT stuff when the meeting was pushed again.

Just before midday Kim joined the meeting and really enjoyed the interesting discussions. It’s so lovely to be involved and get to help so many interesting and wonderful things!

She then had some lunch and popped out to pick up a coffee, but the shop was closed. Which meant Kim went into the wildfire smoke, hot outside for no reason! It was so hot and the air quality is awful today.

She then prepared for an interview, hosted it and had a review before finishing someone’s laptop and rearranging the beginning of her week to be able to take it to the couriers.

Evening

Kim finished work at a good time today, which was great, and she used the time to have a snack and then a little 1 hour nap!

After the nap, we ordered some Korean chicken for dinner and chilled out.

This Time Last Year

Mr And Mrs Hale