B.C. - Hamilton to Sechelt, Sunshine Coast

Up at 4am and waiting for the flight at 6am at Hamilton Airport.

 

I got a window seat so was able to get some photos of the Rockies as we flew over. I was surprised to see snow still. 

We had left sunny and dry and arrived to grey. Negotiating Vancouver Airport, picking up the rental car and driving north all went smoothly.

When we got to Horseshoe Bay we discovered that the next ferry to Langdale, at 12:30, was full. This is the only way to get to the Sunshine Coast. So we waited in line for the next one - 2:30. 

Once we had paid and moved down to the boarding area we could leave the car and go and explore Horseshoe Bay Village.

It was great to get out and walk (5 hours sitting on the plane and 1hr in the car) and we walked around the bay.

We talked to these guys who were going to work. Being ferried out to a Liquid Natural Gas facility being built.

 The Woodfibre LNG Project will be the world’s first net zero LNG export facility, being constructed on the historical site of Swiy̓át, a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) village, in Nexwnéwu7ts Átlḵ’a7tsem (Howe Sound). The Project includes the construction of a liquefaction train, a floating LNG storage and offloading unit, an air-cooling system, and marine docking facilities for LNG carriers. Woodfibre LNG will produce approximately 2.1 million tonnes of LNG per year during operations. from woodfibrelng.com

We heard a big splash and noticed a group of 5 Harbour Seals lazing on a dock. A sixth one had just dived in the water.

 Individual harbor seals possess a unique pattern of spots, either dark on a light background or light on a dark. They vary in colour from brownish black to tan or grey; underparts are generally lighter. The body and flippers are short, heads are rounded. Nostrils appear distinctively V-shaped. As with other true seals, there is no pinna (ear flap). An ear canal may be visible behind the eye. Including the head and flippers, they may reach an adult length of 1.85 m (6.1 ft) and a weight of 55 to 168 kg (120 to 370 lb).^[3] Females are generally smaller than males. from Wikipedia.

There were 3 adults,

 

of varying colours

and 2 fluffier looking pups.

A little further along there was one, resting on some rocks,

who primped

and posed for us

as if paid by the local tourist board.

They do really have faces like puppies and bodies like slugs.

While we had been wandering there had been ferries in and out from Nanaimo and Bowen Island.

We headed back to the car and were literally

the last car to get on. Phew!

Getting greyer

and drizzily

but still beautiful views

from the boat.

The trip had taken longer than we anticipated so we didn't pop into Gibsons, as we had planned, but headed north for a quick grocery shop and then to the AirBnB, in Sechelt,  that will be our base for the next few days.

Kinusaiga Workshop

Every now and then a workshop offered at the Port Dover Senior Centre peaks my interest. Kinusaiga was one of these.

 Kinusaiga is a contemporary Japanese art form that combines elements of traditional textile techniques with modern materials and methods. It involves creating intricate fabric collages by pressing fabric scraps into pre-cut grooves on a foam board, resulting in textured, layered artworks without the need for sewing. This technique offers a tactile and visually rich alternative to conventional quilting or embroidery. From curiousoctopus.art

These were the examples

 

and we were going to do the lighthouse picture.

The board (house insulation foam board) had been cut to fit inside a "buck store" frame. Then two sided tape was stuck on. We fitted the template over the top, attaching it with bits of scotch tape at the edges.

There were bins of fabric scraps to choose from.

Using the exacto knife provided we cut out a section of the template, digging a deep slit while doing this. Used that piece to cut a piece of fabric a bit bigger. Peeled off that bit of tape from the board and stuck the fabric down.

We then used the stitch ripper to push the edges of the fabric down into the slits.

We could make slits in the back or the edges to hide the fabric at the edge of the picture.

It was a 2 hour class and some of us were finished completely in that time.

Everyone's was different and, unlike some classes I have taken, no-one found it difficult to do.

It was fun, used readily available, cheap materials and used up scraps.

This is mine. It now hangs in one of the spare bedrooms.

This tall ship stopped briefly in Port Dover and I caught a glimpse of it, from my place, sailing towards Port Colborne, at the end of August.

With fall comes plenty of golden colours in the garden

emphasized by the earlier golden sunsets.

Unfortunately sailing has been very hit or miss this month (mostly miss).

These shots were taken during a leisurely weekend sail.

 September is usually full of sailing. Races are held Mondays and Wednesdays and there is a 2 day regatta. One Wednesday we were driven off the lake by squalls and thunderstorms. Then we had a lovely, light air, Monday Spinnaker race. Then I went horseback riding, for what I hoped would be a rejuvenation of my love of riding. Unfortunately my first lesson ended with my back clearly indicating that my riding days are over. The back pain prevented me from sailing so Rick's daughter joined him for the regatta and another night he and Gord sailed Spellbound alone. There are 2 more races and I don't think I will partake as it looks like the winds will be strong and my back is still rather tender. I want it healed for our trip to British Columbia next week. I have never been to B.C. and am really looking forward to it!

Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum - Chipmunks 80th anniversary.

 Rick bought a membership to the Warplane Heritage Museum at Hamilton Airport this year, and it included a membership for me too. This weekend they held an event commemorating the Chipmunk, a training airplane, and it seemed like a nice way to enjoy a sunny, not too hot, day, outside. Getting there at about 1pm, they were into overflow parking and the place was teeming with people.

We walked through the big hanger that contains the permanent exhibits and

 

out onto the tarmac

A few of the planes

had write ups and I suspect they were from the Museum's collection.

but most of them did not, instead their owners or pilots stood by and willingly answered questions and told stories. This one is a Chipmunk. The ones made in Canada had a "bubble" canopy

while the ones made in England did not. 11 Chipmunks had flown in for the event.

The Chipmunk was the first postwar aviation project conducted by de Havilland Canada. It performed its maiden flight on 22 May 1946 and was introduced to operational service that same year. During the late 1940s and 1950s, the Chipmunk was procured in large numbers by military air services such as the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Royal Air Force (RAF), and several other nations' air forces, where it was often utilised as their standard primary trainer aircraft. The type was produced under licence by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, who would produce the vast majority of Chipmunks. from wikipedia.

While Rick, as an ex-pilot, was into the technical details

 

I was interested in the artistry of the propellers

many of which were wood, sometimes with metal on the leading edge.

Some of the planes had been flown in from across North America

and had decals from various events.

This one was from Waterloo airport and rides cost $3,000.

So many different kinds of old planes. Rick knew them all by name while I can't remember their names a day later!

Even though most had been flown in, there were no bugs on them, clean and shiny.

One side of the fuselage had an "old crone" style witch 

and a totally different style on the other side.

The pilot demonstrated how to clamber into this one

which, among other things, was used to drop spies behind enemy lines.

The music over the speakers stopped so we could hear the 

Lancaster's engines start up.

She was taking up some paying customers ($5,000 a ride),

took off and flew overhead. I often see her circling over Long Point Bay.

There were a few more modern planes

and some bi-planes.

We spent a very pleasant couple of hours there.