Grandpa's 85th - Cathedral Grove

Wednesday

Wednesday we all met at the Shaw house for breakfast and then we left grandpa behind and Carol took us to the Cathedral Grove. First, we went to visit Doug’s grave.

After some time, we bid Doug farewell and headed on to the grove.

The Cathedral Grove is amazing. All the trees are huge, but some are spectacular.

It was a short walk of only a mile or two, but it felt like a sacred place.

At one point we came to a river and a tree had fallen over the river. 

We spent most of our time there playing on the banks of the river.

This is the tallest tree in the grove

When we were done at the grove we headed to a Parksville a park in north Nanaimo. But on the way we stopped at the “Goats on Roof” store. It is nothing more than a glorified convenience store but the fact that they have goats on the roof of their store makes it quite unique. 

Their donuts and ice cream also make it worth the stop.

The park was quite amazing. Some of us headed straight to the beach but others of us hung out in the playground playing with the kids. 

They had a cool zip line that was made safe for little kids, and they had these swings with two seats, one for an adult and one for a child.

Eventually most of us made it out to the beach. For those of us who were used to San Diego beaches it was surprising at how fast and how high the tide came in. It was a fourteen-foot tide and our typical tide is maybe five feet.

The coolest part were the sand dollars. There were hundreds of them and most of them alive.

We searched through them all until we found a few dead ones that we could take home.

We played around in the water until we were all ready to head back to the house. It was an amazing playground right on the beach. They should do this with La Jolla Shores.

Back at the house we just relaxed for a few hours, played games, ate dinner and called it a day.

--------------------trivia--------------------

Every single kernal in a cob of corn has a tube attached to it. It extends from the top of the cob and we see it as "corn silk". If a strand doesn't get fertilized by wind blown pollen, then that kernal of corn won't develop.

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Grandpa's 85th - The Big Day

Tuesday

Tuesday was the big day; it was the day we celebrated Grandpa’s eighty fifth birthday.

Lori, Jim, Zoe & her boyfriend, Kelly and her husband, Lynn, and Doug’s son Noah all arrived on the morning Ferry. I was assigned to hamburger duty, but Jim came and helped me. It was good visiting with him.

We all sat around the back yard eating and visiting. There were some games out and we played with those a bit but mostly we sat in the shade and enjoyed each other’s company.

We did this until late in the afternoon when those people on the Ferry had to go catch their ride home. 

We helped Nana clean up and put the food away and then we all headed to “Trollers Fish and Chips”.

Not only is the food just amazing, but the atmosphere of sitting on a dock out on the water is also amazing.

After we had cleaned up all the food, Sarah and Sam and their little kids headed back to their hotel room and the rest of us went for a stroll along the boardwalk. 

It was a beautiful evening.

--------------------trivia--------------------

By 2030, Korean women are projected to become the first population in human history 

with an average life expectancy above 90 years.

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Grandpa's 85th - Butchart Gardens

Monday, June 29

Monday was Butchart Garden Day. We didn’t originally have it on the schedule because it was a total of over three hours of driving and would take an entire day but almost every child wanted to go see it. It really is worth it if you haven’t been there before. I have been there before, and it was still worth it.

Alycia flew into Victoria Monday morning, so we had a relaxed morning, ate breakfast at the Shaw house and then headed south.

One car went and picked up Alycia and the other car headed straight to the Gardens. We met up and ate lunch in the parking lot.

Robert Butchart owned and operated a limestone quarry on this site to manufacture cement. When the quarry was exhausted, his wife took over the big hole in the ground and turned it into this beautiful garden.

There isn’t much to talk about so I will just share some pictures with a few random comments.

They had this little corner that was filled with flowers. Mom insisted that we go into it and it turned out to be an amazing backdrop for pictures. Each of us got our pictures taken here.

Sadly, Mom and I didn’t get a picture together.

It was a long day.

But the day wasn’t over. We drove straight to Montana’s. Montana’s is a BBQ and steak restaurant, and we were there to celebrate Nana’s 80^th birthday. Grandpa’s birthday isn’t until July 29 and Carols birthday isn’t until October, but this was the week that worked out for most of the kids, so we celebrated them now.

Justin and his boys met us there and Sarah and Sam came a little bit later and we were finally all together in Nanaimo. Lisa and I shared a meal, and it was delicious.

From Montana’s we all went to the Shaw house, visited until late and then we all went back to our various beds.

--------------------trivia--------------------

Africa is the only world region where fertility remains above the replacement level.

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Grandpa's 85th

Friday, July 10, 2026

Saturday, June 27

We landed in Nanaimo rather early on Saturday, June 29. Kira, Piper and Cameron had picked up Alex in Vancouver, and they had arrived earlier that day. They picked us up at the airport. We checked into our rooms at the Vancouver Island University dorms and then we headed to Grandpa and Nana’s house. We mostly visited, but Carol had some games that we played. She fed us a nice meal and then we all went back to our dorms and went to bed.

Sunday, June 28

Ben flew into Victoria early Sunday morning, rented a car and met up with us at the Shaw house. We arrived in time for a very lovely breakfast and then we all headed to church at Boyd & Carols Anglican church. It has a fascinating history and a beautiful chapel.

After a nice service we got a personal tour of the building and the renovations they have made and then we decided to check out the neighborhood.

Alex is still recovering from his car accident, so Lisa called up the local bishop and borrowed a wheelchair they had at their church. I think Cameron used it as much as Alex did, but it was a real help.

The girls got stuck in a clothing shop, so the guys (me, Ben, Alex and Cameron) continued exploring. The first thing we found was the Bastion. It isn’t very clear what the Bastion was, but its name suggests that it used to be a defensive building with gun ports etc. When we were there though everything was locked up.

The Bastion overlooked the harbor and as we were checking out the views we saw “Trollers Fish and Chips”. It looked like one of those hidden treasures that are hole in the walls with amazing food. We headed down to the docks and shared an order of fish and chips between the four of us. It was amazing. We didn’t want to eat too much because we were heading back to Nana’s for dinner.

About the time we were licking our plates the women joined up with us and then we headed back to the house. Had dinner and did some more visiting.

--------------------trivia--------------------

Contrary to recommended practice, evidence shows that introducing infants to common allergens (such as eggs) early (in their first year), results in fewer allergic reactions than delaying the introduction of allergens. 

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