ABC Wednesday - Rash and Reflections

As some of my regular readers will remember, I've been ravaged since late summer with a rash that has rendered regions of my body unattractive. I won't repulse you with any photos of it but rather will simply tell the story.

The rash seemed random in that it started with large red areas under one arm, one inner knee, and one hip. It's red, round, and raised in some areas, but remarkably not itchy. I never felt run-down or rotten, health-wise, so didn't go to the doctor about it at first. But when smaller red spots started appearing and it began to spread around one side, I rallied myself and reached out to my doctor to reveal the repellent sight to him. I was relying on him to rectify the riddle of the rash. He was very receptive and his first attack to remedy my problem was to have me relinquish some meds I'd been taking for years. Didn't work. He next reasoned I should try a regimen of prednisone. You might recall my P is for Prednisone post. Well, the rash did begin to fade but never disappeared. As I have eased off on the dosage, it appears to be coming back a bit.

So today I saw my GP again and he has rewarded me with a name for this revolting rash. After ruling out various ailments, I'm relieved to say that it's a viral thing called Pityriasis Rosea, a common and non-contagious skin condition. Apparently, it usually affects adolescents and young adults and is extremely rare to affect anyone over the age of 60. Now aren't I the lucky one! It's also supposed to run its course in two to four weeks and it's usually completely gone in six to fourteen weeks. Occasionally, it can last for many many months. Again, aren't I the lucky random recipient!

So, the doctor's recommendation is to let it run its course and eventually, the redness will reduce and recede. I'm resigned now to wait for my body to right itself. I still have a rocky road ahead with my back surgery looming in January, but I just have to reconcile myself to remain patient over the next several months. The result, hopefully, will be a healthier and more robust body that will carry me through to a ripe old age. I'm going to be shopping for a new tennis racket next summer.

On now to something totally unrelated. I love photographs of reflections so will share with you a few of my favourite shots. Much better to leave off with beautiful images. Be sure to click on them to see them full size.

Top left is the Deas Slough last fall. The rest were taken within the last week. Top right is the Bathgate marina on the Sunshine Coast at the Skookumchuck Narrows.

Bottom left is also at Bathgate marina and bottom right is Canoe Pass, a float home area on the south arm of the Fraser River just outside my village of Ladner.

Sunshine Coast Adventure - Part 5

Be sure to click on the photos to enlarge them and see the details.

The last place I'd like to tell you about is Smuggler Cove on the coast near Sechelt. The origin of the name is subject to much speculation. One theory holds that the bay was used by one Larry "Pig Iron" Kelly to pick up Chinese labourers to be smuggled into the United States after the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Another story is that the concealed cove was used as a transhipment location for the smuggling of bootleg liquor, produced on neighbouring Texada Island, into the US during the prohibition era. Given the cove's proximity to Secret Cove, one can easily believe that there might be some connection to either or both of these stories.

We first stopped at the provincial park and began a walk through the forest. However, after emerging through the heavily wooded area and over the boardwalk, we decided that it wasn't the right time to do such a trek. It was getting a bit late in the afternoon and we didn't want to be caught there in the dark. The boardwalk bridged a very cold and wet marsh and had a railing on only one side. So we turned back and headed to the actual cove.

Here is a photo of Smuggler Cove. You can see why it would have made a great place to smuggle either Chinese workers or bootleg liquor.

Our last morning on the Sunshine Coast dawned miserably dark and rainy. So after a leisurely breakfast of giant muffins and coffee next door to our "inn," we packed up to head home. However, I first wanted to walk out on the pier at Davis Bay to get some photos of those cheeky seagulls who seemed to live there. There must have been hundreds of them, lined up on the ledge of the pier. As I walked towards them, they'd one by one fly off and go over to some pilings at the side of the pier and wait there until I left. I took a video as I approached the seagulls, but it won't upload. Maybe another day. In the meantime, if you ever get the chance, I highly recommend you take a trip over to British Columbia's famous Sunshine Coast. I hope you enjoyed this virtual tour that I've given you over the past few days.

Sunshine Coast Adventure - Part 4

As usual, be sure to click on the images to enlarge and see the detail.

On the way back to the main highway after stopping at Skookumchuck Narrows, we passed a birch tree that had a sign tacked to it. Again, it was a "Cathy, stop the car! There's a shot!" moment. The sign read "Moccassin Valley and I hopped out to take a couple of shots. I looked around and noticed it was a beautiful location with thick moss growing on a lot of the tree branches and a little river flowing along through the forest. It was very overgrown, but I did manage to make my way through the fallen leaves and bits of bark and logs to take a few more pictures. A bit further on was a small waterfall and I'm sure it was natural, not man-made. It's amazing to me what you can see when you stop at the side of a road and take a few steps into the woods. Here are a few of the shots I got that day.

We got back on the highway and decided that we'd follow the signs to one of the next villages along the way. We ended up in a place called Madeira Park. Winding our way through the village, we ended up at the marina. What an incredible place! It was sunny and warm so we wandered around, me taking photos of everything! There's a carved wooden statue there of Portuguese Joe Silvey - a saloon keeper, whaler and pioneer of seine fishing. He was quite the character and many of his descendants still live in the area.

Madeira Park is the main shopping centre for the Pender Harbour region, with banks, a large supermarket, Government liquor store, pharmacy, hardware, and several smaller shops. I found this little tidbit quite amusing - directly across the water, off Beaver Island, is Whiskey Slough, once a favourite anchorage for bachelor fishermen of Scottish extraction! Hmm....should I check it out? lol

After wandering around the marina, we ended up back in the village where we found a great little cafe with home-baked goodies. We each chose a muffin and something to drink and sat in the adjacent area that had art all over the walls. I really loved one particular artist's works and I should have written his name down, but of course now I've forgotten it. Duh! We looked at the art and other crafts, including jewellry but didn't buy anything.

School was just getting out when we left Madeira Park and back on the highway, we thought we'd check out Halfmoon Bay. With my navigating, we found the sign that led off the highway to this residential area and drove along Redroofs Road. This is a beautiful community where gentle bays and coves provide protected harbours for marine traffic and pristine wooded shores encourage people to explore. We ended up finally at Smuggler's Cove and I'll tell you about it next time in Part 5. I'll leave you today with images of Madeira Park's marina.

Sunshine Coast Adventure - Part 3

Thanks to David at authorblog for considering this worthy of POTD.

Be sure to click on the photos to enlarge and see more detail.

As I mentioned in Part 2, Monday morning dawned sunny and warm, so after breakfast at "Pebbles" and a short photo op along the beach there in Sechelt, we headed up to the tip of the lower Sunshine Coast. Just before Earl's Cove, where you catch the ferry to the Upper Sunshine Coast where Powell River is located, we turned east and headed towards the Skookumchuck Narrows. This body of water forms the entrance to the Sechelt Inlet. This area is famous because each day billions of gallons of water travel through the narrows, causing tidal currents at Sechelt Rapids to range rom 1 to 17 knots as they enter and leave the deep Inlet. Because the tidal patterns keep the water moving at virtually all times in the narrows area, this attracts a plethora of interesting sea life. Kayaakers also surf these rapids but it's very dangerous.
We saw the sign indicating the hiking path towards the rapids, but we continued a bit further on to the settlement of Bathgate. Entering the village general store, we inquired as to the length of the hike and when we heard it was an hour each way, we decided to bypass the hike. (My back isn't good enough for that type of trek yet.)
However, we wandered around the area a bit taking lots of photos of the boats and water. It was a gorgeous sunny day and we didn't even need a jacket.






This is part of the marina. See how still the water is.

Looking a bit to the right of the above photo, I spied the orange reflection of that one bush. Upon uploading the photo, I noticed more reflections - the boats, the hut, and the bridge along with other trees and bushes.

Looking off in the other direction from the wharf where we were standing, we could see the hills across the inlet and more boats moored on a floating wharf in the middle of the water.

This is my favourite shot from Skookumchuck Narrows. I love how the boats look so peaceful on this warm, sunny day with their masts reflecting on the calm waters.

Next stop is Madeira Park - stay tuned.

Defender of Faith

Happy Birthday to Prince Charles who turns 60 today. I can remember as a little girl wishing I could meet him one day and marry him. I mean, let's face it, what little girl wouldn't want to be a princess? Well, I'm sure he's a very nice man, all things considered, but I'm just as happy not to have ever met him. However, I do find the royal family interesting fodder and have followed all of them throughout my life.

Although Prince Charles has always had a reputation for being dull and boring, I think he probably has a good heart and has done his best to serve his country and the Commonwealth through his charity work. He's also become better looking as he got older.

It has come to light recently that he would like to change the monarch's present title of "Defender of the Faith" to "Defender of Faith." A small, seemingly insignificant change since the reign of Henry VIII when the pope bestowed on him the title for his early support for Roman Catholicism. Prince Charles hopes that this change in title will symbolise Britain's multicultural society and his desire to embrace all religions. Changes to the 1953 Royal Titles Act would be required before the prince could fulfill his wish.

The prince's birthday today recognises that he is the longest monarch-in-waiting. There is always speculation on when Charles will become king, but the Queen, now 82, took an oath to be reign until her death. While she has informally indicated that she plans to keep the job for life, she has given her son a strong personal endorsement indicating her confidence in his ability to serve the people.

And even if Charles never makes it to the throne, he can look back on his life and know that he was defined by his charity work. So Happy Birthday, Charlie, and long may you live.

Sunshine Coast Adventure - Part 2

When we left Gibsons on Sunday afternoon, we drove directly to our "Inn" to check in. To be honest, we weren't impressed because the two-bedroom "suite" with kitchenette we'd booked had no microwave or kettle and the teapot was grungy! There was less than half a roll of toilet paper in the bathroom (which I must say was spotless) but only one tiny bottle of Pantene (you know the kind that has shampoo & conditioner in one). *sigh* But, we checked out the beds and they were great albeit with only one thin blanket so I pumped up the thermostat to warm the room. The view from our balcony was lovely, though, and we decided we'd make do.

We then decided to head up towards Porpoise Bay, an area inland from the coast. It was a nice drive and we pulled into the Porpoise Bay Provincial Park to check it out. I walked through the picnic area that was full of tables including some covered areas and headed out to the beach. What a marvelous view! I can imagine it in the summer full of families having a grand time. Be sure to click on all the photos to enlarge them.

Back in Sechelt, we drove to the beach downtown. We walked along the pier there (photo at left) and I spied a massive contraption out in the water with what looked like pipes going to the mainland and disappearing under the road. It then reappeared up the side of the mountains. Upon inquiries and research on the net since coming home, I discovered the following information about LeHigh's connection to the current Oakland Bay Bridge project in San Francisco.

It has been almost three years since Lehigh Pacific's Construction Aggregates Ltd.- Sechelt operation started supplying quality aggregates to this project's supplier in California. To date, the loading facility at Sechelt has loaded 61 ocean going ships, the largest of which carry approximately 70,000 M tonnes. They are called Panamax class ships because, at up to 115 feet wide, they are the largest ship capable of navigating through the Panama Canal. Suppliers have done an excellent job of marketing the aggregate coming from Sechelt. One example of this success is the Skyway section of the multi-billion dollar San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge project. The Skyway section is a precast segmental bridge almost 2 miles (3.2 km) long, which is part of the new East Span. The Skyway section will require the highest strength concrete ever used by CalTrans. Due to the massive foundations, the concrete has to perform to tight control restrictions related to heat released during the curing of the concrete.

The sand from the Sechelt area is a hot commodity for Hawaiian golf courses, California beaches, and around the world where other building projects require this particularly special aggregate. Later on, as we were driving around, we found the entrance to LeHigh and I took this shot.

On Monday morning we awoke to brilliant sunshine and headed into town for brunch. After a hearty breakfast of pancakes looking directly out onto the sunny beach, I headed outside to take some photos. The trees were naked of their summer clothing but the sun glistened through the branches creating intricate designs. The benches lining the beach were empty of tourists, but I just thought this made for more natural and unhindered photos.

This is the beach right outside "Pebbles," the restaurant where we had brunch at the Driftwood Inn in Sechelt. I think we might stay there next time we go over. The following two photos are looking left and right just above the beach line.

We turned away from this stunning view to drive all the way to Egmont to see the Skookumchuk Narrows. That will be Part 3, so stay tuned.

Sunshine Coast Adventure Part 1

Click to enlarge. Photo taken from the ferry as we left Horseshoe Bay heading towards the Sunshine Coast. Grey skies here but we were hoping for real sunshine when we got there.

As I mentioned in my ABC Wednesday post below, I had three lovely days away on the Sunshine Coast of BC. My friend and I drove from our little village of Ladner (see "Tsawwassen" on the map) through the city of Vancouver to Horseshoe Bay to catch the Langdale ferry to this remote coastal area of BC. The ferry took us into Gibsons where we stopped to look around and have lunch at Molly's Reach, the restaurant. Perhaps one of Gibsons biggest claims to fame is as the site where the long-running TV series The Beachcombers was filmed.

Although the film crews are long gone, Molly's Reach restaurant and the pier (where much of the filming was done) are still there, and several of the cast, notably the late star of the series, Bruno Gerussi, chose to make their homes here. After all, they knew there was more to Gibsons than The Beachcombers.

We drove the lower road into Gibsons and I was so excited to finally see this famous place. Around the bend suddenly appeared the bright yellow facade of Molly's Reach Restaurant and I took a shot right through the windshield of the car. Later, however, I took a "proper" shot and Cathy took a photo of me standing in front. We entered and found a spot near the back of the restaurant that overlooks the marina and studied the menu. It was a day for soup. Hearty soup. So we both had a big bowl (I had the thick, stew-like white clam chowder and Cathy had the thick, stew-like pea soup) and we shared some fantastic sweet potato fries. Yummy!

Then it was time to stroll around to see a bit of the town. After wandering the pier for a few minutes to admire all the boats, we headed into Molly's Lane where we found lots of artistic shops with zany names like the "Waltzing Whippet" and a fence covered in amateur art opposite a more professional fence depicting water, waves, driftwood, and seabirds. You can see a portion of this fence on my ABC post below. There was also fantastic signage showing what you'd find down Molly's Lane.

Click to enlarge and see the names of the shops and services. Which is your favourite?

Then we discovered the Persephone! This was the main character Nick's boat on the show. Read more about the The Beachcombers here. Here are a few shots of the boat. Be sure to click to enlarge, especially the photo of the sign because you should be able to read it.

After that, we decided it was time to head up to Sechelt where we were staying. So off we went and checked into the Bella Beach Inn (don't stay there!) before heading off towards Porpoise Bay.

I'll leave you today with another shot I took from the ferry as we were heading towards Gibsons, but do stay tuned for more photos of our visit to this scenic part of British Columbia.

Click to enlarge. You can see there's blue sky ahead!

ABC Wednesday - Q is for Quaint

Did any of you miss me? Did you notice that I've been away? Well, I missed all of you but I've been away for three days taking photographs on the Sunshine Coast. My friend Cathy and I took the 40-minute ferry to a remote area along the BC coast and explored to our hearts' content. Luckily, we had fabulous weather and I took over 100 photos. This coastline runs about 86 km and offers lots of outdoor recreational adventures like sea kayaking, sailing, mountain biking, hiking, scuba diving, saltwater fishing, beachcombing, and air and boat tours. There are also hundreds of artists, events and gallery exhibits throughout the area. If the artisan is in residence, a purple flag flies above their sign at the side of the road. We saw a few flags out, but this isn't really the season for tourists.

Stay tuned over the next few days for more photos and stories about our adventure. Today, though, for Denise Nesbitt's ABC Wednesday, I thought I'd share some of the quaint pictures I managed to get. It seemed like we'd drive only a few kilometers and I'd be yelling, "Cathy! Pull over! There's a shot!" Thankfully, Cathy is only too happy to oblige.

The first place we stopped was at Molly's Reach Restaurant, the site of the longest running Canadian TV program, The Beachcombers. The area around the restaurant, which is located at the pier in Gibsons, is called Molly's Lane and there's a myriad of artisan shops here. For lunch, I had a big bowl their famous clam chowder soup and had to be rolled out when done.

Here's a shot of part of the fence that runs the length of the lane. It's completely painted in a beach scene, complete with driftwood and sea birds. Here you can sit a spell and watch the tourists and locals alike while enjoying the fresh sea air.

Can you guess what this is?

It's a hydro box painted by a local artist to depict salmon spawning. I found this absolutely fascinating and saw a few other boxes in the area painted, too. Here are a couple more. Click here to read about how this was done.

The following two photos are a good example of my screaming at Cathy, "STOP! There's a shot!" This old bike was at the side of the road by the edge of someone's driveway. The house was quite a ways down a hill and out of sight so this certainly helps if anyone is looking for the address. How could you miss it?

I hope you enjoyed these quaint pictures of life on the Sunshine Coast and will come back for more scenic shots of the area. After all, I guess I should try to drum up tourist business for next summer.

Also, don't forget to check out my other blog called Photologue for more photos.