Tuesday 21 February
So much for sleeping better: when I finally got up I had been awake since 2:30am. Played Wordfeud for a while, read a bit, tried to sleep again.... In the end I just got up!
As it was a special day today and the sun was out we decided to go out and do a bit of exploring. So much unlike Italy, where we spent every waking hour doing something interesting when we weren't relaxing, reading or doing some work on our computers.
It was Dianne's birthday, so we did what we both liked doing: we went out geocaching and I had promised to shout either lunch or dinner to make it a special occasion.
We put the coordinates in our GPS for our first cache south of Nanaimo. This brought us to a historical mining site. That's the great thing about geocaching, there is so much around that you might otherwise miss. This was the
Morden Mine site, which for us was a virtual cache. There is a trail leading to the Nanaimo River and back across the old mining site, with three more caches hidden.
It was such a pleasant day. Local children were even out in their Tshirts playing with the donkeys. We didn't stand still too long though, because we're not quite adapted to the low temperatures....
Then we wandered over to the mining site and saw this big contraption, called a pit head, head frame or tipple. This was one of the earliest mines that used a concrete framework for the pithead and that's why it's possibly still standing.
BC 300 (More or Less) - TCDNBC (virtual cache)
When we had answered the few questions for that cache we walked the track on the historical site to find three more caches. Alas, number one of the three gave us a hard time and we had to log a DNF (Did Not Find). Number two I found, but by sheer accident as it caught my eye just as I was walking out of the wood:
Pacific Coast Coal Mine #2 (cache)
And number three was discovered by Dianne, because I walked over to the wrong side initially and when I realised my mistake she had the cache already in her hands. :-)
PCM #3 (cache)
We had to add a piece of paper with our names on it, because the original log was soggy and we couldn't write on it.
This cache was near the Nanaimo River, where we looked around, took some photo's and then walked back, taking in the whole site until we reached the car again for the next step of our day out.
 |
| Memorial plague to remember all the killed miners over the years |
 |
| Every single tree here is covered in moss and lichen |
 |
| The Nanaimo River |
 |
| owl sculptures in the tree |
 |
| Dianne and .... |
 |
| ... I enjoying the views over the river |
 |
| walking back |
 |
| The PCCM smoke stack |
 |
| The pit head or tipple |
By the time we were back at the car we were getting a bit hungry and decided to head back to Nanaimo and find a place where we could have lunch. We found a parking spot in town and walked to the marina where there was a long walkway along the water. It was freezing cold in the icy wind and we were glad to have found a nice pub.
 |
| the Lighthouse and Bistro Pub |
 |
| this picture was pinched off the internet as it gives a better view of the building |
We found a spot near the window where we had a nice view of the mountains in the background across the Straight of Georgia and could see the sea plane land and take off. The meal was fine, not quite great or excellent, but well enough to enjoy.
I am starting to think about a scenic flight in the sea plane now.... ;-)
Well, not yet. First we are going to find more caches!
After the meal, when we reluctantly left the warm and cosy atmosphere of the pub, we wandered to the next cache which was supposed to be hidden in 'plane' sight, but not 'plain' enough for us, because, although we could see the 'plane' we could not see the cache. Never mind. just another DNF.
Then we walked back to the car, because the wind was really ice cold, and besides, our parking time was nearly up. We were just discussing the fact that we could have walked past a cache without realising it when Dianne piped up with a "Yes, we did!", so we made a tiny little detour and found an equally tiny cache.
Nanaimo's Fortification (cache)
After we picked up the car, and before we went home, Dianne had only one short 'multi' in mind. Okay, a short one. No worries. We drive to the starting point, find the waypoints, answer the questions and calculate the new coordinates. We start walking. I walk into one direction, Dianne wanted to go a different one, across the water... Ah well, no problem, I come to. But.... on the other side it appears that GZ is in the middle of the water. A quick check and Dianne discovers she's made a slight mistake. One number out. Okay, we try again. Nope. Another check and oh darn, the numbers for A and B have been switched. Now that's a big difference, so, we walk back into the direction I was going in the first place! And finally, we find the '4th of 10' and Dianne, because she happens to be on the right side, finds the container!
Waiting for the Quinsam (cache)
Well, so much for a 'short' multi... ;-)
Then it's time to do our necessary groceries shopping, with a detour to the liquor store (I like my glass of wine at night), a look-around at the dollarshop and that's it for the day. It's dark and time for ( a light) dinner when we get home.
I am in bed by 8pm as I have had it after an extra long day, but a good day!
