Year 2

Arrived home last night, run about midnight, the conclusion to my second year of summer activities. It was a good year.

Port Alberni was fun. The weather was fantastic, and we spent a good deal of time out at the lake where my parents have a number of friends. The kids spent considerable time jumping off the dock into the lake, which was very, very warm. My kids are fish, and love to swim.
We were very lucky as the people we were visiting had boats, in one case a small dugout canoe which was perfect for my son. He spent most of the afternoon paddling around, ferrying my daughter back and forth from the dock to the raft. I spent most of my day swimming back and forth from the dock to the raft as I did not want her out there by herself.
The highlight, for me at least, was that we saw the Mars (water)bombers take off a couple of times. There was a forest fire just up the island, so they were off battling that. They are amazing planes, and to see them take off right in front of you is an awesome sight.

The kids each were able to carve a bird, which is something that they really enjoy doing. They were very proud (rightfully so) and took them on the ferry with them when they went home. They were highly admired when people saw them.

In all I think it was a wonderful week, and a good two weeks for the kids. Now I am back at work.

I did my first blade today since July 29th. Yikes, it was rough. Didn't help that the wind was blowing in my face when I was on my homeward stretch, and that I went out to fast and hard, but it was a tough one. I am looking at sizing right now for my new blades, going to order them very soon, hoping to get some time on them before the season ends. I have about 135km left to my 1,200 goal, so I think I will have no issue making it, as long as the weather holds of course. It has been a good year, and I am feeling the (positive) effects of the blading. I missed blading while I was away from it for 2 weeks, glad to get back, although it takes a few days to get back into form again.