Saturday, 9 June 2012

Friday, June 8, 2012


Friday, June 8, 2012

We left Port Angeles at 8:15 this morning on the Black Ball Ferry Coho arriving in Victoria, British Columbia 90 minutes later.  We were blessed with a smooth crossing as the weather was quite nice. The crossing of the Straits of Juan d Fuca can quite often be a rough trip, especially if the wind is blowing. When we crossed it earlier this year the wind was so bad that they closed the access to the exterior decks.

We headed north up Vancouver Island from Victoria and two hours later arrived in Chemainus, British Columbia.  Leslie and Charlie, my cousin-in-law live in Chemainus Garden RV Park, a beautiful facility with both RV parking spots, cabins and residential homes. The grounds are beautiful with several small ponds and extensive landscaping. Charlie, who is quite the craftsman, not only is an artist and writer but is known worldwide for his expensive custom made leather boots. 




This afternoon we did a brief walking tour of the town, and enjoyed a sidewalk cup of coffee while getting re-acquainted with my cousins.  We also visited their church, a beautiful small building built over 100 years ago and still contains some of the original stained glass windows.  Apparently the windows were shipped from Europe encased in liquid molasses to protect them.  
 






The town of Chemainus is quite interesting as it is known for the many murals painted on the buildings throughout town.  I have included pictures of some of the many murals.  The tourist information indicated that there are over 45 murals at this time.  






  

This painting is an excellent example of trompe-l'oeil technique. 
This is painted on a straight rectangular smooth wall surface. 
The lights and the blue sky at the top are actually part of the painting.

Tonight we enjoyed dinner with Leslie and Charlie and following a wonderful apricot pie Leslie introduced me to Google BlogSpot while Charlie showed us some of his wonderful pictures and paintings that he has done.  He is a very accomplished artist with work in both oils and pencils. 

Hopefully this new format with the pictures will provide a more interesting read but please let me know if you have problems reading this file.

Tomorrow we will do a more though exploration of the town, and yes, some shopping….

Good Night,

Roger and Shirley

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