Endgames

Friday, August 1, 2008

TSAWASSEN — We’re back on the mainland again tonight. Our campground is just a couple of kilometers from the ferry landing, and a few this side of the Canadream headquarters where we are to drop off our camper in the morning. So it’s convenient.
We got an early start this morning so we could make the 10:15 ferry back from Duke Point, outside Nanaimo, to Tsawassen. We opted for Highway 19, the four-lane, rather than the more scenic Oceanview Road, to make good time, and much of it looked like the 401 or any other super highway, although we passed a few rivers and farms along the way, and plenty of elk crossing warnings, if not elk themselves.
We made the ferry in plenty of time, and when it set sail, it wasn’t full, so we needn’t have been too concerned about crowding on the Friday before a long weekend. It was a smooth and comfortable ride, and we were at our campsite in time for lunch.
At this point our highest priority has been to consume as much of the food we bought as possible, since everything else has to be disposed of our transported in our baggage home. So we have had some rather unusual combinations of foods to accomplish this. And really, a cream cheese sandwich with relish isn’t half bad!
Our next priority was to get the camper washed. We saw quite a bit of rain these last couple of days, so there was some dirt and waterstains to remove. The campground manager gave us directions to a coin-operated carwash in Tsawassen that could handle an RV, so we headed in to town to get that job done. It was a bit of a challenge because the hoses were a bit short, and Val had to jockey the camper back and forth to ensure we got both ends of it clean! But it is looking quite spiffy now. We’re hoping the few raindrops that fell post washing will be it till we return the rig tomorrow.
We had purchased an extra bag so we could bring back the extra stuff we picked up; in particular the camp stove we bought — which served us well throughout the trip. So we did some digging out of cubby holes and drawers in the camper and began stuffing the new bag, cushioning things with our laundry. Thank goodness for ziplock bags, to keep things like garlic powder and parmesan cheese separate from T-shirts and socks!
Our final supper was a comestible patchwork of leftovers that assuaged our hunger pangs and emptied the fridge, but would hardly go down in the annals of culinary masterpieces. After the eighth pickled beet to kill the jar, I think Val was on the verge of regretting that indulgence!
Our other attempt at careful timing had to do with the camper’s holding tanks. The idea was to do one final dump in the morning before returning the vehicle, and we almost made it. But not quite. After washing up the dishes from our unusual supper, Val opened the door to our tiny, ahem, water closet and nearly stepped into a pink puddle of water on its floor! Those final dribbles of pickled beet juice that we had sent down the drain were the proverbial last drop, and the overflow was sloshing pinkly about the washroom floor! So, we unplugged the power line, stowed the stairs and drove 20 meters to the dump site for our second last drain, a less-than-delightful chore we will now have to repeat again in the morning. Oh well, we really didn’t have a whole lot to do tonight anyway!