Together again

Jordan had made the passage from Mentok (Indonesia) to Danga Bay (Malaysia) without me as I needed to return to Canada at the end of January. Once he arrived in Malaysia on February 16th, he was able to quickly check in and book his flight to join me.

Upon arriving in Victoria BC, Jordan had a good catch-up visit with his son Aaron and daughter-in-law Dee and started to get all the necessary items we needed for Sea Turtle replacements and repairs. He then joined me in frosty Alberta where we spent much needed time with my parents and helped out as much as we could.

We spent our days at the hospital where I discovered something new about my Mom that I had unbelievably never noticed before - she has 1 blue eye and 1 green eye!

Unusual eye colours

I felt very lucky to be home for my Mom's birthday. My daughter was also in town for the event making for a joyous occasion. We celebrated with a homemade dinner of Mom's favourite ribs, cake, and presents in a separate dining room that the hospital had graciously allowed us to use. Mom was soon exhausted and upon her retirement, we returned to the house.

A long but happy day

Another day when energy levels were a bit higher, I convinced my Mom to dance to the music we were listening to in the room. It had been awhile since my parents danced but I believe both enjoyed the short waltz to a tune of Willie Nelson.

Dancing once again

Unfortunately, too soon, it came time to leave. I sadly said my goodbyes and we then drove towards Penticton BC where we spent a couple of days with Jordan's parents. It was a worrisome drive as we were hearing constant avalanche warnings on the radio. We had to holdup a night in Canmore BC because the highways ahead were closed due to avalanches. But the next day all was fine.

Our journey back next took us through Seattle and Bainbridge Island in the States to pick up our auto-pilot that had been repaired.

Once back in Victoria, we continued to mark everything off on our list of things to do and things to pick up to bring back to Sea Turtle. We also found time to visit friends.

A few years ago, Jordan's close friend passed away just after he finished restoring a classic 1966 MGB Roadster. His widow offered to sell it to Jordan. He gladly accepted and we had some fun running around in it. It will remain in storage for our future returns.

New toy

Finally on April 8th, we boarded a plane for the lengthy flight to Malaysia. We crossed the International Date Line and lost a whole day! It was so nice to have had the family visits and we will miss them greatly, but it was also necessary to return to Sea Turtle.

There was such a huge weather difference from Canada's -40°C freezing winter to Malaysia's 30°C rainy season and high humidity!