This was the predicted rainy day on the West Coast of Vancouver Island and throughout the Island itself. Couple that with high winds and you have a recipe for disaster, for sure.
Up early (can’t break this habit), I made coffee and settled down to check E-mails and read the paper. My beloved soon arrived with the same idea. As we sat communing with our coffees, we heard a click, clunk and suddenly, the cottage was eerily quiet. No fridge noise and no light against the gloomy day. Hmmmm, power failure. Outside, we could hear gen-pacs running for some units….but not for our unit
No worries, I’ll just go on-line and see what the issue is-oops, no power means no wi-fi. You may ask, why not use your cell phone to check this out. Well, Port Renfrew is a dead spot in the cellular network and there is absolutely no cell service. Oh, you might get a bounce to Washington State, once in a while, but if your roaming is shut off…..
OK, I’ll just sit quietly and read the paper….wait, that is on line too and not a downloaded copy. Well, go on WordPress then – can’t do it. Check E-mail, – can’t do it. We were truly powerless and cut off. There was nothing for it, but to embrace the silence and solitude.
The power outage lasted 5 hours in our area and we later found out that it had affected 50,000 residents on the Island. Winds of over 100 k/h, (60 m/h) brought down many trees on the power lines. Our area was lucky to have power restored so quickly.
the view outsidethe shore across Port San Juan kept disappearing and reappearing as each wave of rain past bymomentary brightnesswhitecaps on the inlet was not a good sign6 PM – a bright sign of hope for tomorrow?clouds, rain and winds lessened in the eveningblue skies coming, but not a good night for the deckshining watersBenji studies the game board wondering if B is making the right decisions on his train line
Not much to tell. After working for 3 companies over 43+ years (38 years 7 months with my last company), I finally got that promotion I had waited my entire career for……retirement.
I have been exploring this new career for the past 7+ years and while it is not always exciting, the chance to do what I want for myself and my family instead of what my company wants has been very fulfilling. Early on, there was a long list of projects in my “to-do” hopper and I attacked these projects with a vengeance for the first 9 months of retirement. Eventually, my brain told me that this was not what retirement was about, so it took me another 5 months before my industriousness again took over and I attacked another line of projects, this time somewhat shorter and less complicated, as well as many new projects related to the family weddings in 2016. After going hard for 6 weeks and 3 weddings, my body was telling me to relax, then the flu bug hit and as soon as that was done with me, my sciatic acted up. No rest for the wicked. In 2020 and 2021, the Covid 19 pandemic changed the whole retirement gig. I was lucky to not be still working, for sure.
I enjoy photography, gardening, working with my hands, walking, cycling, skiing, travelling, reading and creating special photo and video productions obtained in my first pastime. I may never become wealthy in any of these pursuits, but I already feel I am rich in life experiences far beyond any expectation.
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Definitely realize when the power goes out – how much we are dependent on it. Makes a person go hummm – maybe the old ways weren’t so bad. Great photos as usual Allan. Don’t need electricity for those.
You are right Ann. We had a similar experience here when the kids were young. Could not open the garage door (electric operator), kids could not practice piano (Yamaha electric) when power went out. We better start worrying about how to stay warm and/or cool. Thanks for reading Ann. Allan
It’s too bad about the power outage and the weather, but it sounds like you found things to do to keep yourselves (and Benji) entertained. Thank goodness you weren’t outside in the storm!
The only thing lack of wi-fi did was make sure I could not read the news paper and that was a good thing. I had done most of the WordPress stuff, before it clicked off. There were some on the Island who had no power for almost 2 days, so we were lucky. Thanks for reading Linda. Happy Friday. Allan
PHOTO DROP 
Even in the harshness of the elements you took wonderful photos💗💗💗
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At least my camera battery was charged. It is scary how dependant we are on electricity. Thanks for reading Luisa. Allan
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You’re right, we only realize that when electricity fails
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Definitely realize when the power goes out – how much we are dependent on it. Makes a person go hummm – maybe the old ways weren’t so bad. Great photos as usual Allan. Don’t need electricity for those.
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You are right Ann. We had a similar experience here when the kids were young. Could not open the garage door (electric operator), kids could not practice piano (Yamaha electric) when power went out. We better start worrying about how to stay warm and/or cool. Thanks for reading Ann. Allan
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Wonderful pic..
Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks so much for reading.
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Your storm photos are gorgeous, though! Looks like you had some game fun, all supervised by Benji, of course.
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Thanks Lynette. It was a good place to watch from. Benji always likes to be in the thick of the action. Thanks for reading. Allan
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It’s too bad about the power outage and the weather, but it sounds like you found things to do to keep yourselves (and Benji) entertained. Thank goodness you weren’t outside in the storm!
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The only thing lack of wi-fi did was make sure I could not read the news paper and that was a good thing. I had done most of the WordPress stuff, before it clicked off. There were some on the Island who had no power for almost 2 days, so we were lucky. Thanks for reading Linda. Happy Friday. Allan
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I’m so sorry about the outage! But at least you got some nice pictures, even so.
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We laugh about the outage now. How unprepared we are for any service interruption. I good wakeup call. Thanks for reading Ann. Allan
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