Sunday, August 28, 2016

Another Mini-adventure Planned

Gabriola Island sandstone (image borrowed from http://gulfislandstourism.com/gabriola-island/)
We just finished our first online course and are launching the marketing of it next week.  Needless to say we have put in many long hours including weekends this summer trying to get it finished and ready to launch for September while at the same time balancing our regular clients.  Hubby pleaded with me this week to find a weekend getaway of some sort so we can recharge.  When you live and work at home you sometimes have to leave to relax.  Our normal recharge type holidays are not going out to restaurants, shopping or being in crowds.  They are spent holed up in an oceanside cabin with our dog Buddy, reading, hiking, taking long walks on the beach and drinking wine on the deck while looking at the water.  I found just the ticket - in mid-October we will spend a 3 day weekend on Gabriola Island which is part of the Gulf Islands and somewhere we haven't been to.  It is only a 90 minute drive plus a 20 minute ferry ride away from home so easy to do with 3 nights/4 days.


The weekend away will cost $587 for 3 nights in the waterfront cabin and the ferry.  These are off season rates as this particular cabin is booked up every weekend until then.   Sometimes it is rainy in October, sometimes not.  We will have a great time either way as fall/winter rainy walks are very peaceful and Buddy now has two different rain jackets depending on how cold the weather is (spoiled yes, loved yes).  We will bring all our own groceries so no eating out expenses.  There is only $177 in the weekends away fund at this point which includes the $76 I put in this week from selling my iphone 4s on our 24 hour facebook bidding site.  Yes, I have been contributing to the travel fund but don't want to pull any more dollars out of there unless absolutely necessary.

If we are lucky we will be able to see some ancient First Nations Petroglyphs which have been dated to as many as 3000 years old.  Most are on private land or accessible only by kayak but there are some that you can hike to according to this resource(walk #23 if you ever go to the island).  It is unlikely it will be great kayaking weather (we are fair weather kayakers) so we will just enjoy the island from land.
Orca whale petrogylph

So now we have a holiday to look forward to and we are motivated to purge junk from the house - a win-win!  Even though I have sold a bunch of things off since discovering this bidding site today I am going through the house to see what we are no longer using/no longer need to help plump up the weekend away fund for our mini-adventure.  It is amazing how much stuff us humans think we need/don't really need.  We are $410 away and only six weeks left.  I hope to at least halve that so only a couple hundred is drained from the travel account.  Wish me luck!


20 comments:

  1. Good luck padding the fund. Gabriola is very nice.

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    1. I am looking forward to it - we hope to eventually explore all the little islands off Vancouver island. Each one seems to have its own personality.

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  2. I know YOU can do it if ANYONE can!!! You are absolutely amazing!!
    I cannot WAIT for your trip!!! It's about the only way I travel these days - via blogposts of others!
    Rain, sun, or fog or whatever! I know you will enjoy the time. Tell us all about what you are reading and eating and even sipping!!! I will be living vicariously through you!!!

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    1. You are funny Linda. I live through your posts too - the brags about thrift stores and fantastic Mexican food (we don't have any decent Mexican restaurants here, not authentic in any way)

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  3. You are so right re selling stuff we have hanging around I do it via eBay as not on Facebook however maybe I should have a look. Your next trip away sounds lovely. We are just back from a week on Gran canaria with our daughters and granddaughters great time but not restful with a five and three year old so we will be off again next week to Samos for a month. Enjoy your break away.

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    1. That sounds wonderful! Family holidays are never that restful lol

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  4. It looks like another wonderful getaway!!! Have fun and I'm sure you will get the fund back up in no time.

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  5. I get why you need to get away to regroup. Working from home tends to mean working 7 days a week. As you know we prefer beach walks and looking at the water along with a glass of vino or two. Hopefully just anticipating your special weekend will help you over the next six weeks.

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    1. The water just calms us. Later in life when we no longer want a property to deal with I can easily see us in a waterfront condo. They are still pretty reasonable here.

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  6. Sounds fabulous, and love that you make time to rest & recharge. It's critical!

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  7. Have a great trip! What you are talking about is why we have the lake place. It is just 45 minutes away but is a totally different lifestyle. Plus the cell reception is bad and the internet connection is sketchy so we feel truly "away" and can recharge.

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    1. I would love a cabin but not the work that goes along with the upkeep. Although not cheap these 3 days away in rented cabins are almost the same experience.

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  8. Our next weekend away might be to my daughters place in central WI, if she'll put us up. She lives in a beautiful area surrounded by state parks, lakes, and rivers. I figure a win win, as we can bring more of her things that haven't made it to her yet, buy her groceries and cook some great meals, and she can show us the best spots to hike, and at night we can just chill out. Your weekend sounds like heaven to me, but even under $600 seems like a fortune right now.

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    1. That sounds fun! $600 CAD is about $460. Not cheap but essential to our mental health right now :)

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  9. Isn't it lovely to have a holiday planned? Its a lot easier to motivate yourself to declutter and raise funds when there's a reason behind it. xxx

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    1. Absolutely. I even keep an eye out for things to resell now to pad the travel fund. You know better than being a 100% reseller!

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  10. Sounds fantastic! Good luck with selling your stuff! I am sure you will get enough money to go!

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    1. Even if we don't it is happening no matter what. Fortunately all that extra work I did this summer went straight into the travel fund :)

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