There
are many photos and slideshows here.The order is 'most recent
at the top' - scroll
down to find those that interest
you.If
you have photos of NHCS activities
that you want to share with
the community then you can email
them from here Bowen Wanderers on Harewood
Plains - May 2012
From Jim Pittendreigh:
NHCS members of the Bowen Wanderers walking group on a walk
among the wildflowers of Harewood Plains on May 10, 2012.
HYDRORIDER
DONATION - May 2012 From Lynda Avis, NHCS President
The
NHCS has recently donated the
"Hydrorider" (pictured below) to the City of Nanaimo's Aquatics
Department. This donation
is just one of many items that the NHCS have donated to the City for
the use
and enjoyment of its citizens over the years. The Hydrorider will
enhance
health and wellness for each person who uses it which is a major
component of
the NHCS program.
From
a
City of Nanaimo
press release:
“Thanks to a generous
donation from the Nanaimo Harbour
City Seniors, visitors to the Nanaimo Aquatic Centre
can enjoy a new water based exercise apparatus known as the Hydrorider.
This
water based bicycle provides will provide users a low impact,
resistance cardio
based exercise workout. The bike cost $2,200 to purchase. The
Hydrorider is
available for all pool patrons 18 and over.
The
Hydrorider can be incorporated into most fitness plans. The bike
provides
numerous benefits for users in an underwater environment that allows
for stress
free training. The equipment is a great option for people who have
undergone
hip and knee replacements, and other joint related injuries. Elite
athletes may
also find it a great option in rehabilitation as the equipment allows
them to
get back into the water faster than dry land training. For more
detailed
information about the bike visit www.hydrorider.com“
(L-R: Board of
Directors Hale Yardley, Anne Smith, Bob
Davies, Pat Foley, Miriam Peacock, Lynda Avis and Gary Brownhill
&
Lifeguards Stephanie Penner and Morgan Wylie (on bike)
Long Beach - April 2012 trip
Jim
kindly sent photos from this van trip
After visiting and having
lunch at Tofino, the group visited Chesterman Beach with its many
surfers. We then went to Ucluelet to view the town and walk the Wild
Pacific Trail. Although it was overcast most of the day, some rain
showers only occurred late in the day. We didn’t see any whales but it
was a very nice outing anyway
Margaret
kindly sent photos from 3 recent outings. Scroll down to see all 3:
First: "Since the seniors bus was
sold I haven't been taking trip photos. However, I would like to share
some of recent walks with the Bowen Seniors. As you can see we walk in
most weather and on this particular day after a pleasant walk along the
trail in Bowen Park we enjoyed Buttertubs Conservation Area before
heading up the hill to VIU. Here we were rewarded with a coffee break
and great views before heading back down the hill."
Here's
the first slideshow -
Click
here or on the image below to start the slide show -
then use
the arrows to
move through
Second: At Planta Park and Neck Point Park "This was one of
those island "spring"days rain,wind and sun with a misty rainbow to
delight us. The wildflowers were a little late this year so the
erythroniums (faun lilies) were just barely showing buds during our
walk at Planta Park. The herring boats were busy while we were buffeted
by the wind down at the beach. Continuing on to the trails at Neck
Point Park we were lucky to have a spell of sunshine and blue sky."
Here's
the second slideshow -
Click
here or on the image below to start the slide show -
then use
the arrows to
move through
Third: "For
our March walk in Morrell Sanctuary we had a pleasant morning with a
big group of walkers. The skunk cabbages provided early spring colour
and we were serenaded by pacific wrens as we walked the woodland
trails. At the end of one of the side trails an eagle provided us with
an example of his hunting skill when he/she picked out a common
merganser from a group on Westwood Lake. The eagle did get pretty wet
in the effort and had to rest on a fallen log rather than taking his
trophy to the tree tops. We had our rest stop in the picnic shelter
beside Morrell "Lake. Fresh air,exercise and good company with free
entertainment from mother nature...all part of a morning out with Mark
and the Bowen wanderers. What more could you ask for?"
Here's
the slideshow -
Click
here or on the image below to start the slide show -
then use
the arrows to
move through
French Fling
NHCS
presented an "armchair visit to France' at the Bowen Park Complex on
March 12, complete with themed decorations by the Board and others.
There was an outline of French history by Lynda Avis, NHCS
President; a language lesson from Andre Letain, who
is the Seniors French Instructor; highly entertaining dances
from the Kirkwood Youth Dance Company; a photographic tour
from Michelle Mazzarotto who is Department Head of Languages
at Dover School; and a French Epicurean lunch from
the Good Cooking Guys. A great time! Thanks to all those who
worked on this.
From Michele Duerksen: Ron
Poier proudly displays his
1960’s Shelby Cobra Stained Glass project he completed in the
ceramics room at Bowen Park Complex. Ron has been a member of the NHCS
since September 2011. Way to go Ron, this is an excellent
looking
work
of art!
Final van trip
From
Margaret Dyke: Here are some photos to share of the final trip made
through the "On the Road" program. The bus was filled to capacity for
the lunch trip on December 31st to the Black Goose in Parksville. After
a scenic drive we chose our meals in the interesting building
overlooking gardens and ocean. The rooms were very colourfully
decorated for the season and glowing with a wood fire. The "British
style" fare was tasty .......with the additional spice of stories
shared of many adventures with Janie and our hopes for 2012.
From
Margaret Dyke: Here are some photos of the NHCS December bus trip to
see
the Christmas lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park.
We had a good crossing on the
ferry and time for a look around the park before the thousands of
lights went on. Some of us walked the Treetop Trail after crossing the
suspension bridge. The ancient trees rise so far above the trailway
that it's easy to forget how high above the ground you are. Very
peaceful and easy walking even for someone who isn't fond of heights. I
was even persuaded to go on the Cliffwalk which is cantilevered from
the canyon walls and is quite magical , hanging out over the river in
the dark with Christmas lights sparkling all around. That one turned my
knees to jelly but was just one more memorable experience I've had
thanks to the encouragement of friends made "on the bus" with Janie.
December
9: an excellent Xmas lunch with all the trimmings in the Bowen
Auditorium, and music AND dancing (check the photo). Over 100 people in
attendance. A big
'thank you' to all the volunteers who organized and decorated.
NHCS
" Crafty Workers" Mary Challis,
Margaret Roberts, Lea Spooner, Irene Walker, Vi Windley, Inge von
Stackelberg, June Parks, Cathy Joughin, presenting cheque of $ 1700.00
to the Hospital Foundation for the ER.
Butchart
Xmas 2011
From
Janie Johnson:
The trip to Butchart Gardens
Christmas lights had great weather for the whole day. We took a short
trip to the other end of the Kinsol trestle that has only a short 300
meter walk. We then headed to the Roadhouse Grill in Saanich. Where we
had a very nice meal. We arrived at Butchart Gardens at 5:30 pm to
spend 2 delightful hours walking through the garden filled with about a
trillion lights. Some of the gang managed to have a ride on the Merry
go round. The garden lights are set out to the “12 Days of
Christmas”. A wonderful sight to see.
From
Janie Johnson: The weather was unpredictable with rain one
minute and the next one calm. We didn’t have the wind there
that hit Bowen Park. Everyone had a very good time. I was able to park
the bus right beside the Eagles Hall where we had their Spaghetti
dinner. I was able to move the bus right up to sidewalk for the parade
so when we got cold we just hopped into the bus to get warm and could
still watch the floats go by. I was able to park the bus in a perfect
spot to watch the fireworks too. They spared no expense on the
fireworks and I heard many ohs and ahs.
From
Inge von Stackelberg: Here a few pictures from the Nanaimo
Harbour
City Seniors Bazaar held Nov. 17th, 2011. The "Crafty
Workers"
would like to thank everybody that helped us to make the Bazaar 2011
such a success.
Proceeds of $ 1675.00 from the "Crafty Workers" Table, the
raffle
of
the 100 Heart Quilt, book sales and the ever popular Gift Draw by June
& helpers, will be donated to the new Emergency Ward
at the
Nanaimo Regional Hospital. We are thanking all the Crafters that
donated items, members that
donated yarn for us to work with, and everybody that attended this
event by purchasing goods and tickets. And the staff helped us with
many things , with a smile. This was greatly appreciated.
Pat Parkin was the lucky winner of the " 100 Heart Quilt",
created by Shirley Gray and Ingrid Morton.Thank you both for this
lovely donation and the help with this and previous fundraisers.
"The Crafty Workers" are taking a break from Dec. 7th, 2011
and
hope to start our new season on Jan. 11th, 2012. We meet Wednesdays
from 1PM - 3PM.
We are looking for new members. If you like to do crafts in a social
setting, please join us.
Inge von Stackelberg, Crafty Workers
From
Margaret Dyke: you might like to see where the walking group
goes...today (early November) it was a nice level trail.It was a bright
crisp morning at Rathtrevor Park and we had sixteen people out with our
leader Mark enjoying a brisk fall walk through the trees and by the
beach. Apparently the Bowen Wanderers live right as we often get lovely
dry Thursdays! A warm lunch was enjoyed by all in Parksville before
heading home.. You can find out more about the group on the Activities
Group page, but here are some
pics on one trail.
November trip to UBC
Museum of Anthropology
2 sets of photos from the
November 1 van trip - a good time had by all, I think.
First
from Janie Johnson:
I had 13 people on board. The
day was beautiful and warm for a November day.We spent 3 hours at the
museum which really requires at least 2 days to go through all the
exhibits. The whole museum is so wonderfully put together with objects
from all over the world. It is totally awe inspiring. After we
left the museum we went to Granville Island for a couple hours. Then
headed back to the ferry. We caught the 5 o'clock ferry. We were even
treated to a group of white sided Dolphins, The Perfect end
to a beautiful day.
And
from Margaret Dyke: It was a little grey when we left Nanaimo but a
lovely golden sunrise pushed through the clouds and was reflected in
the ocean on the way to Horseshoe Bay. We had an interesting browse
through the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, including a short walk to
the outdoor exhibits. After lunch we spent some time at Granville
Island. It was a day full of fall colour and we had a bonus sighting of
Pacific White Sided Dolphins from the ferry heading home.
The Table-Tennis
section in NHCS
plays every week at the
Departure Bay Firehall. Recently they held their 2nd Annual Vancouver
Island
Tournament. Players from Victoria,
CampbellRiver
and of course Nanaimo
competed in 4 different events. Wally Lawrence and Ru Wei from NHCS
(picture
below) won the over 55 Men’s Doubles. Congratulations to you
both. Wally was
also in 2 other finals.
From Janie Johnson: On October 12th we had a trip to Powell River, Lund
and the Siliammon Native Salmon Hatchery. The day was sunny and warm.
We had lunch at the very scenic Laughing Oyster. The food was wonderful
as usual. Owner Chef Dave is an excellent chef. The view up the Okeover
arm part of Desolation Sound was awesome.
Chef
Dave entertained us with some music trivia. If he gets tired of cooking
he has a very nice voice.
Lund
was quiet as the tourist season is over. We visited The little gallery
in the Hotel where Debbie does her awesome rock carving of
marine inhabitants. She has 40 different artisan art work there. After
we left Lund we headed to the Siliammon Hatchery where we met Lee
George who has been very active in the Salmon Hatchery for many years.
We left Lee and the Salmon and headed back to the ferry. In all a very
nice day.
From
Margaret Dyke : A
grey day on the water with an early start doesn't appeal to you? The
group on the Cedar Tour had a scenic drive not too far from home and a
delicious lunch at the Crow and Gate (cosy, welcoming pub with
intriguing items on the walls in a well kept garden setting). Visiting
a variety of Cedar artisans as well as having shopping time at the
Cedar Farmers Market kept us on the go. This was another pleasant day
with something for everyone spent in the company of the "out to lunch"
bunch.....smiles always included.
From
Margaret Dyke, who is doing an amazing job documenting this year's van
trips:
Here
are some photos of our recent " On
The Road" trip on the M.V.
Uchuck 111 from Sayward through Nootka Sound. We saw storms rolling up
the inlets on a typically misty, moist ,westcoast day but sunny spells
and an amazing number of rainbows kept it pleasant. Hot tea/coffee,
soup and sandwiches from the galley also helped keep us warm and happy.
Watching the crew at work unloading a variety of freight on stops at a
logging camp, tourist operators dock and fish farms was fascinating and
gave us a feel for those living and working in this remote but
beautiful area. Fellow passengers from Virginia vowed to come back and
gave me for one a deeper appreciation of how lucky we are to live in
this part of the world. It was a long day out but well worth getting up
for especially when shared with other seniors on the bus.
From
Margaret Dyke on the Telegraph
Cove
van trip:
It
rained and blew all the way up island
but calmed down by the time we
reached Telegraph Cove. It was grey and damp but we saw some great wild
life as well as misty north island coastal views. The stellar sealions
played in the wake of the Lukwa and one Orca spent quite a long time
swimming and hunting fish close to the boat . One of the three Humpback
whales spotted did a quick fluke display for us and a small flock of
Northern Phalaropes showed off their precision flying. A damp but
enjoyable day.
From
Janie Johnson THE Driver.
Over the years we have made the occasional trip to the Kinsol Trestle.
The first was in 2004. This year we went back after it’s
upgrade. It is very impressive. The line was started in 1911
by the Canadian Northern Pacific Railway (CNoPR) and while it was
designed by engineers, it was built by local farmers and loggers, with
investment funds from the Canadian Western Lumber Company, which was
the largest lumber company in the world at that time. The trestle was
never completed by the CNoPR, and the line only reached Youbou before
construction was terminated. The CNoPR was taken over by Canadian National Railways
in 1918, and its line and the trestle were completed in 1920 as part of
the "Galloping Goose" rail line. The last train to cross the Kinsol was
in 1979, and the trestle was abandoned 1 year later.
