Lloyd and Beverley Hargrove

The 2007 Christmas Letter

Please excuse this being sent email to all you computer buffs. It is too long to post for over 100 persons. We even have family not yet on email, so here goes.

Jan 4, we got home from our fabulous cruise around Cape Horn. We had a week after the cruise in Rio de Janeiro, and 4 nights including New Years with Bev’s cousin Wilma, and her husband John, in Homestead, Florida. We went to church, had swims, and saw the Chihuly blown glass exhibit at the Fairchild Gardens. Thanks to Wilma, John, Brenda and Henryk.

Jan 13, we began negotiations with Veronica at Bullas Travel for a World Cruise.

We will be sailing on Holland America’s MS Amsterdam on Jan 4, 2008, from Fort Lauderdale. The cruise is 114 days. We are flying out on December 31, on the Red Eye, and staying at the Holiday Inn in Fort Lauderdale, for 3 nights. Next year you will hear all about it.

We are praying that Lloyd’s Prostate Cancer remains stable, and my knees behave. I had been trying out a borrowed walker, and have just bought a new one for the trip. It should make travel from one end of the ship to the other possible for me. Presently we are negotiating with Bullas to get 2 very important tours, maybe one to the Taj Mahal, the other to the Pyramids and a Nile Cruise. We are negotiating now for Melbourne to Perth by train. We will try to see our Australian friends at Sydney. We are also hoping to see the Mas in Hong Kong.

It took all year to be ready for the Dempster Trip. We made reservations where needed. We were constantly e-mailing the Parkers. We met Pat and Kathy in the Baja, and we went to Bella Coola with them in 2004.

March 7, Luli Lloyd Died. Luli was president of the EWA when I was Secretary.

Our Sympathy went out to Don and family. We will miss Luli in the Competitive bridge club. She was a wonderful Hostess.

Spring 07, Bev took ‘Beginnings 2’ at the Bethany Newton UC. She missed 2 of the 10 sessions, the end of May

April 11-13, We took the trailer down to Beachwood, at Birch Bay in Washington State, for a first outing. We made a list for O’Connor’s, where we take the trailer for servicing. There are lots of little things wrong with the trailer after 4 years.

April 22, our trailer and 5 others were vandalized in the compound at Chelsea. We lost all the umbilical cords. They steal these for the copper. We were lucky that this expense was covered by our trailer insurance

April 28, we took the Suzuki and went to Vancouver Island. Gerry and Lois Stephenson were having a reception for their 50th anniversary at their home in Mill Bay. We were happy to be there. Their Anniversary was April 20. Gerry and Lois will be in England when we go down Island, in July

May 2, we drove the trailer out to O’Connor’s. Lloyd had no brakes or brake lights on the trailer. Bev drove the Ford behind him and did the braking when he did. We got there with no trouble. They kept the trailer a week, so we could pick it up when we were going to Caribou RV.

May 5, The Chelsea Singers held their Spring Concert. Bev had not been here for the Christmas Concert, but was glad to do 2 nights a week, for 6 weeks, for the Spring Concert. The theme was Rivers and Rainbows. The meal after was a Chili Dinner.

May 11, we picked up the trailer and the wiring was not done correctly. It burned up and we had to get a whole new set. We were not away the second time until close to 5 PM. We drove to Caribou RV on highway 1, in rush hour. Not great, but we made it. We came one day early. On the Friday, Dorothy VanWinckel joined us for lunch, and Edna and Ralph Goring had dinner with us.

It was the weekend of the ROABC Rally. Beverley even played bean-bag baseball! Our team came second. Gorings won a 50/50 draw. We enjoyed this very much even if we did not win at Bingo or Raffle.

May 17-21, we went to Nova Scotia, for Rebecca Match and Michael Sampson’s wedding. We flew into Moncton and rented a mini van for the weekend. We drove to Truro on the 18th. Most of the Ottawa Hargroves were there. Dawn, (mother) Sharee, (Aunt) and Betty Rose (Grandmother) were there. Wally Rose, Rebecca’s Grandfather and her father, Peter Match were there. Rebecca had her family beside her. This was a time we really missed Stephen. On the Friday for dinner 11 of us had a Lobster Feed!

That same night, before the wedding, we were invited to the Sampson’s home. They are a lovely family. We know that Rebecca will be well looked after.

May 19, Rebecca and Michael’s wedding. The kids had a Christian wedding ceremony at the Presbyterian Church in Truro. Rebecca was beautiful bride. The Dinner afterwards was in the church basement. Dawn Rose made the wedding cake and it was absolutely gorgeous.

On the Sunday we drove to Sussex, NB and had time with Ann and George Hargrove, George is one of the 5 surviving Hargrove 3 Generation. We try to see Margaret Carkner as often as possible. She lives in Whiterock. Lloyd’s family, make up the other 3. We spent the night back in Moncton, and flew home on the Monday, leaving at 6 AM! Because of time changes we were home in the afternoon.

May 26, we left for Spence’s Bridge to meet the Parkers.

We stayed an extra day in Spence’s Bridge, because Pat’s truck had to be repaired. His Intercooler hoses were checked and repaired.

June 2, We were at Northern Rockies Lodge, Muncho Lake, having driven already 2085.6 km.

We made excellent time. We had wonderful scenery, and some very nice places to stay. June 3 Liard Hot springs. A lovely BC Provincial Park with natural pools.

June 6, 7. Skagway Mountain View RV.

We saw the play, ‘Days of 98’. It was the story of the Gangster, Soapy Smith. It was a

Wonderful 2 nights in Skagway. The best part was taking the White Pass and Yukon Rail- way to the White Pass Summit. It is a gorgeous drive from Carcross to Skagway.

Whitehorse June 8, 9, this was a 2-night stay. We shopped on the first day at Superstore. We would be north for most of the rest of the trip so bought lots of food. Kathy and Bev took turns with the dinners. Bev has half a freezer to use, since she freezes her freezer bags in the bottom. In the evening we saw the Frantic Follies, a most excellent show.

On the second day Nick and Ruth Stebbing pounded on our door at 8AM. We were just up. We were invited to their home for 6:30, for an ordered-in Chinese Dinner. Nick and Ruth had an adventure year in Whitehorse. We wonder where they will venture next. They had visitors, and they were going to Skagway for the day. There were 8 of us for dinner and we had a great chin-wag. Ruth and Kathy compared quilting projects. Nick and Ruth had been up the Dempster, so we had lots to discuss.

June 10, 11, 12, Dawson City. This proved to be a ‘fix it’ time for the both of us. Lloyd bought a new battery at Napa, and the next morning the engine would not start. So it turned out he needed a new starter. Pat, with his 26ft Tahoe fifth wheel, was worried about cracks in the Frame. One side was really bad, and the other side was showing cracks. He took his rig to Napa and they spent 5 hours welding both sides. Going up the Dempster is demanding on any unit. Pat wanted it all fixed before the trip. He and Kathy have been careful with their rig, and are concerned that these cracks are happening

We did have a small boat trip on the Yukon River. Kathy saw the Robert Service Home and Pat and Kathy saw the River Boat “Keno”. Bev and Lloyd saw the Number 4 Dredge. We had dinner at the Aurora Hotel. We opted for the Table One Experience, where a person who has lived long in the town, sits with you. We had a great evening, having dinner, and talking to Joyce Caley about her life in Dawson City.

June 13, We began the Dempster Trip, by fueling up at Klondike Lodge. We both had extra fuel in Jerry Jugs as well. The challenge of the Dempster was awaiting us. The roads were not great but we kept going. Our e-mail friends will get the print out of what Bev writes for the RV Times. I did send to it to Charlene and to Pat. Bev should not be sharing the stories until they are published.

June 16-June21; We arrived at the top end of the Dempster, Inuvik. One flat tire on our trailer and one on Pat’s in 4358 km

Inuvik is a nice town; we were a day early getting there and a day early leaving. Inuvik. We had a pontoon boat ride on the Mackenzie River Delta. We shopped and dined out several times.

June 20, to Tuktoyaktuk, On June 20 we flew to Tuk on Aklak Air. James met us and gave us the town tour. Pat and Kathy ducked their feet in the Beaufort Sea. I had forgotten about that, and wore nylons, because it was not warm in the north. Maureen Pokiak, James’s wife, had us at their house, where we learned about the Inuvialuit People. We flew back to Inuvik in the afternoon. We left the next morning. One goal had been reached!

June 22, To Eagle Plains. Pat lost two tires getting back down to Eagle Plains. This Hotel, Garage, Tire Shop, Fuel stop, Towing available, Campground, is half way. Pat and Lloyd each got trailer tires on the way up. On the way back, they fixed Pat up, with one, not a trailer tire, but it would do. Pat had only that spare for the rest of the Dempster.

June 23, Our 51st Anniversary. We were back in Engineer Creek. Kathy and Pat had an Anniversary dinner for us and presented us with a quilted hanging. It is a copy of a Dempster picture. It is a conversation piece when we have visitors. We will treasure this forever.

June, 25, 26.We ended our Dempster trip at Klondike Lodge. The next morning Pat and Kathy went back into Dawson City. Pat got his second spare tire from the Napa people. They grocery shopped and saw the #4 Dredge. They still had the tickets from their time in Dawson City, and asked if we could work this in. It was no trouble. We washed our trailer in the morning while they were gone to town. After they got back we had Muskox Burgers at the Lodge. We made our way down to Minto Landing, and the next day had a 40 km boat trip on the Yukon River to Fort Selkirk.

June 26 -28, the Campbell Highway. On our way to Drury Creek, Lloyd left his emergency brake on. We had done the Yukon River trip, to Fort Selkirk, and I guess we were a bit tired. He lost almost all his brakes, just before we got to our night stay. Parkers did not know what had happened. We were so glad to get safely stopped. Kathy had a lovely Chili supper. Just what we needed! Parkers had chosen a beautiful camping spot beside Little Salmon Lake.

We drove to Faro, the next day, then to Frances Lake Yukon Campsite, and then Watson Lake using gears to slow us down. The Campbell Highway was very poor in spots, so we were creeping along anyway.

June 29t- July 5, 6, Lloyd and Bev were held up in Watson Lake. Bev began work on her Christmas letter and addressed envelopes. We have some good pictures to include. Lloyd was very happy to get on the internet at the store, and now his accounts are looked after. He, at last, found out where his Coast Capital money went. They sent his cheque to the house. Bev paid to have our mail stopped. So the money was in limbo! We got it when we got home. Meanwhile it was a good thing that there was money else where to use. Lloyd’s main worry was the truck.

On July 5, Norman finally finished the brake job and we got underway at about 3pm. Lloyd found a Spotting Scope for his gun at Hougan’s. He really wanted it. So before we left Watson Lake, Bev bought it for him. (Birthday and Christmas.)

Meanwhile Pat and Kathy were in Stewart and Terrace. They had trips to Kitimat and to the Lava beds on the Nisga’s highway. They also had time on the 6th, to see the Cannery in Port Edward. We met up with them at Kinnikinnick RV in Prince Edward on July 6, at 5PM. Thanks to Lloyd for driving over 900 km in 2 days. By our standards it should have been 3 days with stops.

July 8-9 Prince Rupert. We had a lovely visit to Prince Rupert with the Parkers on the Saturday. We were impressed with all the changes to the Waterfront.

We went by Ferry to Port Hardy. Except for being last on the Northern Adventure, and last off, it was a good trip. The ship loads and unloads from the back. So getting off was a big hassle. They tried to get us turned around. It was not easy. We were an hour late getting down the highway to Port McNeill. Pat was at the highway with a flashlight and Kathy had hot chocolate waiting. It was after midnight! We had quite story to tell. On the Monday we worked on the trailers and had lunch at Telegraph Cove. We moved down to Sayward in the late afternoon.

The Ferry to Rupert ‘Queen of the North’ sank during last fall. The replacement is a big, beautiful ship, ‘The Northern Adventure.’ The ship had many big rigs aboard, and getting them off was the problem. I guess we were the worst. Pat and Kathy leave their fifth wheel in Port McNeill, on the island, so we said good bye to them there. They will return to Bliss Landing. We will be seeing people all down the Island. Thank you Pat and Kathy for being with us for a wonderful trip north. We did everything we could to help each other and make the trip worthwhile with lots of memories. Our meals were superb. We had gourmet eating all along the way! Most nights we got together. We both appreciated our days off. We ate out a fair bit as well, as this was a long trip.

July 10-19 to Victoria

We saw Arnold Wayne Hargrove in Sayward. Thank you for choosing the Cable House Restaurant and showing us a lot of the wood operation where you work. We appreciated the ride in your Classic Ford Cortina. We saw John Ongarata in Courtney, Pat and John Gillespie in Coombs, Janet and John Hargrove in Qualicum, and Rev. Laura Hargrove in Port Alberni. Special thanks to Pat for taking Bev to see Jean Hargrove and for driving us to Port Alberni with Laura. We had lunch and went to see the Martin Mars Water Bomber. Janet and John had us out for a seafood dinner and then we saw their home. They have fixed the downstairs for a rental suite, and are happy that this business is doing well. We saw Keri Wehlander, and Anna and Doni MacRobbie in Nanaimo. Keri has some of her poems set to music in the New United Church Hymnal, More Voices. Anna and Doni talked about moving to Alberta. We took the Vesuvius Ferry to see Ken and Marion Hargrove for lunch on Saltspring Island. Dr. Ken was doing a Locum for the next week. Although retired, Ken does relief work for Doctors in Victoria and even on Saltspring itself. We saw John and Leo Dure, and Don and Beth Hargrove in Duncan. Thanks to John for driving us for lunch at ‘Just Jakes’. Don and Beth had dinner with us on the trailer.

We saw Sharon Stone and Arthur Hargrove in Cobble Hill. We followed Arthur to ‘Fridays’ for our dinner, and then drove on the Highway to the KOA on the Malahat. This Campground has very poor roads, but the best showers of our whole trip. (11 individual showers, all private)Joan, Peder, and Tim Kjargaard came to the trailer for dinner on the 18th at Fort Victoria. David Hargrove popped in after work, and Sheila and Bob Shone drove us to the ‘6 Mile Pub’ on the 19th. We are so grateful for all these wonderful persons that made our island trip worth while.

July 20, Home to Chelsea Gardens. It took an hour to unload. We had a garage full of stuff to bring upstairs a bit at a time. Food for the fridge was the first concern, then dirty clothes. Elvie couldn’t come to clean for 2 months. She had had an operation.

There are always jobs on the trailer especially after a long trip.

Gladys Meyer returned our key. She had watched over the house for us for 2 months. Jim hopefully had a couple of looks. We were sad to lose our downstairs neighbour. Louella Burg has gone to an Assisted Living home, ‘The ‘Waverley’ in Chilliwack. Her sister lives in Chilliwack. She will have care givers come to her there. New people moved in downstairs on the 29th of August.

July 27-30, Bev went to the BC Christian Ashram at Crescent Beach. This year she slept at home. Leone Ungless came home with her each night. The beds at the camp are the pits, but the program this year was excellent. The Ashram has outgrown the facilities, and next year will be held in Abbotsford.

July 28, Lloyd and Lou Beaubien did radio work at the Celebration of Lights. Canada did the fire works and Lloyd said it was excellent. Leone and Bev never heard him come home.

August 1-3 We went to Whistler for Jim’s 50th birthday, on August 2. We had one night at Worldmark and one night at Delta Suites August 11, we had our EWA Gourmet picnic wind up in Point Roberts at the Abrahamsons. Bev took her lemon, angel cake dessert. It was a cool day at the point, but the bocce ball and beanbags were fun to watch. The Potluck dinner was superb.

August 19, Lloyd was 81 on August 20. Bev had 10 for dinner. Robert, his friend Krissy, and Richard, Gordon and Margaret, Dorothy Van Winckel, and Evelyn and Bill Murdoch were invited. Jim, Darlene, Scott and Shannon, were away in Germany. Elfriede, Darlene’s mom, went with them. It was Elfriede’s Sister Hilde’s 70th birthday.

Aug 18th, The Richmond teachers surprised some of us at a phoner’s meeting. Apparently I have been a phoner for 15 years. I came home with flowers, a note and a certificate. I enjoy the phoning. It was nice to know my work is appreciated.

August 29 – Sept.1, We took the trailer to Port Townsend. The 29th and 1st, were at Beachwood, in Birch Bay, and the 29th, 30th were at Point Hudson RV in Port Townsend where we visited with our friend Dick Lane. On the 30th, Bev had Dick to dinner on the trailer. On the 31st Dick and Lloyd went sailing and Dick had us to the house for Beef Ribs. Dick’s wife, Hazel died 3 years ago.

Dick leaves his sail boat at Port Townsend. His home is in San Francisco in the winter and Port Townsend in the summer. We like to get down once every year.

September 11-16, we were going to go to Robson but Lloyd’s cousin Donna called that she had the shingles. So we cancelled leaving on the 8th and left on Tuesday the 11th instead. Being away the 11th, meant missing Oprah’s New York program about 9/11. Lloyd saved it and she watched it on Monday.

We took the Coquihalla toll road, and stayed overnight at Claybanks Campground in Merritt. When Lloyd had to be towed back to Vancouver in 2002, Bev stayed here in the trailer. It is a lovely Campsite with clean washrooms, and flower gardens and green grass. It is a great stop.

We stayed Wednesday night in Penticton. Lloyd found the Park Royal RV Trailer Park on the internet, He said it was very close to where Marilyn Spalding was living. We had site 20. After lunch we went off to see Marilyn at the Cherry Park Residence on Winnipeg St. We had 2 hours there and got caught up on all the news. After shopping we returned to our site. At 7PM they had a music evening with Jillian and Bob. We were very fortunate to be a part of it. Jillian Russell sang the Rose for Bev. Jillian played the guitar and Bob arranged accompaniment on the Keyboard.

Thursday we opted to go to Manning Park, with a stop in Keremeos. We were in one of our favourite campgrounds, Mule Deer. Friday we joined the Rally at Camperland, in Rosedale. Our friends Ralph and Edna Goring will not be at the rally because their daughter Elizabeth is very sick. She has been on all our prayer lists. Sept 10 she had a tracheotomy and is now on kidney dialysis. We stayed at Camperland until Sunday. We came home because we were having brake trouble on the trailer and suspected that it was not wired properly, going back too’ Connors in May. We phoned the insurance, and he said we had to go back to O’Connor’s. Which we did the end of September. There is a leak under the kitchen sinks. We had had to use the toilet on all our trips for waste water. The pilot light in the stove has lost the screw that held it in place, and it is unusable. The Power Converter had quit. We had to use a battery charger separately to run the lights etc. The door to the cupboard under the dinette chair had lost its latch and also its hinges. It came open with any road bump. The worst is that the wiring job they did in May is faulty. We hope that it can be fixed.

Sept 14-16. We went to the RVOBC Rally in Camperland. On Friday we had a Wine and cheese Party. Saturday there were various activities with Breakfast and a Roast Beef Dinner. We played Bingo Saturday night. Bev won $20.00. Sunday we have breakfast and final giveaways.

We must also tell you Charlene and Gordon’s news. The finally sold their Mobile home and have a self contained home near Saint Laurent Shopping Centre. It will be better for Gordon than driving every day from Orleans. I expect Charlene will still be driving all over to transport her students to their schools.

Sept 17, Lady’s Bridge in Whiterock. There are 17 bridge players, plus spares, meeting Mondays, twice a month, until Christmas. I will not play in the winter because we are away.

Sept 24, Lloyd and Bev’s, trip with the Richmond Teachers. Joy Brown arranged the day for us. We parked the Suzuki and took the ferry to Sydney, which is free for seniors on Monday – Thursday. We went on a boat tour first, and then we went sight seeing in Sydney, as well as to a farm museum with old buildings and equipment. We had a lovely tea in the old schoolhouse. The day was glorious,

Sept 28. We finally took the trailer to O’Connor’s. A new stove for one thing. Also brakes, converter, and fixing the trim. There was some accident problems.

August – November it means 14 games for the Competitive Bridge. We play 5 at home and 5 away. At this writing all the games are booked.

Being away for 4 months means we have to look after all the winter things before we go. Income Tax was going to be the worst problem, but Bonnie and Bruno Gartner’s address will be our forwarding mail address. They can intercept mail for us with T4s involved. Bev is holding all charity donations until we are home. Hopefully all the receipts already in! Bruno has done our income tax for years.

The house insurance is due in March. We will phone and send the cheque ahead. There are several other responsibilities. Hopefully they have all been tagged. We want to go feeling we have done all we needed to.

Lloyd is still very active in the Radio Clubs, SEPAR (Surrey Emergency Program Amateur radio) SARC (Surrey Amateur Radio Club) LARC (Langley Amateur Radio Club and VECTOR (Vancouver Emergency Community Telecoms Organization.) He participates in several radio nets. He still goes out in the Suzuki looking for Game.

Christmas. Dian and Bill Morris will be with us Dec 12 –19. They are having Christmas with their daughter Sheri Gail in Oregon City, We are grateful they will stay a while with us on the way. Bev has arranged to go to Victoria, Dec 14, 15, we will have tea at the Empress Hotel on the 14th. We are going to Worldmark, for 2 nights. The Condo overlooks the harbour. We will have a penthouse suite with our own Jacuzzi.

Christmas Day we will go to Jim’s.

New Years. We leave for Fort Lauderdale on the Red Eye, Dec 31st

All our best wishes go out to all of you. To the bereaved, our sympathy and prayers, to the ill our hopes and prayers for healing and better health, for the young, continue making great new discoveries, for the old, be happy and keep going. Thank you for being e-mail partners.

MERRY CHRISTMAS,

Bev and Lloyd 2007.

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Harry MacDonald

harrymac@kos.net

Oct 2007