roadquill1

Dear friends and family, and our greetings to you in 2018!

The snow is falling and the maps are spread out on the table. Must be time to vacate this chilly white winter clime and head to southwest US! Sandy is going over old routes (highlighted in colour) and reviewing our notes from earlier travels.

We have not visited the southern roads for a number of years (since 2013), and we are anxious to return to some of our favourite spots as well as explore new roads. The plan is to return early in April as I really only want to miss the one Mid-Island Woodworkers’ Guild meeting in March.(www.miwg.ca). Besides, we have discovered over the years that the sweet spot for being away from home is between 5 and 8 weeks. Beyond that, my travelling partner begins to get the opposite of “itchy feet” as she dreams of her quilting room and spring landscaping!

The biggest problem that we had to face as we prepared for the trip (besides the potential for a large snowfall today) is that the GMC (2005) has had a “Low Coolant Level” warning showing repeatedly. Our first $1100 fix didn’t solve the problem, and the current concern is that it might be a head gasket which could cost “between $5000 and $8500”. However, a call to the mechanic yesterday suggested that the issue was a simple “small pinhole in the coolant hose” which sealed itself when the engine was cold, and opened when the engine got warm”. I am relieved to say the least but it does open up the question…What was the reason for the replacement of the EGR Cooler in December – for $1100? Hopefully, the news today will be that all is well.

Okay…back to the maps. The plan is to leave sometime next weekend (March 3 or 4) after the Vancouver Island University finishes hosting the Provincial Basketball finals which will include our niece, Olivia’s VIU team. We haven’t missed too many of her games since she started playing in Elementary School.

I’ll certainly keep you posted about our travels which will certainly start off with a day or two stay with our Lindsay family in Fort Langley. Hopefully, you’ll continue to travel with us!

Best wishes and much love to all!

The “Quill” (Tony) and the “Quilter” (Sandy)