Lindsay, Kari and Dan always attend the Pride Parade in Vancouver. This year Lindsay drove the truck from her work in the parade. Kari and Dan were standing in the back of the truck. It looks like they all had fun! (The crowd of hundreds of thousands is too big for us)
I often talk about the flowers in this park.
Hummingbirds always discover our feeders.
This year we have lots of rabbits hopping around.
We enjoy the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition). We go for the free shows, unusual food, browsing and people watching.
Superdogs are a favourite every year.
The dogs are a wide variety of family pets who are “trained” but don’t always remember their training. There are lots of laughs and cheers.
This year there was a funny magician with a sneaky dog. More laughs!
We have not seen the jousting competition before. It is part of a current TV show and is actual jousting. The announcer is entertaining and informative. He sounds similar to a wrestling announcer.
The armor is very extensive.
Points are awarded for hitting the opponent, breaking the lance or unseating the opponent. The horses are well trained so the riders can use both hands on the lance.
On our way to watch the pig races our PNE visit ended abruptly. We were walking through the barns when Ralph turned a corner and tripped on a floor grate that was not installed properly. He fell and slid about four feet down a concrete walkway leading to a lower level of the barn. He describes it as a seven point landing – elbows, knees, hands and face.
His first though was that he was face down in a barn where horses, cows, sheep, pigs, etc. had walked. He quickly spit out anything in his mouth.
A nearby first responder saw it happen and took charge immediately. It took a few minutes for Ralph to regain his senses and be able to move. He managed to get into a chair before PNE first aid people arrived. They checked him out and confirmed there didn’t appear to be any broken bones but lots of scrapes and bruises and sore spots.
Fortunately Kari and Dan, Adam and Jenn and Jenn’s mum were with us. They helped keep us calm and focused. We had to walk about 20 minutes to the closest spot where Dan could bring the car.
Jenn is a care aid so was able to get us settled when we got home. Thank goodness she was with us.
Ralph appeared to not have any serious injuries and one first aid person suggested going home and having a scotch to help relax. Ralph and Al from next door have enjoyed a few evenings of scotch. Al brought the scotch and Deb brought the wine. They really helped distract us and unwind before trying to sleep.
The next day x-rays showed nothing broken. His right shoulder, arm, wrist and hand took the worst of the fall. The fall happened Sunday, August 18th and he was scheduled to work Monday to Friday until September 6th. He took life very easy the first week and didn’t go to work. The second two weeks he has been on light duty and actually seems to have followed doctor’s orders.
It will take a lot more time for everything to heal and get back to normal. We hope to leave Surrey mid September and start our winter travels. Time will tell if Ralph is ready for the physical requirements of getting the RV ready and driving.
December 2018 the White Rock Pier was broken in a violent winter storm. (Post #206)
The end of August the Pier reopened, although, there is more work to be done.
From this:
To this.
Hopefully, Ralph’s recovery does not take 8 months!
