Base camp on Vancouver Island is at my favourite brother’s place in Naniamo. This part of the Canadian adventure is all about getting to know Ricky’s partner, my nephews and niece. Also to spend as much time with brother dear as possible in between his work and renovating their home. Ricky and his partner have 3 kids, 3 years and under. They have their hands full to say the least. They have squeezed our visit into their busy lives and we are grateful for the welcome.
Our Mom is here too at the moment and she is also staying with Ricky. She has been here since November last year and is now knee deep in helping these guys out as much as she can until she returns to Australia. It is good to get a Mom hug while here before we have to say good bye to her for another couple months. Now, this is predominantly a travel blog, so I won’t share too much about the family time but will share our touristy type activities that are going to happen in between.
Ricky plays softball in a ‘beer league’. He says he hasn’t played this season because he is just too busy, clearly. His team did allow him to play 2 games held on a Friday night so we could attend a game. It was great fun and in these moments, my brother reminds me of our late father who played softball at provincial level.
Basically the two teams came together to play two games kicking off the weekend finals. I’m not entirely sure how it all plays out, but Ricky’s team won both games. Ricky pitched for a while, then played out field. He was also in the batting line up in between beers. It was great fun to watch and Wayne became the backup base coach from his camp chair, beer in hand.
The teams brought their own equipment, nailing the base plates into the dirt. A ref arrived who gets paid $30 a game. It all seemed to run like a well oiled machine, each side running a score sheet and checking with each other throughout to ensure they agreed on the score. The sledging is polite in true Canadian fashion.
If you ever have a chance to see a local game of ball, jump at it. Thanks, oh brother. A great activity right out of the gate. Happy 😊
My Happy Travels 