Forget the Okanogan. forget Napa. We have our very own wine valley right here on the island. The Cowichan Valley. We have made a tour of many of the wineries 4 times in the past couple of years and enjoyed it every time. You can easily do it in a day and include a winery lunch too.

We start at AVERILL CREEK Vineyard on the north side of Duncan. Take a right off of #1 at Somenos Road and follow it for 2 or 3 kilometres until you see the Averill Creek sign. Our first visit was quite a surprise. We were not expecting such a large facility. A modern building with a spacious tasting room and a delightful picnic area outside. A bonus is the spectacular view of Cowichan Bay. If you wish, you can purchase cheese and crackers, a cold white wine and relax on the patio.

 

The wines here are really very good.Try the Pinot Gris or the sparkling Charme De L’ile. Friends from Ontario had a case  of Averill Creek wine shipped home they enjoyed it so much. Their wine is available at SaveOn in Parksville.

http://www.averillcreek.ca

Nearby is The Deol Estate Winery, a small funky joint. We have had a great tasting here offered by a very enthusiatic lady. Worth a stop if you have time.
There are a couple of lunch options. One is Vinoteca Zanatta, the oldest winery in the area. The food here is excellent and weather permitting is served outside on a big wrap around porch of the 1903 Zanatta Farmhouse. The chef is a gal from Mozambique, Fatima DaSilva. Go figure! I guarantee you will enjoy the food here. One of the anomalies here is that while noshing in a vineyard, you may see loaded logging trucks going by.

We Have not done a tasting here as the tasting room is very small and often crowded. Reservations for lunch are recommended. Zanatta is just south of Duncan on Marshall Road.

http://zanatta.ca

Another worthwhile stop is Blue Grouse Winery on Lakeside Road not far from Zanatta. A really impressive building that reportedly cost a couple of million dollars contains a very spacious tasting room. No restaurant here but a generous tasting experience of some very drinkable wines. I like the ORTEGA and the PINOT GRIS. You will want to take a bottle home from here.

http://www.bluegrouse.ca

In Cobble Hill, between Mill Bay and Shawnigan Lake are two must visits. The MERRIVALE CIDERY is an impressive facility with a tasting room, gift shop, and a very large restaurant. We have not yet eaten here but the menu looks inviting. There is also a Bakery and Deli.

In addition to a range of Ciders, Cowichan Gin and Cowichan Voka are produced here. I bought a bottle of the Gin on our last visit. Is it good? Don’t know. I’m waiting for our friend Joan to try it. She likes gin.

Merrivale’s grounds are impressive and special events like weddings are popular here.

https://www.merridale.ca

Just a skip down the road is UNSWORTH Vineyards. Another must stop. Although quite new, Unsworth is already producing some nice wines. We have slurped their Pinot Gris, Rose, and Pinot Noir. Spend some time in the tasting room, a separate building beside a pond, waterfall and patio. Since they are into marketing there is an assortment of stuff to buy.

Across the parking lot a restored vintage home contains the restaurant. Great food. The Burger is outstanding and the Moules Frittes looks fabulous. Great service inside or on the patio. You don’t want to miss this winery. Reservations for sure.

http://www.unsworthvineyards.com
Just one more. Rocky Creek Winery is a small place with a tasting room in the basement of a home. Excellent tastings every time we visited. We first visited because we had tried their Pinot Gris at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Victoria. The Pinot Gris is good and the Robin’s Rose is perfect on a summer afternoon on the patio. We always take some home from here.

http://www.rockycreekwinery.ca

There are several other wineries one can visit, but in one day that’s enough. Most of them are not open in the winter so it’s a summer / early fall event if you want to partake. Weekdays are less busy and most are open Wednesday to Sunday.

Google maps has all the wineries in the area marked.

Just saying…

If you are visiting Comox, maybe on a Costco Run, may we suggest stopping for lunch at The BLACKFIN PUB. We have lunched here several times and have always been really pleased. Although it’s a Pub, it really has more of a restaurant atmosphere. The Blackfin is very well appointed with upholstered furniture, a cozy bar and a view from most tables. It’s about a nine iron shot above the government dock. In the summer there is also outdoor seating.

We have found the food to be excellent. Halibut and chips, seafood chowder, fish tacos are a few of their great selections. Check out the full menu here: http://www.blackfinpub.com/menu-copy
The service has always been excellent too!

If you are in the area it’s a must. Or, if you are going for a drive, take 19A up the coast and make The Blackfin a destination. It’s just a block off the main drag in Comox.

Just saying…

Day 44 in the amazing Vendée Globe round the world sailing race has Armel LE CLÉAC’H on BANQUE POPULAIRE III still in the lead and expected to round Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of South America on Friday, December 23.  He has sailed over 16,000 nautical miles with about 7300 to go.

Cape Horn.

Some 600 miles astern is Alex Thompson on HUGO BOSS.  Then there is a bunch clustered 1200 or more miles behind. In third place is French  skipper Jeremie Beyou, but he is 1200 miles behind the leader. Thomas Ruyant, whose boat hit an unidentified object and seriously compromised the hull, has successfully sailed to safety in New Zealand.

The last boat is 7500 miles behind the leader.   Sébastien DESTREMAU
On TechnoFirst was 4 days late staring the race but has now caught up to the back markers.  He is 21st and last.

The waters around Cape Horn are known to be particularly dangerous so we will watch as the leaders approach.

Just saying…

 

 

 

135 people died from illegal drug overdoses in November in BC. That’s more than 4 per day. The crisis is overloading the system. In one day 9 deaths occurred in Metro Vancouver. Paramedics, Police, Firefighters,  are all responding to such an extent that other non drug using citizen’s needs are being compromised.

The cause, they say is that already debilitating drugs like Heroin and Cocaine are being laced with Fentanyl, a deadly opioid.  And it’s not only the addicts that are dying but also so called recreational users. A couple in West Vancouver, recreational users,  died from an overdose and left a young child behind.  Why would a recreational user take such a risk.

I like beer and wine, but would I buy either in a brown paper  bag from some dirt bag on the street.  Not a chance.

The news media, talk shows, police and politicians are addressing the epidemic with suggestions that more safe injection sites are needed. More people should be carrying the antidote to help save lives.

Not once in the past week have I heard anyone address the purveyors of this crisis, the Drug Traffickers. There was a time when the Drug Squad would swoop down and make multiple arrests, sometimes involving dozens of street level dealers. Apparently, that is not done anymore because as fast as the police arrest them, the court system lets them go. It doesn’t make any sense to me but it is what it is.

In any event, if the druggies keep dying at this rate ( about 700+ this year so far) the traffickers are going to run out of customers. That must be a Business School example of a bad marketing plan.  Kill your customers.

As I often say, Singapore does not have this problem. Trafficking or possession of illegal drugs is subject to the Death Penalty. I like that.

Supposedly solving this problem are the same do-gooders who reported already spend    a million dollars a day solving the problems of the downtown East Side in Vancouver.   They haven’t solved a darn thing. They have just created an industry and jobs for themselves.

Just saying…

i had just finished the race update when I saw this news.

“At 1742 UTC on Saturday 17th December, Stéphane Le Diraison informed the Vendée Globe Race Directors that his Imoca Compagnie du Lit / Ville de Boulogne-Billancourt had dismasted. The skipper was not injured and sounded in good health on the phone, when he called. He is currently in the process of sorting out the rig and will then carry out a complete check-up on his boat.

He was sailing in a 30-35 knot NW’ly wind, when the incident happened and is currently located 770 miles from the coast of Australia.
All of the project’s sponsors are relieved that Stéphane is fine and remain in awe of his performance during the race, during which he showed rigour and determination”.

So goes the Vendée Globe. A true test of Man and equipment.

 

just saying…

Day 42 and still sailing, the Vendée Globe fleet are now stretched out in the Southern Ocean between a The Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn. 6600 nautical miles separate the lead boat and the 22nd placed and last boat. 7 skippers have retired from the race due to damage.

In the lead is Frenchman,  Armel LE CLÉAC’H, on BANQUE POPULAIRE III and he expects to reach Cape Horn by Christmas Day. 400 miles astern of him is Englishman Alex Thomson on HUGO BOSS. These two have experienced a few days of light winds in the Pacific. Holding on to third is Jeremie Beyou but he is some 1200 miles behind the leader. Armel LE CLÉAC’H has 9100 nautical miles to go. He has sailed almost 15,000 nm in 42 days.

The rest of the fleet, most of whom are still in the Indian Ocean have endured some wild weather. 4th place skipper Paul Meilhat radioed in after sailing in high winds saying “We can’t get around the low, which is moving along with us. Gybing in 50 knots is not something we want to do”.

Irishman Enda O’Coineen toughing it out and said,
“My most crucial issue right now is the computers and my navigation. I am back using paper charts and I have a GPS. I am trying to get my back up system working. I had a crash gybe and went on my side and did a lot of damage, nothing I can’t handle. It has been very, very cold and very, very wet. I have a confession to make. I have raided the Christmas chocolates. But this is insanity. A man on his own 500 miles south of Australia, battering 50kt winds. I’d rather be home getting the turkey ready. I feel a bit like a turkey voting for Christmas at the moment.”

Usually, by this stage of the race, half the boats have retired. Only 7 so far this year. It’s quite an adventure but sailing a 60 foot boat, all alone, in 50 knot winds, hundreds of miles from shore is not my idea of fun! But it is fun to watch from shore.

Just saying…

Vancouver and many other communities are experiencing an epidemic of drug overdoses involving FENTANOL. Nine drug users died just last night in Vancouver and something like 200 have died in the past three months. It’s quite shocking.

I watched a press conference with the Vancouver Police and the Mayor today. They all talked about what they could do to prevent this problem and how they could save  these unfortunate druggies from themselves. More safe injection sites they say.  I call that enabling.

Life is about choices.  If one chooses to use street level drugs purchased from the most unscrupulous criminals, then one takes the chance of dying from an overdose.  Bad choice.

The Paramedics are now so busy dealing with the overdose problem, service to the rest of us who may need an ambulance is compromised.

Maybe I missed it, but at the press conference they did not say anything about rounding up the bad actors that sell this stuff.  I’m pretty sure the Drug Squads knew who most of the pushers are.  Round them up I say!  Charge them with murder or manslaughter and put them away. But no mention of that!

Singapore does not have a street drug problem because the penalty for possession or trafficking is the death penalty.  Seems to work quite effectively.

The do-gooders have not come close to solving the drug problem.  They have just allowed it to flourish.

 

Just saying…

 

 

 

 

The Science is settled.  Really?

One of the frequent remarks we hear when the experts talk about Global Warming, sorry, it’s Climate Change now, is that the Science is Settled. Amazing.

Here are a few examples of how often the scientists and ‘experts’ have been completely wrong in the Past. Very often.

In 1943, Thomas Watson, head of IBM, said the total market for computers was 5.

In the late 1950’s Automotive engineers stated that the top quarter mile speed possible for a drag racing vehicle was 150 miles per hour. Then some clever chap invented soft rubber slick tires and it all changed. Record top speed now is 336 mph.

In 1964, famous Hollywood Mogul Daryl Zanuck stated “television won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.”
The experts commenting on the availability of oil have been wrong over and over. North Anerica was to be out of oil by 1970. They were wrong. Then oil would be depleted by 2000. Still wrong.

Famine predictors have been wrong too. India was supposed to have a famine by 1970. What happened? India is now the 7th largest EXPORTER of agricultural products.

Former US Senator and one time Presidential candidate Al Gore told us in 2007 that”unless drastic measures to reduce greenhouse gases are taken within the next 10 years, the world will reach a point of no return.” As 2017 approaches it it clear that Gore was wrong.

Many predictions came out of the First ‘EARTH DAY’ in 1970 including:

Harvard biologist George Wald estimated that “civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind.”

Population will inevitably and completely outstrip whatever small increases in food supplies we make,” Paul Ehrlich declared in the April 1970. “The death rate will increase until at least 100-200 million people per year will be starving to death during the next ten years.”

Ehrlich went on to say in 1970  that between  1980 and 1989, some 4 billion people, including 65 million Americans will die from famine.

Peter Gunter, a North Texas State University professor, wrote in 1970, “Demographers agree almost unanimously that by 1975 widespread famines will begin in India; these will spread by 1990 to include all of India, Pakistan, China and the Near East, Africa. and Central America the year 2000, thirty years from now, the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America, and Australia, will be in famine.”

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the experts told us that Climate change was going to cause frequent hurricanes. The opposite has happened!

And one more. Hillary Clinton is going to win the election.  So said the pundits, most of the media amd a majority of the pollsters.

There are countless other examples of doom and gloom predictions.

My only reason for posting this information to to show that the so called EXPERTS and SCIENTISTS have often been wrong and frequently continue to be wrong. Hence I take their forecasts and predictions with suspicion and scepticism.

Just saying…

As you may know, I am in favour of the recently proposed pipelines from Alberta to BC.  All of them.  Here is an open letter from the Mayor of Ft. St. John, BC with her comments on Pipeline. It is excellent and she nails it….Just saying.

 

Dear British Columbia citizens,

That is not a current headline but it could be. What would happen to our economy if it was?

I would like to talk to you about energy, pipelines and our natural resources. I am a mum and a grandma and I have lived in the north all my life. I am also the Mayor of Fort St. John — right smack in the middle of one of the world’s largest supplies of oil and gas. I live in a region surrounded by pipelines, wells, hydraulic fracturing (fracking) sites and canola and wheat fields. I have eaten the food we grow here and I drink our water. I understand what it takes to extract our natural resources and what it takes to protect our environment. I live it.

I don’t want to try to convince you of anything but I would like to share with you what I know to be true. I strongly encourage you to do some of your own research. Learn more than what you read in a tweet or a Facebook post. I have added some links to reliable resources below for you.
Where does the petroleum we all use every day come from? Canada has some of the largest petroleum resources in the world and yet Canada imports 634,000 barrels of crude oil from foreign countries every single day. That is $26 BILLION of oil imports every year that we could have supplied to ourselves. That product arrives in tankers and is transported to where it needs to go by truck and train right through our communities. And yet we don’t want our own product to flow in pipelines to our communities for our own use or to our ports so we can export it? That just makes no sense at all to me.

So let’s talk about pipelines. I know pipelines are a safe, cost-efficient means of oil and natural gas transportation and emit fewer greenhouse gases than alternate transportation methods. Canada has 830,000 kilometres of pipelines. Three million barrels of crude oil is transported safely every single day. B.C. has over 43,000 kilometres of pipelines. If we took that oil out of the pipelines, we would need 4,200 rail cars to move it. How many of those cars would you like rolling through your community? Between 2002 and 2015, 99.9995 per cent of liquid was transported through our pipelines SAFELY. You probably spill more when you fill up at the gas station.

I understand you don’t want tankers floating down our beautiful B.C. coast. But did you know the the U.S. has been shipping up to 600,000 barrels a day of crude from Alaska to the Puget Sound through the Salish Sea for the last 20 years? Did you know that B.C. has a Tanker Exclusion Zone that has been respected for years? That zone stipulates that full tankers must travel on the west side of the zone but those that are not transporting goods can stay inside the protective zone. Other than one natural gas pipeline, Vancouver Island receives all of their petroleum by barge every day. I don’t remember ever hearing anyone complain about that. According to Transport Canada over 197,000 vessels arrived or departed from West Coast ports in 2015 — 1487 of them were tankers. 400,000 barrels of crude oil is safely transported off the B.C. coast every single day. So, I think we are OK there.

Emissions? 80 per cent of the emissions associated with fossil fuels are generated in their combustion — not their extraction and transportation. If you want to do something about our reliance on fossil fuels then address the demand for them, not the transportation of them. Change starts with consumers, not industry. A large part of the demand for fossil fuels in B.C. is transportation. 33 per cent of our fossil fuels are used to operate cars, trucks, planes, trains and ferries. If we switched all of that over to electricity we would need not just one Site C dam but 15 of them. Which communities do you want to flood to provide the energy for your electric cars? Remember I live 7 kilometres from Site C dam so I have a pretty good understanding of them.

I love this quote from Blair King an environmental scientist and writer:

“We live in a world where all the work we do to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in B.C. can be undone with the flick of a pen in China or India. No matter what we do, those developing countries are going to get electrical power to their populations — if not with LNG, then with coal; and if not with B.C. LNG, then with lower-intensity (read: dirtier) LNG from one of our competitors. In both cases the end result is higher global GHG emissions than if B.C. LNG was used.”

King is telling us to look outside our province and see the impact we can have on GHG on our planet. Our LNG is cleaner than the stuff already on the market because our regulations are tougher and we emit far less GHG in our production than in other countries. Our natural gas industry is committed to continuous improvement.

I understand that you are concerned about safety. I am too. In Canada we have some of the strictest safety requirements in the world. Canada’s oil and gas producers are continuously improving the safety of their operations and transportation of their products. Emergency Response Plans are customized for each community, covering key areas such as public safety, protection of community infrastructure, and a clear plan of action with local emergency responders. And we have the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission to oversee B.C. projects and the National Energy Board oversees the larger multijurisdictional projects.

The Oil and Gas Commission is our provincial agency responsible for regulating oil and gas activities in B.C., including exploration, development, pipeline transportation and reclamation. Core responsibilities include reviewing and assessing applications for proposed industry activities, engaging with First Nations, cooperating with partner agencies, and ensuring industry complies with provincial legislation and all regulatory requirements. International delegations come to B.C., as world leaders, to learn how we have partnered environmental protection with resource extraction. I think the Oil and Gas Commission does a good job of protecting the interests of citizens.

Many of you have concerns about the rights of our Indigenous Peoples. I will not speak for them but I will provide you with a quote from Stephen Buffalo, president and CEO of the Indian Resource Council:

“I think industry is now willing to be a partner (with First Nations). They want to come with the First Nations together. We are depending on these pipelines for the success of the Canadian economy.”

Here is the link to the full article.

So let’s talk about the economy. B.C.’s energy sector offers some of the largest provincial economic opportunities in a generation. It is estimated that, in 2010, 11.2 per cent of the provincial exports came from the natural resource sector. That was over $21 billion worth. Canada’s oil and natural gas sector contributes $1.5 billion to the provincial government but it is estimated that it could go as high as $2.4 billion per year. This is money for health care, education and infrastructure. The resource sector is the foundational stone upon which the B.C. economy was built, and it is as important today as ever.

440,000 Canadians are employed because of the oil and gas sector. A recent study by Philip Cross, former chief economic analyst at Statistics Canada, shows the huge economic value of the natural resource industry in B.C., and in particular the Lower Mainland. Cross’s report demonstrates that over 55 per cent of resource-related jobs and income (direct, indirect and induced) flow to the Lower Mainland. This means those workers contribute to our economy by renting or buying homes, buying groceries, enjoying a quality life and shopping at their local businesses.

Let’s lead the world in resource extraction, continuous improvements and long-term planning.

Let’s be leaders in reliable and renewable energy development.

Let’s support Canadian industry and stop buying foreign oil.

Let’s grow our economy by meeting our domestic needs and exporting our abundant resources.

Let’s live well now and in the future.

Thank you for taking the time to be an informed citizen.

Sincerely,

Lori Ackerman, Mayor of the City of Fort St. John.

For more information, visit Resource Works, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and Canada’s Energy Citizens.

It certainly has been entertaining and fascinating to watch the political emergence of Donald Trump. Like him or not, he has really turned the USA upside down. The Main Stream Media were wrong, the pollsters were mostly wrong, the political pundits were mostly wrong and despite the criticism of the man he got elected. They said he could not win Ohio. Michigan? Are you kidding? Florida? No way. But out of over 3100 counties, Trump won 2600. Clinton won 500. Almost everyone made the wrong call.

I know, Hillary won the popular vote but mostly in Greater NYC.  It doesn’t matter.

Since November 8, Trump has been going full steam ahead. He is picking exceptional people for his cabinet. How could one not like a guy named Mad Dog Mattis? The Stock Market has soared. Record close in New York today. A number of corporations are in the process of, or considering moving some of their manufacturing back to the States & people are excited. Well, maybe not the Democrats. Trump is flying around the country giving thank you speeches to the voters.  Clinton is throwing a party for her wealthy donors.  I like the former.

Trump, despite his faults, is a doer! I love the story about the skating rink in Central Park. The city had spent several years and $13 million dollars trying to renovate it but there still was no ice. Trump went to Mayor Ed Koch and offered to fix it. He did. Ahead of schedule, under budget. He brought an ice maker from Montreal to make the ice, naturally.

Tighten your seat belt, hang onto your hat, 2017 is going to see some remarkable activity in the USA.
Just saying…