Week Two Firearms Training

Well so much for posting daily. We have been finishing between 1:30 and 2 am every night and then all I want to do it go to bed. It has been good training but very tiring.  The shoot has actually been a lot of fun. I am doing okay with the aim shooting, I am on the paper each time, I just have to continue to work on slowing down my trigger pulls. I am actually doing really well with the instinctive shooting, this is done really close and a little quicker. If you are within 5 m of me you would be pretty much toast.  The combination of standing for 4 hours on the cement and then going into the gym for 4 hours is putting a little stress on my knees. They have been very sore, the nightly baths and deep heating rub are helping, I will have to see how it goes over the next two weeks.

The food here has been okay. We go for breakfast around noon and then we have to wait until 8 pm to do for lunch. The cafeteria is staying open until 2am so we go for dinner then but neither Alice nor I want to eat that late at night so we are basically eating twice a day. Alice gets some cereal to eat in her room and I have been snacking on apples and peanut butter in the mornings.

We have been trying to go for walks in the morning. We went to a place called  Sanctuaire Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes which is shrine for the Virgin Mary. People come from all over the world each year to honor her. There are these huge rocks at the entrance to the area which are a natural rock garden that is supposed to be a potato farmer who with his potatoes was turned to stone for working on a Sunday. I am not sure if the rocks were found the way they are shown or someone did the design but they do look cool.

After our walks we go to eat and go back to our rooms to practice and Alice watches the Young and the Restless. I have been having trouble getting the gun out of the holster but I think I finally have it.  We also have to practice loading the magazines into the gun and making sure we know how to clear a stoppage. This is when the ammunition jams in the gun or fixing other problems.  There is a lot to remember but our line officer says that we are improving and it will all come together.

Friday night we finished before 1am so we all went to the lounge after class and blew off some steam, we finally dragged ourselves back to the rooms around 3:30. The only problem with having dark rum and coke is that coke has caffeine it in and I couldn’t get to sleep until around 5am. We did sleep in on Saturday morning until 11:30, then went to lunch and then headed into Montreal with our girl form our class and Jimmy dropped us off at Alice’s cousin Ryan’s place.  I met him wife Anita, her mom Regina and his little boy Trevor who is 4 years old now. He is a very cute little guy. After hanging out with the family a bit, Ryan took us on a tour of downtown Montreal. We explored old Montreal, saw the Customs House, the narrow streets, old buildings, the water front, clock tower, and a beach.

The cobblestone streets are a little hard to walk on.

This is a small beach by a marina on the St. Lawrence River

We then headed to St Catherine’s street for dinner and to do a little clubbing.  We went to the famous Dunn’s for a Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich, it was delicious and you can see from the picture. Once you picked it up, you couldn’t put it down because it would fall apart on you. We then walked up and down St Catherine’s listening to the street performers and checking out the clubs.

This is half of a small sandwich with double fried fries, vinegar coleslaw and a pickle

This is one of the clubs that we went to. LOL

On Sunday we got up fairly early and Anita cooked us pancakes with real maple syrup. Then Ryan took us to Ottawa. We took a quick driving tour around the downtown area, through Hull, over the bridge and back to a parking spot by the Byward Market. We walked up past the US embassy which is the biggest embassy in Ottawa but it is probably the ugliest, it looks like a large concrete block.

From there we walked through Major’s park where they hold numerous festivals and concerts. Then we walked towards the Chateau Laurier, by the Rideau canal locks and up to Parliament Hill.

We walked around the grounds looking at all the statues and over to Hull Quebec. We saw the Ottawa River and rapids, the library behind the Parliament buildings, the National Art Gallery and the East and West Blocks. We went to find the Cat hill where they used to have all these stray cats that people looked after but found that it was no longer there, all the cats had been adopted by volunteers.

Hull Quebec

National Art Gallery

Museum of Civilization

The Library

We then went to see if we could get tickets to do the Parliament tour but unfortunately because it was a long weekend and the tulip festival they didn’t have any tour spots left, so we decided to go and explore the Byward market.

The National War Memorial

The Chateau Laurier

Alice and I went to reserve a room for next weekend and when they heard what a trying time we were having with our course they gave us the presidential suite for free.

This is one of the biggest all year round markets in Canada. Of course we had to try a Beaver Tail, if Obama stopped it they must be pretty good. Ryan had one with Apples, mine was brown sugar and fresh lemon and Alice had the maple butter with chocolate.

It started to rain on us so we decided to check out the Notre Dame Church and the mint. Both Alice and I lit a candle, to see if it will help us get through our arming. Hopefully it works. 

After that we tried to get a tour as all at the mint but this one as well was all gone. Not the best weekend to make an impromptu trip to Ottawa without planning ahead. It was starting to get late so we decide to go back to the car. We drove by the new military museum which is about 4 times as big as the old one and then we decided to do a quick drive by 24 Sussex drive to see if Stephen was home and accepting visitors, unfortunately he wasn’t available for tea, something about a staff member quitting, so we toured the parkway saw some of the horses from the musical ride and then headed back to Riguad.

Military Museum

Peace Keeper Memorial

We got back into time to do some trigger pulls, magazine manipulations and supper. Time to get another good sleep and it is back to the grind tomorrow.

CDT Training in Vancouver & Trip to Quebec

Well Alice and I started our adventure on Sunday by flying to Vancouver and then spending two hours driving out to the cow poop smelling community of Chilliawack. We checked into our rooms and were delighted to find bath tubs in both but unfortunately we were at the top of stairs. Do you know how hard it is to pack two very large heavy suitcases up numerous flights of stairs? We deserved the bathtub after that.


Our first day was good, we had Rene and Catherine who were excellent instructors, very encouraging, helpful and informative. They each gave us great tips for arming that should help us get through the next stage.

Overall the week went well, we worked hard, we fell hard, pulled and found muscles we didn’t know we had. We were also lucky we weren’t at home because of all the bruises we got Len and Marty might have gotten in trouble.

So by Thursday Alice and I had passed our learning demos and we only had to complete the Subject Movement Course on Friday. This turned out to be a very good course, it turns out that we probably won’t escort people very often but we did here some great stories from a couple of inland officers who have escorted people back home all over the world.

So we got out early on Friday and it was back into Vancouver to return the rental car and get to the hotel room. We stayed at the Sheraton by the airport and I must say that the beds here are the most comfortable beds I have every slept in. It was like sinking into a really big feather pillow and it kind of just enveloped you. The pillows and the bedding were also incredibly soft and crisp. I spent half the night trying to figure out how to get the mattress in my suitcase so that I could take it to Quebec with me. Alice and went to a great little Asian restaurant just a block from the restaurant. Len always says that you should try little out of the way places and this was it.

On Saturday morning we were on the road by 8am and off to the airport and on the plane to Montreal. We managed to watch two comedies, one about baseball with Amy Adams and Clint Eastwood and the Guilt Trip with Barbara Streisand and Seth Rogan, both were quite funny. It was neat, the plane and a screen in front of each seat and you could pick which movies or TV shows you wanted to watch. Hopefully it is a similar system on the way home because I already picked out what I wanted to watch next

We landed in Montreal, got our bags and then got a cab out to Rigaud. We had to get a van so that we could fit all our bags in. We of course did not have the exact address for the college but the driver just put Riguad into the GPS and I told him that once we got there that I would be able to find it. He was a little crazy with his driving, not quite sure how fast he was going but both Alice and I were a little concerned but he got us there in one piece. As soon as you turn off the freeway to Riguad you can see the college up on the hill.

So we got there, got our bags and then checked in. It is a little different that the last time I was here, the staircase in the main entrance way is gone and has been replaced with sliding doors that we have to scan in and out with, high-tech security. Alice and I got our rooms and it worked out that they put all the afternoon class on the 6th and 7th floors. I think that I am in the same room that I was in when I first came to Riguad. It is either this room or the one next door. We were too late for dinner so we ate down at the Subway at the bottom of the hill. We then got unpacked and tried to make our rooms comfortable. Alice has never been to Rigaud before and she complained that I never told her that the rooms were so depressing, she said that these rooms make a college dorm room look five star. The beds on the upper floors are a ¾ bed and quite hard, someone told me to put my extra blanket on the bottom of my bed and that would make it more comfortable so that is what I did and when I got back in my room today, the maid had nicely given me a twin foamy under my mattress pad so now I am really comfortable.    

      So we tried to stay up late so that we could get on this time zone, we also tried to sleep in. We both got up a little later and then went for our first breakfast, which was okay. We then walked down to the Metro and the dollar store to pickup a few suppleies, came back, did some laundry and then I went for a massage. Alice’s cousin Ryan who works here at Riguad and who I used to work at Kingsgate with arranged for me to get a massage here at the college because the CDT training gave me a Charlie horse in my butt and a sore shoulder. I must say it was great and that I will probably use her again. The afternoon weather was a little blustery and rainy so we stayed in, watched a little TV and just gabbed.  This is the view of the new firearms centre from my room.    

  Supper was good, had ginger beef stir fry and salad. We decided to go for a walk downtown but it started to rain just as we started so we decided to explore the campus. We found that they had changed the library into the CDT gym, nice to workout with stained glass window in the background. Came back to our rooms, phoned my Mom to wish her a Happy Mother’s day and my Dad a Happy Birthday, talked to my hubby and puppy and then started working on the blog, posted it and then went back for a bath. I try and stay awake again, since I am going to be staying up past midnight for the next three weeks, I have to start sometime. Hopefully I will have internet access in my room by Tuesday so I can try and post nightly.

Cape Disappointment

So it is our last day on the coast, we have to check out tomorrow. The day started out the same as the last few days, it was raining and then suddenly it turned to sunshine, so we decided we better get out there and make the most of our day. We decided to go over the bridge to Washington to see Cape Disappointment. This was the last stop for Lewis and Clark before they wintered at Fort Clatsop from 1905-1906  and then headed back to St Louis.

We had been here before but we only went to the interpretative centre and it was a quick trip because we were on our way home. We didn’t get a chance to go to the lighthouse because it was raining and the path was too muddy. Not today though it was a fairly dry walk. It was ¾ or a mile each way. Our first stop was Dead Man’s Cove. There was no sign to explain why it was called this so I will leave it up to everyone’s imagination.

From the lighthouse you can see North and South Jetties and the Columbia River Bar where the ships enter the mouth of the Columbia.

North Jetty

 

South Jetty

 

Mouth of the Bar

 

 

 

There is a coast guard base here as well; we watched two of the boats do some maneuvers in the mouth. It is very difficult to get a picture of the waves, it actually looks quite calm, you can’t really tell how large the waves are until you see a boat disappear in one of the swells. We got to see a Bar Pilot boat heading out to take control of a tanker that was coming into the Port of Astoria.

After seeing the lighthouse we walked over to the interpretive centre and took the tour, it is very well done. They walk you down a series of ramps that follow the route of Lewis and Clark from St. Louis all the way to the Pacific Ocean.  The once they reach the mouth of the Columbia it takes you to the main floor and they have some interactive displays to display the Pacific and Columbia River areas. It is very well done.

The museum finishes back upstairs with a display about the coast guard and coastal lighthouses. They have a full Fresnel lens display and a list of all the lighthouses and their signals.

There was also a military base located here to help protect the mouth of the Columbia. During World War II they built Battery Harvey Allen, to watch for Japanese submarines and war ships. The guns were originally put out by the lighthouse but the blow back from the first gun blast broke the windows in the lighthouse so the guns were moved over by the interpretive centre.

This is the room that held all the shells for the guns.

 

After the here we headed over to the North Head Lighthouse. The Cape Disappointment lighthouse was built first but it was quickly discovered that it could not be seen when sailing from the north so they built the North Head Lighthouse to take care of this. This lighthouse was a much easier walk and was actually quite spectacular.

 

This is the view looking south from the lighthouse.

 

There was also the lighthouse keeper’s house and a duplex for the assistant lighthouse keepers that are available to rent as vacation homes.

After our spectacularly sunny day we headed back to the condo to make dinner from the leftovers in the fridge and get most of our stuff packed into the truck so it is easier to leave in the morning.

A Day at Cannon Beach

Well today started out with what can only be described as Snow on the Coast. You could actually see the rain which was kind of slushy. The wind was blowing and blew in the sunshine and then the rain and then the slush and then the rain and then the sun. It was like this all day.

It was also the coldest temperatures that we had the whole vacation but since we stayed in most of yesterday we decided to go check out Garabaldi and Cannon Beach. Garabaldi is where we saw the crab races, not much going on in town today but Len did get some pictures of some of rolling stock for the Oregon Coast Scenic Railway. In the summer the railway travels between Tillamook and Wheeler.

We also got to see the coast guard helicopter and rescue boat practicing out in the bay.

We explored Cannon beach and Len got to see Haystack Rock up close and personal.

We then headed to Ecola State Park, which has a great view of Tillamook Head and the Tillamook Lighthouse (Terrible Tilly).  This lighthouse was the only lighthouse on the coast that was not accessible by land, you had to get to it by boat which did not prove to be very easy. It was also plagued by storms with high waves. It did not stay in commission that long. It was used as a Columbarium for people’s ashes for awhile but now it has gone back to a protected birding area for sea birds.

Unfortunately the view point trail was closed off as it looked like there were slides all over the area. We did see a small herd of elk as well. Some were out in plain sight, while the others were hiding in the woods.

McMinnville and The Spruce Goose

So today we were up early so that Kathleen, Len and I could head to McMinnville to see the Spruce Goose. Dan was up earlier that we were because he had to head back to Vancouver to go to a doctor’s appointment. We headed up over Highway 26 and then south to McMinnville. It was still early enough that we decided to go and have a late breakfast and early lunch. We found a really cute place on Main Street called the Wild Wood Cafe. The inside is decorated with fifties chrome table and chairs, old style signs all over the walls and old fashioned hand beaters all over the ceiling. The food was excellent. They make their own homemade bread and jam. They have it in squeeze bottles right on the table. I had an omelette with fresh tomatoes and feta cheese. Len had the Wild Wood French toast which is their homemade bread, covered in granola and then French toasted and Kathleen had the home fries covered in bacon and cheese, needless to say that it was all very delicious and filling. After eating we headed to the Evergreen Aviation Museum which is where the Spruce Goose is housed. They have done some changes since we were there last time.

They have built a water park with a 747 on top of it, there are slides that go from the plane into the building. So they have the plane museum, the space museum, the IMAX theatre and a vineyard/winery, as well as the water park. They are also building a chapel and a hotel. They are making it a complete family vacation location.

We went through the air museum first, then went and watched a movie, which is included with your admission now and then we did the space museum. It is hard to get a complete picture of the Spruce Goose because it is so big. This is the front piece and three of the eight engines, four on each wing.

This picture is looking from the back, you can see the multiple planes that are positioned underneath it.

 This is the back tail, the span of the tail is wider than the span of a 747.

They had a few new exhibits like the Mars rovers and they moved the stealth SR-71 Blackbird to the Space section.

After going through the museums we did the four geocaches around the area and then slowly started to make our way back to Seaside. We stuck Len in the back seat because he doesn’t navigate fast enough when we are geocaching. We found a bunch on the way home and we found one just before we went for dinner. Tonight was our dinner at the Bigfoot. This restaurant has the best tasting prime rib I have ever had. It is so tender that you can literally cut it with a fork. It also comes with a medley of squash and I had the garlic mashed potatoes. Len also had the prime rib and Kathleen had linguine with pine nuts. It was so much she had to bring part of it back for lunch on her trip home.  So when we got back to the condo we decided to finish off the evening with a hot tub and some TV, however it was still very crowded with kids so Kathleen and I decided to do a late night cache before we went to bed. It was a puzzle cache that Kathleen figured out and the coordinates set us out towards the beach. We went outside in what can only be described as a very blustery storm. By the time we reached the cache area we were both soaked. We managed to find the cache in the second log we looked in and then headed back to the condo. When we got back inside we had to wake Len up so he could take a picture of us. We both look like drowned rats.