Blue

 

Colourful chopper seen near Oceanside...

... now you don't.

Parkville's "empty" waterpark...

The fastest way to make children disappear in public is to pull out a camera and start taking pictures. Parents leap into action, grabbing their kids and dragging them away from the weird guy snapping photos.

So this is the popular water park at Parksville's Community Park. There are lots of kids just out of sight at the edges wondering why Mommy is clutching them so tightly.

Come On Eileen

Eileen and Trevor sing the hits...

Come On Eileen is one of my go-to karaoke songs. Karaoke is also what brought Eileen and Trevor to my attention walking Parksville's boardwalk one early evening with my wife.

The pair were entertaining pedestrians and beach goers with their brand of 80s vintage karaoke on the beach. Their karaoke sounds way better than mine which is why you should be grateful that I will never serenade readers with my whiny voice.

As a karaoke enthusiast though I stopped to talk with them for awhile. They've been singing together since 1962. Apparently they loved their partnership so much they decided to make it permanent with marriage in 1967. Thanks to them both for their fun stories about life and radio rock in Britain in the 1960s 

Tree lined

A cooling canopy of leaves...

A cathedral of trees over a street in Parksville glows with the afternoon sun.

The wraiths

Ominous creatures overhead...

I know that these kites flying over Parksville are supposed to be squids, but they still look creepy and alien-ish as they flutter in the breeze.

Cancelled

The sun sets on an empty beach...

What is this you ask?

This is what this year's Sand Castle competition in Oceanside will look like this year. Along with a myriad of events and celebrations across Vancouver Island, BC, Canada... the world really... it has been cancelled out of concerns over COVID-19.

Here's a look at some past events...

A Flock of Eagles

A cloud appears above your head 

A beam of light comes shining down on you 

Shining down on you

-- "I Ran"

We tried to tempt this young eagle with a freshly dead crab. We tossed it over to him and s/he cautiously approached it and gave it a couple of exploratory pecks.

Maybe it was all the work involved to get at the meat when there were easier pickings about that deterred the bird.

BTW, a group of eagles is known more specifically as a "convocation" of eagles.

Missing children

Parksville's main park... a victim of the current COVID crisis.

The main playground of the excellent children's park at Parksville sits empty and unused. This is our world right now.

I hope it doesn't last long.

Parksville Bay x 2

High noon versus sunset on Parksville's beach...

My wife and I decided to retreat to our condo in Oceanside during the Easter weekend. People across the world are being urged to stay indoors during the COVID crisis. Rather than sitting in our house we figured we could at least enjoy some seaside scenery and fresh air.

This is the view of Parksville Bay from our room. One was taken during the low tide of day, the other during the high tide of sunset...