Our lifelong friend Laura fell in love with British Columbia several years ago. She has since moved to B.C. permanently. For many years, it has been our wish to see this gorgeous place that she has raved about as well as spend time with her and her family while we are on the West Coast of Canada. Since arriving in British Columbia, we have experienced a small yet sweet taste of what Laura loves. This weekend we spent time with Laura and her second child, Osha at our home base in Fort Langley and at Golden Ears Provincial Park.
We started our weekend, by picking up Laura and Osha at 'The Beehive' which is a community house in East Vancouver where they had been visiting. For us, it was interesting to see a different part of the city which had unique eclectic homes and gardens filled with beautiful trees, flowers, vegetable gardens and bushes... 'The Beehive' was just one example of a house in the area which utilized almost all of their available lawn-space for growing vegetables and herbs, even in the front on the opposite side of the sidewalk. The climate in B.C. is such that the growing season is longer than in Ontario, so if you live here, you can enjoy fresh food for most-if not all of the year. Everyone we met at the house was very friendly and I know Laura loves it there as she feels so welcomed at any time; everyone works together to help one another and make the space enjoyable. Yet another example of an alternative, successful and co-operative way to live.
So, Finally! Together again and meeting baby Osh! Yay! Big hugs all around.
Once we arrived back home, we introduced Laura and Osha to our space and hung out here for a while, chatting and getting caught up... . Early on, we all loved Osh as he is so smiley and friendly in nature...a happy, 'chilled-out' kinda kid. Soon, it was warm enough that ice cream called our names and we walked into town to indulge. Yum! Later, we enjoyed a nice dinner together at the picnic table outside and went to bed to prepare for a big day on Sunday.
We all managed quite well in our little space with our first house guests! After coffee and breakie and all the things you have to do to get organized with 3 adults, 3 kids, 1 baby and a dog, we headed out to the Golden Ears Provincial Park. It was Linda at Fort Camping who had recommended the place to us-good that she did! We drove to the ferry which was around the corner and while the ferry ride only took 3 minutes, the line up to get on took much longer! We sweated it out in the sun with the windows down, Cottonwood Tree cotton floating around us like snow, Lucas reading his 3rd book in 3 days, Osha gurgling, everyone snacking and the adults listening to a fuzzy excerpt from Stuart McLean's, Vinyl Cafe on CBC Radio...
Once at Maple Ridge, as we winded our way along the road to the park, we were startled to see an injured motorcyclist at the side of the road to our right and within seconds several other motorcyclists coming towards us on the left, one wiping out as he passed us. What a way to start our excursion! Jeff pulled over and went to see if they needed help. Both parties were okay though and there were many people around already taking care of business. The rest of us watched hundreds of bikers go by and slow down as they were warned-'biker down up ahead'... We later found out that there was an early Father's Day event taking place which involved motorcyclists which explained the large quantity of them!
While the anticipation of a long, hot hike was daunting for some, in the end the towering Douglas Firs, Second Growth Forest of Western Hemlock, 'Fallen Giants' along the path, Western Red Cedars, crystal clear rocky waterways stemming from the crashing rush of a waterfall...won us all over... The waterfall spray was refreshing and welcomed at the end of the Lower Falls Trail. Osha dreamed through some of our adventure after falling asleep in his backpack for the first time on the trail. Josh and Jeff were rejuvenated by collecting 'the best water in the world' at the waterfall. Willow cooled down while she played and the boyz puddled. The boyz climbed the 'Fallen Giants' and looked at the forest in amazement. Josh commented, "This doesn't look real, it looks like a painting. I just can't believe it's real."
Laura and I together again were thankful for the experience of seeing a beautiful place that was new to both of us; yet quintessential British Columbia... thankful for the moment and the memory... savouring our time together!
Over the three days, we also had fun walking into town again with the boyz, checking out the coolest bookstore and coffee shop around and sharing Will's birthday dinner with he and his family at the Olive Garden!
We all look forward to spending more time with Laura and family at their home in Nanaimo this weekend. It will be our first time on Vancouver Island. Yay! Can't wait...
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