We are home
from a month in Canada to visit our Daughter Georgina, husband Al and children
Victoria and Alex. There is no way that I can use a blog to explain the
fantastic time we had but I will throw a few pictures at you for a clue as to what has pushed our buttons and
made us so very happy that we finally
bit the bullet and went.
The first
week was a 7 day tourist drive through the Rocky Mountains which no matter what
sort of photographer you think you are
there is no way to convey the huge vista, smell of cold air and sheer
enormity and majesty of the region. We saw a wild bear grazing on the side of
the road, followed the Trans Canadian railway meander through the mountain
passes. We took a ski lift in Lake Louise and sat on the top on a mountain in
our European holiday clothes whilst all around us, the Sloan square and bondi
beach snow boarders and skiers launched themselves in full winter garb with
gloves, headbands and stretchy legware whilst we looked on in T shirts and
sandals. Our road trip took us to Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, Kamloops
and Vancouver 1600 Kilometres of snow,
sun, wind and rain but wall to wall silver topped mountains all the way. It felt
quite comforting to catch the ferry to Vancouver Island which confirmed we are true water lubbers but took this short sea trip in the shadow of snow covered mountains…. best of both
worlds…
We joined
the Joiner family on Vancouver Island and continued our Canadian stay doing as
they do, the whole purpose was to settle in as a family and enjoy the next
three weeks like we had never been apart since 2010
So we went
shopping and yes that is a real vintage tractor on display making the whole
shopping experience that much more exciting for us. The cost of living is
comparable if you are tea total and don’t want proper PG tips tea.
As a family,
we took a tiny ferry to Newcastle Island for a picnic and Pumba the dog came
too, Pumba is the tallest dog I know and we had lots of fun with him, his
gentlemanly manners and savoir fair made HOSS look manic.
We took a
drive to Tofino Beach on the west coast of the island via a stop to stare wonder
and at an 800 year old Douglas fir tree still looking good. Then I stripped to
my bare feet to paddle in the Pacific ocean, a once in a lifetime requirement
which I have now achieved.
There are
beaches all around the island all of them scattered with white bleached
flotsam, tree trunks to fragments of worn and torn lost wood waiting for beach comers
to come and claim. I collected a little bag of interesting bits to make a wind
chime as a souvenir and in our quiet considering discussions about if we came
what would we be and I always ended up being a beach bum selling white wood
ornaments….
Mike had
his 61st birthday and the yellow point household laid on a pirate themed
breakfast and we all sang happy birthday several times to mark his special day.
Grandad was
the star throughout our stay, playing and joking getting to know these lovely
children we are grandparents to, and everyday was a special and significant day, without exception.
Georgina
and I sewed. In our twice weekly skype
calls we had often spoken about her wanting to sew for her children as I did,
so I offered to buy some fabric to make Victoria a new frock which I did, and
enjoyed. I did however have to break it
to G that she really needed to buy a new sewing machine, which she did and when
I used it to make Alex a Super Hero Cape
I decided I had to have one for
130$ about £70. G and I can now chew the cud over our discoveries and
achievements and it made for some awesome (Canadian term) bonding
We spent
time in the beautiful city of Victoria, capital of British Columbia. It was
Victoria Day weekend and we watched boat planes and harbour taxis busy doing their
business and Mike and I took the children back on the cutest little ferry whist
Mum and Dad set off on a stepping out walk back to the car
And then as
we were getting into the routines and habits of life with the Joiners, once we
had found the antique shops and the best thrift stores in Ladysmith and were
still excited when we spotted a logging lorry with 20 full sized fir trees on
board, it was time to load our souvenirs and sewing machine into our luggage
and head for the airport. We chose to take an island hopper so our goodbyes
would be local at Nanaimo airport and away from the hustle and bustle of
Vancouver international. As we took off, three weeks of love and happiness just
erupted in me and I cried like a baby until we hit Europe, I felt exhausted…….
Twelve
hours later we were back in Bracknell, jumping about for HOSS’s joy to see us
again and a quick and fabulous catch up with my brothers and sisters to close
proceedings and get our, butts, (Canadian saying) back to France where, we now
appreciate is every bit as beautiful as Canada at a fraction of the size.
If you are a
Blog follower then you will guess the expression of astonishment we made when
we saw what 4 weeks lawn growth looks like in May. There are no Canadian words to even get close
to our emotions and that very afternoon jetlagged and disorientated we both
took a mower and got the first cut done before dinner. We now realise just how much garden tinkering
we do on a daily basis because when you stop for a month is it scary to
see how things get out of control and in 6 months we would be
looking for the lost gardens of Brevands …….….
motivation enough to stay, and enjoy xx
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