Hike and Pizza

Our plans changed this morning.  We were going to go out on the boat and fish and go to the hot springs but a wise lady (Kylie) decided that the winds were a little too strong.  I’m thankful for cautious people.

So what now?  It became a hike day.  We set off to do the School House Trail.  

We haven’t hiked in the mountains in a few years.  We got to the trail head and I thought this shouldn’t be too bad.  The path led us around the school…I’m guessing that's how the trail got its name!  The first part was pretty level and the trail was surrounded by wild ferns.  

As we turned into a deeper forest, the elevation caused me to go slower.  Each time we turned I looked up to see the path lead us to steeper slope. My pace slowed to a crawl.  I stopped a number of times and wondered if I could do this.  I felt very frustrated with my breathing.  I was encouraged to just go slower and that is certainly what I did…real slow!  

Finally, we made it!  It was beautiful!  

As I recovered at the top of the trail, my mind was already anticipating the way down.  Going up is a cardiovascular work out but descending puts pressure on the knees and a concentration on not slipping.  Thankfully I made it up and down without giving up, falling or yelling.  It was a humbling experience.

When we got home the animals seemed concerned that I wouldn’t be able to make it up the stairs.

It was good to sit down and put my feet up.   Kylie and Stephen began working on pizza for supper.  Homemade dough and sauce, lots of choice of toppings and cooked on a Kamado.  

They were really good.  One of Stephen’s partners came over to enjoy the pizza creations.

Another day, another adventure…

Waking, Walking and Water Sports

Ron did his usual thing and got up way too early. The time change isn’t helping him to sleep in.  I joined him much later on the deck for my coffee and we were entertained by the Steller’s Jay.  This bird is a bigger version of the Blue Jay with a punk rock kind of hairdo.

They love peanuts and watched as we placed them around the deck.  Eventually they took one off my knee and even my hand.

Kylie made a German pancake for breakfast with maple syrup we brought from Ontario, made by one of Stephen’s long time friends.

We then decided a walk was in order.  Four adults and two dogs left the house.  

Right outside the door, Koda, a neighbour’s dog, joined us.  

When we reached the end of the driveway, Princess, another dog from the area, joined in.  

We walked the path through the woods.   Stephen and Kylie had bear spray, knives and. Bear banger.  Thankfully, none had to be used.  We stopped along the stream and watched the salmon.  The dogs were very interested in the fish scooting along in the shallow water.  

As we continued our walk, another dog joined us.  We were now up to 5 dogs!  Apparently, Stephen and Kylie must be the favourite dog people in the area.

After lunch, we went to the water.  Ron tried the wing again and Stephen did really well with the kite.  We were there for a few hours.

Supper was another delicious meal enjoyed on the deck. Great weather, delicious food and an active day…this vacation is going pretty well.

Picture of the day…

Vacation Time

Life has been busy and, at times, stressful.  We have had a lot going on and the anticipation of spending a couple of weeks with Stephen and Kylie has been something that has kept us going.  Sarah decided that she was going to skip this trip so it felt strange not having her with us.

We drove to Toronto on Friday morning.  The traffic was pretty heavy and Ron took the toll road to keep us moving.  I will never understand why people would like the city life but then some people can’t understand why we love the quiet life of village living. We parked the truck in the park and fly and waited for our shuttle.  We waited for a little longer than usual and the bus filled up quickly with anxious travellers.  There was a couple and a family that wanted to be rushed to terminal one due to their flight leaving shortly.  As they exited with all of their luggage, car seats and two little ones, a whisper was heard, “they aren’t going to make it.”  Travelling is about hurrying up and waiting and when you miss the waiting for the next step, it could mean that you might just miss that step.

We had arrived in decent time to our terminal and checked our 4 pieces of luggage!  We had extra things to take…jam, maple syrup, an antique lamp, products from the Soap Shack, a wing and a boom…just to name a few.  We got through security and waited for our flight.  It was about this time that I got a text from Denise to tell us that they were headed to the Black Cat for coffee.  I responded with this picture.

We flew to Vancouver and arrived with clear skies and no smell of smoke but the fires are raging around British Columbia.  Many people have been evacuated with homes lost and the uncertainty of their future.  Life can definitely be hard and full of hurt.

We took the shuttle to the hotel and went for a little walk to get something to eat.  We settled in for some sleep anxious for the next day.

Saturday morning arrived and we packed up and headed down to wait for another shuttle. The driver seemed to be doing circles, looking all around him and then he mumbled, “I can’t find my keys.”  Finally after about five minutes he was back out with keys in hand.  We headed to the main terminal.  We arrived five minutes late to catch the bus to the south terminal.  We had lots of time and we caught the next bus 40 minutes later.

When we checked in to our next flight, we had time to walk for a bit.  The weather was perfect.  Finally, it was time to fly.  The plane is small and it takes just over one hour.

The views were spectacular.  Ther is nothing like the mountains to make you just breathe a little deeper and make you smile a little more.

The plane landed and we were in Bella Coola. It was so good to see Stephen and Kylie.  

Stephen and Kylie made fish and chips.  It was delicious!

In the afternoon, we went down to the ocean and Ron tried the wing that we brought and Stephen did some kite surfing.

It was beautiful along the channel and the colours were vibrant from the green water to the blue skies and all the shades in between.

For supper, we had pork chops, rice and air fried cauliflower.  This resort has great food and the views are spectacular.

More adventures and views to come….

Together is Better

Over the past few weeks I found myself at the cancer clinic with my dad.  The first time I took dad there my mind was elsewhere.  Stephen was flying to Ontario and was planning to surprise mom and dad when we got back to Napanee.  I was attentive enough to be present for dad but was excited to get back to Napanee where I could see my boy.  They did a couple of biopsies, bandaged him up and we were back on the road.  That day it was just Dad and I and it was a little more work.  I had dropped him off at the door, drove around to find a parking spot three blocks away, ran back a block to pay for parking, run back to put the ticket in the car and then back three blocks to the hospital.  I waited in the waiting room until he was done and then I ran the blocks to the car and came back and picked him up.

Today, Ron came to be the chauffeur because the weather wasn’t looking great.  He dropped dad and I off at the door and we went through the registration and found our way to the cancer clinic.  One spot was okay but on his ear they had found carcinoma…it had to be removed.  I heard the details and backed out before the slicing began.  

As I walked through the waiting room, I noticed couples sitting close together holding hands.  They sat quietly waiting for some kind of treatment.  As I watched these people I could almost see hope in the eyes of those waiting to go through the treatment.  Their loving partner held their hands and it seems like their eyes were more of fear.  I might have been imagining it but it seemed hope and fear sat holding hands.  Hope was there wanting the treatment to extend their life…give them more time.  Fear is that the treatment might not work…that the quality of life might be reduced.

One thing was for sure, they were better together.  One bringing hope and trying to calm the fears. One sitting in support and being very present.  It’s hard to go through life’s hard struggles but it helps to go through it together.  We draw strength from others when we don’t feel like we have the strength to get through.

So hold on…strength comes from those around that support you through the hard times.  Be ready to hold onto someone else when they need you.

Almost a Ski Day

We have been getting so much snow.  The busses have been cancelled a lot which has made Sarah a happy student.  After a week of two more snow days and more snow today, we decided to pack our skis and go cross country skiing.  I thought carefully about how to dress.  I packed a nice little snack.  I put everything by the door.  Ron even brought our poles and ski boots in last night so they would be warm for us.  We carried everything out to the truck and headed north to Flinton.  Number 7 highway was closed due to a serious accident last night.  We continued north past the road closure.  The drive was beautiful.

We parked in the parking lot and reached back for our snacks.  Ron pulled his ski boots to the front and started putting them on.  I looked around.  Was I supposed to bring my ski boots to the truck?  Oh no…I had the treats, the poles and skis but no boots.  

Change of plans…we drove to Bon Echo and enjoyed a beautiful winter walk.  Sarah thought I planned the boots being left behind.  I didn’t but I did enjoy our walk around the camp grounds.

After a four kilometre walk my lungs felt used up and it was a slow walk up the final hill.

We stopped at our favourite meat shop on the way home and picked up a few special meat choices.

Our plans had changed but it was still a good winter day.