Ode to Rich...

This post is dedicated to our friend Rich...













...really, I don't think there is much more I can say.














except, we do love him....








...oh, and he demanded his own post

Vancouver Island - Shawnigan Lake

Monday afternoon, Joe and I made our way to the Ferry Terminal in Tsawwassen to sail over to Vancouver Island. The rain had cleared out and we had some gorgeous views along the 90 minute tour.

Unfortunately, from browsing photos, one may find that a little too much travel can do strange things to you....or perhaps it is spending that much time in close quarters with your spouse...

When we made it to the island, we began our drive to Shawnigan Lake where Netta and Scott were waiting for us to arrive. The drive was incredibly scenic, showing the fall colours...









and we had the chance to stop and have a coffee while traveling through the Malahat area - the vistas were stunning!







...the presiding king of the house (Brogan) greeted us at the front door and entertained us throughout our stay...



















Our gracious hosts pointed out some scenic areas to visit, fed us, took us to meet friends and took us boating on Shawingan lake and warmly opened their beautiful home to us.

We visited and loved Cowichan Bay (more affectionately known as Cow Bay)

where we had a great lunch at the Deli/Cafe with home made soup and bread from the local organic bakery (see the bike above the door...quirky outside, but pure unadulterated bakery goodness inside)

We visited a local winery, stopped in Duncan to browse and then visited an old logging town Chemainus where the town history is shown through murals on the local building walls.

We'll leave you with our parting experience (unfortunately you just can't capture this) we saw a bald eagle floating over the road hunting for his lunch...while we drove into Victoria to meet friends for ours.

Vancouver

Sharon and I have both been to Vancouver a few times, but we had more visiting to do. First, say good-bye to Harrison Hot Springs:

Then off to Coquitlam to see another "long-lost" cousin of Sharon's for a somewhat spontaneous visit. Niesje was also at a distant wedding that weekend, but returned in time so we could connect with her and Bill, albeit briefly, during the day.

"A rose between two thorns."

We then sprinted off to see a slew of Rampersads in West Vancouver. Some of which are old acquaintances (the cousins and their other halves), some are just old (Uncle Carl), some are new to us (the fresher batch of the cousin's kids).

the freshest

at Cari and Phil's house

We were fed a large spread, loosened up with some scotch and wine, attacked by some children, and after starting to reconnect with this side of the family, we left. It was great seeing everyone after such a long time, but we had yet more visiting to do! Just as well for them, though... it was a "school-night" after all.

Our final destination for the night: an old family friend of Sharon's, Joanna. She is also the one we thank for our house - as she came all the way to Toronto to be our real estate agent when we were buying our home back in 2002.

Joanna put us up for the night in her beautiful condo in English Bay.

Next day, the rain started! It was for the best in the end, as we got a chance to catch up the next day, instead of going for a bike ride through Stanley Park.

Onwards we went, to catch a ferry bound for Vancouver Island where I realized I still had a set of keys to Joanna's place.  I guess subconsciously I wasn't ready to leave...

Harrison Hot Springs

From Salmon Arm, we headed down to Harrison Hot Springs to attend a wedding - which was the genesis of this road trip. For those of you who don't know, our friend Erin invited us to attend her wedding there, and since the Okanagan is nearby, we thought of making a little wine trip out of it too. And since California isn't too far away, and since Washington and Oregon are up-and-coming wine regions, and so on, and so on...

Back to the drive: surprise, surprise, more scenery was to be taken in:

A minor accident. There are 2 tow trucks in this picture.

We arrived in Harrison in time for dinner, whereby we ate with some of the other wedding guests at the Copper Room - an old school dance hall in the resort, still frequented by dames and gents in ballroom attire and dancing in style. The very same dancers could easily have been there 40 years ago. In fact, the live band that performs there every night has been there for the past 40 years too.

The rest of the night and morning of the next day was spent in the hot-springs-heated pools of the resort.

Even though we had plenty of time to get ready before the wedding ceremony, we still managed to run late... but did make it in time. In time for a cozy, beautiful, fun wedding.

Erin and Matt

Psychedelic baby... yeah!

The evening was full of dancing, dining, and another thing that starts with "d". There was also a photobooth for the guests to play with, which of course provided the hosts with some outrageous pictures. One of which I injured myself for.

Sharon and I are very lucky to have friends who throw the coolest weddings.

More Wine... and some Dairy

The next morning, there was - as expected - daylight. This came in handy for taking pictures while Gary gave us a tour of their little house on the hill. (Actually it is on TOP of the hill, and by hill, I mean MOUNTAIN!)

 

 

 

 

(I did warn our hosts that they may get requests for visits from more relatives after seeing these pictures.)

We headed to another winery, that is on the same hill as their house. It turns out that our hostess for the tasting at Larch Hills Winery is a Dutch ex-pat, so the Booy cousins may have had extra-special treatment, with their spouses getting to reap the rewards. But it was probably their charisma, not their background...

 

Hazel was a great host, and her award-winning wines were quite good, we were surprised at how many there were for such a small winery. We will get some to Ontario somehow...

We continued our journey down the hill, and visited a dairy farm. Yes, a dairy farm, for a tour of a modern facility.  Gary being a passionate dairy farmer and Sharon being a passionate cook, there was much great conversation about food, the source and the farming and farmers that produce it.  So seeing a farm was a great follow-up to those conversations.

This put us in the "moo"-ed for cheese, so we went to a local producer:

Then off to a market/petting-zoo:

Sharon showed off some cooking skills that night, using the ingredients we purchased that day. Much more talking continued late into the night, and we said our good byes the next morning.

This visit was truly a highlight of our trip. While we'll see many cool things, it is more rare to connect with cool people.