Monday, July 27, 2009

Vacation In Canada, Part Deux

When I last left off in my post about Our Vacation In Canada, we had spent the day at Fort Langley. The following day, Sunday, we went to the lake of my childhood. Anyone and everyone knows this lake in Chilliwack, it's Cultus Lake!!! We've gone there my whole life, and camped there more times than I can count. It was a real treat to go back there, because I hadn't been in 10 years. Too long.

Two of my Uncles have cabins at the lake, so we were able to swim at a private beach. That was wonderful, because it wasn't filled with throngs of people clamoring for dock time. All of us were free to jump off the dock as many times as we pleased. I did 3 times. I was really scared to wear a bathing suit actually, but I figured, my family already knows I'm overweight, why should I make myself miserable by not swimming? So I put on my halter tankini, pulled on pair of shorts with it, and enjoyed myself. And how happy I am about that! The water was just as I remembered. I really am so happy I did it. I managed to get sunburned, and terribly at that. I'm still peeling! Oh well, at least my farmer's tan is gone now. The kids had a blast in the water, they'd never been to Cultus before, so it was a new experience for them as well. They loved it. My husband hates the water, so he just sat on the shore and watched, and talked with my family. All of the family was there except for 6 of my cousins, and two aunts and one uncle. I was a little disappointed that not everyone could make it, but c'est la vie! Halfway through the afternoon, we were all treated to a fabulous bbq and potluck at my Aunt and Uncle's cottage. The food was superb!

This photo is of my brother, and below the splashes are my sister and my cousin. Not a very good photo, but I wanted to show how beautiful the lake is. It was created by a glacier, and is still glacier fed, or so I've been told. It is so deep, that the bottom is unknown. And apparently there are some pre-historic fish living in the depths.


Pretty much by 5PM or so, everyone was just pooped, and we decided it was time to head back to my mom's house. We stopped for ice cream on the way back, and it was fantastic! The dairy we stopped at makes their own, and it was very rich and creamy. So if you live in Yarrow, or know which place I'm talking about, go to them! I pigged out and had two scoops in a waffle cone...licorice (OMG fantastic!!) and Black Raspberry Cheesecake (mmmmmm). I have so many cute pictures of our youngest covered in dirt, eating her ice cream as it melts all over her. She was a mess that day.

Monday the 20th we headed to my hometown to have lunch with my Oma. She proceeded to make us the most yummiest potato salad ever as part of our lunch! My husband has now proclaimed hers as better than mine. We spent a couple hours with her at her home, and then went off to explore the town. It was nice to visit with her, we don't see her very often, and she'll be 82 this December. The kids love her, and I am glad they get to make memories with her. I never knew my great grandparents very much. And I've only met one, and she died a few years ago, so I am happy they get to do that with her. My brother was with us on Monday, so he and I visited our Opa's grave. You see, July 20th is his birthday. I just wanted to go say hi and happy birthday. I miss him a lot, he died 12 years ago.

The rest of the day we spent driving around my hometown, visited the grocery store for my friends who wanted Aero candy bars, and I played tour guide to my husband and kids. Nothing too exciting. It was our last day in Canada, so we tried to enjoy it as much as you can doing a lot of driving. I was happy though, I showed them all the places I used to live, where I went to school, where I worked etc etc. That night we spent a bit of time with my brother and sister, and then went back to my mom's.

Tuesday we left bright and early. And I mean early! The man and I were up at 5:30AM, and we were out the door at 7:30. We didn't hit any traffic, and were home by 10:40, so we made REALLY good time. This is the last official vacation photo I took, right before we crossed over the border.



Well, that was that. We had such a good time in B.C. I miss my family a lot, especially my brother and sister, since we rarely see each other. It will probably be a few months before I see my sister again, and who knows when I'll see my brother again. He lives on the other side of Canada, so he doesn't come home very often. All in all, it was a great vacation. I'm so glad we went!!

1 comment:

peppers said...

don't forget about the giant two-headed snake that lives at the very bottom of cultus

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