Radical Sabbatical: AYear of Living

We left the Yukon six weeks ago. It has been a crazy six weeks. We drove like mad people to Prince George, Summit Lake to be exact , to spend some time with Papa Yvon and Gramma Trudy. Summit Lake is where I spent my childhood summers. It is still my favourite place on earth. I think that the boys like it too. They get to fish with Papa, go for long meandering walks with Gramma, play with sticks in the bonfire and explore the forest. Everything that I loved to do as a child and even now. The visit wasn`t long enough.

Next stop Coquitlam. A lovely suburb of Vancouver where D and I met and where are families still are. We crammed into D`s parents condo for 2 weeks. D spent the first few days with us and then we drove him to the ferry terminal and drove back to Coquitlam. I don`t drive in the city. I hate driving in the city. I especially hate driving over bridges in the city. And the boys bawled from the moment D left the van to the moment I finally stopped at a Burger King to get them a milkshake so they would stop crying.  Thankfully, my sis in law was with me to talk me off the ledge.

The boys and I spent the next week and a half trying not to kill each other. We went to lots of parks.

Off to Victoria to visit D at school. Quick little visit but so worth it. I love Victoria. One reason in particular is that a couple of my favourite peeps live in Vic West. They so kindly let us crash their pad for a few days. They took us to feed the seals at Fisherman's Wharf. So very cool. Never done it. Could do it everyday. We took a double decker bus to the Bug Zoo. The boys loved it. Then we walked back to G and J`s house. G said it would take 20 minutes. It took over an hour. I still love her. My feet do not. G and I then left the boys with J and went to get art supplies and have some girl time. Love = art supplies,liquor store,huge used book store and time with G. I needed that time with G and J. I felt like myself again.

I met up with my mom in Victoria and we drove up to Parksville with the boys. We stayed in a lovely condo at Ocean Trails for 5 lovely days. We went to Rathtrevor Beach at low tide and scoured the sand for sand dollars,shells,rocks,anything that looked interesting. We took the boys to Coombs to see the `Goats on the Roof`. Kai fell in love with Indiana Jones hat. Pretty Grandma bought it for him for his birthday. He is one happy little dude. Then we took a drive to Cathedral Grove. The boys ooohed and aaahhhed at the trees. Trees in the Yukon are such sad little trees. Can`t wait to show them the Redwoods in Northern California.

 We drove back to Coombs to find the licorice store. I refused to go home until we found it. It took awhile. It was so worth it. We went to the Community Park in Parksville. The boys thought that they had died and gone to Heaven. We took the boys to a place called Jumping Jiminy`s in Nanaimo. It is a indoor playground with slides,nets and other fun stuff. Mom and I thought we could have a coffee and enjoy some quiet time. Kai and Kir loved it. Ash not so much. He got stuck in one of the play lofts and screamed until I came and got him. Cold coffee.No Quiet time. Fail. We also went to visit my cousin J and her fam in Nanaimo. Her kids are very cute and full of personality. The boys had fun playing with all their instruments and playing store. Score. Time on the couch, talking with adults, not alot of quiet time but no screaming time.  Dropped Pretty Grandma off at the ferry and drove back down to Victoria to pick up D and the fifth wheel. I`ll let you know how that went in the next post.