It’s been a rarity since retirement for us to spend Christmas with our kids.
Once our boys were married and had households of their own, and while we were still both working full-time, we made an effort to travel to them (in the case of son#2 who was stationed on the east coast), or host an extended family Christmas event in our condo’s party room when everyone was able to come to us.
In those days, hosting our kids for Christmas meant setting up our condo’s second bedroom with a pack-n-play (remember those?) as a crib beside the queen sized bed, and putting an air mattress down in the living room.
When we couldn’t be together, there was Skype on Christmas morning.
Once I retired in 2017 (Ted had retired 18 months earlier) – and we followed up by selling the last of our stuff mid 2018 – we rarely spent Christmas in Canada (with the exception of during the pandemic, when we couldn’t get together anyway), preferring instead to celebrate Thanksgiving with our family and then escape Ontario’s cold winters for warmer climes.
Since our move from Ontario to B.C., where winters on the coast are mild and rainy instead of filled with ice and snow, we’ve continued the pattern of being gone before Christmas.
This year, we had used up our “out-of-country” days by the time we returned from Egypt on December 9th, which meant staying put until the turn of the calendar year.
Aside: When we got back from Egypt mid-December, we found that our amazing landlords had left a touch of Christmas in our little house, in which a Christmas tree would be hard-pressed to find room, and had even adorned our porch with Christmas lights!
Since we were “home”, we were able to spend Christmas Eve and morning with our three grandsons.
Son#2’s wife is Italian, and so their family has adopted the wonderful traditions carried forward from her parents: a Christmas Eve seafood extravaganza that our son has also embraced learning to cook…
…followed by fresh Mission figs, fruit, and panettone.
We stayed for present opening and breakfast on Christmas morning, and I – uncharacteristically – managed to correctly gauge the 9 hour time difference in order to have a video chat with my cousin in Germany, who was just in the midst of a short respite from a huge spate of entertaining the various branches of her family. Lucky them, to be the recipients of her culinary and baking talents.
On Boxing Day we took in a movie: Song Sung Blue, starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson. It was an absolutely wonderful love story based on a real-life Milwaukee Wisconsin couple who interpreted Neil Diamond songs as a duo under the billing “Lightning & Thunder” (their true story is here). We laughed, and gasped, and cried, and mouthed along with all the songs. A bonus (for me) was Michael Imperioli (Christopher from The Sopranos) as a Buddy Holly tribute artist.
Being here for December also got us the unexpected invitation to join #2’s family for a 3-day winter break on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast, in a chalet at Pender Harbour Resort.
Our son and his family live about an hour inland, and we’re in Vancouver proper, so we arranged to meet at the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal. The ferry had been cancelled a couple of times in the week leading up to Christmas due to high winds making the Howe Sound crossing unsafe; we had our fingers crossed that our sailing would go as planned, since there’s no other way to get there with a vehicle.
There’s something quite magical about the ferry crossings of the Salish Sea and Howe Sound. Maybe it’s being surrounded by mountains. Maybe it’s the sound of gulls and eagles. Maybe it’s the possibility of seeing orca (although we didn’t).
We were greeted at the chalet by three curious harbour seals, wondering who was disturbing their winter peace. There are sea lions in Howe Sound too, but they rarely venture into these small harbours and marinas.
Daytime and evening the grandkids filled the chalet with wet footprints and screeching voices, but early morning it was just the adults, cups of coffee, and a cozy fire.
After breakfast on our first full day, we wandered a trail above the shoreline at Francis Point Provincial Park, among soaring pines and lush ferns.
Part of the protected coastal ecosystem features maritime reindeer lichen. We learned that it only grows about 4mm (0.16 inches) per year, and can live for over 150 years if not trampled by hikers – or overgrazed by caribou, for whom it provides an important winter food source. There were many signs reminding us to stay on the trails.
There were seagulls, mergansers, and a common loon splashing in the marina, and several bald eagles high in the treetops.
Then lunch at Fred’s, right on the beautiful waterfront in Sechelt…
… where Ted captured three uncommon loons on the beach.
The fresh air tired everyone out. We called it an early night: coffee, wine, and hot tub time.
On day two, our last full day at the chalet, we packed a cold picnic lunch and headed to Skookumchuck (a Chinook word meaning “strong waters”) Narrows Provincial Park. The narrows are a world-renowned natural spectacle, where massive tidal currents create powerful rapids, whirlpools, and standing waves as water rushes between Jervis and Sechelt Inlets. Apparently experienced kayakers, and daredevil surfers (!), love to take advantage of the turbulent waters.
Getting seven people ready to go anywhere is a challenge, so we missed the optimal viewing time (10:35 a.m. as posted on the provincial park’s calendar), but while we were waiting at Pender Harbour, Ted noticed an otter exploring one of the boats in the marina.
We eventually got to the park around noon.
The trail from Egmont to Roland Point is advertised as an easy 8km round trip through a temperate rainforest ecosystem. The word “verdant” could have been invented specifically for this place; there were countless shaded of green in the ferns, mosses, lichen, trees, grasses, and even reflected in the water.
Part way to the lookout point we passed Brown Lake, a freshwater lake that is home to cutthroat trout. Its glassy surface perfectly reflected the surrounding trees and mountains.
We stopped first at North Point, where the waters were deceptively calm. It was hard to imagine the famous whirlpools and waves.
Further along the trail at Roland Point, there was evidence of some very small rapids – again it was hard to imagine what the waters must look like at high tide.
They certainly did not resemble what was shown on the interpretive signage (below – backed by our actual view of snow-capped mountains):
14,000 steps later we dragged ourselves back to the SUV for the return drive to the chalet, with a quick sunset photo stop at Daniel Point looking out toward Pearson Island.
The boys headed straight for the hot tub, followed by leftover pizza from the day before’s lunch at Fred’s. Everyone was tired enough for a quiet evening, and packing up for our departure.
En route back to the ferry the next morning we stopped in Gibsons to explore what we’d heard was a charming small town.
Unfortunately, the combination of being off-season and Christmas holidays meant that many shops and restaurants were closed. Nonetheless we strolled the waterfront …
…and main street…
…found a sign in front of one of the stores that I should probably wear as a tee shirt…
…laughed at the quirky way in which that statue of the town’s founder had been “dressed” for the holidays…
…and had a delicious lunch at the appropriately named Gramma’s Pub.
Because there wasn’t much else to do in town, we got in line at 2:40 for the 3:30 ferry crossing in a “waiting” lane. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it onto the early ferry and had to stay in line until our scheduled 6:00 p.m. sailing. Sitting in the SUV for three hours with three high energy boys was not necessarily the most amazing way to end a lovely few days away, but the wait did give Ted and son#2 lots of time to capture a truly spectacular sunset over Howe Sound.
Bottom line: it was great to have some quality family time before our months away. We’ll miss our family, of course, but technology lets us stay in touch, and we’re taking wonderful memories with us.
Rose and Ted’s Excellent Adventure 