O Canada

What a great trip to Canada Blake and I just had! You never really know how much home can really feel like home. My sister's wedding was amazing. She made such a beautiful bride in her gorgeous white gown and flowing black hair. I think it took most of my willpower to hold back some tears as she walked down the aisle to Mat. Luckily I know she is in great hands. The two of them make an awesome pair.
Blake and I were able to relax in the wilderness at Alpine Meadows Resort, 25 kms out of Clearwater, B.C. The grounds were ideal for a wedding as a lake and mountains were the backdrop. It was great to see and visit with my family, as we didn't really get enough time at my wedding, and furthermore, it was great to be able to eat, drink and enjoy the reception this time around! The wedding went off without a hitch, although it was freezing cold! Thankfully Mat and Mel had thought ahead and created a signature cocktail which helped keep us warm. The outdoor heated lamps also warmed up the dance floor, where much to Blake's embarrassment, his wife kept up a steady flow of "Thomsonesque" dance moves. The next day we discovered the perfect cure for a hangover: whitewater rafting in the chilly September water. My aunt, both uncles, mom and dad, and Blake's friend Darcy accompanied us on a 2 hour trip down the river. Blake and Darcy actually got up the guts to cliff jump from a 7 metre rock cut, but I was happy just to watch!
The next day it was up to Prince George where we met Reita and Garry and headed back to Burns Lake. We spent the following week having a great time with Blake's parents. Reita looks amazing for a woman just finishing up 6 rounds of chemo. I think she could definitely win an award for the most shapely skull around. If I lost my hair I'd have a huge flattened section on the back of my head from too much time spent lying in a laundry basket during infancy (thanks mom!). We were both impressed with Reita's great attitude towards the whole ordeal- what strength. I spent some time with Rachel on the Southside as well and laughed at how much her little one resembles her! Payback!!!! We also got some good visiting time in with Tara and Marlon and their newest addition, Rhys. What a cutie! One night we also managed to get up hot-tubbing with Blake's cousin Jarrett. It was so nice to sit out in the cool weather in a warm tub! Finally, we had a big family supper at Blake's Aunt and Uncle's place with his cousins and their children, as well. Claire warned us that the kid's were contagious... however, with three in diapers and two in elementary school it felt a little more like birth control!!!! We have officially nixed any notion of having 5 kids! All jokes aside, the kid are actually great, and they have grown up so fast! Before we knew it, we were on the road back to Prince George to stay with my best friend Heather and her family before flying out home the next day. One thing I love about good friends is that no matter how much time passes, you can always pick up where you left off.
Our flights back home spanned two days, four planes, three countries and proved to be the longest possible way to cross a continent. Unfortunately the flight from Toronto to Tampa was pretty turbulent, pushing my nearly cured anxiety up a notch. I would be happy to not sit in another plane for a year now, but with our next adventure only 2 weeks away it looks as if I'll have to suck it up.

The most popular question we got asked on our trip was whether or not we missed Canada. That is a hard question to answer! So rather than bore you with some long winded retort, I will provide you with a list of what we realized we missed, and of course, what we didn't.

Things we missed about Canada:
1) Fresh air and the beauty of fall
2) campfires and camping
3) Having straight glossy hair that stays put all day!
4) Being able to run without losing half your body weight in sweat
5) T.V. (okay, admittedly we do have TV here, but we are too cheap to order it and our TV in the livingroom bit the bullet well before our time)
6) The loonie... nowhere else has crazy named currency
7) family- this should have been first, but I am too tired to think straight tonight
8) Wearing comfy clothing like jeans and sweatshirts
9) Mudslides in a million different flavours
10) Lack of land crabs, and furthermore, land crab nightmares

Things we didn't miss about Canada:
1) static electricity
2) cold feet and red noses
3) chapped lips
4) Tax (What is with the HST???? is nearly doubled some of my purchases, or at least it felt like that!)
5) snow. Yes. We saw snow. In September.
6) Driving on the right side. We have somehow adapted to this left side driving and now I am all messed up.
7) rules. I never noticed how many rules there are in Canada.
8) 10 digit dialling. What a moronic idea
9) THe sheer size of Canada. Although sometimes I like how big it is, the massive size of Canada makes travel rather tiring
10) Air Canada and their lack of airplane food

Well that completes the list. I love both of our countries, but each one has some special qualities. In the long run Canada will always win though, as our family, past and future lies in the massive land we call our true home.

Random island weekends

I live for the weekends here! Although we are on a tiny island, there never seems to be any shortage of things to do. It seems like every month there is at least one fair or event being held, and the rest of the weekends fly by in a blur of social gatherings, chores and beach time. One of the wonderful things about this island is that the most random things happen when you least expect them. Take last weekend, for example. In an effort to save our livers and a bit of cash, our group of friends decided to have a picnic at one of the only parks on the island. We gathered up salads, cheeses and wine and met at sunset on the edge of the beach in a nice shady and grassy spot. We had a great evening under the stars, just sipping wine and exchanging crazy work stories. It wasn't until my friend Kate and I headed off to the washroom, dodging iguana holes in the dark, that we happened upon a deflated yet fully operational bouncy castle. A quick look around in the dark proved that we were the only occupants in the park. We looked around the back of the castle and noticed that it need only be plugged in to blow up. We returned to the table with our wonderful observation and we decided that it wasn't every day you found an abandoned bouncy castle. We quickly headed back to inflate it. I was seconds away from connecting the plugs when I saw a uniformed guard come around the corner, flashlight in hand. I dropped the cord and exclaimed loudly "Well it is a good thing this is unplugged! I can just imagine what would happen if it had accidentally inflated!" Kate and I hightailed it back to the picnic table. The guards followed us and eyed up the crew. THe main guy struck up a conversation with Lachie and it wasn't long before they were calling each other mates and laughing. The guards left the park eventually and we all ran back to the castle. With one flip of a switch the castle inflated in to the best funhouse any twenty year old can imagine! Complete with a tiny entry door and four sides the 8 of us hopped on and proceeded to act like five year olds for the next half hour. It wan't until all of our crazy jumping stunts dislodged the castle from the air inflator that we were forced to crawl through the floppy rubber mess and call it a night! What a blast and completely random at that!

This past weekend we came upon another random feature of the island. After a beautiful morning dive with Brett and Sarah, followed by a great BBQ lunch overlooking the ocean, we headed over to Spott's Beach. A popular hangout for necking teens and snorkelers who love swimming with turtles, Spotts Beach is only a few kilometres from our house. However, with Brett's stealthy skills, he quickly had us clambering up ironshore cliffs and scaling rich people's garden walls in order to deliver us right to the most exciting cave. With a large opening and sandy bottom the cave was something from my dreams ( suffice it to say, I like small dark places)! There were bats hanging from the ceilings and huge concave holes leading to smaller chambers, most too small to wriggle in to. I could have spent the rest of the day imagining pirate's off loading their bounty and swigging rum, but turns out Blake isn't the biggest bat fan of bats, so we stayed no longer than necessary.

It is unique finds like caves and lonesome carnival castles that make every weekend on this island fresh and exciting. Although we are super excited to be heading back to Canada for 12 days this week, there is the smallest part of us that felt a little sad listening to the others plan next weekend, knowing we wouldn't be around. However, my little sister is getting married in 5 days and there is nothing in the world (except a hurricane... which is a distinct possibility at this point) that could keep me away from watching my amazing Melinda walk down the aisle! There is nobody quite as special as a sister!

Exploding cars and non-existant brakes

I have learned one thing this week: I take stopping for granted. Sometimes I roll through a stop sign. Sometimes I stop well ahead of the sign. There have even been a few times (accidentally) that I have not seen the sign and just flew right through. Well those days are gone. I have a new found respect for my brakes. Earlier this week I noticed that our brakes seemed a little soft. I had to press awfully hard to get any results. It got worse as the day went on, until finally, on my way to the library, the pedal actually hit the floor and the car slowly lost it's momentum. It was at that moment that I realized I had no brakes. I was only a few blocks and one traffic circle from Blake's work, where I was headed to pick him up. I decided to chance it (probably one of the less smarter moves I have made in life). With a quick prayer I turned on to the main road and quickly learned that the same attraction that exists between cats that love people with animal allergies also exists between those who dart across the road, expecting to be let through with those without brakes. It is Murphy's Law really, every car possible cut in front of me, every crazy tourist sauntered out into traffic, and for the first time, the traffic circle was bumper to bumper. My strategy became clear, I had to go as slow as possible while pissing off every motorist behind me, and hope in vain that those in front of me would have moved forward before my front bumper met their rear. It is at this point that I should also mention that three quarters of this island's population drives BMWs, Mercedes and Land Rovers. With little more than a block to go, and sweating profusely (not from the lack of air conditioner, since that seems to be the only thing that works in our car, but from the near run ins), I thought I was in the clear. It was smooth sailing to his office, and with a small turn I would be in his parking lot. All of a sudden it happened. In slow motion I saw the rooster emerge from the bush, shining handsomely in the sunlight. Not a care in the world... he started slowly across the road. I pushed down hard, but nothing happened. I knew this rooster was doomed. He was mere inches from me. I felt my heart thud and the sickest feeling wash over me as my car headed straight for this feathered fowl. I closed my eyes and held my breath and waited for the inevitable thud. When I heard nothing I looked in the rearview mirror and saw that he had stopped right before he ran into my wheel. The lucky guy missed the car by millimetres. Stupid chicken, why did he have to cross the road???
When Blake came out from work, I told him about our little dilemma. He jumped in the driver's seat (after prying the door open with our broken door handle and jammed lock) to see for himself. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe you have been driving this thing!" was the first sentence out of his mouth. With all automotive repair shops closed, and miles from home, we had only one option left...Marvin. Now Marvin is our Jamaican car repair guy. You know how people have their preferred stylist, doctor, babysitter etc? Well in Cayman it is all about the Jamaican car guys. Marvin is our little secret. We call him when we need our ABS light cut so we can pass inspection, or when our window gets stuck down, or when our car squeals every time it hits water. It is like having a 24 hour repair man at your service, the only catch is that we don't understand a word he says, and most things he fixes break within a week. Marvin raced to our rescue, this time followed by his sidekick Bogul. It appeared that our brake fluid was leaking from a major hose leak. "Nadda pra.. Nadda pra..." waves Bogul. Telling us that it was not a problem, he sent Marvin off to buy brake fluid and proceeded to hop under our car. With some tape and a few rusted screws he toyed around under our car and obviously clamped something to fix the leak. Once the brake fluid was put in Bogul began yelling at Blake " Umit umit umit!!!" We stared at each other quizzically. "Umit" he yelled again. I looked at Marvin, who shrugged and said loudly "PUMP IT!" Blake jumped in the car and started pumping the brake, and presto, within minutes we had restored our brakes! However, that was not the only problem with the car. When he climbed out from under body, Bogul told us we would have to replace the hose, which he would do the next day.
So the following day, I trustingly handed over the car keys and watched as Marvin and Bogul drove off in our only vehicle. Every time he leaves I worry just slightly that our car may never return, but it has each time, although with significantly less gas and a reggae station pounding on the radio. That afternoon when they returned Bogul leaned over the window and looked at me sorrowfully. "Dis car mon az bi pra." uh oh... I knew there were a few things wrong with it, but when a technician tells you there is a big problem you know the news can't be good. "Dem cv join boo no wer, bust, all er, car go EXPLODE!" I jumped back in fear. Just like you, I really only understood the las part. " My car will explode!" I exclaimed loudly. Marvin broke out laughing. Bogul repeated "dem explode." I quickly paid them and ran inside to my office. In sheer panic, and imagining my car bursting into flames the next time I started it, I dialed up the nearest auto repair shop and booked an appointment. Turns out Marvin and Bogul were right in one respect, the CV joint boot had "exploded" so now we have some costly repairs, but it turns out I was a little off with assumption the whole car would explode... thank heavens! Thus begins the new saga of car repairs, which on this island will prove to be expensive and interesting... just like everything else here!

Pictured above: our lovely car, damn roosters...