We have had a fabulous summer and I am really sorry to see it come to an end. We decided to stay in BC for various reasons this summer and it was great to explore our own province. We went to Hope a couple of times which was great. But we also wanted to do something new, so I looked and looked at online rentals in different parts of BC. I finally ended up renting a cabin on the water in Powell River. Pentti was a little reluctant and required some convincing, but that was nothing new, ha. We took two ferries to get to Powell River and arrived at our cabin on a Sunday afternoon. The cabin was newly renovated and very spacious. The location on the water was perfect for the kids. Along the northern end of the beach there were lots of big rocks and boulders to climb and the boys loved exploring. I really try to let them wander off and explore because I think it's invaluable, but it's pretty hard to do in the big city. In Powell River they were able to do a lot of unsupervised roaming.
I have to say that I fell in love with Powell River. We ate at some really good restaurants and saw some spectacular sunsets and really enjoyed our time there. A couple from our church happened to be camping at Willingdon Beach, so we met up with them a few times, playing mini golf, eating ice cream etc. When our 4 nights were up, we weren't ready to head home so we took a ferry and drove to Madeira Park. I had found a luxury trailer online to rent and it happened to be available for the next 2 nights. Wow. I had no idea that a trailer could be so cool. It was located near the water as well and kayaks were provided with the rental. I was a little terrified having never kayaked, but I did it anyway. It was great to be in the ocean and my difficulty in getting out of the kayak provided great comic relief for the whole family. The boys really enjoyed kayaking and again, were able to explore on their own. A family of deer lived nearby and we were able to see them multiple times eating from the bushes. We also went on a hike that opened up a spectacular view from the mountaintop. All in all, it was such a great end to our summer!
But, alas, school starts on Tuesday. In some ways getting back to a routine will be nice, but there will be big changes as I am moving schools, Emmi is starting kindergarten and Matias is starting high school. Stay tuned.
