I had a really fabulous summer which ended with a belated birthday party for me with three of my friends from childhood. It was literally the last day of summer and it was still warm and lovely and we were on my friend's beautiful patio. She had cooked up a feast and there was so much laughter and reminiscing and fun.
On my actual birthday in July, I was on a girl's trip to Victoria and Galiano. It was relaxing and beautiful and quiet. The great thing about going to the island is that I feel like I am on holiday as soon as I get on the ferry. The weather was spectacular and we were on the deck admiring the stunning beauty of BC. In Victoria, we walked around downtown, we ate fabulous food, we went to Butchart Gardens. We stayed in a lovely air b&b from which we could have walked to the beach if we'd had more time. On Galiano, we stayed in a lovely cottage air b&b looking out over the water. I was very pleasantly surprised at the good restaurants we went to, considering how small the island is. My favourite was a little outdoor cafe attached to a bookstore. It was quaint and adorable and the food was delicious.
In August, I went to Whistler with Lesley. We teach at the same school and have known each other since we did teacher ed together over 20 years ago at UBC. I hadn't been to Whistler in years and I wasn't super excited, but after much hemming and hawing about where to go, we settled on Whistler because it seemed easy. Low expectations are always great because they are so easy to exceed, lol. The drive up was spectacular and we stopped to take pictures. Our air b&b was fantastic, in the upper village, walking distance to everywhere, included parking, and had a hot tub. The floor to ceiling windows, which from the 4th floor looked out on to a wall of evergreens, made me feel like I was waking up in the middle of a forest. We walked around, we went to the Scandinave Spa, we read and we planned for school.
Of course, I also spent time with my family. But that was very bittersweet since Matias moved out at the end of summer. I will maybe blog about that some other time. All in all it was a relaxing summer and felt gloriously long. Now the rains are here and I am ok with that; feeling grateful for a great summer.
