150 Years Too Late

GOLD! GOLD had been discovered in the Cariboo near a little place called Barkerville. Only 700 kilometres from our home in Penticton.

The siren call of gold could not be resisted. We packed up and hit the road.

It was the start of a long and arduous journey. 

Seven long hours, crammed in an 1998 Toyota Corolla. It was mind numbing with only short stops for victuals from  local Tim Hortons that we found along the way.

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As we rode into town, we could see it was  already crowded with tenderfoots looking to strike it rich.

The locals were abuzz with rumours about rich strikes up an down the creek. 

We had to get in on the action, but needed an in. Something that would give as a hand up on the other prospectors.

Using her feminine wiles, Nonie captured the eye of the local judge. We had our in! 

 A romantic dinner, a show and we had our claim. We were on the way to our dreams of riches and a life of leisure.

With pan in hand, we hit the claim, as soon as the ink was dry on our deed.

GOLD Baby!

Wait a minute. We already have a life of leisure.

Do we really need those three flecks of gold we found in our pans. 

Life is too short.

Let's leave prospecting to others.

With our gold fever quenched, it was time to get back to the Okanagan.

The Missing Misty and Mysterious of Haida Gwaii

Named one of National Geographic’s 20 best trips, a UNESCO World Heritage site, an item on Nonie’s “To Do List”, the poor Canadian dollar and a desire to see more of our own beautiful province found us driving north to the misty and mysterious islands of Haida Gwaii.

Formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, the 150 plus islands can be found about half way up the coast of BC and about an 8 hour ferry ride across the Hecate Strait from Prince Rupert on the mainland.

The islands are home to the indigenous Haida Nation who’s residence on the these islands can be traced back at least 13,000 years.   

The arrival of the British saw the Haida population, then estimated at 10,000, decimated to less than 400 in 1900. Today about 4500 people live on the islands. 70% are Haida. 

It was an overnight ferry from the mainland that had us arriving in the early morning. The day dawned sunny with not a cloud in the sky. 

The misty and mysterious were not evident today.

For the next three days, hiking would consume most of our time.

Day 2 was warm and sunny as well. No mist and mystery today.  











 

From the forest to the beaches, the hiking was awesome.











Day 3 dawned warm and sunny. Once again the mystery and misty were still missing.








On Day 3 we also ran out of places to hike.

Day 4, saw us leaving the islands. Again under blue skies and sunshine.

But mysteriously, as we sailed away, misty and mysterious returned to Haida Gwaii. WTF! 

Another 24 hour ferry rice found us enjoying the beaches of northern Vancouver Island. No mist and mystery here, either. 

Along the way we did acquire this lovely ceremonial frog mask. Not Haida but Salish. A nice addition to our collection.

A Change of Hood, A Change of Life

Sorry for disappearing off the blogosphere. The move from Toronto back to the Okanagan has been a busy one. I was seriously mistaken when I thought it would be a quick and smooth transition from the “big” to the “not so big” city lifestyle.

Upon reviewing our life in the Okanagan, I realized that despite the extreme difference in population size, (6,000,000 versus 35,000) our life had not gotten any simpler. In fact it seemed to have gotten more complex. Some research seemed in order.  

I began by creating a visual presentation of both neighbourhoods (hoods), which I hoped would help to clarify why life has become more complex (busier).   

                                             TORONTO

PENTICTON

It did not take me long to see the problem. Except for population size, there seemed to be very little difference between our two neighbourhoods.  We may be in a rut when it comes to choosing our hoods. There had to be other reasons that would explain our busyness.

So, I hopped on my bike to see if a closer look at our hood would reveal its secrets.  

A twenty minute bike ride turned into a four hour bike ride with coffee break. I seems I may have discovered that difference. The distractions are too accessible.

Only one small detail is missing that would make living in Penticton perfect.

10 Reasons Why We Moved To Toronto

 

Early Sunday mornings, Sponge Bob Squarepants marathons and lots of strong coffee.

 

 

 

 

Making fools of ourselves where no one knows you.

 

 

 

Catching a basketball game and seeing the Raptors almost win.

 

 

 

Making green snow all be it very slowly at our age.

 

 

 

Balancing life and family where family wins and life can go suck a lime.

 

 

 

Sticking our tongues out at the world for no other reason other than it feels good.

 

 

 

Shamelessly embracing and exposing our inner clown.

 

 

 

Spending time with family, no matter what.

 

 

 

 

Showing off our sweet moves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doing things, we have not done before and probably never do again.