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| World’s Tallest Toy Soldier New Westminster, BC |
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| Some signs are just too fun to pass up without a pic… |
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| Riding the Sea Bus |
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| Exploring Downtown Vancouver |
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| The view from our apartment |
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| Fall is definitely here (okay, actually, it feels more akin to winter in Georgia! |
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| Ukrainian Church Surrey, BC |
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| Lonsdale Quay |
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| North Vancouver, looking back to Downtown Vancouver |
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| Two Handsome Boys |
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| Waterfront Park in North Vancouver |
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| Enjoying a day of exploration |
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| A big uphill road in North Vancouver |
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| Home of the Canucks (would love to see a game if they NHL would get their act together!) |
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| Chinatown – had a great lunch here on Saturday! |
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| Snow began falling on the mountains over this past weekend – so pretty! |
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| Cool Lego Jack-o-Lantern at the mall near our apartment |
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| Baked some yummy cookies, thanks to a Pinterest recipe & the discovery of the ingredients at a nearby discount store! |
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| Just outside our building |
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| The view from one of our bedrooms |
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| Kitchen |
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| Living Area |
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| Boys’ bedroom |
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| Zack & Jenn’s room |
We got settled at our campsite. We were the only ones there and the weather was nice: just a bit of sun and around 60 F.
We went for a 5 mile hike at Raven Cliffs. It was a nice walk and the leaves were just beginning to turn.
We got back to camp and had dinner. Then the boys were playing. After a few minutes, William calmly came up to me and said “Mommy, there’s a bear over there.” I laughed, until I followed his gaze. There at the next campsite, about 60 yards away, was a big black bear (probably 300-400 pounds).
I tried to stay calm. Zack told us to head for the car. I took both boys by the hand and we began walking to the car. We waited for Zack. It seemed like forever, but probably about 3 or 4 minutes later he emerged from the woods. The bear had been very uninterested in us, and after Zack threw a couple of things and made a little noise, he retreated across the river.
We debated on leaving, but decided to stay. While my vivid imagination tried to tell me otherwise, we saw nothing further of our large neighbor that night or the next morning.
We had a fun time, and it is definitely a trip we will not soon forget!
Many songs have been written about it.
We are in the heart of a season of goodbyes. The songs are right. It’s not easy. In some most cases, it’s just plain hard. There have been tears already. And with just two weeks until we leave the states, there will surely be more.
It has been interesting to see how each of us handles the sadness of goodbyes. It has been a good lesson in facing and dealing honestly with our emotions. It has been an important lesson in leaving well.
But as we get towards the end of of our goodbyes, we remember that it’s not really goodbye, it’s only see you later… and until we meet again! Happy Trails to You
