Meant to be

I know I said I'd have a few pictures of our recent trip to the West Coast, so I needed to make good on that. I picked a handful of pictures I love. I have a really hard time trying to weed the pictures out. I would like to include all of them, but then I soon run out of space on my blog...

Our annual trip to Sicamous, came to a screeching halt this year, because of the floods they had. While the little cabin we usually stay at was, we think, not touched by the water, the water came to within a few feet of the patio doors. There were too many obstacles in our way this year. No beach to speak of, water advisories, way too much stuff floating around in the lake to safely and confidently put a boat in, and, did I mention, water advisories? A big one for me... I would not have let my kids go anywhere near that water this summer... Let's face it, it's pretty tough to take them to the beach and say, "Stay away from the beach..." So, with about 10 days before our vacation was to start, we frantically began to look for another alternative. I thought we'd be in trouble, but we found accommodation in a great little hotel right in Sooke, BC. It was totally meant to be. 

We mapped out and knew we wanted to hit a number of beaches along the coast. We hit Botanical Beach [renamed Barnacle Beach, because that's what the kids keep calling it]; China Beach [my most favourite] and French Beach. It took us nearly 2 hours to get to Botanical Beach, the roads were EXTREMELY curvy... And by extremely, I mean... RIDICULOUSLY, STUPIDLY, curvy... Poor Mason in the backseat, didn't fare well. [And to be honest, Mummy in the front seat only did marginally better] When Barry suggested that Mason and I trade places, and I sit in the backseat, I said, "Sorry about your luck Mace" and passed the bucket back to him. We would have INDEED been sharing, had I been relegated to the back seat... There are some times, when being the adult simply means, you get dibs on the front seat. Sorry little buddy.

I have been lucky enough to have 3 trips to the ocean in the past 3 months... I do indeed count my blessings. We enjoyed this little holiday so much, and we're pleased to report that we have two more ocean lover's in the family.

When we first arrived, the moment after we checked in we headed down to the beach right in front of the hotel. [The next morning, there was no beach there, so the kids learned quickly about tides] It took Madelyn about 5 minutes before she fell in... You just knew that was only a matter of time!

The next morning, we hit Botanical Beach. When the tide is in, all the lower lying areas are under water [including the picture of where me and the kids are] If you get caught in a few spots, with the tide crashing in, it would indeed, be a bit scary.

There are numerous 'escape here' signs. I suspect those are there for those people, who get caught when the tide is coming in... Eeks!

French Beach was the next day. It's my favourite beach. We brought Mason here when he was 2 1/2. I loved it then, and I still love it. It's got that silty sand, that squishes in your toes.

The wind was super chilly. If you were out in the wind, you needed to have a sweater/jacket on.

We walked down to the far end of the beach and found a sheltered little cove, then suddenly it was HOT. So the kids stripped down to their undies, and we had the most fabulous afternoon playing. They built sand castles, played in the water. Madelyn collected hermit crabs and fish [she caught them all with her bare hands] we only took a bucket for each of them with us, to collect treasures. Those buckets got a work out this trip I'll tell you.

French Beach was the last beach we hit. The last time I was here, the tide was in, so there wasn't much beach, this time, there was lots of beach, but rocky. We spent the day here also, the kids founds sticks and they poked at things and played in the water. They got drenched and jumped waves. They had a great time, and loved it. And that made us love it even more. Part of me was nervous that the kids would be bored, or not love it the way Barry and I do. That was not the case. Each time we hit the beach it was for the whole day, and we had nothing with us but snacks and buckets.

I realized with these trips to the ocean, that this is indeed my happy place... I just feel calmer. I feel less stressed. I feel peaceful. I guess we'll have to make an effort to visit a little bit more.