We had an awesome time at our last summer picnic this weekend. The weather was fantastic -- sunny and not too hot. It was a perfectly delightful opportunity for the kids to catch a few crabs on the beach while their parents got a chance to visit and connect.
This last picnic was hosted at Porpoise Bay Provincial Park just outside of Sechelt. Coming from the VERY south of the lower mainland, I scheduled the picnic for 11am in the hopes that I'd be there in time.
I had a tiny, wee commute from my home to Sechelt. (Please note the sarcasm). It was so wee, in fact, that at 7am I was standing outside the front door of Thrifty Foods, waiting for the doors to open so I could grab our cake and head for the ferry line-up.
At 7:05 I had cake in hand (okay, cake in trunk) and was on my way north to Horseshoe Bay. With a quick stop in Richmond to pick up my predecessor Tanya (who volunteered to join us on the day, hurray!) we were in plenty of time to catch the 9:20 boat to the Sunshine Coast.
I must take a moment to compliment the rabidly grumpy barista at the Horseshoe Bay coffee stand. Although she methodically dumped the tea bag -- string, label, and all -- into my travel mug and complained that there was "Nothing to hang the darn string on!" I forgave her because the cinammon bun she served me (along with my soggy stringed mug of tea) was absolutely out of this world.
It was so delicious, in fact, that people were lined up around the corner to purchase a cinnamon bun and get a complimentary dose of barista abuse in the process. I think I might have dreamed about the bun last night -- which is a good thing, because if you're going to dream about carbs, it had better be worth it. (It was.)
I digress. The ferry was late as usual, which I'm told is in keeping with the manana lifestyle of some of the Sunshine Coast's vibrant residents. We thought we'd be at the park in plenty of time, but I misjudged a turn and we ended up halfway to Halfmoon Bay before I was willing to admit we MIGHT just need directions.
We did make it to the park eventually, and got there in time to help set up our picnic area before any of the parents arrived (and before Heather and Claude -- there representing MCFD and the Sun Coast Foster Parents Support Agency could send out a search party for us).
The families trickled in, and when it was all said and done we had almost 30 people in attendance. Some were fostering, some new adoptive parents, and some had breathed adoption for years and years. One adoptive family was simply visiting the coast for the day and just happened to stumble upon our picnic!
They were so excited to meet us, and they sat right down to join us for cake and juice. It ended up being quite the nice chance meeting, as they had friends who were considering adoption. Now we'll be seeing lots of this new family as help their friends along on their adoption journey.
Tanya & I left in a bit of a rush to try and catch an early ferry home to the mainland. I guess a lot of other people had the same idea, because we ended up with a sailing wait on the way back. (Booooo).
As I'd spent the previous day and most of the evening in Children's Hospital's isolation ward, I was absolutely exhausted. I put the car in park and closed my eyes for a few 'seconds'. An hour later, I woke up drooling in the fetal position, with Tanya nowhere to be found. Poor Tanya. She must think I'm an absolute horror-host after that little display. She wisely decided to go for a bit of a walk and enjoy the fresh coastal air.
We caught the next ferry home, and were glad to be back on the mainland after a busy day on the beautiful Sunshine Coast.
Although I love the setting up there, I must admit that coming and going can be a bit of an incredible journey! Thank you Sechelt, for being such a great host to us on Sunday. :)
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