This IS my home now

As the school year draws to a close I find I'm getting lots of enquiries about my summer plans. I wish I could tell people what they are, but that's another post. The big question though is if I'm going "home" to BC. No, this (Ontario) IS my home now. Most people don't realize that the idea of moving came WELL before school. They think I moved here to go to school. It's an easy mistake. The thing is, I didn't. I moved here because I want to live here. I have so many things to see and do in my new province. Now that the weather is getting warmer, and when school is over, I'll be able to get out and see those things. Even if I'm working. At least I won't be stuck at home doing homework and writing papers.

And I don't have a "home" to go to. I know I'd be welcomed at my parents if I really wanted to but I'm not about to make the reverse road trip this soon and I'd go crazy without a car. The home I had (my apartment) is no longer mine. I gave it up when I moved.

Even though BC will always be my "back home", Ontario is my home now, for now. For better or for worse.

Attitude of Gratitude #19

Today is the 150th Anniversary of British Columbia.

On November 19, 1858, Governor James Douglas read the official proclamation that declared British Columbia a Crown Colony.

I am thankful that I live in BC. Even though I wasn't born here, I was raised here and this is home. I love so much about it. Our slogan is "The Best Place on Earth" and I fully agree with that (even if I am planning on moving LOL). I love the mountains, the rivers, the lakes, the ocean, the vastness of the wilderness areas, the hum of the cities, the diversity and so much more. I am a BC girl and will always be. I love my province. I love BC.

Labour Day Long Weekend

This weekend was all the best parts of summer in three days. Saturday I met up with Jevon, Melissa and Melissa's Mom and we hiked up Mount Thom. It's not a long hike but it's fairly steep so it'a good work out. You get a beautiful view of the valley up there too. Afterwards we rewarded ourselves by going for pie at the airport :)

Saturday evening I went to a bar-b-que at Susan's. Susan is a new friend of mine. It was great to see her place and meet a few of her other friends. We had yummy steak and corn on the cob and other food and then made s'mores. It was great.

Sunday after church Mom, Dad and I went for Thai food and then I went home and scrapbooked for awhile.

Later that evening the three of us drove out and visited my Great-Aunty Phyllis. She is my grandma's sister (I visited their other sister, Elsie this summer) I just love her. As a kid, visiting Aunty Phyllis was kind of a chore. As an adult I treasure every moment I have with her. She has an incredible memory just like my grandma had and she'll talk non-stop until you leave. It was wonderful to see her again.

Monday we had a picnic at the church. Lots of people showed up and while some people played baseball and volleyball I was content to just sit and hold babies and visit :) There are LOTS of babies around so I definitely got my fill.

In the evening Meredith and I went out for dinner at Milestones and then for a walk on the pier at White Rock. We finished our day with dessert at Pearl.

Good food, good friends, lots of memories. It was a fitting way to say "good-bye" to summer...but I'm still hoping that it's not really gone!!!

CP Spirit of 150 Rail Tour

This year British Columbia is celebrating 150 years as a Crown Colony. There are many events being organized around the province and the first one I was able to take in was the CP Spirit of 150 Rail Tour.

From the website: From June 12 to July 6, the CP Spirit of 150 Rail Tour will visit British Columbia communities along the Canadian Pacific route. The tour is co-sponsored by Canadian Pacific, which will operate, staff and maintain the train.

The CP Spirit of 150 Train includes the vintage CP 2816 Empress Steam Train and support cars, two vintage passenger coaches, a vintage business car, a heritage baggage car converted into a travelling museum and a vintage stage car.
The train rolled in to my hometown just before 5pm on Thursday, June 26th. It's previous stop was the town where I work so I actually got to see it travelling between the two. (That's the picture above, the train merrily steaming it's way across the flats. I took it while I was stopped at a red light.)

The train was in town from 5-9 and I spent the first two hours of the evening volunteering at the BerryBeat Festival booth (BerryBeat is next week. Watch here for updates :)) The best part about being in the booth was that I had a front row seat for the stage show. Unfortunately I didn't think to take pictures :(

After my shift in the booth Mom and Dad came down and we toured the museum car together.

The museum car will feature a compact version of Free Spirit: Stories of You, Me and BC, the BC150 exhibition currently on display at the Royal BC Museum. A stage show and costumed performers depicting some of B.C.’s most entertaining and notorious historical figures will help bring history to life.

There was looooong wait to get on the museum car and frankly, I was pretty underwhelmed by the display. There were a few neat things though. Right is a copy of the original declaration establishing BC as a crown colony.

This picture shows the infamous "Flood of '48" when the Fraser Valley was covered in water. (It's a big historical deal around here)

The train is CPR's Empress 2816 Steam Locomotive
CP's 2816 is a class H1b Hudson type locomotive built by Montreal Locomotive Works in December 1930. The CP Empress is now the only surviving H1b Hudson and is one of only a handful of preserved and operating CPR steam locomotives in North America.

Initially the locomotive ran westward out of Winnipeg to Calgary and eastward to Fort William, Ontario (now part of Thunder Bay). Locomotive 2816 then moved into service on the Windsor-to-Quebec City corridor. Its last assignment was at the front of a Montreal-Rigaud commuter train, making its final revenue run on May 26, 1960. Having logged more than two million miles in active service, 2816's fires were extinguished.

It's an impressive machine. Note that the wheel is taller than my dad!

They also had this engine which Google tells me is a "Passenger Extra 1401 South", the Canadian Pacific's luxury passenger train.

I love trains so it was neat to see these beauties in the downtown.