It's been a while but I really haven't had anything to say up until now. I've ridden my scooter to school and to a few appointments but the unseasonable crappy weather and the busy-ness of life has affected my blogging.
Today, however, I have a reason to blog!
I had finished my planning for the week, done a couple jobs around the house, and had some time left in the afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny day, although only a crisp 9° C. (whatever that is in Fahrenheit - maybe around 50°). I decided to see if I could make a round trip to White Rock beach in the two hours before dinner. It was, as it turned out, a bit of a challenge.
I first took the Albion Ferry to cross the river. I'm getting quite nostalgic about the Albion Ferry. The Golden Ears bridge will be opening downstream in June and so the free ferry will stop running at the end of July. The bridge will have a toll while the ferry doesn't and the bridge is really out of the way for me. People have always complained about the lineups at the ferry but if you're on two wheels, you go right up to the front! I'm hopeful that some private operator will take over the route....
My way to White Rock, a beach on the ocean, was a bit busy. I chose roads that were very well travelled and I ended up pulling over quite a bit. One place that I pulled over had this lovely, friendly sign greeting people from the road.
I arrived in White Rock and my mind was flooded with memories from my past. When I was small, my parents took us there quite frequently for holidays. It's funny, I lived in Vancouver but we hardly ever went to Vancouver beaches as a family - always to White Rock! I think it held a special place for my parents as they met there. The Cottage fish and chips restaurant has gone through many changes but was the favourite place for my family many years ago.
I parked my scoot near some motorcycles and I'm sure we were all illegally parked. Problem is, it's pay parking everywhere else and I knew I wasn't going to be there long.
I walked over the tracks to the beach. When I was a kid, I remember putting a bunchy of pennies on the track just before a train went by and collecting as many flattened pennies as I could find. Do kids still do that today? I don't know.
I spent a grand total of 15 minutes admiring the scenery. It was a busy place with lots of people milling around. As I sat at a picnic table I saw: on the other side or the table was a women and her baby; the bench next to me had two teenage girls chatting and laughing; on the beach in front of me, a biker guy sand girl were lying against a log smoking a joint. Interesting mix.
I headed back a different way which was much better. Going up 184th Street most of the way home, there was little traffic and not too many hills. There was a patch of construction where I had to go over gravel for half a kilometre but it was fine other than that.
Just before turning back to Fort Langley, I came across the almost completed Golden Ears bridge. It was quite the sight and quite the engineering feat.
Finally, I took the ferry back home, arriving just as my wife was serving up a warm stew for dinner. It was a good ride, one well worth blogging.
