Things have been a little quiet here at muddylaces, and mainly that has been because Suede and I were on vacation last week. We were up on Hornby Island celebrating the wedding of Bill and Anna. The wedding was on Wednesday, but we ended up going for a whole week. We had an excellent time relaxing there. Hornby holds a special place in my heart from road trips gone by, but this trip was also very special.
We did lots while there, and this included walking the dogs on the beach every day. The cabin we stayed in was right on the ocean, which made for a spectacular sunsets. We also walked Yoshi at Big Tribune bay, Whaling Station Bay, Helliwel Park, and Little Tribune bay. All were very different, but very beautiful beaches. All of them had huge reddy brown colored jelly fish washed up on the sand too.
The ceremony was very nice, and since it was a civil ceremony, it didn’t have many references to God or religious intonations. Bill and Anna each wrote their own vows, and the wedding itself was held at Anna’s mom’s house, where Anna was born. The grounds are a nursery, so there were nice flower beds all over, and everything was lush and green. The reception afterwards was really fun as well. The dinner was very yummy, and featured many locally produced foods. The band that played was from Denman Island, just a short boat ride away. In all it was a vey perfect West Coast wedding, that included a small rain shower right at the end of the ceremony.
The next morning there was a pancake breakfast for everyone. They were the most amazing pancakes I have ever had in mylife. I don’t really consider yself a pancake connosiuer, but these were the perfect thickness, were very light and fluffy, spaked up the butter and syrop splendidly, were the right size, and were cooked just right (in butter I think since the edges had a slight crispiness to them). These were buttermilk pancakes with a twist. I learned the secret ingredient was vanilla. Even thinking about them now makes my mouth water. Also, they had numerous toppings for them. Butter, maple syrop, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, and yoghurt were all available. Mmmm mmmm good!
I also got to go mountain biking while I was there. Twice actually. Biking was the reason I ever went to Hornby in the first place. The trails there are just about perfection when it comes to XC riding. There are longish uphills, but the trails are so smooth, fast, twisty and fun they need to be seen to be believed. The only downfall was Graeme. He came on the second ride with Sue and I, and on the last trail (No Horses), just a few turns from the truck, he took a fall and wrenched his knee. It was sore for a couple days, but by the time he was getting ready to go home, he was able to walk on it gingerly. Hopefully it wasn’t anything serious.
Yoshi was such an amazing dog the whole weekend. He had to spend an inordinate amount of time in the truck due to various circumstances. He adapted very well, and wasn’t too much of a bother (until he rolled in something stinky that he found near a log). What did he get for his troubles? Fleas. Poor guy. We stopped at the vet on the way home and picked up some Advantage to clear him up.
The only other bad note for the weekend was that our cabin had the most stinky water I have ever experienced. I learned that the water had a high sulfur content due to a very low water table. Eeew. Showering in it was very disgusting.
In all everything went smoothly for our trip, and Suede, Yoshi and I all had a great time. Yoshi got so much exercise last week that he is still tired from it all today!
