OCTOBER 17 - Breehy, Birdless and Bursts of Colour

Because this was supposed to be the last non-rainy day in a while, I figured Breehy and I should get in a bike ride, whether it killed us or not, so we headed out (relatively) early, about 10:00 am, down King George Boulevard towards another Surrey park.

Someone had laid out a red carpet for us, which I thought was very kind and autumnly.

Even thought the temperature was kind of low for a picnic, I decided I would have one anyway, so stopped in at Snak Shak to see what they had to offer. With a lunch menu, I figured I could pick up a sandwich and maybe even a nice baked treat to make up for the weather.

I locked Breehy to a huge opened gate - once again, even though Surrey is extremely bike-friendly, the lack of bike lock-up thingies really ticks me off - and went inside. There were no customers there, but it was not yet 11:00, which I guess is an inbetween time for diners - a bit late for breakfast, a tad early for lunch. 

I ordered a Turkey Melt, and picked up a bottle of water and a bag of chips. Unfortunately their dessert selection was very wanting - a few muffins that looked like Costco ones (there was a Costco just up the street), and a few chocolate bars.

So, after a 5-minute or so wait, I packed my picnic in Breehy's basket, and off we went, turning left at 72 Avenue for quite a long ride to 152 Street. 

When we reached 149 Street, we came to a hill. One of these I won't ride - this pic was about half way down. The school bus here was parked at the very end of 72, although I didn't know it at the time. What you see in the valley is farmland - and next to the farmland (farther up on the left side of the pic) is the park.

Aha! Yes, I am on the right way. No getting lost this morning. For a change.

This area of Surrey is Chimney Hill. It's mostly residential, with a corner/strip mall thrown in, a couple of parks, and a really nice Garden Center - which I planned to visit on the way back, as it's on the other side of the road. I don't think I'd want to live here though. Especially at the foot of that hill.

There is a little Honey shack at the intersection, but I was disappointed to find it's only open Thursday through Saturday. Oh well, there's always a next time.

A little bit farther and  here we are,  at the entrance to Surrey Lake Park - now to find a ton of birds and get a lot of bird photos. Or not.

Not far from the entrance, I found a nice bench to sit on while I ate my picnic and watched hundreds of birds splash, fly, soar and land in front of me. Or not.

The sandwich looked yummy, and was, except the turkey was dry, and therefore a bit tough. Maybe that was because I had let it cool down before I ate it. Although I doubt it.

I found what is probably an eagle's nest high in a tree, but didn't see an eagle. Actually saw very few birds at all. There were a few mallards in the lake, and I heard a bit of chirping and and other fluttery birdy sounds, but that was about it. If you have to just sit still and not move for hours to watch birds, then I guess I'll never be a bird watcher.

My plan was to go around the lake, but the path actually veered away, and I wasn't too excited about riding on a narrow dirt path completely surrounded with forest by myself, so I turned around after a few meters and headed back to civilization and that bloody big uphill.

But - I did drop in to the David Hunter Garden Center on the way.

All decked out for Autumn. I love the Chinese Lanterns. The garden center had lots of beautiful colours, and that made up for the greyish day.

However, when I finally got home - like this by-the-sidewalk area - I was pretty tired.

7.7 km + 7.7 km = 15.4 km = 9 miles, plus a bit of park riding, side trips to the Snak Shak, the end of 72nd and the Great Canadian Superstore. According to how I feel right now, that was probably ten miles too much.