August 3 - White Rock - From Shells to SandWiches, from Beach to Big Big Big Hills ....

Okay. It's August, and I know I promised myself I would have fun in August, even if it killed me. This was nearing the end of a July where I either spent most days working, and remaining days in a coma. 

I didn't realize that my first day of fun would almost kill me. But it was fun until that part.

Nikkie, Chris and Lizzie and I bussed to White Rock, to the Spirit of the Sea Festival. We had gone there last year, and even though there wasn't much Spirit to be found then, the kids had fun playing at the beach. So aboard the bus we went, me flashing my brand new 2-zone bus pass, which is about the most expensive thing in my thrift store purse.

It was a beautiful day at White Rock, and this year the place was buzzing. While Nikkie and Lizzie coloured pictures at a kids' tent, Chris and I went looking for an ATM, as most of my money was in my bank account. Good planning? Not. We passed some cool places though ....

A lot of people don't like burritos, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind the other part every now and then ....

... and we found some really pretty steps. No, we didn't climb them. Can't you see how many there are?

Lizzie the Pirate caught up with us here ...

We probably would have had some ice-cream, but this young chap seemed to be eating it all.

 

But Lizzie did enjoy a cow ride, while Chris tried to poke out its poor eyeball. Strange I didn't see him doing that when I took the pic ...

And then we found the coolest store on the street - 55~55 Marine ... 

 

 And there must be 5555 kinds of shells here - at least.

So, as we wandered down the street, we passed these words -

That is very scary. Most of my friends would become a drink of some sort, probably wine.

Also scary are these eyes - I'm not sure what animal they came from, but I imagine they can see far out to sea.

Noon snack was a bag of mini donuts and a can of Mountain Dew, the most sugary soft drink on the market. This was to make up for the sugary bits that fell off the donuts.

And I finally got my big pineapple drink - $7 and two years of seeing and wanting. Was it worth it?

Nah. I didn't realize they were foamy, but this one was. Foamy and not very pineapple tasting, actually. But the cherry was good. And of course the container could go in the food bin.

My advice? Save your $7 and buy a Margarita somewhere.

After we walked around the festival tents, we headed to the beach, after waiting for about 100 train cars to pass by on the track.

We saw a big turtle on the sand, which was pretty cool ...

... and two little sand artists ....

... who kept walking away. Note the immense amount of sand ... and tidal pools ....

And here is the big white rock that sits on the White Rock Beach.

 Chef Lizzie offered me a sand-wich .... but I graciously declined.

However, Fish and Chips sounded good, so we cleaned all the sand from between our toes and headed to Moby Dick's for some grub.

I wouldn't want to dust this place, let me tell you!

But there was lots of cool wall decor. And really good Chicken Strips, so I'm told. I had fish, which was a bit under seasoned, but everyone agreed the fries were excellent.

After lunch, we started looking for a bus stop that didn't have a sign saying NO BUSES TODAY, SUCKER. Well, not really, but words to that effect.

And that's when we realized there was no beach left. Hmmm. Wonder where it went? I was amazed at how quickly the tide rolled in, and I imagine the turtle on the beach was also quite surprised.

The Canada Geese didn't seem to mind though.

And lookee here. Blackberry season is about to begin! Very exciting - looks like I'll be out and about with my bucket in the very near future! How quickly a year flies by ...

But there were no buses within easy reach. The nearest stop was way up hill .... way way way up hill .... up hills that were so hilly there were steps built in, and a hand rail to help haul one's body up. Chris and Lizzie kept running up (remember the donuts and the Mountain Dew?) and Chris would run back and ask me if I was dying. Each time I assured him I was, but he didn't seem too concerned.

The looking down view wasn't nearly as steep through the eye of the camera, believe me. This was so uphill that if you stopped walking you were likely to lose your balance and tip backward. No kidding.

But there was a bit of sustenance on the way.

More uphill ....

And over this one ... and one more ... and finally a bus stop.

I'm sure my legs would still be hurting if I hadn't kept on walking for the next two days ... we'll have to see what tomorrow will bring, as I'm heading back to work in the morning. Poor me.