Big Adventure Day

We went vacationing in our own city this past weekend going on a tour of some of the Lower Mainland's lesser known parks. It was very refreshing and a fitting end to what was otherwise a rather gruelling and stress-laden week.

Horseshoe Bay and Whycliffe Park

After enjoying some tasty fish and chips at Horseshoe Bay, we drove to Whycliffe Park and let Erich play at for about an hour. Erich was so excited after playing in the playground, he kept wondering what it was that was going to be even more exciting. (We kept telling him we were going somewhere even better next...)

Lighthouse Park and Point Atkinson

Well the real treat came when we took him to Lighthouse Park where we all 'hiked' down the trail from the parking lot to the lighthouse and rock beach (about a 10 minute steep hill well-marked trail through the woods). Although Erich rode most of the way in our second-hand "SUV" jogger stroller*, there was a part of the trail leading from some of the cabins to the beach that was impassable with the stroller. So, we ditched the stroller temporarily and Erich hiked alongside with us. He really enjoyed that! Here's a video of him coming back up the hill with us on that part of the trail.

(* Thanks Joe and Sheryl for the stroller!)



Clam up on seashells

Down at the beach, we all enjoyed the beautiful pristine scenery as Erich played with the rocks and shells on the beach. Erich had a lot of fun doing this. Just before leaving the beach, Erich decided he wanted to keep one of the seashells. He carefully held onto it as he hiked up the hill. Even as we put him back in the stroller and pushed him back up the trail, he held onto it as if it were some souvenir for the day. We thought it was so cute we were even contemplating putting it in his momento box at home. But Erich had other plans...

At the top of the hill, there was a nice big old growth tree where I decided I'd take a quick photo of Karen. That's when we both heard a big "crunch!". The next thing we knew, Erich had the entire shell in his mouth! By the time we managed to pry open his mouth, the shell was in pieces.
Gross! I thought of course. There it was, a half-eaten clam shell. So funny what kids decide to put in their mouths!

Park Royal

In the end though, Erich did get to satisfy his hunger. We ended the day at Park Royal where we sipped Orange Julius and had a fantastic meal at Steamworks. Karen and I did some shopping while Erich slept in his stroller. He slept for a good 2.5 hours. He must have been exhausted from the hike because he almost never takes naps that long!