A Step Back in Time

This past weekend was exactly what I needed. I have been sitting at home, doing nothing because of stress over one thing or another. I needed to get out of the house and I needed to breath in some fresh air. My mind felt like it was going stale. I didn't have energy, I didn't have any motivation.

We decided to drive out to Fleming beach. This was one of my favourite places as a child and I am always excited to go back. It is mainly known for its boat launch and rock climbing but I go for the history. When you walk past the boat launch and the cliff side that so many people love to climb, you find yourself drifting back in time. Old buildings that the military had built, tunnels, and armories. All still standing. 

It's one of my favourite places because every time I'm there, I can't help but try to picture what it was like in the days when those buildings were new, when this city was new. 

The salty air blows through you the whole time, the ocean's waves crashing near by. You feel free, awake. It's my favourite feeling in the world. Even when it started raining, we just couldn't bring ourselves to leave. We just kept wandering and exploring and thinking.

It was so quiet and serene the whole time, just us and the wind and the ocean and the past.

It's so nice to know, that even though the rest of the city is being modernized and changed, that we still have place like this, standing still and waiting for those eager for adventure and a change of pace. 

History and the ocean are my two grounding loves. I appreciate life on a whole new level when I'm in historical surroundings but it also makes me crave to  know more about the past. I can just sit wherever it is that I am and just imagine and think about what life would have been like, what the world would have been like back then. I try to picture myself in their shoes, try to understand and appreciate every small thing from the past to truly understand and appreciate the present.

As long as we still have these places that allow you to step back through time, then I will always feel at peace with life.

And the ocean... Well let's just face it. With the calming breeze and the memorizing sounds of the waves, how can you not feel grounded and without worry?

Life Update

I haven't written on my blog in a long time. I fell into a spiral of stress and anxiety about work, about moving, and just about life in general. When stress hits me, it hits me hard and I lose all motivation to do what I love.

Derek and I moved out of our old place, because they had family members moving into the suite. But it was much harder to find a new place than we expected. Either way out of our price range or no one wanted to accept a cat. And I wasn't going anywhere with my Dumbledore.

We ended up having to move in with my parents until we could find a place. Unfortunately it took a long 3 months until we found the perfect place (well, they found us). It was in the perfect neighborhood not far from our old place, and we could both still walk to work.

But of course I got really sick around moving day and after a couple weeks of it not going away, I found out it had turned into bronchitis. I was so busy stressing about the move, getting things unpacked and working long full hours, and taking a kickboxing class, that I hadn't given myself one moment to breath and relax my body and soul. Therefore, making my cold turn into bronchitis.

After it finally went away, and we got settled into our home, my motivation starting coming back.

I decorated our bedroom, living room, and kitchen to match our personalities and interests with every spare moment I had. I excitedly found homes for all our succulents and felt so happy here. And I still am happy here (even if there are two very loud toddlers living right above us).

I managed to find a good place with my diet. Something I have been having issues with the past year. I finally figured out to cut back on the food I love and eat super healthy and clean while still being happy with what I ate and how it made me feel . But, trust me, it's not easy living near a pizza parlor that has vegan pizza!

The part that makes me the happiest, though, is that I have begun writing again!

On my days off I always try to start the day by making a green juice, a coffee or tea, and just sit down to write on my book. I am so excited about this one and I have had tons of inspiration for it. I have made a goal to try to write at least one sentence a day, even if I don't have the motivation. I haven't been quite this enthusiastic about one of my projects before. It's just such a good way to de-stress and calm the mind. Especially when you have an anxiety driven mind like mine. 

I am just taking life, day by day.

Trying to stay in the moment and keep a level head.

The Fire is Burning

The other weekend, Derek and I finally went camping. Nowhere special, but just to say we finally went. We went to a family campsite at Goldstream, not very much in the wild. But atleast it got us started. It was still fun, and interesting. And we still got to sleep outside away from the city!

We got there early so that we could have all day to explore and relax. We set up the tent, made lunch, read for a bit (Harry Potter, and the Chamber of Secrets for me because I am finally re-reading the series), and then we decided to go for a walk. We came across these staircases going really far down off of a path and headed down them to see where it led. It ended up coming across the most beautiful little oasis with a waterfall and small beach. Despite there being about 20 crowded down there, we still stayed because it was so refreshing and calming.

After a couple hours, we headed back to the camp site and read a little longer. After we decided to start cooking dinner. We had delicious hot dogs (In my case, veggie dogs) and beer. And then we read again. We just wanted a relaxing weekend but to get out of the house. In the middle of the campsite, there was an amphitheater where in the evening they would be telling "local legends" and ghost stories. The second one got me rather excited and made Derek go to it with me. Unfortunately, it was overrun by kids so, out of sheer boredom and annoyance, we went back to the campsite after two ghost stories.

We ended up getting out the monopoly game and played it for hours before finally heading to bed.
I always lose, yet I love playing!

 

The next day, we planned to hike Mt. Finlayson. Even with breathing problems, I was determined to get to the top. But to our surprise, as we were driving there, we noticed that there was not an inch of blue sky anywhere and that the entire sky was orange, even though it was supposed to be a beautifully sunny day.

As we were approaching the parkinglot, we heard on the radio about the 180 forest fires in BC and how it was the fresh, dirty smoke from all of that, that was covering our sky. And I started to panic that the smoke would make my breathing even worse, but I will still determined to make it! So we started walking, and soon what felt like rock climbing from the steep mountain. It was my first time ever climbing from the steep side, and as terrified as I was, it was also the most exhilarating, exciting thing I've ever done. I am still counting the days until I get to do it again!

The close we got to the top, the more smoke we could smell and taste, the sun was blood red shining down on us and we were exhausted. When we finally reached the top, the city looked like it had just experienced an apocalypse. The air was dark and eerie. Thick smoke covering everything and it just felt unsettling and creepy.

This is Freedom

Life Update:

I haven't written about my last couple of adventures yet because I've either been busy or dealing with the worst cold I have had this year. So I thought I would put them into one long post.

A couple of weekends ago, Derek and I were planning a hike up Mt. Wells. It is quite a bit of a walk to get to where the bus drops us off and about half way through that walk, just as we were passing the train tracks, we just up and decided to change our plan.

We decided, that instead of a mountain hike (which would have been rather hard for me, seeing as I have gotten quite out of shape since moving away from the woods), that we would instead walk the hour and a half train track to the train trestle at Goldstream and then walk around the park for a bit and head back the same way.

So we started our trek down the tracks, which always makes me feel like we are some homeless adventurers! We did this hike once before (but ending it with Mt. Finlayson which is the tallest hill in the area) and didn't see a single person on the tracks the whole time. But this time we passed a few dog walkers, a couple hikers, and a family who were heading back from the trestle.

After many long stretches and corners, we finally arrived at the trestle, which just happens to be my absolute favourite destination for hikes. Not because of the trail itself, because I find it rather easy and I like to push myself on harder hikes. But because, in my opinion, it has the best view, and, even though it is a place where most people who are scared of heights are scared shitless, it makes me feel calm and at peace.

We headed down on our side of the trestle and took a side trail that led to a couple of old gold mines. It feels so historic walking those trails which is another reason why it's one of my favourite areas. We then walked the road back to the main park, got icecream and visited the nature house where we got a wonderful view of the valley and of Mt. Finlayson.

On our way back up to the tressle, we stopped to see the "Niagara falls of Victoria" where we got to feel the cool spray of the water and the cool breeze before heading back up. We took the alternative trail that leads to the far end of the trestle so that we could walk across it. This trail is much steeper but more quite for it is not the main trail.

When we got to the top, we sat on the trestle and just enjoyed the view. The best part of the hike.

We walked back across the tracks and two hours later sat down in a restaurant and enjoyed  a nice dinner before finally heading back home.

So now on to last weekends Adventure.

We were going to go camping last weekend, but when we went to reserve a spot... THERE WERE NONE LEFT! Sad face. So instead we decided to borrow my parents car, drive out into the highlands and hike Mt. Wells.

The drive itself is so beautiful because, I mean we were driving in the country side, whats not beautiful about that? And after almost missing the turn off into the parking lot twice, we finally found it and began our hike.

Let me just say this, I REALLY need to do more mountain hikes because the last time I did this particular hike, it was not that hard! I felt like I was going to die before we reached the top (doesn't help that I was also just getting over the really bad cold, which was triggering my asthma).

Now I want to say this was the most amazing view, but.. I say that about all our hikes because they ALL have amazing views! I can't pick just one good one. I am just lucky to live near so many forests and so close to the ocean!

~~Justine

Life is full of Surprises

Last weekend, I was unfortunate enough to give myself a concussion at work just before our camping plan. I couldn't see straight, I was dizzy, couldn't even look at my phone or a book. I was devastated when we had to cancel our camping trip. Derek was worried it would be too much for head, and as stubborn as I was about it, after the weekend I realized he would have been right.

I immediately became so unhappy because I've been wanting to go camping with Derek for a year now and it just hasn't worked out. So I was pissed off, not talking, so miserable because we, yet again, couldn't make it happen because I was stupid at work.

Not wanting me to have a bad weekend, Derek came up with the idea to just hang out on the beach ALL day and do nothing. Now I can't say no to the beach.

So the next morning we packed our things and headed into town. We had a long wait in between buses so we ended up going to Cobbs and getting a spinach bun each and a blueberry lemon scone each (both amazing) and then headed over to starbucks to get hot drinks.

While waiting for the last buss, we realized how cold and dark it was and we were trying not to get bummed out about. We were still determined to enjoy the beach even if it wasn't beach weather.

One of my favourite things about this beach is the trail that leads to it. It's beautiful and goes past waterfalls, and swamps, and is full of so many different kinds of plants and wildlife. Then leads out into a beautiful long beach. The water is always warmest at this beach because it is in a bit of a cove.

We set down our blanket, unpacked the munchies and the drinks. I mean we can't have a relaxing day at the beach without a little pick me up right? So we brought raspberry vodka and put a little bit in our smoothie drinks that we bought at the grocery store earlier.

After we were laying there for a bit, it started to rain on and off but we were still not going to let it ruin the day. It was only a little sprinkle after all. So instead of focusing on that, we just talked, and talked. We were so caught up in conversations and the people around us that we didn't realize, about 3 hours after we got there, that there was no longer a single cloud in the sky and the sun was shining bright and strong.

It turned from an almost miserable day, into the most beautiful sunny day we have had this year. We were finally able to take off our sweaters and even go straight into just hanging out in our bathing suits. The water was still pretty cold but we didn't care. We were down at the water having rock throwing contests for hours.

After words, as much as I didn't want to leave, we met up with my parents for a nice dinner and headed back to there place. And that's when my head decided to really start acting up. And even though it stayed that way for the rest of the weekend, that day was still the best day.

~~ Justine

Live. And be Happy

I really am loving our adventures. Last weekends was so far the best. I love just getting to go out and just spend really good quality time with Derek (my boyfriend if I haven't mentioned his name yet). We are both so busy with work during the week that we really benefit from our adventures. Right now, we are the closest we've ever been and because of it, I still get nervous and get butterflies in my stomach when he says he's going to pick me up from work or when he tells me he's on his way home.

So last weekend, we were originally planning on another walk along the ocean, and a late lunch at this really nice vegan restaurant. The night before hand though, somehow the topic of Irish Times (one of our nicer pubs downtown) came up and we both talked about how neither one of us have ever been there and we've both always wanted to. So we decided to add it to the list of things to do.

So we got up early, made a really nice breakfast of hashbrowns, sauteed kale, and cooked veggie hotdog pieces. We very rarely have a nice cooked home breakfast together so we didn't want to miss out on just because we had plans. This was after all Derek's first full weekend in about a month.

After Breakfast we packed our things and headed out. Our first stop as soon as we got downtown was straight through Beacon Hill to the ocean like last time. This time, however, was a much warmer, sunnier day. My favourite kind of day! When we stopped by Beacon Hill, we walked past one of the ponds, and I was so stoked to see turtles! I have never in my entire life seen a real turtle, and there was 14 of them! I thought it was so amazing! We also saw a couple peacocks, so beautifully coloured and peaceful even with us so close to them. We then headed to the water. So we took our time walking along the rocks beside the ocean and stopped a few times to sit in the sun and look at rocks (Derek as a slight addiction to looking at neat rocks and then taking them home). It was beautiful and so serene out there. I absolutely love being near the ocean.

After our really peaceful walk, we headed towards downtown and on the way stopped at a little saturday market, where Derek bought me a tie die shirt because he knew I always wanted one. I've worn almost every day since! After that we headed to Rebar, the little vegan restaurant where we were astonished at the expensive prices of simple dishes. But we enjoyed it anyway! I got a quinoa salad and a really good green juice and Derek got a tuna sandwich with a beer.

Afterwords, we needed time to kill before going to Irish Times Pub. So we walked around some stores, and Derek bought a new pair of Sanuks because the ones I bought him last year were so worn and sun bleached. We then walked along the inner Harbour where people were set up with artwork, and drawings, there were musicians, and many natives with beautiful dreamcatchers and carvings. I even found my dream hippie van in my ideal colour!

So when we went into Irish Times Pub finally, and were sitting there waiting for our drinks, we got talking about how Bard and Banker Pub was only two blocks away and just as nice and that maybe we should just grab one drink here and one drink there before calling it a day. We got our drinks, mine with the most amazing name: Electric Unicorn! And I decided to splurge from my vegan diet and we ordered a giant plate of nachos to share. And oh my god they were amazing!

 After our beers and our amazing food, was when we decided, well hey, we both loved the more simple, older styled pub right across the street, so why not make a quick stop there for a beer as well? And so we did, we headed over to Garroch's Head Pub and sat up in this little nook at the end. It had a vintage feel to it, this pub, and it wasn't as ridiculously fancy and.. well slutty as the last one (in terms of what the waitresses had to wear). I had the Gypsy Tears beer, which I think was my favourite beer of the night! We both agreed by the end of the night that this one was our favourite pub. We sat there for a long time just talking and enjoying our time, talking about tattoos!

We then headed over to our last stop, Bard and Banker Pub. This one was the more full pub of the three and we got seated near where there was a stage, not knowing which day was their live music day. I ordered a sample tray of 4 different beers, and loved the white bark one. This, and Dereks one tall beer were supposed to be our last of the night, but after those, we were feeling a little intoxicated and ended up ordering GIANT glasses of beer each and ordering more food. I had amazing hummus and bread, and Derek got the calamari, that he some how managed to convince me to try (haven't had any in almost two years) and it was the most disgusting thing I've ever eaten! I wanted to spit it out right away! And then to make the night even better, we found out that, that was the live music night, and that the band was going to be playing RIGHT in front of us! We got to this pub at around 6:30, and didn't leave until close to midnight, not part of our plan at all! But we were drunk and enjoying the music way too much. It was a perfect end before our hour and a half walk home along the Gorge.

~~ Justine