Flying through the sunrise

I had a lovely mini-vacation at Saratoga Beach here on Vancouver Island last week.  Maggie and I were up early to walk the beach at sunrise each day.  With the upcoming move, I've had little time to edit the several hundred photos I took, so here is a little teaser of our mornings watching birds fly through the sunrise.  Will try to post more in a few days:

Never too old for a walk on the beach

I've loved the beach since the time I was small.  Beaches have always been a part of my life, and to this day remain my favourite place to be.  Not the hot and crowded beaches that require an airplane trip to a fancy resort, nor even the popular beaches in cities in this southwestern corner of BC.  I like the empty beaches, the interesting beaches, the rocky and squishy and barnacled beaches with tidal pools and sudden stretches of sand and washed up logs and sea life.

Beaches were as much a part of my childhood as digital technology is for kids today.  First there were the beach holidays with my grandparents, parents and siblings in England when I was a wee one:

Mom and me, many years ago

Me, about age four

Then, the move to Canada to a small seaside town brought beaches into my daily life - the beach became my adventure playground.  Riding bikes to the beach, walking through woods to the beach, stopping to spend allowance on a rainbow popsicle at the corner store, or splurging on a portion of fresh fish and chips, eaten to the accompaniment of a throng of seagulls while sitting on a log or a sand-covered towel on the beach. Picnics on the beach with my mom, siblings, and sometimes my dad, or sharing secrets and laughter with friends, first kisses, silly games.  Beaches were, and remain, my favourite place to be.

For a few years of my adulthood I lived in Alberta and then the Northwest Territories, but always the ocean called me home. 

Beaches are to me what comfort food is to many - they bring back the best of memories, of family and friends, of love and peace and tranquility.  If I have one wish for my senior years, it is that I never grow too old for a walk on the beach, preferably with a dog by my side and a camera in my hand.

Maggie and me, Crofton Beach

One month today, I move from this small beachside village to a somewhat bigger beachside city.  But before I get serious about packing, Maggie and I (and Pat and the poms) are taking a little vacation - to a beach, of course - the one Maggie fell in love with last spring.  See you in a few days!

Beach time! 

Still here....

I don't remember moving ever requiring so much work to organize - and I'm not even doing my own packing!  Stuff to sell, stuff to buy, movers to arrange (done), painters to hire (done), appointments to keep, hydro, phone, water meter, post office, friends, medical people, etc etc etc. 

But amidst it all, I still find time to hike, and walk, and to enjoy beautiful sunrises - like this one, taken from my back door as I let the dog out the other morning. 

I will miss seeing those sunrises before the coffee has even finished brewing.  Have to walk a block or two at the new place to see them.

Enjoy the day!

Some people buy shoes....

September is here, and that means it's my birthday.  Some people buy themselves a little gift - a pair of shoes, a new shirt or maybe just some chocolates.  Me? I go big!  I bought myself a new home! 

Yesterday, we removed the last of the subjects from both the sale of this home and the purchase of my new one, so I start this month with a long, long list of things to do.  The whole process - from listing to selling to buying to clearing subjects - took just ten days.  It is a hot market here. Moving day is just six weeks away.

I highly recommend this young man if you are thinking of
buying or selling on the island.
Motivated, great marketing skills, stays calm under pressure
(even when his client isn't!) 

I'll explain more about why and where in another post, but Maggie will give you this hint for now - no, it's not Saratoga (her all-time favourite beach where we went last spring), but it's only an hour from there, and our new home is just two blocks from her second favourite beach.

This was two weeks ago, at the peak of vacation season -
lots of space on the beach!

Some people buy shoes for their birthday, I buy myself a home near a big sandy beach for my dog.