Island Life

I caught a ferry this morning to join my mom on Mayne Island. Our family has a great cottage with a beautiful view that I wish I could visit more often, but the lack of swimming pools makes a vacation impossible during race season. Now is the perfect time and I have fresh legs and lots of energy to check out the sights. Mt Parke is a regional park in the centre of the island and I am embarassed to say that I have never hiked there (I have a vague memory of starting the hike when I was about 13, but quickly turned back when the trail started to climb. Sweating it out "for fun" wasn't exactly my style back then). Today though, I was all for the challenge and had the company of my mom and dog, Chloe. Chloe isn't in the best of shape (that might be the world's biggest understatment...) and I am amazed that she hasn't come to associate my presence with physical exertion (we often joke that when I'm in Vancouver it's "boot camp" for Chloe). Today was no different and we were well into the forest before she realized what she had gotten herself into. It was a great hike and took about two hours round-trip. Chloe survived (barely) and even found a little spurt at the end to chase after some deer. We refueled at a blackberry bush before heading home for some dinner and wine. The sunset wasn't spectacular tonight so we are relaxing inside with a fire and maybe some Scrabble-playing. I hear my mom is hard to beat and I know she means business because I see the official Scrabble dictionary is already out on the table. Uh-oh!