My first sunburn of the year!

OUCH!!
Matthew’s brain

I’m on a boat! To be precise, Steven and I are sitting on the ferry heading back home to Vancouver after a long, fun-filled day. Oh my goodness it’s been crazy!

Why are we on the ferry?

I haven’t been out of the city in so long. That’s mostly because I don’t have access to a (functioning) vehicle right now to get out easily. I could totally take the bus to a few amazing places with hiking, rivers, and whatnot, but it takes a little more planning and usually a lot more time to actually get to your destination.

I guess that the main reason I haven’t gotten out is because of habit. It’s a lot less appealing to go out in the winter when it’s cold and wet. But you get used to it and have to get back into the adventurer mindset. Sure you have to put in a little effort, but it pays off when you get to be out in nature enjoying activities and whatnot.

Anyway, so I realized that we should get out and do something different this weekend. We should go somewhere outside of the city! But where? There’s so many beautiful and exciting places nearby, it’s hard to choose. 🤔

Grouse Mountain is a favourite of mine! And Steven hasn’t been there yet, so I could play the tour guide and show it off to him. I didn’t have the energy to conquer the Grouse Grind last summer, but we could totally do it this weekend!

Or maybe we could go out to Lynn Canyon Park to splash around in the stream to keep cool from this sudden warm weather that hit us. There’s a great suspension bridge there to cross over and access the trail system. I went with Sarah a couple of Septembers ago and we had a lovely time down there. Took lots of pictures and saw some fluffy doggos. ‘Twould be fun to go again!

Ultimately I decided that we should go to surprise my sister with a visit over on the Sunshine Coast! I hadn’t seen her in a long time so it was about time anyway. Plus I wanted to go last week before I started feeling bleh. It totally worked out! 🙌

Off we go!

So off we went to the ferry terminal this morning. Our first challenge? Our own timing. 😜 We both had a hard time with sleep last night (must’ve been the excitement!) so we decided to take the second ferry so we could rest a little longer. When we were finally on our way, our trip got derailed by a medical emergency at the station where we had to transfer to another SkyTrain. A little disappointing since we didn’t have any time to spare, but it was beyond our control and totally understandable. Hopefully the person who needed medical care was alright.

Now we were going to miss the express bus to the ferry terminal which meant that we were gonna be on the 2:00 ferry. Oh well! We jumped on another bus to find someplace to spend the next few hours and maybe grab some iced drinks to cool down.

It was at this point that I should’ve thought to purchase sunscreen, but in my head I had already planned to do that once we were on the Sunshine Coast. It was a minor detail at this point though.

Finally on the ferry!

After hiking around Horseshoe Bay for a bit, we boarded our ferry and were on our way! We took some pictures, enjoyed some snacks, and before we knew it we were back on land. Hooray! We made it! 🙌

After a short bus ride, we popped in to a library for a bit while we figured out where we wanted to explore next and to hide from the sun. I still needed to get sunscreen before I ended up more red than Mars! So that was the priority. I kept dashing between the shady areas as we explored the little shops by the waterfront, keeping an eye out for sunscreen but getting distracted by cute touristy things and potential ice cream.

Eventually we had to make our way up an incredibly steep and long hill to get to the bus that would take us to Rebeckah’s place. With the sun beating down on us and very little shade to protect us, the sun made the journey quite gruelling. And I could feel my skin starting to burn, though Steven didn’t see any evidence of burning yet. But I knew that it was happening. We had to get to the top of the hill and get sunscreen ASAP!

Eventually, after a painfully slow walk, we had made it to the top and proceeded to London Drugs to get the much needed sunscreen. The only problem? It was too late. When we got to Rebeckah’s house she immediately noticed that the back of my neck had turned really red. So very red. Much sunburn. OUCH!!

C’est la vie!

So there we go… my first sunburn of the year! I don’t think that I’ve had a sunburn for the past two years, so this is my first one in a long time. That’s actually a pretty good record! Especially when you take into account my ginger susceptibility to sunburns and stuffs. 😁

I hope that I don’t get any more this year because they can get painful and then I really have to avoid the sun. This one wasn’t too bad, and with a little aloe lotion it will probably heal pretty quickly too. The only upside to getting sunburned is that it’s proof that I’ve been doing awesome stuff outside. Like a badge of honour! I’ll wear it proudly.

WDIDTW?

What did I do this weekend? Thanks for asking! It’s not really something that I can discuss at length, but… I can make an exception for you. 😜

My friend Sarah came up from the states to explore the area with me. We wanted to have one last weekend of camping and hiking before the summer ends, which is kind of a freaky thought, right? How’s it already the month of September?! Anyway, we made these plans for the weekend.

It all started Friday evening. We met for dinner at the mall then spent the evening chatting with my aunt, uncle, and cousin who came to town for the PNE. We went through our list of “things to do” then went to bed.

We got a yummy start to our Saturday with maple syrup pancakes and eggs, then we drove down to MEC to grab a few pieces of gear for camping. I also finally got to exchange my faulty flashlight for a new one that works properly!

Sarah wanted to see the Capilano Suspension Bridge, which is always busy. With it being Labour Day Weekend, I suggested that we avoid the crowds there and go to another suspension bridge that is free and a little less crowded at the Lynn Canyon Park. We crossed the bridge, hiked around the park, and ended up at a swimming hole. People were jumping off of the cliff into the cold mountain water and we weren’t.

Later we drove down to West Vancouver to see the lighthouse before the sunset and then hung out on the rocks as the lights in the harbour came on. After that, we tried to go camping, but it didn’t work out so we went back home for the night.

Sunday we drove the Sea to Sky Highway and tried to stop at a couple of beaches along the way, but they were all very busy. So we ended up in Squamish, which was on the list, but wasn’t our destination at the time. Of course we decided to hike around the area and look for camping spots for that evening. We found out that the Chief’s Hike also had camping spots on top of some awesome trails and rock climbing. Now, we didn’t climb rocks/mountains with harnesses and stuff, but after setting up camp, we tried to get to the top of an outcrop of rocks to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, the sun set faster than we could navigate through the woods.

In the morning, we hiked up that same trail to catch the sunrise instead. This time, we made it successfully and laid on the rocks for a while before we drove back to Vancouver. We didn’t have too much time left, so we took the tram up to the top of Grouse Mountain and explored that. And before Sarah left, we went down to find a treehouse in the woods and took pictures underneath the bridge.

I have a headache, so I’m gonna go now. Have a great night!

I don’t like when Sarah counts sheep.

Actually, I don’t care. She can do whatever. I wrote that because she was looking over my shoulder.

We’re at a campground in majestic Squamish, BC. There were only two tent pads remaining when we arrived, which made us really happy because we didn’t want to find another campground after all the searching for this one we did.

I was just wondering what it would be like if the Borg were to invade Earth at this very moment. Right here in BC in this spot. I’d probably turn off the light then hide in my sleeping bag and let everyone else get assimilated as they run around panicking.

I had a really, really good flavour of gelato today. Biscottini or something like that. So much yummers!

Okay, I wrote a post for today. I’m gonna go back to listening to a group singing Happy Birthday and our neighbour discuss farting.