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.

So…

Hah! You’ve done good with this blog, Matthew. Let’s keep it going!

This has been one crazy summer! …and spring, since the last time I posted here was in the winter. *shudders* So here’s just a quick overview of the shenanigans I’ve been up to! I’ll post more details in the coming weeks along with pictures.

Trips to Vancouver

I joined my family for a handful of trips down to Vancouver over the spring. During one of those trips, we got to attend my cousin’s graduation weekend in Keremeos! We also successfully completed an exit room in Vancouver with all of our collective smarts!

Slave River Paddlefest

In the days leading up to Paddlefest, the weather forecast wasn’t looking all that great. But we ended up only having rain during Friday night, leaving the rest of the weekend with completely beautiful skies and warm temperatures! So many people from so many places coming to enjoy a fun, family-oriented weekend on the waters of the mighty Slave River. Oh man, running the registration booth is so great because I got to meet every single person there! So many fun memories!

BlimeyCon

This is by far the best trip I’ve ever taken on my own! Over the past year, I’ve become quite close with a group of Blimey Cow fans via a Facebook group. We finally got to meet up in Nashville, TN!! All of us – in person!! I also got to meet two of my bestest internet friends, with whom I’ve been causing trouble over the past couple of years (usually through The Whit’s End Podcast). This is what I’ll be blogging about mostly.

And there you have it! Three of the big events that have happened since winter. What’s next? Well…I’m going to the Okanagan (Southern BC) for the winter! I’ll keep you posted.

Little adventure

I like adventure. I especially like adventure in the great out-of-doors! Like going on a big river trip or camping through BC. But sadly, adventure like that doesn’t happen every day. (For the most part…)

To deal with the lack of “big adventure” in my everyday, I look for “little adventure”; which is very similar to big adventure, but involves a lot more imagination. At least the way that I do it. It’s taking the small and insignificant, filtering it through a weird algorithm that doesn’t make sense, and making it big and the most vital thing in human history. I find that looking at things this way can help me to appreciate the small stuff and keep me engaged in the moment, instead of just waiting for the next big adventure.

Along the same vein, I also look for missions. Tasks that need completing, either big or small. You see the important tasks that people on TV complete with impossible circumstances surrounding them and threatening the very existence of planet Earth? Yeah, I basically lived that today.

How, you ask? Well, if I didn’t finish cleaning, fixing, and installing this printer at work today, my boss would’ve been unable to print off the super important notes that he needs for a top-secret meeting with the first aliens to ever contact Earth. See? Little adventure and mini mission. Fun, right?!

Okay… so you don’t have to take it that far. But I think that it’s very helpful to use techniques like this to keep your mind engaged, your imagination active, and your fun meter filled. Plus it’s fun to hum the Mission: Impossible theme while scrubbing a toilet.

Bingo! I have solved boredom. 😛