Quote of the Day: "It's an ancient Chinese tradition..."
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| On the Ferry |
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| On the Boat to the Sunshine Coast |
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| Hidden Grove |
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| Lunch during our Hike |
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| Christina and Katherine on the Trail |
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| Posing with a stump |
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| Outside of Bev's Beautiful House |
With today as our halfway point, which is completely bitter-sweet, I am happy to say that we have safely arrived in the Sunshine Coast, a small peninsula just a ferry ride away from Vancouver. So many nice things can be said about the Coast—the fact that we are actually staying in a home (shout-out to Bev!), eating real food, cleaning out our lovable, yet bug splattered Jeep. Sadly, we have had two causalities of our road-trip; Haley’s black sandal and my book have gone missing. I guess, it really is not that bad—we could have lost our passports, but it is still disappointing.
We left Vancouver this morning earlier than planned. The ferry, a first for many of us, sailed across the beautiful bay. We searched for the Raven’s Cry Theater when we arrived and accidently drove passed it, but a quick consultation with the visitor’s center made it all better. Bev took us up to her incredible house in the middle of the forest. The drive around the peninsula was so indescribably beautiful, in all of my travels I have never been to a place like this before. It sort of felt like the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland with the lush forests and our bumpy Jeep.
We settled in, cleaned up the car, grabbed lunch, and hit the nearest hiking trail (aptly called “Hidden Grove” as we drove past the entrance without even noticing.) I personally love hiking (shocker) because of the chance I get to reflect upon myself. So far, our trip has been (at least for me) this constant hunt to find myself: what I want from life, what path I am supposed to choose. The past few days have provided me with so many different types of people with so many different perspectives on life, it has been an inevitable search for something more. At this age, we girls are facing this sort of crossroads in our life. For me, the struggle between the practical Christina and the dreamer Christina has grown with each day. I feel pulled apart as I realize that my life is in my hands now. Conversations with random strangers have proven so insightful and enlightening, but part of it is probably because I never could overcome my own stubbornness to take my parents’ advice for what it was. On top of that, I am so completely thankful for the fact that I came here with these three other girls—as we grow together, I know that we now share this unusual bond. I don’t feel ready for college at all, but when I actually observe our interactions on this adventure and I see us complete the little tasks that I always watched my parents do (hide the valuables, leave a tip for the maid, take each other’s temperature, even decide when and where to eat) I know that we are prepared. I guess it is really hard to grasp the fact that we have grown up.
Haha so enough of the heavy stuff. We got back from our hike and just took a break, it truly felt like a vacation. It felt so nice to not be on the move, to relax without a zillion worries bouncing around the back of my head. Dinner was absolutely delicious as we talked about the education system and our appreciation of travel. We ended the night with Bev and me singing “The Lonely Goatherd” from the Sound of Music and the VHS version of Sleepless in Seattle—perfection. The Sunshine Coast has been the perfect stop for us and we are so ready to see more tomorrow.
Best:
- Real food
- Hike/Forest
- Successfully checking out of the hotel
- Bev's singing
- Clean clothes
- Kat registering for her Georgetown classes!
Worst:
- Lost items
- Getting lost for the first time (GPS fail)
- Estrella couldn't stand on her favorite stump :(
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