Babysitting in North Van

 The powers that be deemed it providential that we travel to British Columbia during the Family Day holiday in February, in order to get away from Stroud and help Nickie's daughter Sarah, during report card season.  Sarah is a teacher and requires about 40 hours of seclusion in order to complete the report cards.  The 2 grandchildren (okay, technically they should be described as Sarah's sons) require considerable interaction at the ages of 4 and 6.

Hiking in BC in 2023

I'm not going to belabour the point about issues arising when I travel, but since we booked rather last minute, we decided to use a low-cost airline for the return flight to Vancouver.  We chose Lynx!  Our outbound no-frills flight was uneventful and we remarked to each other that travelling cheap wasn't so bad.  The flight boasted free water, but no movies, meals or wine.  Our flight back was scheduled for Sunday February 25, 2024.  Guess what!  Lynx went bankrupt and their last day of business was February 26.  Our overnight flight would have landed in Toronto on February 26, so it was cancelled!

We scrambled for a few days to locate a replacement return flight.  Being an optimist, I fully expect to be reimbursed for our cancelled flight, at some point in 2026...

Vancouver is rather dreary in February, but we enjoyed several hikes in the area.  The beachfront just south of Stanley Park - I think it is called English Bay Beach, is a great spot to walk about and enjoy one of the cafes.  We did not hike any of the nearby mountains, as the trails are a bit treacherous in February, but visited some of the parks within the city.

Grouse Grind in 2023

If you glaze over the fact that we booked a trip on an airline that went bankrupt, a real concern is that the maple syrup season started early, while I was in BC.  I make maple syrup with a friend and due to the unseasonably mild weather, we (they) tapped early.  I asked the pilot to drop me near Badjeros, the closest community to the farm where we make maple syrup, but he could not find it on a map, so we continued on our way to Pearson Airport.  If you want a challenge, try to find Badjeros, Ontario!

After the maple syrup season ends, we will head to Scotland and hike the Great Glen Way, a 120 km trail from Fort Williams to Inverness.  I've hiked from Glasgow to Fort Williams (known as the West Highland Way) and we are looking forward to some incredible scenery and Scottish hospitality.

Take away:  Try not to book flights on airlines that go bankrupt.

Cheers!