Aurora Wells

Grandma Gail and Grandpa Larry definitely chose the best possible week to visit Vancouver in the winter this year. They were here last week, when despite all predictions of constant rain, the sun managed to shine almost every day. Meanwhile, they worried that their house in Southern California might be floating away in the heavy rains that area endured for days on end.

We mostly stayed at home and ran a few errands, but on Friday we had a small adventure. The plan was to drive down to Point Roberts, the miniscule bit of U.S. territory just south of Tsawwassen, B.C., just to see it. Then we’d do a little bird-watching and visit a playground in Tsawwassen or Delta, and have a hearty lunch at The Boot & Sombrero, our favourite eatery in Ladner. All would have been easy-peasy, except that Grandma & Grandpa forgot to bring their passports, and instead of turning around and going back for them, I made the mistake of blundering ahead and trying to cross the border. By the way, the border crossing at Point Roberts is an honest-to-goodness, actual, bona fide checkpoint, with cameras, guards, guns and everything. We explained the ridiculousness of our purpose (”we just wanted to see it, ya know?”) and after five very tense (on my part) or very laughable (on Gail’s part) minutes of interrogation, the U.S. guard let us through. I spent the next half hour worrying about getting back through Canadian Customs on the other side.

As for the sights in Point Roberts, there is a huge marina, a pub or two, many real estate offices and nice homes, a few artists’ studios, and not much else. Almost everyone has an ocean view. We briefly visited Lighthouse(less) Park, but the chilly wind drove us quickly back into the car. There were a bunch of birds playing around in the wind and surf at the shore, some of which were seagulls, but others were (gasp!) Bald Eagles. When they flew past us, less than 20 feet away, we did a double-take, like, “Did I just see what I think I saw?” Yes, indeed, those black specks in the photo are bald eagles, but since I don’t have a telephoto lens, they look a lot farther away then they actually were in person!

The crossing back into Canada was much more low-key; I guess nobody in Canada expects a threat to national security to arrive in a Prius with a toddler, grandparents, and no baggage in the trunk.

The find of the day was Diefenbaker Park on 1st Avenue (as in, 1 block from the U.S.) which had two cool play structures, plus swings and a duck pond. Aurora was quite happy to play there all day, but we were a little cold and quite hungry, so we headed north to Ladner for lunch.

Lately Aurora’s been developing a “camera smile”. Could you squinch that face up any more?

It was a bit of a crazy day, and to top it all off, we went out and got Aurora a bike and helmet in the afternoon. Check out how cute this is:

The latest thing in kiddie bikes these days is pedal-less “balance bikes”. They’re intended to teach kids to balance and steer on a bike without having to bother with pedals; they just glide along if they’re going fast enough. I’ve seen enough 3- and 4-year-olds zipping through the neighbourhood to know that they really do work. I was one of those scaredy-cat kids who didn’t learn how to ride a real bike without training wheels until I was ten (10!) years old, so anything I can do to help my daughter out is a good thing, I believe. Thanks again to Grandma and Grandpa for the bike. It’s pretty awesome, and the fact that it closely resembles Lizzie’s magic pink bike in Sue Heap’s Fabulous Fairy Feast doesn’t hurt, either.