Yesterday found us roaming the country roads of nearby Salt Spring Island.  This is a long weekend in Canada with each province celebrating it’s own history and heritage so it’s probably the busiest weekend of the summer.  It was a warm, sunny day and the 30 minute ferry ride to Fulford Harbour was such a treat, although we just squeaked on…we were the second to last car aboard. 

Even though Salt Spring Island is very near to where we live on the Saanich Penninsula of Vancouver Island, and looks so close, it’s hard to believe that it’s a separate island…we hadn’t been there for 7 years.  A visit was definitely overdue and it was a perfect day for an adventure!  There's been no particular reason why it’s been so long since we visited but so much has happened in those intervening years, not the least of which has been building a new home, moving, and those never ending ongoing landscaping projects.  We’ve focused so much on “doing”, just putting one foot in front of the other and have…at times…forgotten how important it is, to simply “be”.

I needed to get out of town...I needed to not have an agenda...I needed to play!

The beautiful bottles pictured above were for sale at one of the stalls at the Ganges Market and I meant to go back and pick out one or two to take home with me (how could I resist these colours?) but by the time I made it through the market, I was on people overload and ready to leave the bustling little village

Salt Spring is a picturesque island of musicians, artist studio’s, organic gardens, sheep farms, wineries, B&B’s, cyclists, boaters, and kyakers.  It’s a visual feast for the eyes and oozes charm from every nook and cranny.

We lunched by the ocean as we watched the sea planes take off and land in Ganges harbour… 

We sat and sipped a beautiful glass of light summer wine at a local winery, while overlooking a peaceful, pastoral valley…

We sat on the edge of the Fulford Harbour dock in the sunshine, licking an ice cream while waiting for the ferry…

and we arrived home tired and weary…but in the very best possible way.  

I don’t plan to wait another 7 years until I return!

 

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged, to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.

Nelson Mandala

And I'm hoping that you too can take the time to play when you need to...or better yet, BEFORE you need to!

As always...thank you dear friends, for stopping by,