|
| |
|
|
|
It takes a visitor’s eye to see P.G.’s better side |
|
|
Written by PATTY STEWART
Citizen columnist
|
|
Wednesday, 02 July 2008 |
Related Items
PATTY STEWARTVANCOUVER ISLAND
That’s what happened a couple weeks ago when a friend I’ve known for nearly 30 years came to visit from St. Louis.
This was Leslie’s third summertime visit to Prince George in three years, which allowed her enough familiarity to now request repeat visits to favourite local spots. Earl’s, Tim Horton’s, White Spot, Cimo’s, Connaught Hill, Books & Company, shopping downtown, scouting university hill for wildlife -- those were top on the to-do list, and all were fulfilled.
While I fretted about how to keep her warm, Leslie relished the idea of wearing thick, wooly sweaters and snuggling under five quilts in a flannel gown at night. The weather in St. Louis when she departed was a sweltering, sweaty 35 degrees with the humidity. hovering near 95 per cent. When I translated our Celsius temperature to 57 degrees Fahrenheit, the lifetime St. Louisan celebrated.
We turned the furnace back on the second day after Leslie’s arrival as her layers of sweaters increased. But there was sunshine, and plenty of it - enough to fully illuminate our natural British Columbia beauty.
She saw her first black bear, in the wild, munching on some vegetation on the side of Highway 97 near Dunkley Lumber. The sighting was made even more special by the fact that she saw it first -- a young, fat, furry creature on the roadside.
As we headed south to Vancouver to attend a jazz festival event, she marveled at the mountains, the lakes, and the vast distance between the tiny towns along the way.
Funny, we both recalled growing up in St. Louis, less than a five-hour drive to Chicago and never did we ever consider going there. Now, after living in Canada for nearly 20 years, I can road warrior with the best of them.
Last summer, Leslie ended up at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver after a serious fall outside the art gallery. Our goal this year was to avoid the need for medical care, and we succeeded. As we headed to the Orpheum to see our favourite group, Pink Martini, we were without the wheelchair, and sitting fifth row, centre.
We had every intention of visiting islands on this trip -- Saltspring, Hornby, Vancouver Island. Instead, we settled for a beautiful day on Granville Island, watching artisans blow intricate glass vases and eating perogies and sauerkraut in the market.
Our drive back up Highway 97 was long and fairly uneventful, except for the 20-minute holdup near the Jackass Mountain fire outside Lytton. It gave us time to talk about next year’s Canadian adventure.
“I’ll come again in June,” she says -- when the days are long, the nights are cool, and the young black bears nibble on new flowers along the highway.
------
If you know of someone or something that should be In the Spotlight, contact Patty Stewart at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
 |
|
Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 September 2008 )
|
|
|
Who's Online
We have 147 guests and 9 members online
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
