I think Canadians, who live on the Coastal Rim of B.C. (the famed and beautiful Pacific Northwest Coast, sharing the drama and inspiration of the best protected boating waters in the world), always await the "summer season" with delight.
The Canadians who shiver in a "real winter" climate (basically, the entire country, except for this thin coastal rim on the B.C. Lower Mainland, the Sunshine Coast, Vancouver Island, and the magical Gulf Islands between, drifting in the Salish Sea (now called by the more mundane Georgia Strait), they all point out the fact that they might have long months of snow and cold, but they get lots more sunshine. The grey, mild and rainy winters of the coastal rim are famous, too!
Ah, but summer...it's a mindset, not just a season, on the Pacific Coast.
I like to tune into the golden oldies station, out of Vancouver, when driving from a to b to c on my island home, and inevitably, with the first whisper of summer (even when the calendar still reads Spring) one hears the allure of Mungo Jerry and that reggae flavour..."In the summertime...de-de-de-dah-dah...when the weather's fine...de-de-de-dah-dah...".
I end up singing along, and the promise of long days (sunset is after 10 p.m.), the fact that you can drive with all the windows down, and the air is warm, that you can dine al fresco on restaurant patios or at home, that you can swim in the ocean and laze at the beach, that the stars are amazingly close on glimmering nights, that you can kayak on pearleascent water, that the eagles teach their young to fly, right in front of one, that the entire rhythm of the universe seems so relaxed and energizing...ah, but you see, it's summer on the Pacific Coast!
Pacific...that means "peace", doesn't it?
Enjoy!
How may I help you to discover special Salt Spring Island & the Southern Gulf Islands? Call me!
