Wedding: The Process of Removing Weeds From One's Garden
I was so wiped out after this weekend I didn't have a chance to write this until today.
On Friday, one of my good friends and original founding members of "The Flying Squirrels", Shar, got married to her boyfriend of...a few years, Ian. No one but immediate family was invited - including us radical dudes.
Sigh?
Well...oddly enough, even though we were denied partaking in the actual wedding ceremony, we were lucky enough to partake in the reception the following day.
Four of us represented our "crew": me, Derrick, and Mike & Katie (his girlfriend) - so around 1ish we all caravanned up through Vancouver towards the desolate location the blissfully wed pair had chosen for their reception - Bowen Island, about 90 minutes from home.
The trip was an adventure - fighting off the traffic on the freeway, the raindrops in the sky, and the gay dudes that kept jaywalking in front of my car as we drove through that particular part of town. (I was told it was faster, really!) Now, as you must realize, Bowen Island is, in fact, an island, and there is no direct road that goes there. So, we had to board a ferry. Prior to doing so, we booked a motel near the ferry terminal on the mainland in Horseshoe Bay, which turned out to be a good idea - this wedding had an open bar, and we didn't want to take any chances (or thwart any potential fun).
The Horseshoe Bay Motel
Horseshoe Bay (village) from the air
A YouTube video of a ferry crash in Horseshoe Bay in 2005. It was the best video of the area I could find.
After loading up at a Subway for a late lunch, the four of us ambled through the village (very quaint, actually - too bad it's ridiculously expensive to live there) to the ferry terminal where we soonafter loaded up on the ferry to Bowen Island.
The ferry to Bowen Island - much smaller than the usual superferries in the BC Ferries fleet.
The ride over was nice - only 15 minutes, but it was in the open seas during the nicest part of the day. So to celebrate, I cracked open the cooler I brought - filled with our deserts and such that we brought (as per request) - and mixed some Coke and Crown Royal together to enjoy in the sea breeze. Oh yes, public drunkenness is a wonderful thing.
Actually, that was the main point of going to Bowen Island in the first place. Shar specifically picked that spot because it was the only provincial park in the province where you could legally serve alcohol openly. We can't complain about that, can we? Especially if it was being provided.
Hence, you can see why we rented that hotel room, in the end.
A YouTube video featuring the locals telling you to "Come On Over" to Bowen Island. A few shots of the greenspaces here are where the reception was held.
Docking at Snug Cove, the ferry terminal and epicentre of Bowen Island.
The greenspace on the left is where the reception was held.
The reception was fun. Beyond all the booze (which was a highlight but not the only thing) we had a good meal. Everyone supplied salads or deserts to share (which was fun) while the drinks and ham (only ham...oh well) were supplied already. We lucked out and chose a table right beside where our friends (bride & groom) were sitting so we didn't get stuck with a bunch of people we didn't know. If it wasn't so drizzly for much of the afternoon I would've loved to get out in the field and play some of the random sports the others were. Oh well.
Hey, just be happy I was still on two feet at that point.
When most of the people had left as dusk was falling, we decided to stay behind and help the immediate family clean up the parkspace. That and we finally got to grill Shar and Ian in private about their wedding and afterplans - they were going up to Whistler for a few days for a short "pre-honeymoon". We all took the late ferry back and as the two lovebirds made it up the highway through Sea to Sky country for the night, us dudes stumbled back to the hotel and crashed for a bit. Sadly Derrick had to bail early because he was housesitting (and there was a lonely dog that needed him there) - so after that happened, the rest of us walked around Horseshoe Bay to find more action. That was found at a local pub - kept alive with a few lone souls and, thankfully, some live mid-night Olympic coverage.
Now if only Canada could win a single stinkin' medal...but that's neither here nor there, this IS the summer Olympics after all. We don't know what to do with water if it's in liquid form, apparently.
The overnight snooze and following morning, where we searched forever how to get home and find a solid place for breakfast, were all good - much more low key. I think we were just too tired to do much else. But a fun time was had by all - and a worthy fifth addition to my own personal wedding experiences. One question was raised though - who's NEXT?
And yet, most people looked at me? And I'm the single one? If they're waiting for me, they're gonna be waiting a long time, it would seem.
On Friday, one of my good friends and original founding members of "The Flying Squirrels", Shar, got married to her boyfriend of...a few years, Ian. No one but immediate family was invited - including us radical dudes.
Sigh?
Well...oddly enough, even though we were denied partaking in the actual wedding ceremony, we were lucky enough to partake in the reception the following day.
Four of us represented our "crew": me, Derrick, and Mike & Katie (his girlfriend) - so around 1ish we all caravanned up through Vancouver towards the desolate location the blissfully wed pair had chosen for their reception - Bowen Island, about 90 minutes from home.
The trip was an adventure - fighting off the traffic on the freeway, the raindrops in the sky, and the gay dudes that kept jaywalking in front of my car as we drove through that particular part of town. (I was told it was faster, really!) Now, as you must realize, Bowen Island is, in fact, an island, and there is no direct road that goes there. So, we had to board a ferry. Prior to doing so, we booked a motel near the ferry terminal on the mainland in Horseshoe Bay, which turned out to be a good idea - this wedding had an open bar, and we didn't want to take any chances (or thwart any potential fun).
The Horseshoe Bay Motel
Horseshoe Bay (village) from the air
Click to viewA YouTube video of a ferry crash in Horseshoe Bay in 2005. It was the best video of the area I could find.
After loading up at a Subway for a late lunch, the four of us ambled through the village (very quaint, actually - too bad it's ridiculously expensive to live there) to the ferry terminal where we soonafter loaded up on the ferry to Bowen Island.
The ferry to Bowen Island - much smaller than the usual superferries in the BC Ferries fleet.
The ride over was nice - only 15 minutes, but it was in the open seas during the nicest part of the day. So to celebrate, I cracked open the cooler I brought - filled with our deserts and such that we brought (as per request) - and mixed some Coke and Crown Royal together to enjoy in the sea breeze. Oh yes, public drunkenness is a wonderful thing.
Actually, that was the main point of going to Bowen Island in the first place. Shar specifically picked that spot because it was the only provincial park in the province where you could legally serve alcohol openly. We can't complain about that, can we? Especially if it was being provided.
Hence, you can see why we rented that hotel room, in the end.
A YouTube video featuring the locals telling you to "Come On Over" to Bowen Island. A few shots of the greenspaces here are where the reception was held.
Docking at Snug Cove, the ferry terminal and epicentre of Bowen Island.
The greenspace on the left is where the reception was held.
The reception was fun. Beyond all the booze (which was a highlight but not the only thing) we had a good meal. Everyone supplied salads or deserts to share (which was fun) while the drinks and ham (only ham...oh well) were supplied already. We lucked out and chose a table right beside where our friends (bride & groom) were sitting so we didn't get stuck with a bunch of people we didn't know. If it wasn't so drizzly for much of the afternoon I would've loved to get out in the field and play some of the random sports the others were. Oh well.
Hey, just be happy I was still on two feet at that point.
When most of the people had left as dusk was falling, we decided to stay behind and help the immediate family clean up the parkspace. That and we finally got to grill Shar and Ian in private about their wedding and afterplans - they were going up to Whistler for a few days for a short "pre-honeymoon". We all took the late ferry back and as the two lovebirds made it up the highway through Sea to Sky country for the night, us dudes stumbled back to the hotel and crashed for a bit. Sadly Derrick had to bail early because he was housesitting (and there was a lonely dog that needed him there) - so after that happened, the rest of us walked around Horseshoe Bay to find more action. That was found at a local pub - kept alive with a few lone souls and, thankfully, some live mid-night Olympic coverage.
Now if only Canada could win a single stinkin' medal...but that's neither here nor there, this IS the summer Olympics after all. We don't know what to do with water if it's in liquid form, apparently.
The overnight snooze and following morning, where we searched forever how to get home and find a solid place for breakfast, were all good - much more low key. I think we were just too tired to do much else. But a fun time was had by all - and a worthy fifth addition to my own personal wedding experiences. One question was raised though - who's NEXT?
And yet, most people looked at me? And I'm the single one? If they're waiting for me, they're gonna be waiting a long time, it would seem.