Canada Day Celebrations in the Sunshine Coast

It was the first long weekend of summer, and Lyn, the family’s official holiday planner, wanted to go out of Vancouver and do something special on July 1, Canada Day. Since she wanted to go to the beach, Ronnie suggested White Rock, which was only an hour away by transit from their place. Of course, Lyn shot down his idea immediately, for what she had in mind involved one with ferry rides, like going to Bowen Island or to Gibsons or Sechelt in the Sunshine Coast.

Because the family hadn’t been to Sechelt before (although the city was a few kilometers away from Gibsons, which they already visited two years ago), they decided to go there and catch the first ferry trip at 9:35 a.m. the next day.

Though all woke up early for a quick breakfast, they weren’t able to catch the bus that would take them downtown to catch another bus that would take them to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver, where the ferries were. Fifteen minutes later, another bus came and Ronnie, Lyn and Raf where on their first leg of their long day trip to the Sunshine Coast.

After 40 minutes, the adventurous three were in downtown Vancouver waiting for another bus that would take them to the ferries. The second leg of their journey would soon begin in 20 minutes. The Blue Bus to Horseshoe Bay was jam packed with holiday travelers.

The trip to the ferries was lengthy. Although there were still 15 minutes to spare before the Queen of Surrey left for Langdale in the Sunshine Coast, the family dashed toward the ticketing office and to the docks. The traveling trio was the last to board the vessel before the crew closed the gate. (If they didn’t make it on time, the family would have to wait for two hours for the next ferry at 11:45 a.m.)

The traveling distance between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale was 9.7 nautical miles. During the 40-minute trip, Raf was having his second breakfast of the day at the ship’s cafeteria while Lyn and Ronnie were simply lounging around in the passenger deck.

From Langdale terminal, the group hopped on a bus that would take them to the town of Sechelt, which was 23 km away. It was another 40-minute ride, where Lyn managed to doze off.

Reaching Langdale town proper, the bus driver dropped the three near where the action was: the Canada Day Parade. It was half way through when they got there. The procession wasn’t that entertaining for big-city folks like the Fuenteses, but they found it a pleasure to see the small community (population as of 1996: 7,343) displaying their civic pride.

After the parade, it was time to explore what “the Land between the Seas” had to offer. Lyn discovered that the shops here were a lot better than the ones in Gibsons; however, almost all of them were closed, including the restaurants. “I wonder how the city looks like on a weekday,” she told Ronnie, who was checking the map for a good place to eat. “It’s a virtual ghost town, especially after the crowds have left,” he noted. “It’s a sleepy town,” Raf remarked.

Tired and famished, they eventually found a Greek eatery, which was packed with hungry tourists and sightseers. An order of lamb and beef souvlaki and halibut and chips with some iced tea revitalized the three day-trippers.

And to help their system digest their heavy meals, they walked to Trail Bay and meandered along the seawall. Then they were off to Gibsons, where other Canada Day activities were happening, before taking the ferry back home.

At the “Gateway to the Sunshine Coast,” the family rested for a short time at Winegarden Park to listen to the interesting riffs of a jazz band. Afterwards, they checked out Molly’s Lane to see what’s new. Finding nothing much had changed since their last visit, they decided to go home and catch the 5:15 p.m. ferry to Horseshoe Bay.

And like their ferry ride to Langdale, Ronnie, Lyn and Raf were the last foot passengers to catch the trip — again. •