Sister Act Day Four

The format for day four was out of our direct control initially and the backing up toilet from the day before took charge.  Logic suggested that the ceptic tank had filled and would need pumping so Kim called the ceptic dude and he managed to commit to an appointment to call early that afternoon.  Kim, who is the love of my life immediately handed in her day pass to Harrison Lake and volunteered to stay behind.  She is an angel.

Manda , Cherie and I headed east this time through the Fraser Valley and the farmlands gently protected by the surrounding mountains.  The day was bright and reasonably warm.  The drive to Harrison Lake of 51 kilometres is actually shorter than the length of this massive lake which at 40 miles long is something to behold.  Construction traffic held us up at Hatzic Bench for about half an hour and a sleepy berk in the pick up behind nudged my back bumper as he dozed at the wheel.  I plumped up and expanded before climbing out of the car to check fo any damage.  None but had words with the guy who spewed numerous apologies.

We drove out through Hatzic, Deroche, Nicomen Slough, leQuamel First Nations Reserve and eventually arrived in Harrison by about 1130.  The sun still bright gave the girls great views of the resort and beaches.

Harrison is a very popular resort during the summer and sits in the centre of Saskquatch Territory; Yes, this is where Harry or Harry and the Hendersons actually hails from.  Manda, Cherie and Kim all have Sasquatch buddies named Mike Henderson, Simon and Harrison respectively.

We toured the resort and souvenir shops.  Harrison has a quality about it and no kiss me quick at all.  It is a real gem and so close to home for any visitors.  I remember all the kids being here with Kim and I back in 2005.  38 degrees; and the sand almost too hot to walk on.  The glacier fed cold lake to swim in prompted Samantha at that time to buy a swimsuit and take a dip.  Before that she didn't swim.  We visited a small shop that Kim and I always call in on when here and tasted wood smoked and candied salmon and tasted numerous flavours of locally grown hazelnuts.  Local Honey tasting was also on the agenda.

We grabbed a coffee in the Resort Hotel and visited the Alice Well Hot Springs which is where the resort got its name.  The 147 degree natural hot water is pumped into the hotel pools where visitors can poach themselves at their leisure.  The hotel is another favourite haunt and does midweek packages including dinner dance in the stylish Copper Room to the Jones Boys.

We left Harrison and stopped next at Weaver Creek which is a man made Salmon Hatchery with meandering channels and terraced jumps which the Salmon have to leap to get to the spawning grounds.  We arrived late in the season and the Salmon were by this time either too knackered to make the leap or content to expire further downstream.

Next stop was the Church of the Blues or the Old Dewdney Pub so named because it was once a church and second because Sunday is live blues and jazz.  We had cold beers and a large plate of Nachos for lunch.  A real treat.  Late lunch but well worth the wait.  This a real rural local farm boys pub and a jewel.  Food always very good.

The ceptic man meanwhile had been announcing to Kim that the ceptic was not in fact full.  This caused immediate concern because it meant the problem was elsewhere and home movements would have to remain on hold.  The ceptic man, however, through years of experience, felt sure the issue was a block in the waste pipe from the house,  He duly dug a large hole sweating and swearing profusely and located the pipe and cleared it.  The loos flushed in joyous harmony and ceptic man gave the extra service on the house.  He told Kim she had a warm heart.  I naturally hastened home to protect her chastity.  Don't really want poo cleaners ogling the wife do I?  Kim's update advised all in hand so we then headed to our last port of call, Westminster Abbey.

The Abbey is a Monastery and Seminary in the back of Mission and is a place of real peace.  You don't have to have any religeous inclination to feel confortable here.  The Abbey windows can only be seen in their glory from the inside.  Each area has different colours and I have selected the blue to purple for the shot.

A short walk through the grounds of the Abbey takes you to a lookout point that takes your breath away.  On this day and in the late afternoon sun the view was as good as I think I have ever seen here.

In the foregound Mission East then the Fraser River; next the farmland from Matsqui to Abbotsford; then Sumas Mountain and in the background Mount Baker is Washington State USA.  We all paused to soak up the view.  A couple of weeks earlier when Jamie Franklin was with us we did the same thing, only on that ocassion a hooded priest sat on the supplied bench puffing away on his pipe.  He had unusual eyes the kind that move independently so he gave us a sideways glance and still looked out ahead at the same time.  I'm sure his tobacco brand was Three Nuns.  His glance also insinuated that we were all destined for the fires of hell.  Amenable chap not methinks!

The evening saw us return to Merlot, Cider and Beer for a change and a meal shared with Bob Boast.  Marinated Ribs, Butternut Squash and Rosemary grilled chips. 

A different Canadian dining experience each night.  The day faded; the loo flushed and bushed we retired early.  Our next day would be starting very early.  5am as I recall......