I'm a firm believer in loving where you live, which is really easy for me. I remember vacationing in Coombs as a girl. I remember getting a pair of white cowboy boots at one of the kitschy little stores that surround the main square when there was still a huge ferris wheel in the center. I wore those boots with a short baby-doll dress for my birthday so you can date that accordingly, if you wish. I live here now and every spring when the Alberta and Saskatchewan license plates start showing up, I grumble with the best of the locals about how, "You've seen Oceanside, now go home!" Secretly though, it's amazing to live in a place where people want to vacation - where I used to vacation. Yes, it means that on a sudden Tuesday in June you can't get anywhere near Coombs market to get your organic veggies, but hey, look at the view here! I can cope. Begrudgingly.
A few days ago, Peter and I did a "tourist at home" day. I love being able to have these, and I enjoy them every time. We packed up Bella and drove the fifteen minutes to Parksville and enjoyed the sunny view while watching the clouds come in over Mt Arrowsmith, threatening rain. Our first stop was Qualicum Cheeseworks, and no matter how many times I go I have so much fun. It's the Saskatchewan farm girl coming out in me, a piece of my DNA that I'm so happy Bella has inherited and Peter doesn't understand as I breathe in the glorious smell of a working farm. Yes, that smell is manure, but somehow when mixed with fresh spring air, hay, dirt, and the musty woodsy smell of an old barn, it becomes an intoxicating perfume to me.
I'm sure they'd be just as busy if they charged for parking or admission, but I love that they don't. This was the first time we'd taken Bella, and folks, she LOVED it. She went wild. She chased a duck who was well mannered enough to not bite her fingers off, as I would have done. She squealed at baby chicks and asked politely to be left in their cage with them for all eternity. She kissed a sheep on the nose and saw a calf born two days ago. The best part of the day was when we entered the bunny pen and while I was cuddling the most adorable little rabbit, Bella asked her Daddy if she could "please kick a bunny?" I kid you not. She unfortunately inherited her father's DNA which involves seeing some kind of sport with a complicated rule system and a high incidence of total disaster during every day activities. I guess the gorgeous little lop-eared creatures sitting peacefully in the sun just begged to be punted. I thought they were so adorable I could just cuddle them making squealing noises forever, but once the critter in my arms decided I had taken things too far by kissing it's cute wiggling nose, it leaped from my arms and went running about the enclosure. Bella stopped asking to abuse the animals and giggled uproariously. Apparently they just weren't moving enough for her.
We ended up in the shop while Bella ate her weight in cheese samples that they make fresh on the farm. I had two tiny spoonfuls of the berry cream cheese that they make and held myself back from buying them completely out of stock. Bathing suit season is just around the corner but oh, the texture of that cheese and the taste of fresh berries just makes me think of croissants and forget about the sight of my love handles in a pair of cute jeans. I could bathe in that stuff it's so delicious. In great news, I found out that they sell organic beef in small portions so I'll be back a few times this summer yet I'm sure. The wonderful lady behind the counter did not comment on the amount of cheese we consumed (we're a family of little will power) and instead offered us a few wine samples. Peter responsibly frowned at the time (it was still well before lunch) while I headed over to the bar and sampled some local gooseberry wine, which made me think of a picnic on the beach with some fruit and bread, and perhaps some of that berry cream cheese. We ducked out after buying a new cheese knife and a cute magnet before I lost total control and ate and drank and shopped myself into oblivion.
From the farm we were off to Little Qualicum Falls to show Bella where Daddy asked Mommy to marry him seven years ago and started the chaos we now call everyday life. She's obviously still far too young to care, but it was special having her there. We took a bunch of pictures and Bella ran around kicking pine cones which turned out to be a wonderful substitute for those poor bunnies. I shot some video of Bella and Daddy playing the above-mentioned complicated game (this one involved seeing if you could whack Mommy with the pine cone) that I'm sure I'll watch when she's off in college refusing to answer my calls. It occurred to me that days don't get more perfect than this as we acted like idiots in the car trying to keep Bella awake during the short drive to Coombs Market. We got parking in front of the General Store (imagine!) and we wandered around looking at things that I've seen a million times before, and bought in other countries. It was a joke with my family when I traveled that everything I brought back from some exotic place like Japan, Nepal, or India, could be found and purchased with ease at Coombs. It used to make me so angry but now that I buy plane tickets with much less frequency than I used to, it just makes me happy. We shared lunch and found out that there is now a new Italian restaurant in Coombs and as I am as big a sucker for pasta as I am for delicious cheese, I'm sure we'll include that as our next stop.
To think, people from the prairies spend heaps of money to get here, and this is where I live. I saw my first smattering of Alberta, Washington, and even a Colorado license plate on the way home and I couldn't help but laugh. Welcome to Oceanside. You really should just move here.
A few days ago, Peter and I did a "tourist at home" day. I love being able to have these, and I enjoy them every time. We packed up Bella and drove the fifteen minutes to Parksville and enjoyed the sunny view while watching the clouds come in over Mt Arrowsmith, threatening rain. Our first stop was Qualicum Cheeseworks, and no matter how many times I go I have so much fun. It's the Saskatchewan farm girl coming out in me, a piece of my DNA that I'm so happy Bella has inherited and Peter doesn't understand as I breathe in the glorious smell of a working farm. Yes, that smell is manure, but somehow when mixed with fresh spring air, hay, dirt, and the musty woodsy smell of an old barn, it becomes an intoxicating perfume to me.
I'm sure they'd be just as busy if they charged for parking or admission, but I love that they don't. This was the first time we'd taken Bella, and folks, she LOVED it. She went wild. She chased a duck who was well mannered enough to not bite her fingers off, as I would have done. She squealed at baby chicks and asked politely to be left in their cage with them for all eternity. She kissed a sheep on the nose and saw a calf born two days ago. The best part of the day was when we entered the bunny pen and while I was cuddling the most adorable little rabbit, Bella asked her Daddy if she could "please kick a bunny?" I kid you not. She unfortunately inherited her father's DNA which involves seeing some kind of sport with a complicated rule system and a high incidence of total disaster during every day activities. I guess the gorgeous little lop-eared creatures sitting peacefully in the sun just begged to be punted. I thought they were so adorable I could just cuddle them making squealing noises forever, but once the critter in my arms decided I had taken things too far by kissing it's cute wiggling nose, it leaped from my arms and went running about the enclosure. Bella stopped asking to abuse the animals and giggled uproariously. Apparently they just weren't moving enough for her.
We ended up in the shop while Bella ate her weight in cheese samples that they make fresh on the farm. I had two tiny spoonfuls of the berry cream cheese that they make and held myself back from buying them completely out of stock. Bathing suit season is just around the corner but oh, the texture of that cheese and the taste of fresh berries just makes me think of croissants and forget about the sight of my love handles in a pair of cute jeans. I could bathe in that stuff it's so delicious. In great news, I found out that they sell organic beef in small portions so I'll be back a few times this summer yet I'm sure. The wonderful lady behind the counter did not comment on the amount of cheese we consumed (we're a family of little will power) and instead offered us a few wine samples. Peter responsibly frowned at the time (it was still well before lunch) while I headed over to the bar and sampled some local gooseberry wine, which made me think of a picnic on the beach with some fruit and bread, and perhaps some of that berry cream cheese. We ducked out after buying a new cheese knife and a cute magnet before I lost total control and ate and drank and shopped myself into oblivion.
From the farm we were off to Little Qualicum Falls to show Bella where Daddy asked Mommy to marry him seven years ago and started the chaos we now call everyday life. She's obviously still far too young to care, but it was special having her there. We took a bunch of pictures and Bella ran around kicking pine cones which turned out to be a wonderful substitute for those poor bunnies. I shot some video of Bella and Daddy playing the above-mentioned complicated game (this one involved seeing if you could whack Mommy with the pine cone) that I'm sure I'll watch when she's off in college refusing to answer my calls. It occurred to me that days don't get more perfect than this as we acted like idiots in the car trying to keep Bella awake during the short drive to Coombs Market. We got parking in front of the General Store (imagine!) and we wandered around looking at things that I've seen a million times before, and bought in other countries. It was a joke with my family when I traveled that everything I brought back from some exotic place like Japan, Nepal, or India, could be found and purchased with ease at Coombs. It used to make me so angry but now that I buy plane tickets with much less frequency than I used to, it just makes me happy. We shared lunch and found out that there is now a new Italian restaurant in Coombs and as I am as big a sucker for pasta as I am for delicious cheese, I'm sure we'll include that as our next stop.
To think, people from the prairies spend heaps of money to get here, and this is where I live. I saw my first smattering of Alberta, Washington, and even a Colorado license plate on the way home and I couldn't help but laugh. Welcome to Oceanside. You really should just move here.
