a moving adventure

Sasha and I had a blast helping our friends move from Pender island back to the city last month. The adventure started first thing in the morning and spilled into the next day!

The plan was supposed to be: we pick up a truck in the city, catch the 10 (ish) ferry thru the gulf islands and arrive at Pender by lunch time where a crew of guys was going to load it up in a few hours, and then we'd catch the 4 (ish) ferry back to Vancouver. Good plan.

And then there's the great story of how it all actually worked out ;P

After hoofin up the hill and 20 minute walk away to pick up the inital truck I booked didn't work out, so I had to run back home by 8am to hopefully find another! Phoned around while entertaining Sasha and actually found another one close to home. We hopped in a cab, left with maybe enough time to still catch that ferry (and no means to contact them on Pender to let them know our plans have gone awry!!)...but not meant to be. Missed it by about 15 minutes, d'oh!

So Sasha and I caught a thru fare which took us to Victoria, where we got off, turned around and then parked for lunch while waiting for the ferry to Pender from there. (this is when Jonny finally got thru to my cell when we didn't arrive on Pender as expected) Sasha was having such an amazing time riding up front in the big truck and being my awesome 'co-pilot', and I kept talking to her about all our possible outcomes for the day that she easily went with the flow and enjoyed the crazy chaos. As we were pulling up to Pender island just before 3pm (but look! it was covered by a rainbow! that's gotta be good luck right?) I started preparing her for the likelihood that we might end up spending the night on the island...which of course we were not packed or prepared for.


When we arrived the team was ready to load up the truck in the lovely rain (they were smart to load from the deck as the ground was all mud puddles), but now the plan was to try to pack up and catch the 6:45 ferry to Victoria and then the 9 (ish) ferry to Vancouver. Well, Sasha and Jacob kept each other busy while the packing continued, and I gushed over the new baby and took on the sweep after each room was empty. Gotta love an empty room for spinning like a top, hehe!



Well, we got the truck packed and hurried our way to the ferry...and arrived in time to watch it pull away. Sigh. So we then decided dinner was a must. The first restaurant we went to was closed. The only other ones open were a pub (so no kids) and the resort where our friends had been working. Poets Cove here we come! Ate a late night meal in the restaurant (where I got a few pics of the adorable little ones) and then we made our way to our little 2 bedroom cottage for a bit of sleep!

Up before the sun we set out back across the island to the ferry...and HOORAY!!! We just made it!! The kids ran themselves silly on the trip across the water, and by the time we reached our friends place on the mainland Sasha had conked out. Of course she woke up and then ran herself silly with Jacob again all day while we unloaded the truck and then put the beds together so our friends could finally get some rest in their new home! We are all super thrilled to have this family close to us again, now only a quick bus trip up Fraser instead of ferry rides away! sweet :)

It was easy for me to be relaxed and go with the flow to do whatever our friends needed because I wasn't working for a few days in a row so didn't have to rush back. Sasha was happy to miss playcare to for a mother-daughter journey and quality play time with Jacob. And it's always easier for me to help others with a move than to move myself. I kept telling them they would have the best moving day story ever - once it was all over. To which I heard the reply "that doesn't really help when we have to live it right now!" lol. If this had been my epic moving adventure you can bet I would have included many more "remember to breathe" moments. But for Sasha and I it was simple island adventure time! Yay! and we even got to see a dozen deer during our short time on Pender and met a few nice folks as well. A great time indeed :D