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Springtime in Colony Farm, Port Coquitlam

Joseph Boltrukiewicz
May 9th, 2011

Photos by Joseph Boltrukiewicz

The signs of spring are clearly visible in Colony Farm.

The history of Colony Farm dates back to 1904, when the Essondale mental health facility acquired 1,000 acres of arable land and wetlands. For the next 70 years the farm provided food for the hospital's patients, becoming the province's most outstanding agricultural success. The farm soon acquired a reputation as "the best in the West" for its great products and organization. It became world-famous for its Holstein cattle and pioneered artificial insemination techniques that gave birth to many of B.C.'s dairy farms. Today, Colony Farm is a tranquil piece of greenery in the middle of a busy section of the Tri-City region (Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody).

 

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Please keep your dogs off the beach. My children are playing.

Joshua Hergesheimer
Jan 28th, 2011
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The author's children at Kits beach

I love taking my twin two-year-old girls to Kits beach. Every time we roll the stroller off the #22 bus the girls get excited. And each time I see waves lapping and the mountains rising up from the ocean, I realize this nature-fix is precisely what I need.  

Which is why it bothers me that too often I head home frustrated, reflecting not on the enjoyment Abi and Bea got from throwing rocks into the water or digging in the sand, but on yet another altercation with a dog owner who let their dog scare my children as they played on the beach.

The facts. According to city bylaws, dogs are not allowed on the 'beach' of Kits beach. This means the sand, and the sand only. The dog friendly areas are exactly that - places for dogs to do what dogs do best: run and play.  

 

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Leaning how to snowboard

Kate O'Neill
Dec 8th, 2010

A few weeks ago I went up with my family to Sun Peaks resort and decided to go snowboarding for the first time since middle school. My older sister, a veteran boarder, was nice enough to take me under her wing and give me a hand up the very steep learning curve of snowboarding.

When I was 13 years old, during winter break, someone once pushed me over and declared me a “regular” snowboarder (meaning left foot forward). That is about all I had remembered from my one season of snowboard lessons a decade ago. However within my first few minutes on the mountain, I understood why I may have given up learning how to snowboard in the first place.

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Vancouver in snow

Mark Donovan
Nov 22nd, 2010

Over the weekend, the snow fell heavily in Vancouver. Up at Queen Elizabeth Park, as much as 10 cm fell, covering the trees and grounds with a thick, heavy blanket of wet snow. Many of the trees that still have their leaves on them were bent over with the weight of the sticky snow.

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A rainbow lights up the sky over Vancouver

Mark Donovan
Nov 9th, 2010

We don't get many thunderstorms here in Vancouver, but we do get the occasional rainbow. Especially this time of the year. The sun's always low on the horizon, and the sky often clear in the West in the late afternoon. This allows the setting sun to shine in under the rain clouds in the East. That’s exactly what happened last Friday, and the most spectacular rainbow lit up the sky over Vancouver. 

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Visiting Parksville/Qualicum Beach: the Seven Wonders of Oceanside in one weekend

Sponsored Content
May 27th, 2010

A cat relaxes at Milner Garden & Woodland

For a city-dweller like me, adventuring outside the concrete confines of the city limits can be a challenge. So when Vancouver Island's Oceanside Tourism Association and Seasmoke PR offered me the chance to go on an adventure, I leapt at the chance. I figured it would be difficult, but hey, who doesn't love a challenge?  

The challenge: Check out each of the Seven Wonders of Oceanside. You have one weekend.   

Friday, 3 p.m.: Catch a BC ferry to Nanaimo from the Horseshoe Bay terminal.

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Eight beautiful hikes in Vancouver, B.C.

Marnie Grey
Apr 2nd, 2010

After a 6 month hiatus from work, Children's Entertainer Marnie Grey shares her love of returning back to Vancouver's many trails.

We stepped outside of YVR Airport and my husband, Kevin, said, “Smell how fresh the air is...” 

We had just spent a month in Los Angeles, followed by five amazing months, in one of the most peaceful - yet chaotic countries in the world– India.  After six months of dust, dirt and traffic, inclusive of a hospital stay for food poisoning,  I could relate to my husband's statement   100%. The air outside of YVR,   even next to the taxi stand, smelled GOOD!

 

India was incredible. I will forever be grateful for our travels, but in that moment, my first breath of Vancouver air, not only filled my lungs, but it felt like it rejuvenated my very being.  I was home, at last.

 

During our first week back, everyday felt like a new adventure, like I was a tourist in my own city. Our dog Zorro was incredibly happy to have us home.

 

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Traveling Alone in the Jungle of Northern Thailand

Mat Neale
Mar 15th, 2010

A common view from my guest house, Baan Bua.

Some people will tell you that any kind of travel, when done alone, is not the best idea.  It can be dangerous, risky and just downright stressful.  There is no one to rely on when things go bad, no one to turn to when you are lost, no one to watch your fifty pound bag when you go to the toilet.  Most people would tell you this. I might even tell you. But not today.

Chiang Rai: Thailand

I was sitting in a guest house, adorned with green walls, green curtains and white hospital like floors, strewn with tissue papers.  Other than the fan there was not much to look at. My book was by my side, as it was wherever I went.  I lay on my bed, and stared at my feet for three full days.  If I moved, I would  vomit.  This was one of the best days of my life. I had just come back from 10 days in the jungle, a trip that was only to last 3 days.  

I had been in Thailand a month already, but heading into the jungle was number one on my “to do” list.

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Coming to the Olympics in Vancouver, BC? Bring an Umbrella and Take a Break in the Wilderness

Linda Solomon
Jan 10th, 2010

Vancouver has an array of gorgeous places to get away from the crush of the crowds, like Lynn Canyon Headwaters Park.  Take the high trail and in an instant feel a million miles away from the games people play.

Relax.

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Going Outside? Prepare to be Lost

Mat Neale
Dec 30th, 2009

Your clothes can save your life or they can kill you. The choice is yours.

Now, i'm not suggesting that wearing a yellow string thong is going to give you heart disease (though it might cause it in others who see it), all I’m saying that you need to dress weather appropriate for the conditions. Being as it's winter and things are unpredictable at best I’m going to give you some options. Why you ask?

Well, the better you dress the less I have to perform mouth to mouth and that’s good for me, because, when I have to do mouth to mouth, my dates often get jealous.

First off here is a message to mothers. If you send your child on a snowy backcountry tour with me, don't let them out of the house if they are wearing cotton.

It's worse than hanging a steak around their neck and sending them out in the woods to make cute little rabbit noises. Well, maybe not, but my point still stands.

Cotton kills, cotton is rotten, whatever you want to say to get yourself to remember it. Cotton doesn't dry, it doesn't keep you warm when it's wet and hypothermia will set in faster than you can say, well, hypothermia.

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