Fond Farewell

I had always intended to write this post before we left Vancouver, but it just never quite felt like the right time. I'm not sure if there ever really is one right time to do things, but after my first real bout of missing Vancouver yesterday and sprucing up the blog a bit I figured now was as good as ever. So, Hello! Good to be back.

We were really lucky to be able to do a few trips around B.C. before we left Canada, and looking through my photos of the Gulf Islands and moody Francois Lake mountains has both made my heart ache and made me feel really, really lucky that I got to call that spectacular country home for awhile. There is something special about the Pacific Northwest, with it's thick forests and mossy, damp smell that lingers even into the summer months. It gets under your skin.

I love that our last couple of months in and around Vancouver were full of exploring, spending time with friends and a whole lot of joy. Leaving was always in the back of my mind, but I never felt really sad because each place we went was so beautiful, and each meal shared so full of laughs. It wasn't until flying out of Vancouver airport and peering out the window, mesmerized once again by the Coast Mountains that it really hit me, and I cried and cried. I think I found myself in Vancouver in just that perfect time in my life that made not just my growing up but the city itself have a really strong impact on the person I am. Does that sound a bit dramatic? In some ways I don't feel like I've changed hugely in the last 5 years, but in so many ways I have and whenever I catch a glimpse of those dang mountains I'm reminded of a place where I really felt free to be and grow into the person I wanted to be. Vancouver, with your crazy weather, hippies, large amount of active-wear and pot smell, you still have my heart.

So, it has been a bit of a tough transition. There have been a few hiccups along the way which I'll go into in a later post, but we have been lucky enough to come home to a New Zealand summer, which is just about one of the best things in the world. Watching the sun set over Lake Taupo with my Dad on our first night home, eating fish (really, potato fritter) and chips out of newspaper with a cold beer, helped me feel like we had made a good decision. Spending time with family, catching up with old friends and dipping my toes into the ocean at wild, west coast, black sand beach was pretty great, too.

I'm really happy to be back in this space, to share with you what we've been up to and to hear how you all are. Kia ora, from our new (old) home.