Saturday June 5, 2010

As of Friday evening, we didn’t have any grand plans for Saturday. Some people mentioned going to White Rock, a place not far from PLBC and near the ocean with a beautiful view. I had never been there so I was all for visiting the pace.
However, Saturday morning brought excitement and the announcement that we were traveling to Granville Island to go kayaking. I still wanted to visit White Rock and they promised that we could go after kayaking.
We began our uneventful transit to Granville Island. HA! As if anything is uneventful with the people with whom I was traveling. Our group consisted of Laura, Liesl, Christina, Marisol, Brett, Vu, Jared, Jonny, and myself. We were never sure of our directions and viewed it all as an adventure and part of the journey. :)
We arrived at Granville Island around noon. Our first priority was to find the place where we could rent kayaks. After locating the store, we told the man behind the register that we would be back after lunch. Our priorities directly after we left were to find a washroom and then eat our lunch.
While waiting for others in the washroom, Christina and I meandered into a few trading stores. These stores sell items made by people in villages all across the world. The money earned then goes back to the villages and the people. The stores and merchandise they contained were amazing!
After spending a few minutes in these stores, Christina directed me to the pier where everyone had already begun eating their lunches. We arrived just as one musician was collecting his supplies to leave and another was taking his place. The new musician began playing and as soon as our lunches were finished, a few in our group began dancing. Brett and Jared were waltzing by themselves and the girls wanted to learn.
After a bit of dancing, a woman also sitting on the pier (named Margaret I believe) spoke up and mentioned that she knew several different ballroom style dances. She offered to teach us and we greatly accepted. I stayed seated on the bench taking videos while most of the others danced. She danced with both Brett and Jared, doing the Waltz, Foxtrot, and the Cha-Cha while Liesl and Laura waltzed behind them. Liesl was then paired up with Jared and Christina with Brett. It was very entertaining to watch.
On our way back to the kayak rental store, we were distracted by a large crowd gathered around a man with a microphone and a 12 foot unicycle. We watched him for approximately 15 minutes as he entertained the crowd, eventually climbed up the unicycle, rode it and, at times acted like he was going to fall. We enjoyed the show and quickly left when it finished with our sights set on kayaks.
We rented our kayaks, four doubles and one single, for two hours. Laura and Liesl, Brett and Marisol, Jared and Vu, and Christina and I made up the doubles and Jonny kayaked in the single. We were excited for only Brett had ever kayaked, but no one had ever kayaked on the ocean!
We were told the best thing to do was kayak in one direction for an hour and then turn around and kayak back for the 2nd hour. When we made it out into the harbor, we turned right, heading toward open water. The view was gorgeous from our boats in the water. It definitely made everything seem so much bigger.
Christina and I had a blast kayaking together. We strove to hit all the waves and found ourselves getting a bit wet in the process. My jeans were soaked by the time our two hours ran out.
Kayaking in doubles made me re-realize how important it is for people to work together. I sat in the back, so I steered most of the time. Many times, the direction Christina wanted to turn was lost in the wind, so I had to learn to read her movements. I adjusted myself constantly to make things work.
I also noticed that while we could still move while only one was paddling, we travelled what seemed like light speeds faster if we paddled together. It seems logical and obvious and it is. However, it doesn’t fully sink in until you put it into practice. We were made for relationships. And if we were made for relationships, we were made to make them work. We simply have to get over ourselves to see and fulfill the needs of others.
After our two hours of kayaking were up, I went to explore the public market that is supposedly very popular. The place was filled with various venders, selling items from fresh fish to bread and cheese to handmade stuffed animals. One place I choose to make a purchase from was selling little pastry type desserts. I had a chocolate pastry topped with raspberries. It was delectable!
Around 3 or 4pm, we began our trek home. It was too late to go to White Rock so we decided to eat at a place called Wings for supper. We took Liesl out as a going away type party. A few weeks after arriving home from Vancouver she would be beginning her 6 month long job in Australia.
When we arrived back at PLBC, we wanted to go to a park so we could build a fire and roast marshmallows. However, it was dark and we knew that most parks closed at sunset. So instead, we headed over to the steps by the Christian school, lit a candle, and roasted marshmallows over the flame using chopsticks. Brett eventually began playing his guitar and some began singing.
I headed to bed around 11:30 or so, knowing that the next day would begin earlier than the others and probably be just as long if not longer.