Mom-Day Adventure: A Silver Anniversary at the Gorge Waterway

Hello, my friends! Today's been an emotional one - it's the 25th anniversary of the day my dad died. He had a massive heart attack at age 55 (after hours of marathon training that morning - he was an ultramarathon runner), which left him brain-dead. We took him off life support after a week, letting him go to that great long eternal run. 

Mom and I decided to go somewhere that we had family memories: Gorge Waterway Park. 

We last visited here in August, on the other side of the Gorge, and last did the Japanese Gardens here in March.

My outfit.

Looking at that bright sunshine! It may be the first day of autumn, but we're still getting summer temps. 

• Jacket - Dolce & Gabbana, vintage 90s, thrifted; last worn here in June with a mini-skirt
• Top - Soya Concept; last seen here in May with blue birds and orange shoes
• Skirt - Maeve, thrifted; last worn here in May in a "blah" outfit
• Shoes - "I Know" Star Wars by Irregular Choice, gift from Louise; last seen here in July with tiers of toile

I wanted to wear this skirt again, since I hadn't liked the previous outfit. 

Do I still love this bigass pouffy skirt? 

Um, yeah, I do! 

I played with blues and oranges, which are my favourite ways to style it.

This studded jacket kept me feeling rock & roll.

Here's the outfit without the jacket.

Although I never took it off - it was chilly in the shade in places.

I have nylons on here, plus little shorts under the skirt. 

Masked up. 

We went for lunch after our walk. 

I caught the bus home afterwards, then took Vizzini to the animal ophthalmologist for a follow-up check. Good news - his retinas have reattached! There is a strong possibility that he will get more vision back over time. 

I'm holding my arm weird here because I was looking at my dad's signature. My brother Dave and I had matching tattoos of Dad's signature back in 2017, when it was the 20th anniversary of his passing.

Pics from 2017.

Dave's arm - Dad signed everything with his signature.

Including birthday cards! 

My tattoo has blurred up a lot since it was fresh. That's okay - I have become a little more blurry myself, ha ha. 

Accoutrements:

Matching blues, and a little pattern with orange. 

• Purse - Danier Leather, thrifted
• Scarf - Alexander McQueen, consignment, Vancouver

The stuff: 

Heck, yes, I was armoured up! 

Silver and floral bling:

I wore a lot of things that made me feel comforted - some of these were gifts or bought with people dear to me. 

• Belt - Rohesia Belt, Fluevog; last worn here (2nd outfit)
• Mesh cuff/flower ring - Sidney
• Stone/pearl/silver bracelet - Salt Spring Island, gift from L
• Lobster brooch - Bermuda, Mom's
• Malachite/silver ring - consignment
• Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
• Silver earrings - Mexico, consignment

And Han and Leia, for love! 

Mom saved this new top for our outing. Chevrons! Great minds think alike! What did I just wear two days ago? Chevrons!

The necklace is from our trip together to New York City in 2007 (a few pics here, scroll down). Aw, I'm not the only one armouring up. 

We parked near the entrance of the brand-spankin'-new pavilion. 

It's mostly for conferences, meetings and events, although we snuck inside and had a peek around. 

We headed for Sherwood Forest(!), which is the old entrance to the park. 

We used to drive our VW bus down here and drop off the family canoe and have a paddle up and down the Gorge. 

Arriving at the old swimming area - lots of folks around, as it was a gorgeous day.

The nature house was closed - it was the snack store when I was a kid. I have very strong associations of eating Nalley's "Piccadilly"-flavoured potato chips (crisps). Piccadilly was similar to salt & vinegar and I just discovered that Nalley's trademarked the name in 1969 (link here, 'cause I love). There you go.

I cannot resist this weeping willow.

We had one in our backyard as a kid - Dave and I would play Tarzan on it, swinging from the branches. 

Lots of Canada geese gaggling around. 

There's where we walked on the other side, when we were here last. See the white posts and chains?

Ooh, what's this?

Looks like a sculpture. 

It's made of SAND! It's by local sculptor Fred Dobbs (local news link/article here). 

There's a crow at the top, and one near the bottom - they seemed quite fond of it. 

It's still in amazing condition, considering it's been standing for well over a month, possibly 6 weeks.

We haven't had any rain in two months - many of our trees are suffering, as they're used to wetter summers. 

I'll take the gorgeous day, though. 

Mom and I kept taking deep breaths of the clear air as we talked about Dad and all the times we'd spent here. 

Looking across to the boathouse. 

The tide was coming in - the water was coming towards us. 

You can see the motion of the water - the bridge is in the distance. 

I love the big red lamp posts along this walkway.

There are so many giant trees here that it is quite shaded this time of year. 

A glimpse of the pavilion through the trees. 

There are benches and tables at frequent intervals. 

Still a few flowers blooming! 

So pretty. 

This would be a lovely place to have a wedding or celebration. 

We were really impressed at how nice the whole set-up is. 

Oh, that is so inviting. 

It was hard to get pictures without other people in them. 

I love these towering rhododendrons. 

Twisty branches are my jam. 

As are red lamp posts. 

This was the chilly part, though. 

A group of outrigger paddlers futzed around. 

I spy a paddleboarder on the left too. 

They're going against the current. 

It took them a while to pass us. 

Little birds flitted around the branches over our heads.

So fast! 

There's the bridge ahead and the Reversing Falls (link here).

You can see the water frothing a bit below.

It's very narrow there. 

Beautiful Japanese maples overhead. 

That light! 

"Mom, take my picture!"

"Thank you!"

"Your turn!"

Lovely! 

The water in the ponds was alarmingly low.

Check out what it looked like in March (before our spring rainy season) here (pic link).

Mom's pointing out where she sat and painted one time, with her art group. 

This was her view, below. 

Hideous! 

Of course, I jest. 

The lower ponds seemed to have more water. 

Pretty wisteria on the viewing platform. 

Check out how bare it was in March here (pic link). 

The water was full of fish! 

Lots of black ones. The top one has a bit of orange too. 

"More over here" shouted Mom. 

Ooh, an orange one! 

She's shy. 

We scouted around the pavilion (very nice washrooms!). 

I love the way the shallow pools reflect on the cedar wood.

I see you, Mom! 

Time for lunch! 

We went to Montana's. 

You look beautiful, Mom. 

Thank you so much for a day of celebrating our silver anniversary without Dad. I think he would have enjoyed our day (he'd have been 80 this year).

I love you, Mom! 

Just for fun, this is a picture of my dad, as I always think of him. Being goofy and silly! I am my father's daughter! 

Yes, that's me on the left. My hair is black (a very brief flirtation) and I'm modeling the jumpsuit I just got for Christmas and Dad is showing off his red running shorts and scribble-patterned singlet. This is probably...1987 or 88. 

And now, my friends, I am off for the weekend. I'll be back on Sunday with tales of adventure! Stay chill - sending good vibes to you all.