Pearson
Adult Learning Centre: Teacher Writing
Rick
demonstrates both good essay writing and his own, unique, sense of
humour.
How I Spent My Summer Vacation
This summer was an especially busy time
for me. Normally, I like to take the time to relax at home in Burnaby.
We go to the beach and explore various parks around the Lower Mainland.
This year we decided to travel to other parts of the province that we
don’t normally visit. Our exploration of BC took us to three places:
the Okanagan Valley, Vancouver Island, and the Central Interior.
Our first trip was to Kelowna and the
District of Lake Country. This is my hometown and my father and brother
still live there. Unlike previous trips we had to pay for accomodation.
My father recently sold his home and moved to a senior’s home, so we
made arrangements to stay at a bed and breakfast on Okanagan Lake. We
divided our time between visiting my 89 year old father, going to the
beach and sampling the fresh fruit. It was very relaxing and
therapeutic. We made the most of the seven days we had there.
After returning to Burnaby for a few
days, we were back on the road to Vancouver Island. The purpose of this
trip was to visit our friends from university. We took the ferry to
Nanaimo and drove north to the quiet town of Campbell River.
The weather was terrific and there was plenty of wildlife to visit. We
stayed with our friends and enjoyed seafood caught in the local waters.
After two days, we headed south to the capital of B.C., Victoria. We
were impressed by the renovations my friend had done to his home. He
was constructing a stone wall around the property and had built a
wonderful entertainment room above his garage. My wife reminded me how
clever and handy our friends are and how we are not. In all, we spent
four days on the Island before returning home.
Prince George was our next destination.
My wife’s mother and brothers live there for some reason. I had not
been up there in quite a while and it was time to visit the in-laws.
Unfortunately, our visit coincided with one of the worst forest fire
seasons in modern history. Consequently, the sun was blocked by a thick
cloud of smoke. Prior to the trip north I had been exercising daily.
That routine had to be suspended due to the poor air quality. In
addition to the health problems, the smoke left our clothes and our car
smelling like a campfire. It took a week to remove the smoky smell from
our vehicle when we returned. As bad as the smoke was in Prince George,
it was many times worse in the community of Williams Lake. Driving
through the town was like driving through a dense toxic fog. Despite
the atmosphere, it was great to reunite with my in-laws
Visiting these differnt regions of the
province reminded me of the vastness and beauty of BC. It is
good to be back home, but I am now more appreciative of the slower pace
of life that awaits us beyond the rat-race of the Lower Mainland.
Hopefully, you will be able visit the far reaches of this country and
experience all it has to offer.
(September 5, 2010)
Resources for
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