What I Did On My Summer Vacation

By Laura Day, CAS Member

It wouldn’t be a REAL Canadian story if it wasn’t just a little bit larger than life.  In our annual effort to inundate our three kids with as much Canadiana as possible, we embarked on a few truly Canadian memory-making excursions this past summer. I won’t bore you with the fishing stories from Port Alberni and the twenty-one 10lb sockeye salmon hooked in only 2 hours, or snorkeling down Campbell River with the salmon (all true!), but I will share a good bear story!  

I should have known that we were going to be in for an adventure when, sitting in our car before hockey camp (on real Canadian ice!), we were going through the standard cautionary bear warnings when one of the kids commented, in a very nonchalant manner, “you mean like that one right there?” “YES! YES! Just like that one!”, I shouted, while the rest of the family scrambled for cell-phones to photograph what had just occurred.

A few days later, as we were enjoying a quiet lunch on a patio in the village with friends, I realised the car sighting was just the appetizer and the main course was about to be served.  I heard some yelling, then saw an RCMP running towards us and just behind him another RCMP and one panicked looking black bear.  It all happened so quickly that most of the way-relaxed Whistler tourists failed to even notice.  Bryan, my husband, and daughter Jaimie stood up to get a better look and a photo, and 

inadvertently got in the bear’s path as he attempted to get away from the yelling police officers.  Bryan, the intrepid amateur photo journalist, threw Jaimie out of the bear’s way and managed to snap a couple of great photos!

Much to the dismay of several Canadian friends, my pictures on Facebook of the kids snow tubing only helped to perpetuate the myth of Canada’s frozen tundra and wintery temperatures…. even in July!  For our kids though it was heaven - REAL SNOW.  Our improvised winter wardrobes of jeans, sweatshirts and tevas with socks, didn’t cut it for long though, no matter how ‘cool’ the snow was.  

The older the kids get the bigger the adventures and of course, the bigger the stories.  Now we just have to figure out how to top this summer adventure next year.