The start of the Sunshine Coast

July 8.

Good-bye U.S. and hello British Columbia (for 5 weeks). Back on the BC ferry system I love so much. Well run and essential for island hopping and crossings. We are north of Vancouver city, on the mainland, at the start of “The Sunshine Coast”. It’s supposed to be a beautiful, 100+ mile stretch. The ferry landed at tiny Gibsons, a small town with a large marina. LOTS of fresh oysters, crab, rockfish, prawns and craft beer. Yum and burp! Today we went to the even smaller town of Roberts Creek. It was even quainter than Gibsons. People come here for organic food, yoga, spirit healing and forest bathing, whatever that is. (I know what it is). The Roberts Creek mandala, a community art project that began as an exuberant rejoinder to hateful vandalism, this month reached its 25th year. More than 600 volunteer painters contributed.