GlobeToddles

Our final week in Vancouver was filled with the very best the place has to offer. We continued our quest to find pretty lakes: first there was Cat Lake, gorgeous to swim in and walk around the surrounding woodlands but not much of a shoreline, so it was a bit harder for the kiddies to play by the water's edge. It's a big party spot apparently and there were quite a few teens and students up there even in the late morning when we arrived, so for anyone seeking quiet tranquillity I'd probably suggest going when the schools are back - while these photos may look serene there was drum and bass playing in the background, the faint whiff of marijuana in the air, and lots of dogs excitedly shaking off excess water just slightly to my right hand side (dogs aren't actually allowed but it seems that people ignore the signs since rangers presumably don't appear very often). Next up we have Mystery Lake , by Mount Seymour. This required walking up a short but tough t...

Okay, so let me clarify: the 3.2km trail round Sasamat Lake didn't exactly take a day, but doing it with two toddlers it certainly felt like it at times! Och, not really. Little Miss H was in the baby carrier most of the time happily babbling away, and Master H did a sterling job for about three quarters of the trail and only needed gentle encouragement and cajoling for the final stretch (probably around about when this photo was taken). Having had a lovely time at Alouette Lake a few days beforehand we decided to explore other lakes close to Vancouver, and so set off first for Sasamat Lake. We brought a picnic, taught our two-year-old how to play tig, got the kids to put on their own suncream, and then set off into the woods on "a a-venture, Mummy!" as Master H called it. I beamed. I truly felt like the kind of parent I want to be. A short while later Mr H and I were held hostage to some obligatory stone-throwing and we eventually had to hurry the a-venture alon...

Having set two alarms just to be safe, we caught the ferry without a hitch and made it across to the very pretty stretch of shoreline known in British Columbia as the Sunshine Coast . Despite being attached to the mainland it really does have an island feel about it, and a charming, laid-back aura. We powered up north while the bleary-eyed toddlers snoozed in their car seats (having got over the excitement of the ferry) and started our exploration at Half Moon Bay .  Given it was still a bit early for a paddle we threw a few stones and took a short stroll behind the beach before we decided to head down to the next stop, Sargeant Bay Provincial Park . This was my favourite place of the whole day - we had a glorious stretch of water practically all to ourselves; Master H delighted in finding starfish; and Miss H was as happy as a room without a roof stomping in and out of the shallows over and over again. From Sargeant Bay we carried on down to Sechelt ...

One of the reasons we're spending a fairly long time in each city is so that we don't have to make every day a sightseeing day. And after the long day trip to Whistler a nice, low key playdate seemed just the thing. Well it would have been, except that shortly before our new friends arrived at the park Master H came running over to me telling me his foot was "on fire": I looked down and, to my horror, saw a wasp clinging to his ankle (I've never been stung by a wasp but that seems like a pretty apt way to explain it with a sense of urgency). Anyway, I cautiously batted it away, comforted child 1 and then wondered why child 2 was flapping about like crazy. Turns out I'd batted it right on to my little shadow's chest! At that point I completely ignored my previous selfish quandary as to how to move the wasp along without being stung myself and managed to pull it and the stinger off little Miss. By then all of the polite parents who'd kept back to let me ...

One of the best things in the world to do when you're two years old is to throw stones into water. It seems that any stone and any patch of water will do, so Mr H and I have taken to endeavouring to find pretty places where we can appreciate the scenery and soak up the sunshine while Master H throws stones to his heart's content. Or until it's time to go, which is unfortunately (for us and everyone around us) usually first. Vancouver has no shortage of gravelly beaches, but we've made it a bit of a quest to seek out quaint coves and quiet bays (well, they were quiet before we arrived), and the first one we happened across was Deep Cove. We've been there a couple of times, and managed a short walk through the woods once before it was time to throw more stones. The ice cream shop even sells Mr H's favourite ever flavour, rainbow sherbert. It's a wonder we ever leave. With the clouds starting to clear our next adventure had to b...