Sechelt and the Waddells

After spending the entire day before showing us around the greater Vancouver area, Peter kindly offered to drive us to Horseshoe Bay - which is a lot more than a hop skip and a jump from South Surrey - where Constance and I were to take a ferry over to Sechelt. The drive took about an hour and he even walked us all the way into the ferry terminal. He would have done so anyway, but I thought it was funny because after Constance tried to pay the $25 fare with an American $20 bill and a Canadian $5 bill, the ticket agent called out to him as he was walking us in, "Yes, help them!" Clearly, we needed a little guidance!

Sechelt is a little community of just under 8,500 people and sits on a strip of land between Howe Sound and the Strait of Georgia. It is a 9.5 mile ferry ride to Langdale from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver and another 9 mile drive from Langdale to the town of Sechelt. It is a scenic little town - lots of beaches and lakes to lounge around in and on - but what took us there were two fiesty kids named Jeff and Norman Waddell.

Our Hosts, the Waddells

Jeff (whose first name is actually Margaret but she began going by her mother's maiden name Jeff - Jeffrey - when the place she was working at as a physio was overrun with Margarets) was a student of my grandmother's in Glasgow back in the day. They reconnected years later in Vancouver and became fast friends. Norman, also from the Glasgow area, is her husband. They've been married for 7 years - practically newly weds!

They met when they were 13 and 16 when the head mistress and head master of each of their schools allowed the kids a day off to go ice skating. A day off from their studies was a rarity in itself, but the opportunity to mingle with the opposite sex was unheard of! "I wasn't even allowed to see my sisters, you see." They ended up next to each other in a line of skaters holding hands and became close friends for many years until he left to serve in the British Army and she left for work in Calgary.

They lost touch. She married. He married. She got a divorce. He became a widower. She had three kids. He had none. About 8 or 9 years ago the school in Glasgow was having a big anniversary celebration to which they both went - each wondering if the other would be there. Well, I'm sure you can guess the rest of the story that led to their wedding in 2003 at 77 and 80 years of age respectively. They are now living in Sechelt and were the reason for our visit there.

Did I mention they are both Scottish?

Constance wants one for her garage at home.

When Jeff retired she moved to Sechelt and into a cute little cottage this far away from the beach...

After a nice lunch, mom and I decided to take a look around...

Further down the walk there were a bunch of people swimming - it was a pretty hot day, but I was too much of a wuss to take a swim myself...

...but I did manage to put my feet in - it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but there was still no way I was getting in!

Those rocks were not the easiest to navigate...

...but I made it! Thanks to Constance for the play by play!

Jeff is 84 years old and she had more energy than Constance and I put together. This is her leading the way up a hill to a kind of community center where she volunteers.

 

We survived. Jeff didn't break a sweat.

Jeff used to have this sign hanging on a tree in her front yard, but took it down after she and Norman got married. Now it lives here - I think this is her gardening shed.

We had fresh raspberries for breakfast - grown in her backyard!

We would have had blueberries too, but they weren't doing so hot.

Mom and I had our own little cottage while at Jeff and Norman's place.

Just across the way is the entrance to the main house. Jeff likes her hanging reptiles.

On our second day in Sechelt Norman apologized because he had a golf game scheduled at 8:30 that morning - at 87 he still plays a full round of golf 2 or 3 days a week!

The ladies decided to take a stoll around the town where the ferries pull in called Gibson's Landing. A quaint little tourist town filled with restaurants, art galleries, dress shops and boats for rent.

Constance and Jeff at Gibson's Landing

After strolling around Gibson's Landing for about an hour, Jeff decided to take us a few more miles (well, a 45 minute drive) up the way to an area called Garden Bay. "Bring your hats," she said, "because it's going to be sunny!" Neither one of us brought a hat so Jeff let us each borrow one from her collection. Thus we became, "The Ladies who Lunch."

Constance in her boater hat...

Me in my fancy straw hat...

 

And, of course, Jeff in her sassy straw fedora.

A small bit of Garden Bay

We drove through Half Moon Bay on the way back.

Jeff heading down the highway cruising along at 90km/hour in what I think was a 60km/hour zone! She wanted to get home before Norman began to worry.

Our two days in Sechelt flew by. We were off again for the ferry at 10:00 in the morning on our third day. They too walked us right up to the ferry gate - word must have gotten out - where we said our goodbyes. Mom started crying and even I got a little teary eyed. They are a sweet couple who I hope to get to know some more someday. More than the length of their life, it was the depth and fullness to which they are both living it that impressed me so greatly. I mean, honestly, if they can get married at 77 and 80 there may be hope for me yet! Heck, I still have 40 odd years of swinging singledom before I really have to worry, right?