Santa in Varkala, South India.
Beach Kim!
Mountain Kim!
Blackcomb on New Years Day.What we thought was going to be a Christmas spent on a tropical beach in Southern India with just the two of us ended up being a Christmas in cold Canada with lots of family and friends! It just goes to show, you never can tell what's going to happen. Going home was a bit of a last minute decision and it was due in large part to the fact that my Dad was getting re-married. We really wanted to be there for the wedding and witness their big day and because the wedding took place only four days before Christmas it fit in perfectly with going home for the holidays and giving everyone a Christmas present they'll never forget. Us!
We didn't tell anyone about our plans and except for my Dad and his, now wife, Henrietta, no one knew we were coming. The only reason my Dad knew, and we have to give a BIG thank you to him for this, is because he paid for one of our flights and that turned, what was otherwise only wishful thinking into a reality! The wedding took place at their home in Maple Bay which is on Vancouver Island and it was a wonderful day. Everyone was in a festive mood so it set the tone for a great afternoon and evening. All in all we spent four enjoyable days with them catching up and enjoying the slow pace of island life!
We arrived in Vancouver on the 18th so before we went to the island there was one person we absolutely had to see. Last Christmas was the first Christmas that i'd spent away from my family in 34 years and we knew that my Mom was super sad at the thought of not having us there for a second Christmas in a row. Because of this she was definitely the person we were most excited about surprising. And surprise her we did! We were a bit concerned that she may faint or have a heart attack when she saw us, but when she walked through her door and saw us standing there she did neither. Thank god for that! She did, however, shed lots of tears, shake her head continuously in disbelief and hug us so tightly we thought we'd break. I think it's fair to say she was happy to see us : - ) Attending the wedding, seeing my Mom and watching the look of surprise on other family members and friends faces definitely made the trip home worth it! It wasn't cheap and it certainly wasn't just a matter of a short flight but some things are priceless, just like those visa commercials are constantly telling us! That being said, it was a whirlwind tour and 16 days wasn't nearly long enough to see all the people we wanted to see, spend all the time with people we wanted to spend, have all the conversations we wanted to have, ask all the questions we wanted to ask or share all the stories we wanted to share. But, you make due with what you have and we're thankful for every moment of every day that we got spend with the people we care about. Thanks to everyone who made such an effort to come and see us and spend time with us on such short notice. I know we could have given you more warning and we probably would have seen even more of you but, if we'd done that we wouldn't have had the pleasure of seeing the looks of surprise on your faces and that, for us, was the best Christmas gift we could have had.
Once Christmas was over and New Years was upon us Kim and i made our way to Whistler. We wanted to start the new year off right and we couldn't think of a better way to spend January 1st than by riding powder while the snow fell from top to bottom all day long. Talk about lucky! Whistler is Kim's Canadian home away from home and the mountains of BC are his happy place. So, for him, getting to see his friends and spend time with them in said mountains was a highlight for sure. After New Years it was time to go and, although it was sad to have to say goodbye yet again, we left with happy hearts. Our hearts were happy because every moment of every day that we had in Canada was a gift and it's one that we'll treasure for a long, long time. Watch out Australia, you never know when we might pop up!
