July, My Birthday Month!

July is my birthday month. That’s right….it falls right smack-dab in the middle of the month (16^th), so why not celebrate for the entire month?

I’ve always thought of July as the Saturday of the summer. June is Friday, and August is the dreaded Sunday….it starts out great, but towards the end of the month, September looms. So July really is the best month of summer!

What have I done to celebrate so far? The first 9 days was easy, we were on vacation on Vancouver Island. I LOVE Vancouver Island. We drove up the eastern side, from the Crofton ferry terminal up to Campbell River. All along the way, we stopped at a number of local breweries and sampled some excellent beer!

Then we drove inland to Strathcona Provincial Park. This is one spectacular park, dotted with lakes that are surrounded by snow-capped mountains and big, big trees. There’s something about being surrounded by big big (yes, I have to say it twice!) trees that fills me with a sense of respect. We could all take lessons from trees….connect with the earth, let the breeze move your branches and leaves, and just chill for a few hundred years. That sounds good to me!

And the mountains are humbling. They’ve seen BILLIONS of years. If we’re lucky, we are just random arrangements of atoms that last for about 90 years. The realization of one’s insignificance can be incredibly liberating.

So staying in a stunning cabin in this beautiful park, cooking great food, drinking great beer, going on day hikes and returning for a swim in the VERY COLD (!) mountain lake….that’s an amazing way to celebrate my birthday month.

And then going to the beautiful city of Victoria, experiencing a spa boat (more cold plunges, saunas, hot tubs), more good beer, cocktails and ending with the Pride Parade and a concert by my favourite cowboy singer, Orville Peck!

And THAT was a GREAT start to my birthday month! Next up….my birthday swim! 59 X 50 m! Looking forward to it! And then celebrating my birthday with friends in my favourite pub.

Oh, one more thing….I got my hair coloured PURPLE! Just because!