When my good friends Katlin & Kristie got engaged last summer I was really stoked for them, the first of my close friends to tie the knot, so awesome! Then when they set the date for while we were in London I thought, could you be any more self centered? I spent the next 10 months or so on the fence about whether I could really justify spending the time and money to go all the way back to the one part of this great big world that I've seen plenty of. But could I really miss an event like this? For the bulk of the time I was pretty certain I would be passing, leave London during the Olympics, I don't think so. But the closer it got the more I started to realize just how much these two people mean to me, and how much I would regret looking back on the pictures for years to come and not being there with them. Some wise and very selfless coaxing from Genevieve to go on my own made the decision that much easier. It has to be said that she herself missed the wedding of a very good friend (and casual foe of mine) only a couple weeks earlier, and I know she will wish she was there for a long time. It was a really hard decision to pick none, some, or all of things we'd miss while we were away, and it doesn't really seem fair how we came to it, but we did.
To avoid missing any more work than need be I planned the trip the shortest I possibly could, and ended up with a whirlwind 5 day test of jet lag. A couple 30+ hour days and I feel like I came out on top. Coming back only a few months before we plan to move home, I didn't really spend any time looking forward to the trip, more looking past it to how to spend the last couple months here. I only booked it a month prior, so it snuck up on me pretty quick.
Flying in to Vancouver didn't really affect me like I thought it might, and rushing through the city to the ferry I didn't even really give myself time to feel weird to be home. Getting on the ferry on a beautiful summer day gave me my first opportunity to soak it in, and I did. I've always known the Horseshoe Bay and the Howe Sound have to be some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, but after spending some time trying to find rivals I could really appreciate BC's stunning coast. It was nice to be back. That said, 20 minutes in I was still bored of the ferry, hasn't been that long.
It's funny how normal things feel even after it's been longer than usual, and having my dad pick me up and sharing a bite to eat and a ride to Qualicum didn't feel at all like I had come from as far as I just had. Always nice to see the old man.
When I had booked my tickets I figured it'd be a fun surprise not to tell anyone, except of course the bride and best man for any necessary planning. The call to Katlin saying I couldn't make it was a funny kind of awkward, but his face when I walked up to the rehearsal was completely worth it. I knew there was a reason I went. Word spreads quick but I did get to surprise Rick and Cory at the Rod & Gun later that night, where I proceeded to extend my day to 32 hours.
The wedding itself was beautiful, and I felt so honored to stand up there while two of my best friends got married. Since we've all been friends since we were kids, just about everybody at the wedding was quite close and it was an incredible reunion and a wicked party. Something I'm really happy to have made the effort to be a part of.
I got to squeeze in a day trip to Hornby Island with my dad and Daron and a kayaking trip in Nanaimo with my mom before heading back to Vancouver for 1 night with some city friends at the Cambie. It was really nice to get some quality family time in on a trip that was focused on friends. It was also great how much everyone made time for me, you make me feel so special.
I didn't expect to feel more emotional on the ferry into Vancouver as I did on the way to the island, but it definitely hit me then that while I might be from the island, I've spent my adult life in the city and that's the part that felt like going home. Weird.It was a really quick trip, and while I saw almost everyone important to me at least briefly, as well as swam in the river, drank a caesar and had a teen burger, I didn't go out of my way to experience all that is home because my focus was always looking ahead to the last of my time in London. As great as it was to be a part of that wedding and see all those great people, the more I talked with them the more I realized just how much I have loved my time in London and that I'm not quite ready to settle back into that groove just yet. BC is exactly how I left it and I'm ready for more.
-Justin
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