At this time of the year, Harrison Hot Springs is filled with people, mainly tourists. But there is another group of visitors: family members and friends, who make this place their point of destination. No wonder, why meet elsewhere when we have so much to see and do right at our doorstep?!
Let's take my daughter Yvonne's friends, Phyllis and Joe, for instance, who just recently visited us for three days. Phyllis is a well-known chef from Vancouver and both her husband and herself are great food "afficionados". As you can imagine, our conversation mainly went around this subject. So, what better to suggest than our Circle Farm Tour? They went to the Back Porch - Coffee Roaster, the Farm House Natural Cheeses, Limbert Mountain Farm and had lunch at the River's Edge Restaurant at the Sandpiper Golf Course. In the afternoon they explored the Farmers' Market and visited the food stores in Agassiz and they loved it all!
Next, my grandson, Aaron, visited us for four days. As an accomplished photographer he wanted to do some "photo shooting". He chose Hope Silver Creek, the Alpine Meadows in Manning Park and nearby Bridal Falls. Since Yvonne's husband, Phil, is here on a three-week vacation, they all went together and had a great time. Of course, with both Phil and Aaron also being fishermen, they could have done this instead and probably will at a later time.
Tomorrow, my niece, Anke, and her friend, Andre, will arrive. They come from the Normandy in France and are mostly interested in hiking. No need to worry, there is no shortage of this around here!
It will be different by the end of next week when Klaus, my brother-in-law, arrives from Germany. He shows interest in history and so, Agassiz-Harrison Museum and Visitor Information Centre here we come! Perhaps we will also visit Yale and Hell's Gate!
My sister, Renate, and her friend Don, on the other hand, would love to go out for dinner while my sister-in-law and her husband have the Spa Resort Hotel in mind. These folks live in Ontario and know exactly what they want! Luckily, we got it all and more! For the great "finale", however, all of us plus family members who live close by will gather at our house on the garden balcony..
I think that this is just one example of this type of happening, but there must be many others for sure. Families and friends need to get together once in a while and gatherings like this strengthen the bonds. But, to harmonize such events is sometimes tricky.
Basically their are two options: plan one is to have a plan and plan two is to let it happen! I, myself, cannot work without a plan. This time, for instance, I have a list of arrival and departure times, a list of activity wishes and a list of suggested dinner menus. With these basics on hand, I know I can face any eventualities that definitely will happen sooner or later.
At the end, with only my brother-in-law still around for a few more days longer, we will most likely sit on our balcony and talk. Talk about past visits and this one, about family members and friends and what happened to all of them. We will look at old photos and marvel how young we looked and we will be glad to be still around.
(Author's note:) When I wrote this article, I was not aware that Betty Rajotte had also written about this subject. I thought that our articles compliment each other: We both look at the same subject with slightly different views and that's what makes life interesting!