September 7th, 2014
After my short but sweet visit in Ontario, it was time to
head to what I consider home: Victoria, BC.
I’ve lived there more than any other place in my life, even though no
one from my family has ever resided there.
It had been 1641 days since I’d left the beautiful capital of BC and it
felt a bit weird to finally be heading back.
I landed at 10pm on a Sunday night and had asked my good friend Sean to
pick me up as I would be staying at his place for the first little while. Tony, another great friend, had mentioned in
an email that he would likely accompany Sean which was cool, as these were two
of my best friends in Vic.
Victoria’s airport is a small even though it’s considered an
international one, simply because many flights take the short hop over to
Seattle and now there are some charter flights to Mexico. My small turboprop plane taxied up the tarmac
and I descended the stairs to a slightly chilly, dark night…but at least it
wasn’t raining. I entered the terminal
and the first thought on my mind was that I needed to pee and I knew where the
washroom was, just before the sliding exit doors that present you to your
awaiting parties. Well I didn’t know
that that was exactly what was waiting for me.
I was still 30 meters from the door as I could hear a big cheer and a
group clutching multi-coloured posters above their heads or in front of their
chests. I guess the washroom will have
to wait.
My welcoming party:
Wow, what a reception!
They were only 8-10 in number but the group far surpassed anyone else’s
greeting party by their enthusiasm and love.
Not only were Tony and Adrienne’s kids Ella and Benson present but also their
dog! I was immediately bombarded with
hugs, kisses and a can of my favourite beer, Okanagan Springs Pale Ale. The 20-30 other people in the nearby vicinity
of the terminal were all staring at us and I couldn’t help but feel like a bit
of a rock star.
The boy, Benson:
Cute Ella:
Sheryl-Nova:
Steve rockin' the hockey slant
Sean - he recycled another poster...
My welcoming party:
We hopped in cars and headed off to Tony’s place and I was
impressed that everyone stayed out for a while even though it was Sunday, the
start of the work week for them.
Thanks guys, what a welcome back…it’s good to feel the love!
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