Travelog for: Pepita

Hi,

my name’s Pepita and I am a very little turtle. I have been rescued from a shop today by my mentor, and after he told me about Toyvoyagers and how they travel around the world I decided that I wanted to be a TV myself. Well, I was a bit scared at the idea of stepping into the unknown, but Smaug told me that I will always be in safe hands so I felt much better. I hope to find someone who will let me share their day to day life and maybe will show me some new bit of the world. I promise that I will be a very well behaved turtle: I can’t wait to visit a new host that I can smile to.

Wow, I just arrived and I am already about to go on my first adventure. Smaug told me that I'll be off to Maple Ridge very soon. I am so excited. 
Yesterday I met the other toys that live at home. At the beginning I was a bit shy of all these new faces, but then they were very friendly and we did chat a lot.





I was very happy to talk with them, but we had barely the time to start knowing each other that I was already entering my envelope and getting ready for my trip.



So I said goodbye to everyone and I was off in the post: next update will be from British Columbia! 

I arrived in BC today!  Pierre Bear was on hand to welcome me.

Today is the day of the BC provincial election.





They were handing out these stickers after you voted.  I couldn't vote, of course, because I am not from BC, but Abby let me wear her sticker.

Because I am rather shy, Abby decided to ease me into the whole sight-seeing in public thing by taking a scenic shot.

I visited the University of British Columbia.  Unfortunately I was there to spend time with someone who actually had class and isn't one for sightseeing, so I spent more time in boring math classes than looking around.  Oh well.

This is the Barber library, the largest library on campus.  The left side is all meeting rooms and lecture halls, and the right has the arts and architecture library and a huge archives section.



I prefer the original entrance.



This is the clock tower.



Down below me is the rose garden (though no roses yet).  There's a pretty nice view from here.

I went for a walk on one of the many local dikes.











This is a map of the area and some information about the history and the wildlife here.  The land was originally used for farming, but the land was not particularly good for that, so some dikes were built and it was used for private waterfowl shooting, and then the provincial government bought the land and finished the dike system.



Abby's sister Erin found a geocache just off the dike.

There were some firefighters training in the local park, so I decided to go check it out.

I also played in the park with Noelle.

I am taking the Albion Ferry across the Fraser River.  There's a two sailing wait (about half an hour), so I'm

just hanging out on the dashboard and listening to music.  This is Abby's first time driving onto a ferry, so

I'm a little nervous.



Well, we got on the ferry okay, so it's time to check out the sites during the five-minute trip.



This is the other ferry that goes back and forth.





There's the ferry terminal we're heading to



This might be the only chance I get to ride this ferry, as they are shutting it down in a couple weeks.  It is

being replaced with a toll bridge that will open in a few days.  The ferry is free and has been operating for 52

years.

We are visiting Fort Langley, which is referred to as the 'Birthplace of BC.'

This plaque says: Fort Langley was built by the Hudson's Bay Company 2 1/2 miles below this site in 1827 and

moved here in 1839.  It burned and was rebuilt in 1840.  As fur resources were exhausted, supply replaced trade

as the fort's major role.  Here the company operated a large far, began the west coast salmon packing industry,

and exported produce to ports in Alaska, Hawaii and other Pacific areas.  Fort Langley was also a terminus of

the first practical, all-British route from the coast to the interior.  On 19 November 1858 the colony of

British Columbia was here proclaimed.



This is a piece of the Beaver, the first steamship on the Pacific Northwest.



The plaque reads: The Beaver, the first steamship on the North Pacific Ocean, was a wooden paddle boat of 109

tons built in England, in 1835, for the Hudson's Bay Company.  For over 20 years she was supply ship to Company

posts on the Northwest Coast.  During and after the 1858 gold rush she carried freight and passengers between

vancouver Island and the mainland.  Subsequentlychartered to the British Admiralty, she was used as a

hydrographic survey ship between 1863-70.  Sold in 1874, and in her final years used as a towboat, she was

wrecked at Prospect Point, at the entrance to Vancouver Harbour, in 1888.



This mural is on the side of the Fort Langley giftshop attatched to the actual fort, of what the area would have

looked like at the fort's peak.  We are not going inside today because Abby and Erin have other things planned.



This is the fort from the West side.  The white building you can just see on the right was the house of the head

of the fort.



This statue is of James Douglas, the first Governor of BC.



In downtown Fort Langley is the Community Hall.  It was built in 1931 and has been featured in many movies.

The view of the Fraser River is lovely here.



This is one of the earliest farms in the area.



This is the milk house.



This explains the functions of the milk house.



This is the barn.







Now we are going on a hike.





I found this old car wrapped around a tree just off the path.  Creepy.



In another old car next to it we found a geocache!

This plaque states that the area, called Derby Reach, was supposed to be the capital of the new colony of British Columbia in 1858, but then another, more strategically-placed area was closen down-river, and so the area was never developed like it was supposed to be.



This is called the Cairn, and it is the only remaining piece of the original Fort Langley that burned in 1840.





Another view of the river



We decided to stop for lunch.  Mmm, veggie calzones.



The wild roses are really pretty these days



I found some salmon berries, but decided to leave them for the bear that has been seen in the area.

We found an art show in the forest!



Abby doesn't have pictures of all of them, only the ones that stood out in a photo.





This next one was cranes made out of juice boxes.













Someone dressed up this tree in clothing and encouraged people to write all over it.

Today I am helping Abby make a flourless chocolate cake for her dad's birthday.



First, I melted chocolate and butter in a pot.



I helped Erin mix sugar, cocoa power and eggs





The chocolate is ready...



Now mix it all together...



And, into the oven!



Mmm, that looks good already.  Since we were in a hurry we put the cake in the fridge to cool.



Next, I worked on the ganache.





Mmmmm, doesn`t that look amazing?



Yum!