Finn Slough

1) skim borders on Semiahmoo Bay in White Rock

Wednesday we ventured down to White Rock as it is one community we’ve not really explored while in British Columbia. It really seems a place one travel’s through, not to, as it sits right on the Canada/US border and the major customs gate – Peace Arch – is there. We’ve been through White Rock by car previously and via train when we take the Amtrak Cascades from Vancouver to Seattle.

And so down we went the 40 minutes, or so, to Marine Drive and the White Rock promenade – a beachfront pedestrian pathway that stretches the entire length of White Rock’s waterfront exposure along the tidal flats that is Semiahmoo Bay. It’s quaint, in a sort of English seaside village manner, with kids skim boarding on the flats, a disproportionate number of restaurants and ice cream parlours, a kite surfer out on the bay, oodles of of grey haired and very WASP locales sipping Tim Horton’s, a jogger or three, White Rock mothers (nowhere near as vapid as their Yaletown mother counterparts) pushing fashionable strollers side by side ignorant of anyone except themselves, and – at least Wednesday – hordes of asian tourists. We parked, we hiked the length out and back on the pier and stopped to watch a seagull win its battle with a calm, we strolled the promenade and snapped pictures of White Rock’s famous glacial ‘white rock’ sitting as it has since 1903 on the cusp of the tidal basin oblivious to time and our gesticulations before it, and we thought: ‘thank god, we don’t live here’. And promptly departed.

2) heading to the pier

3) the tides are definitely out

4) the city from the pier

5) G spies the white rock in White Rock

6) the famous ‘white’ rock

Our next stop was Finn Slough (pronounced ‘slew’), a still active fishing commune of some 40 souls on the south arm of the Fraser River. Founded in the 1890s by Finnish settlers, descendants of those first folks still live here on rickety ‘homes’ set on pilings above the river or on houseboats. They are truly unique and the City of Richmond and the province are busy today being busybodies working on a way to dislodge this community and the heritage and history they represent.

7) the bridge into the village

8) home sweet home

9) imagine living here

10) the entrance to this home is through a bramble of blackberry bushes

11) exploring Finn Slough

12) how’s this for a home

13) wow, so neat

14) G explores

15) the tide is out during our visit

We headed next to Steveston as we were keen to try Steveston Pizza‘s famous “Princess” pizza (CAD$30, cash only) that comprises tiger prawns, smoked salmon, essence of pernod, tomatoes and fennel salsa. If you’re way keen, you can also order here the “Seenay” that will set you back CAD$850 and comes with a medley of tiger prawns, lobster ratatouille, smoked steelhead and Russian Osetra caviar that is then ‘snowed’ with Italian white truffles. OMG!

… the Princess, by the way, was awesome!

16) the Fraser River near Steveston

17) the Princess, arrives at our picnic table

In other news over the past couple days we’ve watched the Whitecaps play (and lose) to Kansas City; cycled out to Spanish Banks and enjoyed reputable the best cocktail place in Vancouver – the Keefer Bar.

18) looking across to the city from Jericho Beach