Stimuli

After a few action packed days (that we’ll tell you all about in upcoming columns) my guests and I decided to soak up some of the sunshine locally and have a more relaxed day closer to home.  Regardless of where you might live, I highly recommend a trip into Fort Langley, BC. Not just into the area for some shopping and a bit of lunch, though that makes for a fantastic afternoon, but a trip into the Fort Langley National Historic site.

We had the luxury of stopping by the Fort on a beautiful day in the middle of the week, so had the opportunity to get up close to each artifact or item in each of the buildings. Our first stop was the cooperage, a building devoted to creating wooden barrels. Next up, the blacksmith; the wonderful woman demonstrating the blacksmith trade was fantastic and shared some really interesting facts for this hometown girl. We learned that the only original building left on the site was the old store, but that the others had been rebuilt over the years to reflect the originals. We also learned that the original Fort Langley used to occupy land the size of two Stanley Parks!

The best part of this stop is you can take as little or as much time as you would like exploring each location within the walls of the historic site. While there weren’t any special events underway while we were there, the team of staff and volunteers at the national site have some great programs due to kick off over the coming weeks:

Geofreakz Launch  Visit the site from 11am to 2pm on May 19th and experienced geocachers will be on site to help newbie’s learn the ropes and visitors will be entered to win a GPS unit during the kickoff event. Take your new skills and visit select Parks Canada locations between May 19th and October 13th. Included in your admission fee, borrow a GPS device from the visitors centre and find the caches at the site!

90th Annual May Day Parade and Victoria Day of Fun, May 21st
We wrapped up our day with a wander around the shops on the streets of Fort Langley, outside of the historic site, a perfectly relaxing afternoon!

Here are a few tips for local visitors:

• The fees to enter the site are very reasonable; however until May 17th local families can purchase an annual family pass at the early bird price of $39.20, which is about a $10 savings.
• Have guests coming to town like I did? Locals can purchase an ambassador card, when you return with a paying guest, you can access the historic site for free.
• We do live on the West Coast and while there are buildings to explore, it is an outdoor adventure, so remember to wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather.

by Kristine Carrick
Contributor
Twitter: @KristineCarrick