“ The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”

Jacques Cousteau

A day on the ocean can create memories to last a lifetime. On Monday, my brother, my son Finn and two of his friends had a little fun cruising Howe Sounds and around some of the nearing islands.

We left Squamish mid morning in windy, cold, cloudy conditions which was not necessarily reassuring weather to head out on the ocean for a day of fun in the sun with three kiddos. I mean, the boat ride alone is a novelty but I had prepared for a hot, sunny British Columbia summer day with watermelon, cold drink and paddle boards for some summer water time on our beautiful Pacific ocean. Clouds or no clouds the ride on the ocean surrounded by mountains, cliffs and the insanely stunning color of the water is a treat never the less.

Luckily as we approached warmer waters, we found a amazing sheltered bay for some swimming and paddle boarding fun. Just as we arrived the clouds graciously dissipated just enough to let the warming rays of the sun to keeping us just warm enough to enjoy the fresh water of the Pacific Northwest.

The kids had an amazing time, dropping in and out of the water, from Finn’s confident front flips, to diving contests, to paddle boarding. Even with the loud chaos of three kids splashing and thrashing around in and out of the boat, I managed to take in the breathtaking beauty of our environment, the ocean, the mountain, the trees and all the wonders of nature around me. Olivia said it well as we were driving back to Squamish at the end of a very waterlogged day filled with smiles and laughter. She looked at me and expressed how beautiful the scenery was and how the color of the water remind her of the Caribbean.

On our ride back I also started to notice all the clearcutting of the forest which you don't notice when you’re driving on the Sea to Sky and have your eyes on the road. As a started counting the spots I could see, I wondered how much more clear cutting of our forests that I couldn’t see with miles of mountains hidden behind the ones lining Howe Sound. Mesmerized by the color of the water changing from one shade of green to the next as we started heading back into colder and even colder water towards the entrance of the Squamish river, my mind wondered more questioning if one day if future generations will be able to share a similar experience or if this place would still look the same once climate change has reach catastrophic levels that our natural world would be changed forever. I consider myself a generally optimistic person but I don’t feel so when I read about the health of our oceans, forests and the never ending, mind boggling environmental disasters that we humans have created and still are creating for our kids and our kid’s kids, if they will even consider having offsprings of their own one day.