A Trip Down Memory Lane

We're in Vancouver for the next couple of days. Friday morning, we hopped on the ferry from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen. We had a few hours to kill before the wedding rehearsal, so I decided to take a little detour around my old digs in Richmond. It was a nice, albeit short, trip down memory lane... past the old school, my old house, pointing out friends houses. It's amazing how the memories come flooding back when you return to the places of your youth after a prolonged absence.

We drove out to Steveston Village, a little fishing community just southwest of Richmond. As a kid I used to ride my bike out to Steveston, past all the canneries, to see the fishermen pawning their wares fresh off the boat. Steveston was always a very quiet, rustic village. Boy, have the times changed this little community! Everywhere you turn, there are condos stacked upon condos, and the number of little shops, cafes, and restaurants is beyond comprehension.

I was really glad to see that one of the restaurants from my youth still stands in Steveston. Dave's Fish & Chips, as pictured above. While the restaurant is twice the size it used to be, it still looks like it did 25 years ago, with one small change... there's no ketchup on the walls!

You see, there's this story that my mom loves to tell, about how I was twisting a little ketchup packet with my hands and I was told repeatedly not to do this as it could break and squirt everywhere. Of course, I just wouldn't listen, and the unthinkable happened - the ketchup packet exploded. It sprayed all over the freshly painted white walls, the patrons, and even hit the ceiling and the fan, which enabled the ketchup to spread well beyond the confines of our table! I'm not sure how so much ketchup fit into such a tiny little package, but I'm sure that they put my picture up behind the counter as one of their forbidden customers!

To make a long story short, we met my parents and Sarah & Jack for lunch at Dave's Fish & Chips. They now have their own brand of ketchup bottles on the table. I think I may know why :-)

Thanks for reading,
Andy

Passing another ferry through Active Pass, just before crossing the Strait of Georgia.