My 5-year BC Citizenship – Check!!

British Columbia, Canada, is a land of adventure, varied landscapes, has the world’s only inland temperate rainforest, and much unique and fascinating industry and history that I continue to learn. I was thrilled to move here five years ago, to share life with the man of my dreams. Along with Mike’s warm welcome, I was embraced into his beautiful family, for whom I am grateful and enjoy spending lots of time with. I have also met and made many friends, acquaintances, and colleagues in Prince George, BC.

It has been a busy five years to be sure! And I was always on my toes – alert for any opportunity to earn “points” toward my “BC Citizenship application.” As I have mentioned before, when I moved here, Mike gaily informed me that I would not truly be a British Columbian until I had passed the exam after five whole years of living here. (If you have not previously read my blog about the move and introduction of the BC Citizenship, please feel free to sidebar, here) And I quote: “Mike tests me regularly. I frequently 'lose points,' but then I get them back in sneaky-smart I'm-gonna-be-a-BC-girl ways ha ha - so fingers crossed for the five-year test.”

We’ve driven to the Yukon, the Shuswap, the Okanagan, the Kooteneys, the Bowron Lakes chain, and the Island. Have touched the geographical centre of British Columbia, as well as BC’s Pacific coast in four places – Stewart, Prince Rupert, Bella Coola, and Tofino. Multiple trips to Vancouver of course, via the Fraser Canyon or the Duffy Lake road – both equally entertaining! Also hit up a place called Sasquatch – no joke.

I know where the Fraser River begins. Have camped boondocking. Touched ancient petroglyphs. Skinny-dipped in the midnight sun.

I have my gold miner’s license and know how and where to pan for gold. We hold annual passes for Barkerville, and we’ve explored Likely, Quesnel Forks, and the historical mines of the area.

We’ve adventured countless lakes, rivers, water falls, trails, back roads, dams, hot springs, hoodoos, gondolas, suspension bridges, and even a rodeo ground after dark. We’ve seen glaciers, bears, moose, deer, elk, caribou, bison, eagles, and the most incredible night skies – stars stars stars and of course the aurora borealis.

I’ve met Mike Hall, Claudia Bunce, Caden Fanshaw – and Mr. PG! I’ve written a blog for the City of Prince George, and I’ve gotten myself on three local radio stations as well as the CKPG Today television broadcast. And Mike and I were featured in and on the cover of our neighbourhood magazine. 😁

I’ve gotten my photo taken with a Conservation Officer.  And most recently, I have registered a business in BC, to renew my entrepreneurial vigor and be in BC Business. (More on that later)

 

And drumroll please…..  

I got my BC Citizenship!!!

 

On the 5^th anniversary of beginning our adventure together, Mike threw me a crazy impromptu surprise party with a bunch of our beloved family and friends! I was so shocked, walking in to the party with so many special faces (and a secret surprise guest I’m not allowed to reveal but whose photo you can find elsewhere in this blog), a huge cake, a BC flag, and all the love I could possibly imagine flowing around the table.

In classic Mike fashion though I had to work for it LOL – there was indeed an exam! I had to answer five questions about British Columbia, standing in front of everyone, still so shocked but also thrilled.

I aced all the questions except for a brief phone-a-friend moment for the year that BC joined Confederation – my Ontario showed when all I could think of was 1867 – BC became a Canadian province in 1871. Whoops – I knew that from all the great presentations at Barkerville! I did make up a few points by over-answering a couple of the other questions, and my smarty-pants friends even challenged me with the suggestion of a couple of real stumper questions – thanks guys!

My ever-flowing tears really burst forth when Mike announced I had officially passed the citizenship test and was now declared a British Columbian, and all my loved ones around the table waved little BC flags! 

Mike left no stone unturned in this process, and I am grateful for his thoughtfulness and caring, and his love of fun and shenanigans. We laughed and cried and partied on, so freakin’ wonderful I can’t even put it into words. ❤️ Thank you Mike!! ❤️ And everyone, for making that crazy surprise happen, for being there for me that evening and in the last five years, and for the promise of more love and laughter in the years to come.

So, as a real live BC Citizen, I’d love to share with you some photos of our last five years. Thank you Mike, for being who you are, and for sharing with me. I love and cherish you so much and appreciate every moment we spend together. -- AND I’m extra super glad I passed my citizenship as I truly don’t know what would have happened if I didn’t!! I’m glad you’re keeping me, but I’ll still always work extra hard for the points. 

To close this blog, I’ll leave you with the tidbit that I will soon be officially launching our new business: Allan Events Co.  Mike and I are partnering on this venture, which will encompass business event planning, but also our writing and speaking engagements. Very excited to return to entrepreneurship and support the business community and medical education sphere in Prince George and the province!

Allan Events Co.: corporate event organizers planning, coordinating, and executing business-related conferences, summits, networking events, meetings, education events, and CME accredited programs. Whether it’s an industry summit or a grassroots networking event, we create space for ideas to flourish and people to thrive.

Our work is also deeply rooted in the oncology patient support space, where we’ve helped lead advocacy initiatives, global education campaigns, and professional development events for healthcare providers.

In-person, virtual, or hybrid - we’ve delivered impactful events in every format—from networking events, training sessions, and roundtable meetings to CME-accredited conferences and symposiums. Event idea? Let’s make it happen!

Brought in the New Year like the Old Days!

Claire and Cass came to visit us in Prince George BC!

The main annual holiday celebration for the three of us girls has always been New Year's Eve (in addition to our birthdays - we declare holidays on those days too 😇). Family fun NYEs being a lifelong favourite of mine, I passed down the tradition, and this year, we were reunited for bringing in 2023.

Travel was involved - the girls made the trek from Toronto on the two flights it takes to get here, including "the propeller plane" that Claire hasn't been super impressed with the thought of since I moved to the wild northwest. They arrived late afternoon Dec-31 and we were all ready for a full week together, relaxing, sightseeing, meeting our family and friends here, visiting Reese, enjoying the great outdoors, and talking, talking, talking!  

I can't help but think about the funny paths life can take us on, as I sometimes still do when looking around here pondering where I have come to live, in far-off PG. Alongside that - what an odd place for the girls to take a winter vacation! haha

Travel with the girls was a priority of mine while they were growing up as I feel it is important for kids to see the world outside of their bubble. We were fortunate to have family help on some trips over the years, and of course, my work opened the door to a few of our adventures together as well. Thankfully all of this experience made my trusty traveler daughters adept at flying here and open to all that the trip and location could offer. 

Our first airplane trip together was to Florida to visit their Baba and GeeGee when they were little munchkins. (Enter a few photos to support my reminiscing... hopefully the girls are too busy to see this blog so I won't get in trouble for posting these old photos! 😉 )

 

Florida, 2011

Then we went to California in 2017

And we got to go to London, and Manchester, UK together in 2018! That was quite a trip, I'd love to go back to London again. 

London

Manchester, England

And I have to post this famous moment in our lives LOL 

- the photo which to this day is my phone's home screen:

A boat ride on the Thames after we visited the Tower of London

The girls' first time to BC was in 2019 - Vancouver, and Chilliwack for a friend's wedding.

Lonsdale Quay, North Van captured their hearts

Notable mentions also - in high school Cass went to Italy and Spain on a school trip, and Claire went across Canada a couple of times in a big truck.

Ahhh travel... I could talk about it all day. And the girls' travel to Prince George! SO thrilled to have been able to ring in the new year all together, and have a week to hang out.

We had a blast showing them the sights. Mr. PG of course, and we took them to their first winery, and brewery, grown-up women that they are now. We had a spa day, and spent lots of time on the deck with the fire pit, listening to the trains. We went bowling with Mike's kids and grands, had a meet'n'greet with several of our friends, and we went to a few of our favourite restaurants in between home-cooking our family-favourite meals. 

Oh - and giant trees! Unlike Ontario trees... this giant Cottonwood:

(that's me tree-hugging)

One of the highlights of the visit was the afternoon we went for a back-roads tour to show the girls some forest service roads and try to spot a moose. We went out to Blackwater Canyon for tailgate-BBQ smokies and to "pretend" we were camping for an afternoon. It was pretty wild! They've certainly never done anything like that before (as I hadn't before Mike showed me the ropes), and because they were here in January we couldn't camp, but we could do a day trip, give them a taste of how we do it here. They loved it!

Alas, reality called, and Claire and Cass had to go home to their lives in Toronto, but they plan to come back in the summer. We'll go camping then, and scout out more big trees - and bears! And the elusive moose we missed this time. I can't wait!! 😁 In the meantime I'll go back to visit them in the spring, and we'll plan more adventures then.

We🧡PG

Happy New Year!! All the best in 2023

***

Aside... something I'd love to share here too - I've mentioned before our stops at Mr. PG when we have company from out of town - we noticed a couple of interesting "offerings" at the base of Mr. PG this time. Pretty cute, and I'll be curious to see if it catches on. Here is a photo of one of the items we found at his feet...well, base.  

Cool video about him recently too! Check it out here: Landmarks S1 EP 2 Mr.PG

the Blog Dog moved to BC too!

If you don't already know this guy, let me tell you about him: 

Click here for his first blog, and puppy pics :-)

Reese, my chocolate Lab (a.k.a. my husband) for many years, loves getting treats, having car rides, going for walks, swimming, eating treats, cuddling, napping, mooching snacks, going for more walks, napping some more, oh and did I mention - treats?!!

He has his own tag on this blog, as he kept me company for much of my writing time. He was my cancer dog. He liked to photo bomb my posts every chance he got, and he inspired me to keep going, always. I love him so very much!

When I moved to Prince George, he stayed in Ontario, moving from Meaford to Toronto with the girls to their new house. They were good for each other, I got to see him when I visited the girls, and Reese also had his little buddy Diego. 

As time went on and the girls got busier and I got Prince George-ier, we made the family decision to move Reese here to a new home where he could enjoy the fresh northern BC air and I could visit him lots. There were definitely stressful moments in this process, but in the end it was infinitely worth it. 

A blur of activity finding Reese the perfect home here, booking flights, planning the drive, having a giant kennel delivered to the girls' house (getting Reese used to being in a kennel), vet appointments, a wee bit of doggy sedative (and a lot of human sedatives!) and we were set to go: Reese would arrive in PG on March 20, 2022. Mike and I had even bought him a new collar from our fave brewery here in town! 

For the first time, I drove on my own all the way from PG to Vancouver - a full day's drive to arrive at the airport for my red-eye flight to Toronto that night, parking the Jeep there for the few days I'd be away. Had a whirlwind visit with the girls, and prepped for the tearful parting and our big journey home. 

In all the planning, we decided it would be best for Reese to have only one flight Toronto to Van, rather than add the second one from Vancouver to PG.  Plus then I could spend a couple of days with him coming back, let him recover from the flight and not land at his new home jetlagged, and "show him" the sights driving up the roads I mentioned in my post the other day. 

Labs are very intelligent, malleable, and reactive dogs, with human-like tendencies and charm. Knowing Reese's personality so well, I had full confidence he would roll with the trip and it would be fun, so I was looking forward to spending the weekend with him in this way.

A shout-out to WestJet - they were awesome. From booking the large pet flight to the helpful staff at check-in, to the compassionate care they took of Reese while he was in their possession, everything was outstanding. I was a nervous wreck, but the WestJet staff kept my pieces together, and delivered my favourite four-legged man to Vancouver, happy as a clam. 

   

We made our way out of the airport, onto the park 'n' fly bus, and to my Jeep in the parking lot (with MUCH help from random strangers - this dog and kennel combo was veeeeerry heavy) where I could finally release him from the kennel. He was pretty thirsty when he got out but I had brought a bunch of water, and clippers to undo the zip tie locks on the kennel (thanks for the tip Kath!) so in no time flat Reese was free, walked, quenched, and reunited with my Jeep. I swear he looked at me like... what the heck...I know this car! 

He waited patiently while I took the kennel all apart and jigsaw puzzled it and all of our bags and stuff into my baby SUV. It must have been a comical sight for anyone who may have seen us! I didn't care, I just wanted to get on the road and start showing Reese the BC sights.

We were going a relatively short distance to our first pet-friendly hotel, as we both needed to unwind after our long day. Reese had never been to a hotel before, or in an elevator, but he waltzed right through all of it like a pro. I had brought his blankets from home so he had lots of familiar smells and padding for the road trip and hotel rooms. Judging by how quickly he settled in, he felt like the royalty he is!

We went for walks, ordered-in pizza, watched TV, and cuddled. It was so much fun! Had a great sleep and a good re-set for the rest of the trip home. Woke up ready to explore and just soak up my brown fuzzy guy. 

He sat patiently in the front seat while I re-organized the Jeep, and we decided the kennel just had to go. It was too big to fit, and Reese needed the full back seat to nap between sights and stops. I found a local animal shelter to donate it to, so after a stop for *hashbrowns!* *doggy eyes!!* we offloaded the kennel, re-packed the Jeep again, and headed up the highway. 

First stop? Whistler of course!

We got a bit soaked from the March snow-rain, but we walked all around the village and Reese posed for pictures wherever we went. He always was a ham for photos so this was working out just as I had hoped it would. Too cute! Good stretch of the legs, toweled ourselves off, and got back on the road to head north. Over the Duffy Lake road through the scenic - and often harrowing - curvy roads up and down, we stopped a few times for photo ops, to go for walks, and have water and snacks. 

He's a mountain dog at heart

Seton Lake - look familiar? 😁

(Let's not talk about the dirty shape the Jeep was in, inside and out, by the time I got home)

Destination that evening was our motel in 100 Mile House, about four hours south of PG. We had taken all day to get there, Mike suggested that I had set the family record for the taking the longest to make the drive from Whistler to 100 Mile. LOL - well we had to stop and sniff at every place!!

We checked in to our motel with kitchenette, ran over to the grocery store to get some dinner to make later, and then went to the pet store, for a BATH. Everybody appreciates a good shower after flying on an airplane, right? Hhmm.... turns out no, not everybody does appreciate that....but we did it anyway. Reese needed to be spiffy for his new family tomorrow!

He's always been tolerant of baths, not impressed, but gets the job done.

Got back to the motel, cranked up the heat for the wet-fur baby, unpacked and settled in. Lots of cuddles again, honestly I could hardly believe we were doing this trip together, it was so fun, and funny!

After Reese had thoroughly dried, we went for a night walk around 100 Mile House, which now holds a sweet place in my heart, I'll always think of Reese and the time we spent there. I love that Mike and I drove through it a few times again later this year.

More walks in the morning, and we got all packed up and ready to head up the last leg of our trip. 

Lots of tourist stops in this stretch too - and I don't even feel like a crazy person for telling you I wanted to show Reese all the cool places I love. He was about to become a BC dog after all, he needed to know about mountains, gold, and jade! 

So we stopped at the jade place I mentioned on a previous blog - the folks from Jade Fever were planning on opening a smaller store south of Quesnel, and had already placed a bunch of their giant jade chunks on the property. We stopped to take a walk around. Claudia wasn't there, but we checked out the place and then went on our way. 

And the giant gold nugget pan in Quesnel!

Next stop - Prince George. I was starting to get a bit weepy-eyed, knowing we were getting close to home. I was thrilled to be introducing Reese to his new family later in the day, but it was bittersweet at the same time. I just love him to bits and miss him all the time.

We drove straight to see Mike, gather his supportive hugs, ask him to take our picture together, and then all go together to Reese's new home. 

WITH a stop at Mr. PG of course!!

And with that, it was time to take Reese to his new family, who were having a little welcome party for him. I had regaled them with stories, photos, and videos but they had never met Reese in person so I was deeply hoping that they would hit it off right away. 

Thankfully, our instincts about this family were bang on! In addition to being absolutely lovely in general, they are very experienced with Labs and understood his personality right away. By the time we got there Reese was a bit tired and worked up from all of the excitement, so Mike and I made a fairly quick exit so that they could all get to know each other, and Reese would be able to calm down without me there. I didn't say goodbye as I knew I would see him again soon.

And I did! I have several times and will be seeing him again soon. It's wonderful! I join his new owner on his morning walks every now and then, and this summer they even invited us to a banquet event for which Reese was the official mascot! It was awesome.

And here he is in all his BC glory, when we went for a walk together on my birthday:

🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎

OK well, two of my family imported here, now two to go... Claire and Cass - PG is coming for youuuuuu!  😉