Moving to my new home in Beach Grove meant a daily commute to my job in Ladner. Nothing to complain about since my partner Mark travels to Vancouver every day. You would think after 15 years of catching ferries on the Sunshine Coast I would be punctual. Not me, being on time is something I've had trouble with all my life, moving to Tsawwassen hadn't changed things. Coffee in hand, and sometimes a bowl of cereal in my lap, I was always racing against the clock. I calculated on a good day I could make it from my front door to Ladner Truck Road and 53rd Street, (if the traffic lights were in my favour), in 7 minutes. I may have only achieved this once when the stars were in perfect alignment.
After too many early morning frantic trips on Highway 17 I decided Arthur Drive would provide me with just the right Zen approach to work I needed. So I left a little earlier and discovered the first gift of Ladner, birds on a wire. As I swung around the corner onto 28th Avenue I saw hundreds of starlings lining the electrical wires that crisscross the ever-changing blueberry fields. Landing, lifting and fluttering away in a seamless dance I knew I'd found my new route.
I followed the birds until I drove up over the railway tracks onto Arthur Drive, there I got the first glimpse of the farmers fields, rewarding me with an ever changing color palette found only in nature. In summer the fields are covered in dark green thick layers of leaves. In the fall rotting dark violet cabbages decompose in the muddy earth. Winter and the fields turned to brown puddles. Spring came and I was seduced by the pale green promise of new growth.
Passing by ex-B.C. premier Bill Vander Zalm's tudor style estate I am always impressed with the green lollipop trees that line his long driveway. More JR Ewing than farmhouse I know Lillian is living at the end of the road and I wonder, does she still wear headbands?
My favorite building on Arthur Drive is the white farmhouse across from Sacred Heart Parish. It's always worth a generous look, as the landscape changes around it according to the seasons. Sometimes if I'm lucky the stable horse will be checking out the action on the Drive and I'll catch a glimpse of his regal brown head peering gracefully over the barn door.
Driving past Kirkland House I am reminded of the history of the land, as the giant Harris Barn, restored to its new beauty, sits majestically in the background. Dotted along the drive are the reliable golden weeping willow trees gracing the banks of the slough until Arthur Drive ends at the quaint All Saints Anglican Church with it's colourful corner garden.
If you continue into the village you will eventually find the best hardware store in western Canada, which served as the set for the soon to be released movie Fifty Shades of Grey. I am a fan of small independent shops and with a little investigation I soon discovered the interesting gems of Ladner. Now I make special trips for my dog bones, homemade chocolates, fresh fruits and veggies, kitchen supplies, seeds and unique gifts for my friends. I love the fresh fish I can buy, delicious baked goods, and the best sushi in Delta. In summer it's Ladner that has the Lower Mainland's favorite weekend market, along with an abundance of festivals, and events for every taste.
I don't want to live in Ladner, I love Beach Grove and I wouldn't choose to live anywhere else, but the drive to Ladner and the village's close proximity is one of the reasons to love Tsawwassen. So take a leisurely drive along Arthur Drive and take note, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Life is a journey not a destination."
