Fort Langley

Life’s Like A Movie

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Life’s like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing. Keep pretending.

Seven thousand four hundred and eighty days. Or twenty years, five months and twenty four days. That was when I proposed to my wife.

We had gone out for dinner, then an evening stroll in Fort Langley. We stopped at a coffee shop and sat on the patio, at which point I popped the question. On the sidewalk right next to us they were filming a movie.

We married on July 10,2001 in Fort Langley at a small church on a Tuesday. Across the street, they were filming “Air Bud 4”. The production company stopped filming and stood at the door and watched us get married.

This past weekend, my wife and I walked through Fort Langley once more. This time the little town had changed into the setting of “Sonic The Hedgehog 2”. Fort Langley became a town called Green Hills. My wife and I went “full tourist” and took a bunch of photos.

My favorite part about walking around, was seeing the details added to the set. Things that no one would ever see. The background story of a fictional town hidden all around. As if Green Hills was a real place.

Movies have always been a big part of my life and I enjoy them tremendously. Movies can whisk you away for a couple of hours into an imaginary storyline. My life with Lee-Anne has been magical since we first met.

The eye of the mind makes a movie. And my movie has been nothing short of awesome.

Double Dose of Kayaking in Fort Langley

Posted on by Josef Havelka

My wife and I took a break from packing our house in order to enjoy the summer-like weather. We got up early the past two mornings and headed out to Fort Langley to enjoy some tranquility and exercise.

Yesterday we went to Salmon River and paddled alongside of the farm land. The water levels were so low that we were able to get through a small tunnel and explore more than we had in the past.

Today we went to the Bedford Channel and pushed further than we have before. Whenever we kayak here, we go against the current first in order to float back. The current wasn’t as strong as in the past, which was nice. I was also impressed by the courtesy of other paddlers and boaters considering how busy the boat launch area was getting.

The feel of the sun on our faces really brightened our moods. We also stopped on both days to buy lunch from local businesses. Not that the Fort Langley community isn’t bustling as it is! But my wife and I have a couple favorite spots that we love to support.

I enjoyed my early dates with my wife. We needed some of this time together in order to rejuvenate.

Kayaking the Salmon River, Fort Langley

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Today my wife and I went out kayaking again. We drove towards our children’s school, and sauntered down the Salmon River in Fort Langley.

We parked along Glover Road and walked down a path and put the kayaks into the water. My wife and I slowly followed along the water for around and hour and a half. It was a nice leisurely paddle. But we also knew that we’d have to paddle back.

It was another calm, zen like experience. Since we were in Fort Langley, we decided that we would stop at The Trading Post for a snack and a beer. It was a great experience, we even made friends with an older couple who were out on a motorcycle cruise.

If the weather holds up into tomorrow, we hope to kayak once more locally. I’ll be sure to share that experience here on my blog.

First Kayak of 2020

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Today I went out for a kayak with our daughter in Fort Langley. This is the first one of the season. I was a little rusty getting the kayaks onto the roof of the Rogue. I had to unstrap them a couple of times to get it just right.

We made it out to the boat launch in Fort Langley and confirmed that the swiftness of the current wasn’t to difficult for our adventure. As we were about to launch, a fellow walked by and struck up a conversation. He noticed our CN Rail hats and told me he worked at CN for 42 years before retiring. Sounded like he was working in marketing at the am time I began my career there. It was a good talk as he shared some stories and told him of the changes going on. Seems I cannot get away from the railroad even on my days off.

Eventually my daughter and I were in the water and began to paddle. It was tougher than I imagined. My arms were not used to the movements and after about twenty minutes, it felt like we hardly got anywhere. We stopped along the shoreline at a log and chugged back a bottle of water each. She took out her phone and snapped a bunch of photos for a class project. I captured a few of us.

We floated back to the boat launch rather quickly. Good thing we did the hard paddle against the current first! Once on shore, we packed up the kayaks with a greater ease and my daughter asked if she could stop by a friend’s house. So we did. Social distancing of course while there. It was a nice afternoon.

Now I’m sore, but energized- if that makes sense. I look forward to more kayaking this summer. It’s all my wife’s fault for making me want to go out and do it! Pretty sure the next kayak adventure will be with her.

All That Jazz

Posted on by Josef Havelka

This weekend there is a Jazz Festival going on in Fort Langley. I won some tickets to my choice of performances over the weekend. Hooray for those Instagram contests! I chose to go on the Saturday night to the “Frank Sinatra Big Band Swing Dance” located at the Fort Langley Community Hall. I’m a fan of swing music and Sinatra, (I blogged about him earlier this year: Sinatra as a Mentor) so it made sense for me to attend this show.

My wife and I started our date night at the Trading Post Eatery. One of our favorite places to dine in Fort Langley. Afterwards we wandered over to the Community Hall and found a great spot to watch Steve Maddock and Swing Aggregation perform. The band was tight and energized. The crowd they played to ranged in ages from early twenties to late eighties.

The band had everyone toe tapping and smiling. Especially when the Suburban Swing Dancers– a professional group of dancers- began to show off their skills. And show off they did. By the end of the first hour these dancers had broken a healthy sweat. It also got more people from the crowd up dancing.

The music was great and the dancing was fast. I think that next year we will most likely partake in more of the free events and the stages setup all around the community. There’s still one more day to go- so I recommend taking a lazy Sunday out to Fort Langley and enjoy some Jazz.

Sunday Walkabout

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Yesterday was one of the nicest days we have had this year. Warm and sunny as if Spring was peaking its head around the corner. A big change from just over a week ago when there was snow on the ground. My wife wanted to take full advantage of it. So we headed into Fort Langley and walked a part of the “Fort to Fort Trail”.

Partway through our walk, my wife realized that it was far warmer than she expected it to be. The gloves, toque and hoodie came off after about a kilometer. As we walked, we talked. It was nice as we meandered along the path passing numerous other people enjoying the day. It didn’t surprise me much as Fort Langley is a busy little arts community that is often crowded.

The path took us behind the Fort Langley Golf Course. This was the course my father used to have a membership to. We cut back up to the road to the entrance of the golf course. Every few months, I’ll stop in for a beer. Yesterday was no different. Many of the pubs and drinking establishments in Fort Langley were crowded. People were taking advantage of sitting on the decks with a cold beverage. The pub at the golf course was empty. Which was perfect for us to grab a table and take a break halfway through our four kilometer walk.

After wetting our palates, we wandered back to the busy hub of Fort Langley. A train had passed through and caused large crowds waiting to cross the tracks. That moment was one of the moments that my wife expressed why we could never live there. Crowds aren’t my thing usually and I can only take them in small doses. I have always wanted to live in Fort Langley, but I can see why on weekends it wouldn’t be overly enjoyable.

However, if yesterday was a sign of things to come- this spring and summer will be a pleasurable one. We will take more walks throughout the Lower Mainland and enjoy the talks together. Did you enjoy the sun yesterday? What did you do?

Boarded Fort Langley

Posted on by Josef Havelka

Fort Langley is the birthplace of British Columbia. The price of homes in this Langley neighborhood are some of the highest in the district. Some houses hitting almost $1.5M for a teardown. The new houses going up are monstrous modern models that aren’t keeping with the heritage feel that the council wants to force elsewhere.

Usually I enjoy visiting Fort Langley. But lately it just doesn’t have the luster it once had. Mainly because of the shops, or rather, the lack there of.

Walking down Glover Road in Fort Langley, you’d think the place was turning into a ghost town. This is the main drag of the town. What once had small businesses and shoppes, is now an eyesore with many storefronts boarded up. One developer isn’t getting his way with the council, so he is making a statement. The council wants a style of building to represent Fort Langley, but it isn’t the same vision the developer has.

Personally, I like what the developer has done with his other properties. It has enhanced the feel of Fort Langley. One of my favorite restaurants is in one of his storefronts. It’s a shame that there isn’t a resolution in the foreseeable future.

Fort Langley has always been important to me. I proposed to my wife at a coffee shop in Fort Langley while a tv show being filmed. We got married in a lovely 100+ year old church while a movie across the road was being filmed. Our ceremony stopped film production and the crew came to watch our small wedding.

I don’t like seeing Fort Langley boarded up. The problem isn’t that the developer wants to make something ugly. In fact, many of the storefronts that are boarded up needed to be torn down decades ago. Instead, there was a temporary “facelift” done back in 2012. I want to see newer, nicer stores that welcome visitors to Fort Langley.

It is the birthplace of BC after all. Maybe the township council needs to give Fort Langley a Re-Birth.