Treats

 

When life gives you lemons, go to a West Vancouver pastry shop and order coffee and cake. 

Then tour the West Vancouver seawall, where if you're John Denniston, you'll get a photo like this. 

When John and I have had enough – of medical stuff, of being in the house too much, of the routine, of the relentless bad news on our news sites – we look at each other and say: “Cake!”

Off we go to Temper Chocolate and Pastry in Dundarave for coffee and hazelnut and chocolate cake, our first treat. Our second is a walk along the West Vancouver seawall, where the people promenade, the birds bob, and an eagle often keeps watch.

Sometimes our treats work out better than others: the bridge traffic can be horrendous, our favourite cake can be gone, the seawall can be lashed with cold rain. This Sunday, the traffic was clear, the cake was plentiful, and the seawall beautiful, with a high tide that brought the ducks within a few feet of our faces.

Here are some photos from our day of treats:

The high tide brought the ocean right up to the seawall on Sunday. Photo by John Denniston.

A row of ducks floated just feet away, cleverly keeping in single file. Photo by John Denniston.

A little drive took us to Pilot House Road in West Vancouver, where a freighter seemed to float within swimming distance. Photo by John Denniston.

Back to where we started; a closeup of that hazelnut cake.