My Favourite Annual Weekend at Pender Harbour

Almost every year of my husband’s life, he’s spent a summer weekend at Pender Harbour on BC’s Sunshine Coast. His mom’s cousin lives up there and every July long weekend, they invite the family to come over, set up their tents and RVs, and enjoy a few days on the coast. The weekend culminates in the annual horseshoe tournament and, after hours of play once a winner is declared, the big pork roast dinner.

In 2015, I got to join Colin and his family at Pender Harbour for the first time. I was coming off of a bad travel experience in China and a crappy time at my job. All I wanted to do was run away from everything and spend time with my then-boyfriend without any real-world distractions, which is exactly what I got to do.

That first summer at Pender Harbour was pretty magical. I was introduced to a bunch of Colin’s family members who all embraced me with open arms. I made a fool of myself at the horseshoe tournament – and now proudly own the role of scorekeeper so I don’t have to play. And I healed a little bit of myself by putting my phone away, disconnecting from all the drama of my job, and reconnecting with this beautiful space around me.

Almost every year since (except 2019, when we were in Prague, and 2020, due to covid), I’ve joined Colin and his family at Pender Harbour. While we’re not able to spend a full week up there most years due to work schedules, even a couple of nights back at Larry and Marnie’s home on the Sunshine Coast reignites that magic for me. It’s my favourite family travel tradition and always a highlight of the year.

This year we got a very early start in order to make the first ferry from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver to Langdale on the Sunshine Coast. Waking up before 5am, Colin, Ellie and I took an Evo car-share over to meet his mom, Margie. We jumped into her car and made our way to the ferry. Luckily, the early wakeup meant we just made the first ferry crossing!

Just standing on the deck of the ferry, I was already excited. It’s always nice to be reminded of what a beautiful place we live in and how I really need to see more of it. Plus, the 40 minute ferry ride is ideal for someone like me who might get seasick on anything longer (or wavier!).

Stopping for breakfast in Gibsons, we drove through Sechelt and then onto Pender Harbour in Madeira Park. After surviving the windy roads on the last stretch in (thanks, Gravol!), it was so nice to pull into the driveway and be greeted by the familiar sight of parked RVs and dogs and children running around.

We greeted everyone with warm hugs, not having seen most of these people for over a year, and took a moment to take in the changes. Trees had been cut down and a new deck had been built, but it was still the same beautiful view I never get sick of.

Next, we headed to our sleeping quarters for the weekend. Colin and I spent our first few annual Pender weekends in a tent but last year we were treated to a real bed in the on-site cabin. This year, the cabin was already spoken for but we found ourselves in upgraded digs. We spent the weekend in Jackie and Derek’s beautiful trailer, which just happened to be a four minute drive from Larry and Marnie’s place.

Jackie and Derek are long time family friends of Colin’s and had just moved from Port Coquitlam to Pender Harbour last winter. They spent the winter fixing up their home and creating a beautiful oasis on the coast. It was such a treat to not only get to stay in their beautiful trailer but also to spend time with some of our favourite people. We had last seen them at our wedding in September 2021, so it was great to catch up!

We spent the rest of our first day chatting with Jackie and Derek, buying supplies at the local grocery store, and taking a quick nap on the couch to make up for our early wake-up call. Around dinner time, we headed back over to Larry and Marnie’s to greet the rest of the group that had spent the day fishing.

It had been a success out on the water! One boat came back with two salmon and the other came back with three buckets of oysters. Even though I’m not one to spend an afternoon on a boat (due to the previously mentioned seasickness I suffer from), I am more than happy to help enjoy the spoils.

As the fishing crew came back up from the dock, proudly showing off their fish and oysters, we all began to assemble around the campfire. This is one of my favourite parts of any Pender Harbour weekend. After a day of fishing, swimming, hiking or whatever else you get up, everyone ends the day by dragging a chair to the fire pit. As more people show up, the circle widens. I love cozying up under a blanket by the fire, looking up at the stars and waiting to see when the first marshmallows get broken out.

This year, in addition to marshmallows, we also had oysters to eat! I grew up eating oysters as just another type of raw seafood my family enjoyed. Colin grew up eating oysters too. Only, the type of oysters he ate were cooked over the campfire and then dressed with cheese and hot sauce.

A few years ago, Colin and I were meeting my cousins at a local seafood restaurant in Vancouver. They had arrived before us and asked how many oysters we wanted, as the happy hour special was about to end. I checked with Colin, who assured me he loved oysters. And so, my cousins ordered three dozen oysters for us all to share.

Upon arrival, Colin was horrified to find that when we said oysters, we meant raw oysters! He had never had a raw oyster and, after getting one down, was not the biggest fan. Luckily, my cousins were more than happy to eat his share. And now, a few years later, Colin happily eats raw oysters too!

But this year was my first time trying oysters on the campfire at Pender Harbour and I have to say, I am a convert! As much as I enjoy a raw oyster, there’s something so delicious about fresh oysters baked on the campfire with a bit of cheese (take or leave the hot sauce). Colin and I greedily went back for seconds and thirds as his cousins prepared them.

The next day was the main event: the horseshoe tournament! Every year a horseshoe tournament is held at Pender Harbour and winners are crowned. Their names are then added to the trophy and they get bragging rights for the rest of the year. Teams are formed, a giant bracket is created and double-knockout games are played until one team wins out, usually just as we’re all getting hungry for dinner.

After playing in 1.5 tournaments (on my second year, I bailed halfway through!), I’ve come to realize that horseshoes just isn’t my game. While there’s no skill level required to play in the tournament, I have a lot more fun scorekeeping and watching from the sidelines.

And so that’s what I did! Ellie and I set up our post on the opposite side of the pitches and kept score on a giant whiteboard. In between games, Colin would bring me over snacks and sit with us. Since we were a smaller group this year, we decided to only use one pitch, instead of two. But when the games began to drag on, we put the second pitch to use so we could finish up in time for dinner.

A full day of horseshoes later, winners were crowned and we were all salivating for the pork that had been roasting all day long. We filled our plates in the kitchen and then headed out to the deck to enjoy dinner.

After dinner, the day winded down like it always does at Pender, with all of us gathering around the campfire. Someone (erroneously, in my opinion) decided we were too full for more oysters tonight. But at least there were s’mores! A few s’mores later, Colin and I were getting droopy eyed and decided to head back to the trailer.

Some years we’re able to spend more time up at Pender but this year was just a short visit. Unfortunately, we had to make our way back to Vancouver the next morning. After a final visit with our hosts, we said our goodbyes and drove to the ferry terminal.

A car, ferry, bus and subway ride later, we were back home! As exhausting as it is to get there and back, especially with a dog and backpacks, it’s always worth it. I never regret spending time up on the Sunshine Coast and look forward to our Pender Harbour visit every year. It’s so nice to disconnect, see family and just take a few days to relax.

I love that Colin has been going up to Pender for his whole life and that I am now part of that family tradition. I hope one day we’ll be able to carry on that tradition with a family of our own. Until then, I’m counting down the days until we can go back to Pender Harbour!