08/05/2026
There’s something about watching your grandchildren fall in love with a place that makes you see it new again. Port Alice, is a boy’s heaven — and watching Leo and Bennett discover it that way was a gift in itself.
Bruce taught them to fish and drive the boat like a pro. Bennett thinks Granos Bruce is the best grandpa in the world. We spent afternoons swimming in the cool water at Marble River, the boys shrieking with the kind of joy that only comes from being young and outdoors and a little bit brave. I expected them to be eager to get back home to Langley — back to their parents , rooms, their friends, their routines. Instead, they turned to me and asked, “Why do we have to go?”
That question stayed with me. It’s easy, at our age, to wonder how much energy we have left to give — whether we can still keep up with boys who never seem to run out of it. But somehow, being with Leo and Bennett does the opposite of tiring us. Bruce and I feel young again in their company, pulled along by their wonder, reminded of what it feels like to see the world for the first time. Leo and Bennett are such a joy to be with — and Port Alice, I think, will always hold a little piece of that summer for all of us.
