Jerk, anyone?

Click to enlarge photos.

I went to White Rock this evening. My friend Colleen and I decided to check out the Caribbean Breeze Tapas Bar & Grill and go for a stroll along the boardwalk and out onto the pier. The food was great and my peach bellini even better! Yummy!




White Rock is a unique place just north of the Peace Arch border crossing at Blaine in the United States. The imposing white monument called the Peace Arch is a symbol of peace and friendship between Canada and the United States and was built in 1920. Painting by Nancy Ging. The tidal beaches in White Rock are perfect for sandcastle building and contests drew huge crowds in the past. However, in the 80's, drunken evening parties drove the event out of town.






You can read about White Rock's history at the White Rock Museum and Archives, located in a designated heritage Train station on the Promenade at West Beach. The train went by while we were eating and it's amazing how everyone stops to watch a train. Near the train station, one of the city's major features, the City Pier, marches out into Semiahmoo Bay. Stretching some 1,500 feet into the water, the pier was first constructed in 1914 as a landing dock for steamships, and has survived fires and a major overhaul to become a favourite haunt of sightseeing families and sunset-seeking couples.


From here you can look back to shore and identify the famous white boulder from which the town takes its name. This massive white 486-ton boulder was deposited by glacial action and its arrival on the shore is the source of many colourful First Nations' legends. Native legend has it that the rock marks the spot where the Transformers, emissaries of the Sagalie Tyee, the Creator, once passed. Another legend holds that the white rock marks the landing spot of a stone that was hurled across the Strait of Georgia by a young Indian chief. It was said that he and his bride moved there from Vancouver Island to make a home together.

Another impressive sight in White Rock is this humongous mural! Click HERE to take a look. I'd post it, but it's so big that you need to look at a moving photo of it. Seriously, take a look!




Another famous mural you'll see in White Rock is this one of whales. The 21 metre long whale mural was painted by Wyland, then a 28 year old California artist. The three life-size grey whales leaping through the blue sea is the fourth of 15 whale murals Wyland has planned to paint on buildings around the world, in order to help protect the whale.



We strolled along the pier before dinner to work up an appetite. Then when we got to the restaurant we couldn't decide what to have - so we ended up sharing a variety of tapas. I was hoping to have room for some Caribbean sweet potato pudding, but alas we were both too full! We came back to my place and sat outside on the patio drinking red wine until Colleen said she was exhausted and heading home. I sat out for another 45 minutes reading a new book until my eyes almost crossed from fatigue. Going to bed now.