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A Trip to the (Hat) Doctor

Sunday, July 3rd – Langley to Merritt, British Columbia - Day 142 

The parking lot provided a peaceful rest for the night. We started our day heading to the Fort Langley National Historic Site. The site was one of a series of forts built along the waterways that led inland to hunting grounds. Canoes would transport furs downriver to Fort Langley where they would be repackaged for the long journey to England and other markets. Fort Langley was more of a store house and trading post than a military establishment. 


 The fort had a great Explorer program; they had hidden keys in each building that the kids had to find. We wandered through the turrets and onto the walls before heading to the Cooper’s (barrel maker’s) building. When transporting goods overseas, barrel making was incredibly important, and every fort had a barrel maker from Scotland who could form the pieces of wood to create a functioning barrel. The girls were successful in piecing together the staves to form a barrel. We also visited the blacksmith’s shop, the fur packing station, the farm, and the house of the “founder” of British Columbia. The experience was very interesting. 


 Gen and the kids wanted to go for a swim and shower. I wanted to go out for Indian food in Surrey. We decided to split up. I dropped Gen and the kids at the Walnut Grove Community Centre; they had a big pool facility with a massive waterslide. Jo-Ce and I went to Home Hardware to purchase a Reactor battery pack that will recharge our phones and even will boost our car battery. We then went to the Apna Indian Kitchen for lunch. Everything was incredibly delicious. It was a fantastic meal. 

Back to the pool, Jo-Ce and I went in to shower. Jo-Ce even snuck in to go down the water slide. Gen and the kids ate a meal trailer-side and then we were on our way to Merritt, British Columbia. We had booked a stay through Harvest Hosts with the Hat Doctor. 

The drive was very scenic. It’s amazing how the mountains are a constant presence as we travelled east. Fog popped up and limited our visibility as we stopped at Hope to check out the local harbour and central park. 


We finally arrived at the hills overlooking Merritt, the Hat Doctor owned a small hobby farm with a fantastic view of the town and surrounding valley. The old Santa Fe struggled up his steep gravelly driveway but found a way to pull the trailer to the top. When we arrived, the kids helped Greg feed the animals while Carole told us the story of how she ended up owning the hat business. Interesting fact, most hats have a bow on the back of the inside band. The bow was formerly a skull and cross bone to indicate that the hat had been treated with mercury and may induce uncontrollable muscle twitching, or “madness”. When mercury was removed, they changed it to a bow to commemorate all the Hatters that had gone mad. The two of them were so warm and welcoming; we had a fantastic night.

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