Ah, spring break – the much needed two-week pause between the winter holidays and summer.
Often, the break is considered a time to relax or to catch up on homework, but as a popular platypus-owning cartoon character once said of vacations: “the annual problem with our generation is finding a good way to spend it.”
In Maple Ridge, teens often complain that there’s nothing to do. I am not innocent of this, but upon further reflection, there are many things in and around town to do on our own or with friends.
We can’t let the ‘small town mentality’ make us feel like there’s nothing to do. Just because we don’t live in Vancouver doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of activities.
Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows have a sampling of everything, and spring break is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of this. Instead of waiting for parents or friends to make plans, take ownership of your break and try looking up Maple Ridge on the Explore B.C. website for some ideas for fun things to do, or check the City of Maple Ridge website calendar to find more local events.
My advice? Try something that you either haven’t done before, or haven’t done since you were a little kid. Go to one of the many local parks and play hide and go seek with a large group of people. It sounds childish, but sometimes when boredom sets in, the simpler the activity, the more fun it is.
If you get bored of regular hide and seek, try it in the dark with flashlights. Put a new spin on old games that you enjoyed as a kid.
While Golden Ears Provincial Park campgrounds are closed all winter and most of spring, the Gold Creek campground is open year-round; a great place to tell ghost stories around a campfire.
Kanaka Creek park is open and the dike is a great place to go for walks and observe local wildlife. It also provides a wide variety of places to get really aesthetic photos for Instagram or photo contests.
Other ideas for local spring break activities include swimming at the local pools, taking advantage of the bike lanes in downtown Maple Ridge, actually catching up on that homework you were supposed to do, bowling at Rev’s, catching up on that reading list, weeding the garden, or hitting up Pitt Meadows for a movie.
Try picking up a couple extra shifts at work. Ask people if they need someone to cover them. It’s not always fun, but it’s pocket money for something fun to do later.
If the wealth of things to do in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows has truly been exhausted, check the bus schedule. Get a Compass Card, or buy a single ticket and go to Port Coquitlam or further. Port Moody is beautiful in the springtime.
Tired of the bus? Take the West Coast Express from either the Port Haney, Maple Meadows, or Pitt Meadows stations and get to Coquitlam Centre Station on Barnett Highway and Lougheed right across the street from Coquitlam Centre.
Most teens don’t own a car, but don’t let that limit choices.
Sometimes, simple plans snowball into something bigger. A plan to study at Tim’s and then go bowling turns into studying, bowling, a trip to the park, and then back to another Tim’s across town.
Like I said, not everything has to be complicated or expensive.
It’s not sunny or warm, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t make the best of spring break.
Two weeks of freedom. Too often, we sleep it away, stay home and watch TV or play video games– well, get up and get outside.
We live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Sure, it might rain on a day you’ve made plans to walk around town, but it’s fine– that’s what umbrellas are for.
– By Marlowe Evans, a senior student at Thomas Haney secondary and a member of the school’s student council.