the multi day saga of h and l on the northern sunshine coast on the 3rd week of august 2020
take a deep breath and dive in...
day 1:somehow i managed to get all packed and loaded up. i only had all day to do it. but the heat was oppressing. i'd do a little and then lay in front of the fan for a while drenched in sweat. dropped a potsticker on my chest, leaving a smear of malted vinegar and hot sauce on my freshly washed garments. then i did a watering intervention with my succulent family and after i was done i looked down. i was covered in dirt. not to be deterred, i whipped it off...as much as a sloth could whip off a top...and washed it in my bathroom sink. After laying in front of the fan for a while i put it back on wet and that felt too good. one time i was washing the dishes like a lump, slumped over on a chair with water running down my arms and i noticed the world was suddenly darker. "we have had a reprieve!|" i muttered exultantly to myself and went on the porch to feel the coolness. but the sun came back.
i made it to heather's earlier than i said i would make it there. i'm so legit. heather had the camping groceries in her fridge so while she chatted up a neighbour i arranged our cooler and loaded our stuff. i was raring to go and the ac in my car on the drive over refreshed me. so we left earlier than we were going to. i cheersed myself with a smoky ginger ale that we bought the night before at thrifty's. it came in a little glass bottle with a tree on it. and it was smoky!
on the drive to horseshoe bay the sun was setting into the most divine pastel sky that i have ever seen. and as we waited in the ferry line up the huge cloud over us was a giant flaming pink flamingo peach colour. it was a bigger ferry than we thought. we were hungry and got burgers from the cafeteria. while we were still eating the announcement that we were arriving came over the pa and heather packed her burger back up in the bag whereas i, i laura ann clarke, shoved mine more rapidly down my gullet. that is one of our differences. there are more, but that's one. then i was the first to the car because of course she peed one more time. then she chatted up the car behind us because she realized they were from quest university where she used to work.
when we drove off the ferry we were surprised that the roads were wet. and it was sprinkling a little bit. then the light show started. to our amazed oohs and ahhs lightening accompanied us the whole 90 minute drive to earl's cove. sometimes you could see the lines and everything. sometimes it seemed right above us.
earl's cove is where you catch the 2nd ferry. the one that takes you to powell river. but it was too late. so we checked out the ferry terminal, ascertained that you don't have to pay, used the washroom, pondered whether to sleep at the terminal parking lot or on a side road where it was darker and more private. we decided to do the side road. heather asked me if we were going to make up the bed or just sleep in our seats. sleeping in our seats would be a nightmare but i know she was tired and not looking forward to making up the bed. but we did it anyways. just then it started to rain lightly again. but without much fuss we fixed up the bed and climbed into the back. it was so hot and humid in the car. i couldn't have one blanket touching me. not even squish. my arms were burning up. heather said she could feel heat pouring off my thighs. neither of us used any form of covering all night and were still hot in the morning.
day 2: we woke up at 6. well i woke up earlier but didn't open my eyes until 6. we decided to catch the first ferry which left at 6:25. so we got up, moved some stuff to the back that was in the front, and were at the terminal as quick as a whistle. we were 4th in line. it was one of those little ferries where everyone is on the same deck and you can see where you are going right in front of you. heather and i stood at the front most of the way enjoying the coolness of the breeze and the gorgeous scenery of islands and mountains upon mountains all layered in blues, purples and greens.
when we drove off the ferry there was a guy on a bike that quickly cut across the highway right in front of us. he wasn't wearing a helmet. we thought it was funny because we kept seeing him. first we stopped at the campsite which is super close to the ferry terminal. we drove around and checked out who was leaving that day and pointed out the spots we wanted the most. but it wasn't even 8 am yet and check out was at 11 am. so we drove on up the road looking for an atm so we could pay for our campsite in cash, as we knew would be the deal. we passed the cyclist. found this little market, took out cash, drove on, passed the cyclist again, came into powel river and stopped at this little area with benches and signs about what your are seeing and a memorial and stuff. looked around and sat down to have our breakfast of a plum and some yogurt. all was peaceful. suddenly a cyclist tore past us and pulled up to a bench, got off and sat down. our eyes bulged and we whisper laughed. it was the cyclist! our amusement turned to annoyance however, when we came to know he was playing abrasive music with lots of foul swears. after hearing unspeakable things about mothers we went back to the car.
both of our feet were swollen. middle age gah.
we decided to head back and we stopped at saltery bay day use area and watched an old guy bring his boat in with great interest. then we drove on to the camp and stalked our spots again. we saw that at one of our favourite spots they looked like they were leaving so we pulled up and waited...and waited...and waited. another lady came and she was like which spot are you waiting for? And we were like, either of these 2. whoever leaves first. so she said she would take the one we didn't take.well not long after the farther spot said “hey come leave your stuff here and claim the spot and then you can leave and do whatever you want while we are packing up. and the lady told us, so we took that spot and we are very glad we did because the other spot that we were waiting for—they didn't end up leaving. so anyways we left a chair and a campstove and went to check out the beach.
it was a short 200 meter walk to the beach—just a little down hill. it's a beach with big rock bluffs that go right to the water and a little area where it seems like there is a beach. the tide was out and i made the mistake of walking on the 'beach'. It was putrid squelchy mud and i almost lost my balance a couple of times. meanwhile the stones by the mud were overwrought with teams of isopods or some other gross sea bug... super icky feeling. eventually we made our way onto the rock bluffs and found a bench in the partial shade and sat looking at the view and doing our respective scripture studies. as the sun shifted, i shifted closer to heather who was in the most shade.
there was a newly wed couple who jumped off the rocks for a swim and a mom dad and little girl. the dad was trying to tell the little girl that it wasn't a good time for a swim and she just really did not believe him. we learned from eavesdropping on them what time high tide was at.
we went back to camp to find our spot empty, started setting up, met the park ranger, paid for our spot. “now i can relax.” said heather for not the first time. and we did relax. and we made lunch. fart sandwiches. we laughed because our tub of sour candies had melted and fused all together. then i made the special salad for dinner so it could sit in it's juices. we kept smelling bacon. so we decided that we need to buy bacon. bacon was a must.
heather had a nap. i brushed my teeth. i talked to katie on the phone. our camp has a stream running behind it. the water sounds are lovely.
around 5:30 we went to the day park of saltary bay to go for a swim. the water was right up to the wall and splashing the first step of the stairs. there was no one else around. heather who didn't think to bring any swimming wear was wearing my stretchy yoga capris. she got in first by stepping on a large submerged rock and then down. she was instantly hoo ha deep. i sat on the ledge and dangled my legs over and stood up. i was surprised to be only thigh deep but then i remembered i'm over 7 inches taller than h. i gingerly took a few steps on the rocky bottom and then just swam over the big rocks blocking my way. the water was cool but not icy and very clear and greenish. we squealed and laughed and swam out and back and i dove for rocks and made heather pick which one she liked best. they were all very similar. the final rock was an orangish lump with some baby barnacles on it. we left it on the ledge as its prize. we had so much fun and it was so refreshing. it was a delightful revelation to me that h actually likes to swim and has staying power in the water. the conditions just have to be right. we stayed in over an hour. while we were swimming some asian tourists came and took some pictures.
there's a wider nicer but not too nice outhouse at that beach so we changed there and then ate our dinner of med. salad and tuna at a picnic table. heather's tuna was spicy thai and it was tooooo spicy. even for me.
we came back and hung our wet clothes on the line that we had put up. first we put a line up using heather's blue rope and a hook that was left in a tree. then we read. we sat in chairs facing each other, heather with her kobo and me with a flashlight and a book and we read as the night gathered around us. i took a break to take some pics of heather reading. then read some more. eventually we moved to the car and our beds to read some more before we got sleepy and fell asleep.
it was hot in the car again and i didn't use any covering at all.
2 masked adventurers on the first ferry to powell river.
day 3: i woke up but lay in place for a while before squirming out the side door. “do you want me to let you out?” offered a sleepy heather. “i can do it.” i affirmed. and i did. heather got up. She said she was going to go the washroom and then go back to sleep but she never did. she's a liar.
in the middle of making us bacon for breakfast the can of propane spluttered and died. the other one was completely empty and i couldn't find the third one, so heather ate the more chewy pieces. “it's alright,” she said cheerily, “i'll just close my eyes and think of england.”. we had the bacon in our peanut butter banana wraps. yum.
after breakfast we got ready and went on a an adventure to lund. one of my areas on my mission was a southern university city called lund. this influenced my pronunciation. i had to keep reminding myself. so lund is the end of the road. on the way there we saw lots of sights. we passed brook's school and i was pretty sure that was a school dad went to. we also had to drive through wildwood and that name perked up in my memory of mom and dad stories. lund is a cute little hamlet with a huge amount of parked cars. it makes no sense. whose cars are they?? h and i couldn't figure it out.
when i first read about it, i was hoping to take a water taxi to savary island--it's locally famous for its sandy beaches. but cousin joseph warned me not to go there. he said the locals are sensitive about visitors right now. in a time of covid you respect these things. but we did find nancy's bakery. it's known for blackberry cinnamon buns. so naturaly we got one. i also got a smoked salmon empanada because how could i not. when i got to the table it was only to find that heather didn't really care for her cinnamon bun. she doesn't like the really sweet kind with the white glaze. so i ate it on a later date and h went back in to find something to her liking, which she did--a power bar.
there's a little boardwalk and we walked it. took a cutesy pic 'trapped in lund' (see below) and that's when we were tricked like the schmucks we are to take the 'lund loop'. there was this cutest sign post pointing the way. i thought it would take us to more cutesy little interesting and quaint shops. heather hoped it would be lovely and scenic. but no. it was merely a climb of stairs to the cliff above the beach and a walk on paved roads with little shade back into town. we passed a potter's situated up a steep driveway that we were not motivated to investigate, and a carport with 2 pot smokers sitting beside some cheesy paintings. we felt like dupes. and we were hot and sweaty. heather wanted to go back but i, the dumber one, insisted we only go forward. oh well. it was exercise. who said we wanted exercise??
back in lund we decided to check out the gift shop. it had this outside area in the shade with all these driftwood hanging things (technical term) and driftwood shelves with shells displayed on them. i wanted a shelf like that for my shell/rock collection. after the shop we stood by the dock and picked which house we would live in and why and which boat we would take and why. we were also very alarmed at how steep the ramps to the docks were. it was so steep it was basically a ladder. neither of us could have done those ramps.
on the way back we stopped at dinner rock (i call it dinner plate) recreational site. we had no idea what it was. we just saw the sign and decided to check it out. the road was quite narrow through the woods and down to...a dreary looking camping area. heather said it was camping for hippies. we were disappointed. the only other thing we saw was a trailhead. now that i'm home and i looked it up, i know that the trail is the cool thing about this spot. but we just shrugged, got back on the highway and headed towards home.
we were going to stop at donkersly beach. we heard it was a good beach. we actually found it--it's at the end of donkersly road--parked the car on the side of the road even. but we weren't in our suits. and i had to pee. and i had a feeling there were no facilities at this beach. i stopped a ladyin a green bikin and long auburn hair under a sun hat. "were you down at the beach?" i asked her. "yep! just hold on...mumble mumble" says heather from the back of the car where she is rummaging. the lady beamed tenderly and said "yes!" in a way that also said "isn't it marvelous!?" without saying the words. "is there an outhouse down there?" i asked her. "i can't hear what you are saying!" interjects heather from the tunk "--i'm talking to a lady!" i yell back at her while keeping my eyes on the beaming blissful soul in front of me. she seemed unperturbed, "unfortunately no, you just go and find a spot!" she said to me enthusiastically. i thanked her and she left. h and i were just going to go check it out and come back later but then we were like, let's just go home what's the point? we can come back any time.
back at camp we read some more. we also decided to swim at the day camp area again and visit donkersly another day. we read until after 6. i was nearing the end of my book and was at a point where it was difficult to stop.
this time as i was leaving the outhouse after changing into my suit at the day park a portly man went in. heather said she heard grunts as she passed. we had to wait for him to be done before heather could change. whenever you ask heather if an outhouse stinks she says "i don't know! i breathe through my mouth!" that's her coping mechanism. but i'm all, let's talk about this outhouse. the pile is high, the seat is low, the stink is a 7/10, etc. anyways when the man exited heather entered and while i was waiting for her, a family came and went straight to the stairs. our place. when heather came out we looked at each other in dismay. i thought perhaps we could reach the ledge by going around to the other end we went to look but there were a lot of rocks to climb over and i didn't feel like it. not when there were stairs to use! i determined that since we couldn't go around it we would have to go through it! i told heather if we just went to the stairs and started to use it that the family who were all clad in CLOTHES would disperse. and they did. the mom was really wanting to swim but no one was clad for it and with a few pleasantries, from heather, not me, they were on their way and we had the place ot ourselves again. this time the waves were a bit choppier but it was just as nice. the orange rock was still on the ledge where we left it.
after swimming we had our special salad, tuna and white cheddar cheezit crackers which we both love. and we watched the sun set and heather watched some kids play on the boat ramp.
h perfected her the outhouse changing procedures.
back at camp we read some more. i finished my book. it had some very heavy parts but i also really liked it. it was suffering and it was healing. it was getting cool so we climbed into bed. i started a new book but there were too many swears so i quit. i was pretty tired so while heather was climbing out the side door to have one last pee i put my face to the wall, pulled husky into the little spoon position and fell asleep.
nancy's famous bun
day 4: i dreamed i killed someone. i was uncomfy and awake from 3 am on. all my tossing and turning kept heather awake and she got up at 4 to pee.
finally around 6:45 i got up for a morning daily in the men's outhouse. i used the men's most of the time because the seat in the women's was child size. when that 'business' was done i gathered my camera, phone, and scripture journal and walked down to the beach. i wanted to see the tide in. when i got there a girl was sitting out on the rocks and a couple were near by. i sat at a picnic table but i was only there a few minutes before the girl and the couple left so i got up and took a spot on the rocks. it was a pretty morning. there were some clouds but it wasn't completely overcast. the rising sun soon popped up above the mountain ridge and made everything golden.
i was hoping to hear the snort of a sea lion swimming by or see the blow from an orca pod or hump back whale but nothing. the morning was still and serene with the only sounds coming from gently lapping water and the seagulls who were all congregated on a lower rock which was made an island by the tide. i did my morning study and periodically stopped to snap some shots. at one point when i was laying down to take a low shot with a shallow depth of field i inadvertently leaned on my phone which was face down and consequently cracked the screen. that's the first time i've ever done that. may it be the last.
on the walk back i stopped when the fancy took me to take clicks of this small detail or that giant maple. on the way down the trail was full of noises that made me jump and peer around but on the way back i didn't hear anything.
i think it was after 8 when i got back. h was up and brushing her teeth. we found the missing propane canister the day bfore right at heather's feet on the passenger side. when i was screwing it on the stove i saw a puff of gas escape and then a sound like it was running right out into the air. that's weird i thought. then i realized the knob on the stove was turned on. oops. thanks for not blowing us up.
i made bacon and warmed up the tortillas while h, who found a morning walk very beneficial was checking out the 'mermaid trail'. our beach was called 'mermaid cove' because of the 9 foot bronze statue of a mermaid that was placed on the sea floor for divers to check out. we were both very curious about the mermaid but she's so deep you can't see her unless you are a scuba diver or a google diver.
anyways i had a nap for a couple of hours. i bet you can't guess what heather did but it rhymes with shmead. :) our daily lunch was fart sandwich--humus, cheese, cucumber, raddish, salt and pepper, and chips. well i put chips in mine. heather who doesn't put a top on her sandwich because she is careful with bread products, eats hers on the side. i like to put my mrs. vickie's salt and malt vinegar chips in, put the lid on and push down and hear the crunch. we also ate carrot and celery sticks on the side. but for me it was more carrot than celery if you know what i mean.
it was time for donkersly. we stopped at the day beach so i could change in that outhouse. the day was pretty much grey and sullen in the sky and there were not many on the beach. the beach had sand--not hard packed sand but sinking sand hard to walk on and full of breathing holes for unknown shellfish and sea creatures. we walked along it and found lots of sand dollars. then we set ourselves up on the logs. heather read and i contented myself looking for treasures. up higher by the logs it was all well rounded weathered rocks and many tiny tiny muscle shells. i lay on my stomach finding treasures and lined them all up on an obliging driftwood stick. when the fancy hit me i got up went down to the water and took more clicks.
it started to rain a little but i wanted to wait until the tide reached the rocks to see if the water rushing over the rocks would make that rock clicking sound as they banged together. you know what i'm talking?? heather was very patient. she put on my red rain poncho which we have named "the table cloth" because it's the same material as those dollar store table cloths and once when she was fumbling for what to call it she called it table cloth and thus it's name was born. we stayed until we heard the rocks 'talking'.
on the way home we followed the signs for 'palm beach' on a whim. the first sign on the highway looked official. the 2nd sign was cardboard. we followed it anyway. at the bottom of the path we found FLUSH toilets! that alone was a fab find. there was a big grassy field and a fancy covered area with grass on it's roof and picnic tables underneath. we totally had the feeling that this would be a place for church picnics. after the grassy field was the beach. this beach reminded me so much of piper's lagoon. because it was all small smooth pebbles and driftwood logs. we sat there for quite some time finding smooth beautiful rocks and watching the sea. a russian man and his two elderly parents came to the beach. the man and his father stripped down to their suits and went for a swim. i called it their daily constitutional because they swam along parallel to the shore back and forth like they were doing laps. the son who was middle aged, wore orange reflecting goggles. the mom stood at the shore looking bored and watched. when they were done they didn't linger. i don't know they were russian but they sounded eastern european or slavic and the accent sounded russian. but you know--could be ukranian for all i know! to the russian family sorry for assuming your background ancestry.
that night we had our salad and tuna as before. i had a conumdrum. i was wearing my bathing suit under my clothes. i detested to change in our camp outhouses. so while heather was already in the car reading, i was waiting for dark so i could change in the open. but it started to rain. so i sat under the protection of the opened back hatch. but before it was really pitch black i was all whatever--i'm going to make this happen. with some wiggling and writhing i managed to get the bathing suit top off without flashing much skin and without having to take my tshirt off. i felt pretty proud of myself. and started crowing to myself. heather was in a crucial point in her book so paid me no attention and if the truth is told was a little annoyed by my continued interruptions. so then i just whipped off my shorts. my tshirt was long. i took off the swimming bottoms and whipped my shorts back up. so happy with myself i climbed in got my new book and started to read but not before i made heather acknowledge me which she did, but not happily. haha.
my new book is set in ethiopia at a mission hospital. stay tuned. soon after i was all tucked in the rain crashed down for reals. it rained hard and loud all night. i slept better that night. i made some adjustments on the bed and pillow situation and also i prayed about it. "i did too" said my friend h.
the morning view with the girl on the rocks.
this was from a different day too. i think tuesday, day 3
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