23 November 2006
Back to the Island
Wednesday 15 November
We moved some lumber from the garden into the greenhouse to dry and stay out of the snow over the winter. Some of it had been under the tree where the chickens like to roost, so it was a bit of a dirty job. We also helped Bryce remove all the stuff from inside his boat for winter storage. Julie got Rowan to look at a database someone had set up for her, so he had a quick look at that to figure out how it worked. After lunch we had the afternoon off, so we decided to walk to Winlaw again. We checked our email in the gas station/general store, then bought a few more goodies. Dinner when we got back was roast chicken with mashed purple potatoes (great colour!), broccoli, carrots and onion soup – all of which were grown/raised on the farm.
Thursday 16th
This morning we finished off digging out the chicken house. It was a bit easier this time, as the chickens had been scratching in there and had loosened lots of the compacted litter. The smell had dispersed a bit too. The weather was unusually sunny, so after we’d finished with the coop we had a little walk down the track and did some sketching by the river.
Friday 17th
Today was our day off. We packed our bags and lunch, and set off walking towards Winlaw along the track. It was very cold – all the ground was frozen solid. We stopped at Winlaw to drop off a package of stuff to send home (trying to slim down our luggage), and check the ferry timetables on the internet, then carried on walking. We had our packed lunch by the river, then walked for a couple of hours. We turned back when we calculated we’d gone as far as we could in the daylight, and stopped to sketch. Rowan started drawing some trees that were lit brightly by the sun while the rest were in shadow, only to have the sun disappear behind a hill after 10 minutes and plunge his whole subject into shadow. When we got back it was twilight and we could see the chickens roosting in the trees outside their run – we’d never seen a tree full of chickens before!
Saturday 18th
Today we stacked some more wood in the greenhouse, then cleaned off the boat. After that we moved the feeders, feed bins, nest boxes and roosts into the chicken house and dug up the manure from the old shelter. There wasn’t so much of it as there had been in the winter chicken house, fortunately. In the afternoon after work we packed our stuff. Sophie realised that our train actually leaves on Monday rather than Sunday so we had a bit of excitement until Sophie found out that we could use our bus tickets on Sunday instead (eeven though they were dated for Monday) and stay overnight in Kamloops (Bryce and Julie couldn’t give us a lift on Monday).
Sunday 20th
This morning we got up early and got out on time – after rounding up the chickens one last time. They were especially awkward and difficult as a special treat for us. We caught the Greyhound from Castlegar with no trouble and the bus journey was to Kamloops was uneventful. On board they showed the film “Stuck on You” but we arrived at Kelowna, where we were changing buses, about 10 minutes before the end of the film, so we never found out how it ended (we speculated though). We found a cheap motel in the centre, then went to a Baptist church which was conveniently two doors away. For once, we were heavily outnumbered by the rest of the congregation.
After the service we wandered round town for a while looking for a place to eat. The centre was nearly deserted – maybe because it was a Sunday, or maybe it was the Grey cup (North American football) game that was on at the time. We settled on a small Japanese restaurant, which was good.
Monday 21st
We left the luggage at the motel, then went to Denny’s for breakfast, where we finally had the pancakes we’d been promising ourselves (Rowan had a big cooked breakfast as well). After getting haircuts, we went to the public library to use their free high speed internet (which explained why there are no internet cafés in Kamloops) then did some shopping and had lunch in a coffee shop. Rowan asked for soup and sandwiches and got just sandwiches, so as usual he had to ask again (it’s the accent!!) Then we did some more shopping and went for a drink in a bar. We went back to the motel, got our bags and got a taxi to the station. Being paranoid (memories of the Fort William incident will give us palpitations for a long time to come), we arrived more than an hour early – before the station master got there to unlock. The train ended up being an hour and a half late. Our bunks were very comfortable and surprisingly spacious. We slept pretty well, but it was rather a short night.
Tuesday 22nd
We got up quite early and had breakfast in the dining car. After breakfast Rowan had a shower on the train which was a first – and surprisingly good. We could get used to first-class train travel – not that it’s really worth the extra fare (we only did it because we had travel credits). We arrived in Vancouver late, missing the Greyhound coach we’d planned to take. Fortunately, Sophie found a local bus that went to the ferry terminal, and we ended up getting a quicker and cheaper journey than if we’d taken the all-inclusive coach. There was no tea or coffee or water on the ferry because recent storms had contaminated the Vancouver water supplies. We were starving so we had veggie burger and fries when we got on the boat. With hindsight we probably shouldn’t have, as we’d both felt a bit ill since lunch the day before. The crossing was fairly rough, and the air conditioning was on full inside the ferry so we had the impression of the wild winds inside as well. When we got to Nanaimo (on Vancouver Island) we hired a car. Rowan drove to Port Alberni, where we stopped to buy food supplies. It was raining heavily and dark when we left (Sophie took over the driving) so it wasn’t much fun driving, but we decided to press on. The weather cleared up a bit as we got to the West side of the island. When we finally arrived in Tofino we drove around a bit looking for the youth hostel. We found it after a little bit of looking and booked a private room for the night. The hostel is very nice – the lounge has an open fire and a view of the harbour and it’s all newly decorated. We went to bed exhausted by all the travelling.
Wednesday 22nd
We got up late this morning, and breakfasted out of our supplies. We went to the Co-op to buy washing powder, then went to the laundromat. When the washing was done, we went to the Wickaninnish Inn to see if we could check in. Our room wasn’t ready (but we had the luggage taken to it by the overly helpful valet – smart hotels are trying) so we sat in the lounge and had a drink. The room is fabulous, and has a great ocean view despite being one of the less expensive “restricted view” rooms. Much of the furniture is hand-made by local sculptors (they even had a resident wood carver). It also has high speed internet (hence catching up on blog). We relaxed in the room and had a bath in the afternoon, then went to the hotel’s restaurant for dinner. We ate here on our honeymoon, and it was as good as we remembered it – still the best restaurant we’ve ever eaten in. It’s a semicircular room with hand-hewn cedar beams and a 180° view of the beach and ocean, and a circular fireplace in the middle. The food is awesome! We’re planning to spend most of the next two days in the hotel, as it’s so nice (and to get our money’s worth…)
We moved some lumber from the garden into the greenhouse to dry and stay out of the snow over the winter. Some of it had been under the tree where the chickens like to roost, so it was a bit of a dirty job. We also helped Bryce remove all the stuff from inside his boat for winter storage. Julie got Rowan to look at a database someone had set up for her, so he had a quick look at that to figure out how it worked. After lunch we had the afternoon off, so we decided to walk to Winlaw again. We checked our email in the gas station/general store, then bought a few more goodies. Dinner when we got back was roast chicken with mashed purple potatoes (great colour!), broccoli, carrots and onion soup – all of which were grown/raised on the farm.
Thursday 16th
This morning we finished off digging out the chicken house. It was a bit easier this time, as the chickens had been scratching in there and had loosened lots of the compacted litter. The smell had dispersed a bit too. The weather was unusually sunny, so after we’d finished with the coop we had a little walk down the track and did some sketching by the river.Friday 17th
Today was our day off. We packed our bags and lunch, and set off walking towards Winlaw along the track. It was very cold – all the ground was frozen solid. We stopped at Winlaw to drop off a package of stuff to send home (trying to slim down our luggage), and check the ferry timetables on the internet, then carried on walking. We had our packed lunch by the river, then walked for a couple of hours. We turned back when we calculated we’d gone as far as we could in the daylight, and stopped to sketch. Rowan started drawing some trees that were lit brightly by the sun while the rest were in shadow, only to have the sun disappear behind a hill after 10 minutes and plunge his whole subject into shadow. When we got back it was twilight and we could see the chickens roosting in the trees outside their run – we’d never seen a tree full of chickens before!Saturday 18th
Today we stacked some more wood in the greenhouse, then cleaned off the boat. After that we moved the feeders, feed bins, nest boxes and roosts into the chicken house and dug up the manure from the old shelter. There wasn’t so much of it as there had been in the winter chicken house, fortunately. In the afternoon after work we packed our stuff. Sophie realised that our train actually leaves on Monday rather than Sunday so we had a bit of excitement until Sophie found out that we could use our bus tickets on Sunday instead (eeven though they were dated for Monday) and stay overnight in Kamloops (Bryce and Julie couldn’t give us a lift on Monday).
Sunday 20th
This morning we got up early and got out on time – after rounding up the chickens one last time. They were especially awkward and difficult as a special treat for us. We caught the Greyhound from Castlegar with no trouble and the bus journey was to Kamloops was uneventful. On board they showed the film “Stuck on You” but we arrived at Kelowna, where we were changing buses, about 10 minutes before the end of the film, so we never found out how it ended (we speculated though). We found a cheap motel in the centre, then went to a Baptist church which was conveniently two doors away. For once, we were heavily outnumbered by the rest of the congregation.
After the service we wandered round town for a while looking for a place to eat. The centre was nearly deserted – maybe because it was a Sunday, or maybe it was the Grey cup (North American football) game that was on at the time. We settled on a small Japanese restaurant, which was good.
Monday 21st
We left the luggage at the motel, then went to Denny’s for breakfast, where we finally had the pancakes we’d been promising ourselves (Rowan had a big cooked breakfast as well). After getting haircuts, we went to the public library to use their free high speed internet (which explained why there are no internet cafés in Kamloops) then did some shopping and had lunch in a coffee shop. Rowan asked for soup and sandwiches and got just sandwiches, so as usual he had to ask again (it’s the accent!!) Then we did some more shopping and went for a drink in a bar. We went back to the motel, got our bags and got a taxi to the station. Being paranoid (memories of the Fort William incident will give us palpitations for a long time to come), we arrived more than an hour early – before the station master got there to unlock. The train ended up being an hour and a half late. Our bunks were very comfortable and surprisingly spacious. We slept pretty well, but it was rather a short night.
Tuesday 22nd
We got up quite early and had breakfast in the dining car. After breakfast Rowan had a shower on the train which was a first – and surprisingly good. We could get used to first-class train travel – not that it’s really worth the extra fare (we only did it because we had travel credits). We arrived in Vancouver late, missing the Greyhound coach we’d planned to take. Fortunately, Sophie found a local bus that went to the ferry terminal, and we ended up getting a quicker and cheaper journey than if we’d taken the all-inclusive coach. There was no tea or coffee or water on the ferry because recent storms had contaminated the Vancouver water supplies. We were starving so we had veggie burger and fries when we got on the boat. With hindsight we probably shouldn’t have, as we’d both felt a bit ill since lunch the day before. The crossing was fairly rough, and the air conditioning was on full inside the ferry so we had the impression of the wild winds inside as well. When we got to Nanaimo (on Vancouver Island) we hired a car. Rowan drove to Port Alberni, where we stopped to buy food supplies. It was raining heavily and dark when we left (Sophie took over the driving) so it wasn’t much fun driving, but we decided to press on. The weather cleared up a bit as we got to the West side of the island. When we finally arrived in Tofino we drove around a bit looking for the youth hostel. We found it after a little bit of looking and booked a private room for the night. The hostel is very nice – the lounge has an open fire and a view of the harbour and it’s all newly decorated. We went to bed exhausted by all the travelling.
Wednesday 22nd
We got up late this morning, and breakfasted out of our supplies. We went to the Co-op to buy washing powder, then went to the laundromat. When the washing was done, we went to the Wickaninnish Inn to see if we could check in. Our room wasn’t ready (but we had the luggage taken to it by the overly helpful valet – smart hotels are trying) so we sat in the lounge and had a drink. The room is fabulous, and has a great ocean view despite being one of the less expensive “restricted view” rooms. Much of the furniture is hand-made by local sculptors (they even had a resident wood carver). It also has high speed internet (hence catching up on blog). We relaxed in the room and had a bath in the afternoon, then went to the hotel’s restaurant for dinner. We ate here on our honeymoon, and it was as good as we remembered it – still the best restaurant we’ve ever eaten in. It’s a semicircular room with hand-hewn cedar beams and a 180° view of the beach and ocean, and a circular fireplace in the middle. The food is awesome! We’re planning to spend most of the next two days in the hotel, as it’s so nice (and to get our money’s worth…) 
Comments:
<< Home
Chris already had an obsession with the Good Life and wants to be self-sufficient one day, but your adventures are making him ten times worse! I miss you, come back soon! Or I'll come over there!
Post a Comment
# posted by 
: 5:30 am
: 5:30 am << Home
