Day 2, Saturday, Sept 24, 2011
Time to Explore
So today I woke up tothe sound of the crashing surf. What a view from my room! Did I mention thatthis is the suite I wanted? Ahh J I madebreakfast and proceeded to set off the smoke detector. Apparently it doesn’tlike toast, even unburnt toast. I made myself a cup of tea, and got ready to go out. Now here is where I made a rookie mistake. You don’t have a shower, getready with the clothes you are going to be in all day, and then go down andbeachcomb! I didn’t get that wet or dirty, but I should know better.
I found a few interesting shells on the beach,nothing majorly interesting. There was Bull Kelp everywhere. I still shudderthinking about it. In grade 7, my class went on a weekend camping trip to SaltSpring Island. There was lots of that kelp everywhere and one of my classmatespicked up a HUGE length of it and started swinging it about. Like a whip, itcame around and smacked me squarely in the back of my calves. I wasn’t standingclose to her either. I had those marks for at least 2 weeks after. Man did thatsting!
I came back to my cabin,changed, and left to go exploring. There is a small little shopping area(plaza?) just down the street from where I am staying. Beaches Grocery is thesmallest grocery store for campers and vacationers I have ever seen. My cabinmight be bigger! So cute though and fun just to say I have been in there. Andthe funny thing is how much they pack in that place. There are lots of thingsyou wouldn’t think they would have, and do! Then around the corner is ChocolateTofino. All handmade, local chocolates and gelato ice cream. Once I was donethere, I left for town.
Tofino really isn’t a big town. I just parkedin the middle and walked in a big circle. There are lots of cute shops, and youcan tell this is a fishing tourist town. If it’s not talking about surfing orfishing, it’s about relaxation and Zen or the native equivalent. There iswireless internet everywhere to keep you connected, and the cutest places toeat. The thing that lets me know I am in a small town; there are no trafficlights. Oh there are one or two flashing four way stop lights, but no actualtime changing green, yellow, and red lights. I don’t think I had seen one sincePort Alberni nearly 2 hours away!
I strolled around,ducked into the main grocery store The Co-Op, The Common Loaf Bakery, TreeHouse Gifts, and The Mermaid Tales Book Store…to name a few. I began to noticesigns that there is going to be a planned power outage on Monday, for Hydro todo upgrades. Fabulous! And it’s up and down the coastal section I am in, somany businesses won’t be open on Monday, my last full day here. My last stopbefore breaking for a really late lunch is Jamie’s Whaling Station, to book myWhale Watching Tour. Now they tell me that they are planning a trip on Sunday,but may have to cancel due to weather! Apparently a storm is coming in! Ohwell, we shall see.
There are so manydifferent people here. There are the transient surfers, who look like the Atypical international backpacker who floated in on their surf boards, and thereare the international explorers, many couples from Germany and Australia. Lastbut not least, you mix in the locals and tourists from within Canada and thatis the population mixed bag
So I head back to mycabin (did I mention it’s cute?) and make lunch. After resting just a bit Ihead the other direction to Ucluelet. Seriously, another cute town. And again,no traffic lights. Gotta love it. I spot a lot of very cute stores there aswell. On my way back, I stop at Incinerator Rock, one of the many access pointsto Long Beach. The waves are gigantic and the sky is brooding. Off in thedistance a large dark gray mass of clouds are heading right for us. And theWIND is so strong and loud, someone could be standing 10 feet from me yellingand I would probably not even hear them. I was quite a ways off from the water,but I still felt like the swells could come and get me.
So I head back to mycabin to make a late dinner. I fill the room with the scent of my fajitas,which I think I make pretty well! The storm has just about hit, the rain ishitting my little cabin sideways, and there is lots of it! Next you can hearthe water begin to surge and pound the shore line. Then comes the thunder andlightning, loud and right above us. Too bad you just never know when it willhit since the lightening lights up the sky enough to actually see the waves.What a picture that would be!
The storm ragesoutside, while I am inside, enjoying dinner and watching a movie on my laptop.I don’t think I am going to be here as long as I want to… I need to come backsometime soon…
