ISLAND HOPPING & PET HOPPING

 POST # 516

This past week I decided to go visit two islands that are both a short ferry ride from Nanaimo.  First on the agenda, was the larger of the two, Newcastle Island. The ferry departed in early afternoon, for the short ride across to the island.

   I was fortunate enough to have a bicycle to use.  Because of the size of the island, it certainly was an asset to have two wheels to roll around on.  The deadly treadly, as the Australians would call a bicycle.

There were plenty of magnificent viewpoints along the way, including this one at the north end of Newcastle,  and when I arrived there, the Horseshoe Bay ferry was just heading out across the strait.

All in all, I had a wonderful day on Newcastle.  I even had time prior to boarding the ferry to Nanaimo, to soak my feet in the ocean.  A great finish to a great day.

With Newcastle Island checked off of my list, it was time to tackle Protection Island.  No treadly this time, but that was fine, as the island isn't very large, and is very easy to wander around on foot.  

A welcoming sign to get my trip off to a good start.  It wasn't too long before I came across this whale's skull in front of someone's property.  A gentle reminder to the shortness of our lives.

The caption above the skull reads as follows:

This be the skull of a gray

That died off Ucluelet one day

Now would you have bet

That a draggerman's net

Might have snagged it for this here display

My journey around Protection Island continued, and when I arrived on the Eastern shore at a place called Smugglers beach, it was time to take a break, and have a light lunch, as I gazed across the water to Gabriola Island.  As you can see, my trusty lacrosse ball which I found on the road in Pleasantville,  New York many years ago, joined me on my journey around the island.  In fact, any time I am out walking, my bouncy ball comes along for the journey, and it's surprising just how many conversations I have struck up with others, when they see me walking along, bouncing this ball.

The day was rapidly disappearing, however there was still enough time to walk to the end of the boat dock, and once again soak my tired feet in the ocean for a while, just prior to the sun setting, and the imminent departure of my ferry back to Vancouver Island. Sitting on a dock is a very comfortable place to be for this old sailor.

I chatted with a few locals on the dock, and they invited me to a dock party next Friday.  I doubt that I will be back, but it was certainly nice of them to offer the invite.

So that completes the island hopping version of today's post, and now it's time to move on to the pet hopping.  After all, this blog is primarily all about my adventures with our four legged friends.

I had to say so long to Silken the furball,  but thanks to her owner, I was referred to a neighbour who was taking a short two day trip to another one of the islands. Her bonehead, who goes by the name of Kane, needed someone to care for him.  Once again, The Thoughtful Wanderer to the rescue.

So long Silken.

And hello Kane.

That rounds things out for the month of August, with my next scheduled post on September 7th.  This year, that happens to be a travel day.  One way or the other, I'll get something posted, but if I don't, at least I have an excuse, and at the very latest, I'll post the following day.  

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

THE INTERNET OR ???

POST # 515

Or what, Paul?  What else would you want to be doing with your precious time, other than staring at a screen all day long?   I'm pretty sure that when it comes to the screen time per day ratio, my number is very low indeed.  The main reason is that I don't own a smart phone, and I'm guessing that the majority of the time that most people spend in front of a screen, is a result of their attachment to that device.  It's almost as if it has become a part of the human anatomy.  I realise that I am in the minority when it comes to this device, and I don't mind that one bit.  And even without a smartphone, I still think that I spend too much time staring at a computer screen on most days.  

So I have now decided to cut back on my internet time, and focus on other activities.  I'll still be checking my email, and writing my blog four times a month, but some of those other websites that I have paid attention to in the past, are now being consigned to the dustbin of history.  This new time management agenda, has already had a positive effect on my mental health.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I tend to be a happy person most of the time, a trait I believe that I inherited from my dear old mom, but spending less time in front of a computer screen should help to ensure that I remain a happy guy.  So what should I now do with all of this bonus time on my hands?  I find it very easy to keep myself occupied, whether I am with other people, or on my own.  Yesterday was the annual Soap Box Derby event here in Nanaimo, and I decided to check it out.  It was great to be outside with others, and enjoying this event.

It was fun to watch, but I didn't want to spend my entire day there, so I continued on my bike ride down to the beach, just to hang out,  and enjoy the lovely day.  It's also a good place to interact with the occasional dog, and human.  

The afternoon was rapidly disappearing, and so I saddled up once again for the ten minute ride home.  Ann Marie has a lovely garden, and I'm here at the right time of the season to enjoy some of the food that her garden has on offer.

In addition to all of this lovely fruit, there are numerous flowers, and even the occasional snail to keep me amused.

And of course, let's not forget the most important occupant of this home, Silken the furball.

And it's thanks to Silken, that I could head over to Vancouver for a day trip earlier in the week.  She's happy to sleep all day long, so I doubt if she even noticed that I was away.

It was a quick trip,  leaving on an early ferry, and returning around 8:30 pm, but everything went along as planned as far as ferry/bus connections go, so all in all, it was a great day.  After a quick trip to my storage locker, which was my prime reason for being in Vancouver, I caught up with my former Aquabus workmate, Congo Bob.  He's built a little "resort" directly behind the back dock, so he and I and a few other Aquabusers caught up for a visit.   I'm glad that I made the effort.

I also had time to wander around the market at Granville Island.  What a stark contrast to the last time that I was here.  Back then, the place was deserted, but look at it now.  I guess that the past two years have just been a bad dream.  At least that's what you may think by looking at this crowd.

It was only a short visit for me, as there were still two bus connections to make, in order to be on the ferry that I was planning on boarding, but I arrived with time to spare, and before long we were on our way back to Departure Bay in Nanaimo.  

It was a scorcher of a day weather wise, so it felt good to be out in the sea breeze as we crossed the strait.

So those are just a few of the ways in which The Thoughtful Wanderer can spend some of his new found time.  It certainly beats screen time hands down.   I'm quite sure that I've made a wise decision, and I'm looking forward to more outdoor rewards as time goes on.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

A BUSY AND REWARDING WEEK

 POST # 514

 

I was very happy to see that the driver of this logging truck decided to not turn right, in front of the bus.  That would have put a quick end to my departure from Port Alberni this past Friday.  All went well, and I, along with about ten other people boarded the Vancouver Island Connector bus, en route to Nanaimo, and beyond.  My destination was Nanaimo, which took about one and a half hours.  It was a pleasant and uneventful trip.

So my time in Port Alberni had finally come to an end, but not before I checked off the last couple of items on my "to do" list.  As mentioned last week, I had booked a trip to Bamfield on the MV Frances Barkley, and that took place this past Tuesday.  Weather wise, it was a  picture perfect day.  We departed as scheduled at 8 am, and as we headed down the channel, I took a photo looking back at Port Alberni.

The MV Frances Barkley is a working ship, and there were many stops along the way, dropping off and picking up passengers, as well as off-loading freight.

Approximately half way to Bamfield, this fog bank came into view, and I was thinking that our beautiful blue sky was going to be disappearing for the remainder of the journey.  Thankfully, we only spent a short period fog bound, and then the bright blue skies returned for the remainder of the journey.

We arrived in Bamfield around 12:30 pm.  Our departure time was expected to be 2 pm so we had a little while to explore Bamfield.  

It was unfortunate that we arrived the day we did, because according to this sign posted in town, tomorrow would have been better.

Before long, it was time to re-board our vessel and head out on our return journey to Port Alberni.   I took this photo as the MV Frances Barkley was docking.

It's an interesting photo, because it appears that this small boat is about to be crushed against the dock.  What can't be seen is that the ship has already been secured to the dock, and this is as close as its bow ever came to that little vessel.

Boarding was a quick affair, and then we were on our way.  The return trip is direct to Port Alberni, so it went much faster than our outbound journey.  There was time to visit with a few of the other passengers, and even make a couple of new contacts for future house sit gigs, so that was an unexpected bonus.

As I mentioned earlier, I had a couple of items to check off of my "to do" list, and with the voyage now completed, it was time to do the second voyage that I had been planning while at my current location.  The Somass river is tidal, and I planned to take advantage of an outgoing tide.  Shortly after I had arrived here, I was down at the dock one morning surveying my surroundings, and I noticed something coming towards me in the river.  Eventually I worked out that this was a human being floating along.  As he got within shouting distance, I wished him a good morning and asked what he was doing out there in the middle of the stream.  He told me that he had entered the river right by the bridge, which is about 800 meters from my location.  He said he was floating back to his brother's place, a couple of doors down from where I was.  We enjoyed our brief chat, and right then and there, I decided that I would do the same thing prior to leaving here.  Two days before my departure, the tide was right, so I walked to the bridge, entered the river, and had a very enjoyable float back home.  It took about a half hour, and it really was a great way to spend some time.  

On my final night at the property, there was a full moon, and it was magnificent to sit by the river and enjoy this spectacle.  And prior to the moon rise, I was treated with another spectacular sunset.

My time spent here wouldn't be complete without taking a few more photos.  Here is the view looking in the front window at my indoor "jungle" of plants.

And of course, I just had to take one last photo of each furball.  This is how they spent most of their days.  Cats have it very easy, at least these two certainly do.

Yesterday, the day after my arrival here in Nanaimo, I was asked to take care of the neighbour's bonehead for the day, while the owner was away in Vancouver.  So the day was spent going back and forth between the two houses, in order to keep both critters happy.  According to the owner, Kane suffers from separation anxiety, but it took no time at all for him to feel comfortable around me, and we had a very enjoyable day together.

The owner got back around 8 pm, so I could return home, and spend the remainder of my day with Silken.

It has been a busy, but very rewarding week.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

THE RAPIDLY DISAPPEARING YEARS

 POST # 513

                                                           A cool dip on another hot day

"What on earth are you going to do with all this money?"

Those were the first words out of my manager's mouth, as he presented to me a cheque for the amount of $90 dollars and change.  I had never seen so much money in my entire life up to that point, and to be honest, when I took the cheque from him, I really had no idea how I would spend it.  The year was 1972.

This was my second year working part-time at the local grocery store, near where we lived in Calgary. Every Wednesday night, a group of us young lads would show up and stock shelves.  We usually worked for about four hours, and at $1.25/hr, none of us was going to get rich.  But then management decided to do some store renovations, and all of a sudden, there was as much work as you wanted to do.  Someone had decided that instead of having all of the aisles in the store run East to West, it would be better for them to run North to South.  You can imagine the amount of work and chaos this produced over a couple of weeks, but eventually it was all done, and that explains the story of my big cheque.  And here's a bit of trivia, especially for any Calgarian reading this.  There was a local band, called, "The Stampeders" and the lead singer was my manager's brother.  They had produced a hit song called "Sweet City Woman" and whenever that song came on the radio while we were at work, the manager cranked up the radio, to make sure that we all could hear his brother belt out this tune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IRjl3SWC2U

So now what?  What was I going to do with all of this new found wealth?  About four years previous to this time, my good friend David had moved to Port Coquitlam BC, and so I figured that I could spend some of this money on a Greyhound bus ticket, and head off on my first big solo adventure.  I departed Calgary in the evening, and I found a seat near the rear of the bus.  Soon after we departed, some guy sitting in the same general location began to pass around a bottle of rum.  A few of us helped ourselves to his generosity, and I was thinking that this was going to be a fun journey.  However, when we arrived a short while later in Banff, the bus driver came to the back of the bus, and kicked the guy off the bus.  I was sweating for a few minutes, wondering if the rest of us would be as unfortunate, but thankfully we were allowed to stay, and the journey continued to BC without any other incidents.  (At this point in the story, I imagine the reader is wondering what any of this has to do with house/pet sitting, but I'm getting there.)

It was great to catch up with my old friend, and meet some of his friends as well.  At some point in the visit, it was suggested that a few of us head over to Port Alberni on Vancouver island, because that is where David's girlfriend at the time, now lived.  An adventure within an adventure.  After we all arrived and had spent a day or two there, Rosie's father, (David's girlfriend Rosie) who worked at the local pulp and paper mill in town, suggested to me that I could get a summer job working there if I wanted, and I could live at their place.  Before I knew it, I was working the remainder of the summer in Port Alberni, and making $4.25/hr.  Now I was earning the big bucks in comparison to my wage back in Calgary.  Here is where I lived that summer.

All of that happened fifty years ago.  It's hard to believe just how fast your life goes by, and before you know it, you're sixty-seven, instead of seventeen.  It's like that line out of the South Park cartoon, "and it's gone."

The following year, after graduating from high school, I once again returned to Port Alberni, and worked at the pulp and paper mill.  My mom and dad decided to take a trip out to visit me, and during their visit, we boarded the MV Lady Rose and took a cruise to Bamfield.  It was a memorable journey for many reasons, but one memory that stands out is sailing past a freighter loaded with new cars that had run aground.  For details, you can read this account.

https://www.portalbernimaritimeheritage.ca/post/2017/08/23/the-vanlene-bamfield-s-vehicular-grave

I enjoyed that voyage so much, that I have decided to do it one more time, and this coming Tuesday, I will be cruising to Bamfield on the MV Frances Barkley.  (The MV Lady Rose is now in Sechelt)

That explains my history when it comes to Port Alberni, so when I was offered this current house sit opportunity, I jumped at the chance.  This would be a good opportunity to have a second look at the place.  

As you can probably guess from the smile on my face, I am very happy at this location, right next to the Somass river here in town.  I even have my own private dock.  With the continuing hot weather, I make sure to take at least one plunge into the river every day.

Of course, a pet sit wouldn't be complete without a pet or two to keep me company, and these two furballs have done a stellar job in this regard.  Hammett on top, and Hendrix down below have been very enjoyable company, and they seem to have warmed up to the house sitter, so all is good.

A unique feature of this sit, are these very unusual tropical plants, called Nepenthes or tropical pitcher plants.  They do require a bit more attention than other plants, but their uniqueness makes up for the work involved in keeping them healthy.  The description of the name is below.

The genus name Nepenthes was first published in 1737 in Carl Linnaeus's Hortus Cliffortianus.^[22] It references a passage in Homer's Odyssey, in which the potion "Nepenthes pharmakon" is given to Helen by an Egyptian queen. "Nepenthe" literally means "without grief" (ne = not, penthos = grief) and, in Greek mythology, is a drug that quells all sorrows with forgetfulness.^[15][23] Linnaeus explained:

The other night, I was out in the back yard, and noticed this beautiful butterfly.  I was lucky enough to get a photo just as it was taking off.

Perhaps this butterfly is a good place to end today's post.  As it flew away, I pondered just how rapidly my own life has flown on by.  All the more reason to appreciate each day, and every sunset.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer