Boat Life – Week 2

The start of our second week on the boat kicked off with Father’s Day. We all had breakfast together before Mark took advantage of his gift of a massage, and Charlie and Mary Kay went for a long walk. We all had lunch together and the girls gave Mark and Charlie their father’s day cards.

We did some final prep on the boat and made the short trip back to Henry Island. After all the partying the nights before, we kept the energy low. We did a few loads of laundry and Mark and I took a hike while the girls played games, drew pictures, worked on a new story, and ultimately ended up on the playground. We made dinner and put the kids to bed early.

Monday morning, we continued the mellow vibe with breakfast together. Mark, Mary Kay and I played several games of pickle ball, while the girls watched amidst their drawing efforts. After making lunch and tying down the paddle boards and kayaks, we got underway for Pender Island, and Poet’s Cove Marina where we’d go through customs.

On the way there, we spotted several whale boats clustering around a peninsula. As we got closer we could see some were whale watching vessels and soon enough we saw the large, curved backs of humpback whales coupled with several misty blows several times as we cruised by. While it pained us not to linger, we had to see the Canadian Customs office just around the corner on Pender.

We had to wait on the boat while Charlie went into the customs office to check us in. We worked hard to eat up all the fresh fruit and vegetables we’d brought onboard over the past several days, as Canada is very particular about what you can bring into their country. We also worried about the amount of wine we had remaining. You could bring in 2 bottles per person into the country duty free, and we had 25 bottles left! After declaring the wine and leftover veggies to the local officers and someone on the phone in Ottawa, Charlie got us through customs (without a strip search!) and we got to keep the wine.

Relived and excited to be in Canada, we pressed on to Montague Harbor off Galiano Island. The sheltered cove made a perfect place to anchor. The darling restaurant on the deck, wasn’t open for dinner, so we picked up a few supplies in the small general store, and cobbled together a simple but delicious dinner — turkey sandwiches for the girls, and shrimp scampi for the rest of us. We fed the kids and put them to bed early, as they were still catching up from the late nights. We enjoyed a later dinner, watching the sun set from the flybridge. After dinner, Mark and I took a sunset paddle to watch the sun slip below the tree line, and were graced by the presence of a curious seal. We returned to discover the amazing dessert surprise our “Iron Chef” Charlie made from the half frozen banana and other the random pantry ingredients.

Mark and I decided to stay up and watch the full moon rise (projected to be 10:15pm, after the 9:15 sunset). But due to the hills surrounding the bay, we didn’t see the moon in its full glory until well after 11 PM, but it was worth the wait.

After sleeping in, making pancakes for breakfast, and helping the girls with their postcards to friends back home, we all piled in the dingy for a quick trip the general store (to mail said postcards). We then took off to a nearby provincial park and campground to hike and explore. We took a lovely walk through the woods, along an isthmus, across a 5,000 year old midden (where native peoples piled used shells, and is now a shell beach), through huge Madrone trees, crossing paths with a small snake, and stopping to look in tidal areas teeming with crabs, oysters, and tiny fish.

The little restaurant, Crane & Robbin, on the dock was open for lunch, so we stopped in and had an amazingly delicious meal — cod tacos, the best chowder I’ve ever tried, and a pulled pork sandwich for the girls. The girls enjoyed an ice cream cone from the general store after lunch, and returned to the dock to play with Archer, the pine cone catching dog, whenever they could.

Mark and I took the girls for a paddle around the harbor after lunch. They paddled longer than they had before, but still not long enough for our taste. We dropped them back at the boat and kept paddling. We spotted a raccoon on shore digging for goodies to eat along the shore line. As we stopped to watch him for a while, a bald eagle flew overhead and landed in a nearby tree.

Back at the boat, we took quick showers and got ready for the next grand adventure. A short dingy ride back to the harbor, where we walked up the road to wait for the “Pub Bus” to take us to Hummingbird Pub at the top of the island. The retired school bus pulled up, with musical instruments assigned as we boarded (tambourines, shakers, etc.). The driver stopped to share points of interest and island history – when he wasn’t blasting music and drumming along. There were cymbals, cowbells, drums, and other instruments set up so he could play as he drove. We signed our hearts out to “Yellow Submarine” and “Octopuses Garden” on the way there. When asked what they thought of the ride there, the girls responded with… “It was loud.”

We sat outside at the Pub and invited a local man to join us who had been introduced on the bus as the owner of the house next door to the marina who hand carves gnomes into wood, bone, and ivory. We also learned that David was witness to the excavation of the terra cotta soldiers in China, he made his money on real estate in Vancouver, and that his family lost their land and farms during the repatriation that took place under communist rule in Chile. The girls were taken with his stories, and he was certainly a character.

Unfortunately, the restaurant’s food and service didn’t live up to the entertaining standards of the bus ride there. The food was late, the order was wrong, and the quality was mediocre. But we enjoyed ourselves and the beautiful evening, as well as the crazy ride back down the hill.

After getting the kids to bed at a reasonable hour, we retired to the flybridge to watch the sun set again in this magical harbor and to work and read (albeit without any internet access).

Unfortunately, we didn’t sleep well. During the night the wind picked up and waves slapped the sides of the boat, bounced the dingy into the hull, and squeaked the ropes holding the anchor. We are were up for hours and Charlie made multiple checks to make sure our anchor didn’t drag and we didn’t end our trip in catastrophe. By morning we were all a little tired.

Mark rallied and made pancakes for us again. After a slow morning, we took the tender back to shore to visit David, the guy we met on the pub bus the night before. He gave us a tour of his artist studio and his collection of hand-carved gnome creations. My favorite was this piece of Walrus tusk carved with kelp, a school of fish, and a crab up on top.

We returned to the boat and got it ready to move. We pulled up the anchor and the tender and set out for the short trip to Salt Spring Island. The trip was easy and smooth, although it started to rain, rather heavily, just as we pulled into the dock at Ganges Harbor. The rain lasted for as long as it took us to tie up the boat, and stopped in time for us to walk into town for lunch.

Charlie suggested this darling place called Treehouse Cafe that had excellent food. The girls enjoyed the freedom and walked around the small town looking in nearby shops while we waited for lunch to arrive. After our delicious meal, we explored the downtown together, had gelato, visited the library, and went to the grocery store to restock supplies. By the time we finished, it started raining again and we enjoyed a wet walk back to the boat.

We didn’t feel like going back out into the rain so we made a delicious Thai-themed dinner and sat up on the flybridge listening to the rain on the roof. After getting the kids to bed, we sat in the cozy salon looking at maps, discussing plans for the next day, and sharing pictures with each other.

The following day, we kept things pretty mellow. We wandered around town some more, poked in art galleries, played at the park, and picked up some supplies. We sampled the delicious food in town. Breakfasted at Treehouse Cafe. The girls tried poutine for the first time – at a food cart – and T was in heaven. We retired to the boat to spend the remainder of the day chatting, catching up on emails and other to-dos, and letting the girls have some quiet playtime. We made the girls an early dinner and put them to bed, then the grown-ups went out for a nearby dinner.

 

All that recharge was helpful as Friday, we undertook a grand driving adventure around the island. We rented a minivan and took off with a handful of maps to see the area. We drove around harbors, stopped at coffee shops, visited art galleries, checked out remote beaches, and poked around.

Highlights of our tour include:

Coffee and popsicles at Fernwood Road Cafe

The Blue Horse art gallery

P catching a snake at the north point of the island

Touring the Lavender & Black farm and learning about farming, distilling, and making products out of lavender oil. Which inspired T to say she now knows what she wants to do — be a lavender farmer on Salt Spring Island!

Lunch over looking the water at Seaside Restaurant

Seeing the cheese making facilities and tasting goat cheese and goat gelato at Salt Spring Island Cheese

Running into Peter and Eric (dance friends) outside of Salt Spring Vineyards

We were all pooped after the long day of adventuring. I fed the girls and put them to bed while Mark picked up a burrito for us to share for dinner. Charlie and Mary Kay went out and listened to music as they enjoyed dinner. Our quiet dinner included discussing the day, and how this experience will influence how we will structure our days and what we’ll bring/do while in the RV.

Saturday brought the much anticipated Salt Spring Island farmers market. The Marina and Island were packed like we hadn’t seen it before. We spent most of the morning peeking in booths, buying fresh fruit, and taking in the beauty of the summer produce. T had her eye on a necklace made by a local artist and was pleased to meet the artist at the market. She bought herself a beautiful necklace with a small ruby on it.

We lunched. We people watched. We went to the nearby Native American arts and crafts fair and had a nice time talking with one woman who does exquisite bead work.

I had hoped to go to an acroyoga jam Saturday afternoon, but no one showed up, even to unlock the doors.

We fed the kids and put them to bed early, and then Mark, Charlie, Mary Kay and I went out to dinner at the nicest restaurant on the island. We had a beautiful meal, wonderful Canadian wine and great conversation.

I had hoped to dance on Sunday, but the contact jam my friends Peter and Eric were attending was taking place instead and the weekly ecstatic dance on the island was canceled. So we spent a good part of the morning packing, cleaning rooms, helping with IT support, and gathering our stuff scattered across the boat.

In the afternoon, Mark and I took the girls on a tender ride out of the harbor and circumnavigated an island just outside the harbor. We didn’t see any whales, but we did see lots of bald eagles, as well as numerous seals sunning themselves on the rocks.

That evening, we fed the girls, and put them to bed, and then the grow-ups made our final meal on the boat — shrimp and orzo pasta with feta. We enjoyed a few bottles of wine and Mark and Charlie’s homemade dessert creation which included melted chocolate and Nutella, bananas, and other goodies from the pantry.

We were up an early Monday morning to catch our seaplane flight to Vancouver. The short 30 minute flight gave us great views of the islands as well as downtown Vancouver.

We booked a hotel when we landed and dropped our bags to walk to a nearby restaurant for a Belgian Breakfast. The girls ordered a short rib fricasse off the menu and loved it. I think we’ve hit a turning point, where they don’t need the simplicity and blandness of the kids menu anymore. We all enjoyed waffles dipped in melted chocolate as a “breakfast dessert”.

From the restaurant we made a short stop at a playground then walked down to the river and caught a water shuttle over to Granville Island. We spent a few hours on the island, poking around in the kids shops, gift shops, and the market. The Disney cruise ship in the harbor meant it was so crowded it wasn’t enjoyable being there. The highlight was seeing the raptor with its handler — just its presence deterred the otherwise aggressive seagulls (despite some tourists still trying to throw them fries).

Using Car2Go, we rented a car and drove ourselves back to the hotel, stopping by the art museum to see the beautiful fountains.

After a quick rest (and Mark catching up on some emails), we rallied and walked over to a nearby bike rental store. We rented bikes and rode from downtown, along the waterfront, to Stanley Park. We got off the bikes to read and learn about the totem poles. We rode the rest of the loop in the warm sunshine, that finally peeked out after a cloudy and spritzy morning. We watched with some join to see the Disney cruise ship go under the bridge and exit the harbor.

By the time we were most of the way around, the girls were getting hungry. We’d received a recommendation from the hotel concierge for a good Chinese restaurant and we rode our bikes directly there.

The girls enjoyed soup dumplings for the first time, and loved the green beans and homemade fried noodles as well. We relished the ability to order the same food as our children!

Our ride back to the store allowed the girls to learn about shifting gears when biking up hills.

We all wanted a bit of dessert, but our attempts to find the right thing were not being successful. Another chance encounter with our concierge changed that as he directed us to a wonderful gelato place near the waterfront. We ate our treats while watching the white puffy clouds float over the mountains of North Vancouver and talked with some German tourist who were also about to leave Vancouver to head home.

We returned to the hotel, all excited to sleep after our full day.

Our breakfast research on yelp led us to a place that was so popular, there was over an hour wait for breakfast. We didn’t want to wait and found another place nearby that was even better for us, and again we all collectively enjoyed items from the adult menu — breakfast burger and a Reuben sandwich. Can you tell I’m excited about this new change?

We rushed to get ourselves to the bus station, only to find our bus left at 11:30, not 11, and then waited some more as the driver was running about 30 minutes behind.

We’re on the bus now, heading towards Seattle. It was a fabulous trip. We loved all the sights, the adventures, the great company, the beautiful wildlife, and the new experiences. It was a great opportunity to practice packing lightly, to see what we do and don’t want to include in our RV life going forward, and to check-in with ourselves about how we make nomad life sustainable for us.

Blogging with this level of detail is definitely something I’m not going to maintain. Expect future posts to be a bit shorter!