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December 22, 2010
island time (n.)
Last week, I went to Vancouver Island with my awesome boyfriend, Ben. More specifically, we visited Uclulet and Tofino.
These two island communities sit about 27 km away from each other and are linked by highway 4, a windy road that takes you through a brush of old cedar and pine trees where if you're lucky, you can spot an eagle perched above you or a deer quickly disappearing into the thick bushes - and if you're unlucky, where you can get swept by a tsunami during the rainy winter season and go skidding and sliding into the Pacific Ocean; okay, maybe less dramatically, fall into a ditch and wait for a friendly local to bail you out, and then take you to The Maquinna to dry off, (and if it's a Wednesday, karaoke you out of the rut with a Journey song).
Some of the main elements of island life, as seen through the eyes of a city gal are:
- You don't need a watch. Stores close at random hours and often don "be back later" or "be back tomorrow" signs.
- The only hour:minute that matters is high and low tide.
- There are no franchises and so you get to drink coffee at the Tofitian, eat cinnamon buns at The Common Loaf, munch on the most amazing fish tacos at SoBo (it stands for Sophisticated Bohemian), wear organic cotton tees printed at Pina, and muse over Westcoast art by Roy Henry Vickers without the distractions of neon signs and commercialism.
- The days feel long - in a good way. This is especially true in the wintertime, because by 3pm you've done everything you can possibly do in daylight, which opens up a huge window of time for creative pursuits (it explains why so many artists choose to live on the island).
- As a visitor, you realize the first time you checked the actual time (and cared) was on the day of departure: when you checked the ferry schedule.
Apart from this whimsical feeling of the ticking of island time, I had a special opportunity to feel a different kind of it. Stay tuned for the full story later this week (I gotta go catch a bus--ugghhh city life!)
xox
Vish
These two island communities sit about 27 km away from each other and are linked by highway 4, a windy road that takes you through a brush of old cedar and pine trees where if you're lucky, you can spot an eagle perched above you or a deer quickly disappearing into the thick bushes - and if you're unlucky, where you can get swept by a tsunami during the rainy winter season and go skidding and sliding into the Pacific Ocean; okay, maybe less dramatically, fall into a ditch and wait for a friendly local to bail you out, and then take you to The Maquinna to dry off, (and if it's a Wednesday, karaoke you out of the rut with a Journey song).
Some of the main elements of island life, as seen through the eyes of a city gal are:
- You don't need a watch. Stores close at random hours and often don "be back later" or "be back tomorrow" signs.
- The only hour:minute that matters is high and low tide.
- There are no franchises and so you get to drink coffee at the Tofitian, eat cinnamon buns at The Common Loaf, munch on the most amazing fish tacos at SoBo (it stands for Sophisticated Bohemian), wear organic cotton tees printed at Pina, and muse over Westcoast art by Roy Henry Vickers without the distractions of neon signs and commercialism.
- The days feel long - in a good way. This is especially true in the wintertime, because by 3pm you've done everything you can possibly do in daylight, which opens up a huge window of time for creative pursuits (it explains why so many artists choose to live on the island).
- As a visitor, you realize the first time you checked the actual time (and cared) was on the day of departure: when you checked the ferry schedule.
Apart from this whimsical feeling of the ticking of island time, I had a special opportunity to feel a different kind of it. Stay tuned for the full story later this week (I gotta go catch a bus--ugghhh city life!)
xox
Vish
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