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July 8, 2013
ferry (n.)
While long overdue, this story must be told. Why? To remind everyone to have a little faith in each other, in magical happenings, in the spontaneous, the whimsical, the serendipitous.
The summer is upon us, dear Raincouver. Looking outside, it's hard to believe we were donning raincoats and rubber boots a few weeks ago, thinking about whether to bother putting away our winter clothes this year. It really looked like we were having yet another Junuary, and one quite possibly to be followed by a Julember, too.
But, lo and behold, the weather fairy is on our side. The sun came out for us this month, and for the last few weeks it hasn't been shy, to say the least. It's prying us out of our office chairs at lunch and bronzening our shoulders as we commute to and fro. But when the weekend nears, there's a city-wide frenzy: How to pack in as much outside as possible into our days off? Where can we enjoy this sunshine the most?
Many head straight to the beach, others head to a nearby patio to soak in the rays over a cool brewskie. Others yet, seek adventure outside the city, in a search for greenery, farmers markets, and activities not yet familiar.... For me, this year's solstice meant grabbing my best friend, eeney-meeny-miney-moe-ing our finger at the map of the Gulf Islands, and letting the travel fairy tell us where we were going for the day.
Saltspring won. Neither of us had ever been there (I can't believe this could be the case for any long-term Vancouverite, now that I've been). By noon, we were ready to disembark from Tsawassen, casually sipping on our Americanos, buzzed for the day ahead. We parked our car near the ferry terminal at $11/day (Note to travellers: This is a really great alternative to ferry lineups and expensive fees to take the car over, especially when traveling to places where you really don't need wheels, like Victoria). After a quick (free) shuttle form the parking lot, we were boarding the ship.
After about 90 minutes, we arrived on the shores of lovely Saltspring Island, a little perplexed about how we'd get around from that point forward. Thankfully, the commuter fairy was looking after us, and a little shuttle appeared at Long Harbour ready to take us over to Ganges, the little big town on the island.
After arriving in Ganges, we did the rounds and a cute restaurant caught our eye: The Tree House Cafe. We were instantly struck by the all-encompassing tree at the restaurant's centre. It seemed the cafe was growing right out of it, each little table a bud, the kitchen its anchoring roots holding the whole thing together. We instantly made our way to the front and were seated within minutes. Yam enchiladas and green curries arrived - and disappeared soon after.
Everything seemed magical about this place - like we were taken around by waves of chance, going from one point to the next. After lunch, we were told by our server that we must make our way to the renowned Saturday Market, where local artisans and bakers offered up their best. Amongst these, soap gifts were bought, as were incredibly beautiful silver pearl dangling earrings, which are hanging off my earlobes as I write this.
We were in the flow, talking to locals, asking for directions and advice. We eventually were drawn to the Mistaken Identity Winery. On the way, we turned a corner in the wrong direction - correction: a new direction (on this magical day, there was no such thing as “wrong”). Just ahead of us, a lovely bookstore appeared, perfectly placed in our line of vision.
Some hilarious titles in the “free bin” fortunately caught my attention. Had I not looked down, I wouldn't have noticed the words "Griffin and Sabine" plastered on the window - which ultimately led us to step inside. The bookstore's walls were covered by the original artwork by one of my favourite artists, Nick Bantock, who we later found out had lived on the island some years. Up the stairs, we found a quaint little blue room, dedicated to the author, with bookshelves filled with signed copies of many of his most famous works. I was in awe. The work of another fairy?
After some walking up the road to the winery in our new rubber sparkly shoes (we happened upon them in a nearby gift shop - a fairytale indeed!), we took in some relaxation between sips of wine. When we “tired” of lounging around amidst the vines, we decided to head back to the town for dinner. We indulged in some seafood accompanied by more wine in the sunshine before getting ready to catch our ferry back home at 8:45pm - the perfect denouement to our tale. Little did we know we were just hitting the peak of the arc.
After another stop at the Tree House Cafe - for Chai lattes and a phone to call up the cab (our cells had little-to-no reception) - we were on our way back to Long Harbour.
We arrived early to an empty marina. We walked down to a beach a little ways away to wait for the ferry, and once the clock struck 8:40pm, we emerged up the hill to find - an empty marina. After some strained iPhone research (due to fading bars) - we learned that the summer schedule was upon us. The next ferry wasn't leaving until 7:15 the next morning. Uh oh.
The sun setting fast behind us and the long road to Ganges ahead of us, left us in a bit of a lurch. We were in high spirits still, trying to think positive, though the 7 km road to 'civilization' taunted us. We knew deep inside that once the night set in, if we were still walking down that road, freezing our bums off cut off from the world, it'd be hard holding those smiles. An #SOS tweet and a few fuzzy phone calls later - for lodgings, advice, phone numbers, anything - yielded little. The last text that made it through to my boyfriend was something along the lines of "We're just walking on an empty road..." And Google Maps? Facebook? Ha - As if.
But just like a fairy tale, the danger would subside and we, the damsels in distress, would find our chariot. Only one car had passed us since we had started walking. So, when we saw another, we flailed our arms, clutching maps and dying iPhones in one last attempt to reach for human contact.
The car stopped. From the Mazda emerged a girl, about our age: Our saviour - with a working phone in hand (Rogers customers, don't take your cell phones to Saltspring... try Telus instead!) Yet, instead of offering to let us use her phone, she offered to spot us for the night. We were exhilarated. Jumping into her car, we just couldn't believe it. An adventure turned epic. We later learned that she had apparently seen us at the Tree House Cafe (she manages the restaurant!) and so we looked familiar.
To make this long story short, we all lived happily ever after. Our lovely new friend, Emily, and her boyfriend, Pat, served up some drinks and we talked through the night, laughing, reminiscing, sharing stories of travels and life. The night finally drew to a close outside on their lawn, with us looking up at a rare yellow moon through a telescope. Our heads hit the pillow around 2:30 am and four short hours later, the alarm rang, and half in daydream, off we were in the car again, accepting a ride from our new friends back to the ferry terminal, the catalytic setting of this great tale.
Watching the world through a mystical lens really allowed great things to happen and to keep on happening, I think. And we truly did have the fairies on our side - even when the ferry schedule wasn't. In retrospect, given our luck, we really got lucky. So thank you, world, and people and fairies of all places for restoring our faith in the magical, the unknown.
The summer is upon us, dear Raincouver. Looking outside, it's hard to believe we were donning raincoats and rubber boots a few weeks ago, thinking about whether to bother putting away our winter clothes this year. It really looked like we were having yet another Junuary, and one quite possibly to be followed by a Julember, too.
But, lo and behold, the weather fairy is on our side. The sun came out for us this month, and for the last few weeks it hasn't been shy, to say the least. It's prying us out of our office chairs at lunch and bronzening our shoulders as we commute to and fro. But when the weekend nears, there's a city-wide frenzy: How to pack in as much outside as possible into our days off? Where can we enjoy this sunshine the most?
Many head straight to the beach, others head to a nearby patio to soak in the rays over a cool brewskie. Others yet, seek adventure outside the city, in a search for greenery, farmers markets, and activities not yet familiar.... For me, this year's solstice meant grabbing my best friend, eeney-meeny-miney-moe-ing our finger at the map of the Gulf Islands, and letting the travel fairy tell us where we were going for the day.
After about 90 minutes, we arrived on the shores of lovely Saltspring Island, a little perplexed about how we'd get around from that point forward. Thankfully, the commuter fairy was looking after us, and a little shuttle appeared at Long Harbour ready to take us over to Ganges, the little big town on the island.
Everything seemed magical about this place - like we were taken around by waves of chance, going from one point to the next. After lunch, we were told by our server that we must make our way to the renowned Saturday Market, where local artisans and bakers offered up their best. Amongst these, soap gifts were bought, as were incredibly beautiful silver pearl dangling earrings, which are hanging off my earlobes as I write this.
We were in the flow, talking to locals, asking for directions and advice. We eventually were drawn to the Mistaken Identity Winery. On the way, we turned a corner in the wrong direction - correction: a new direction (on this magical day, there was no such thing as “wrong”). Just ahead of us, a lovely bookstore appeared, perfectly placed in our line of vision. Some hilarious titles in the “free bin” fortunately caught my attention. Had I not looked down, I wouldn't have noticed the words "Griffin and Sabine" plastered on the window - which ultimately led us to step inside. The bookstore's walls were covered by the original artwork by one of my favourite artists, Nick Bantock, who we later found out had lived on the island some years. Up the stairs, we found a quaint little blue room, dedicated to the author, with bookshelves filled with signed copies of many of his most famous works. I was in awe. The work of another fairy?
After some walking up the road to the winery in our new rubber sparkly shoes (we happened upon them in a nearby gift shop - a fairytale indeed!), we took in some relaxation between sips of wine. When we “tired” of lounging around amidst the vines, we decided to head back to the town for dinner. We indulged in some seafood accompanied by more wine in the sunshine before getting ready to catch our ferry back home at 8:45pm - the perfect denouement to our tale. Little did we know we were just hitting the peak of the arc. After another stop at the Tree House Cafe - for Chai lattes and a phone to call up the cab (our cells had little-to-no reception) - we were on our way back to Long Harbour.
We arrived early to an empty marina. We walked down to a beach a little ways away to wait for the ferry, and once the clock struck 8:40pm, we emerged up the hill to find - an empty marina. After some strained iPhone research (due to fading bars) - we learned that the summer schedule was upon us. The next ferry wasn't leaving until 7:15 the next morning. Uh oh.
The sun setting fast behind us and the long road to Ganges ahead of us, left us in a bit of a lurch. We were in high spirits still, trying to think positive, though the 7 km road to 'civilization' taunted us. We knew deep inside that once the night set in, if we were still walking down that road, freezing our bums off cut off from the world, it'd be hard holding those smiles. An #SOS tweet and a few fuzzy phone calls later - for lodgings, advice, phone numbers, anything - yielded little. The last text that made it through to my boyfriend was something along the lines of "We're just walking on an empty road..." And Google Maps? Facebook? Ha - As if.
But just like a fairy tale, the danger would subside and we, the damsels in distress, would find our chariot. Only one car had passed us since we had started walking. So, when we saw another, we flailed our arms, clutching maps and dying iPhones in one last attempt to reach for human contact.
The car stopped. From the Mazda emerged a girl, about our age: Our saviour - with a working phone in hand (Rogers customers, don't take your cell phones to Saltspring... try Telus instead!) Yet, instead of offering to let us use her phone, she offered to spot us for the night. We were exhilarated. Jumping into her car, we just couldn't believe it. An adventure turned epic. We later learned that she had apparently seen us at the Tree House Cafe (she manages the restaurant!) and so we looked familiar.
To make this long story short, we all lived happily ever after. Our lovely new friend, Emily, and her boyfriend, Pat, served up some drinks and we talked through the night, laughing, reminiscing, sharing stories of travels and life. The night finally drew to a close outside on their lawn, with us looking up at a rare yellow moon through a telescope. Our heads hit the pillow around 2:30 am and four short hours later, the alarm rang, and half in daydream, off we were in the car again, accepting a ride from our new friends back to the ferry terminal, the catalytic setting of this great tale.
Watching the world through a mystical lens really allowed great things to happen and to keep on happening, I think. And we truly did have the fairies on our side - even when the ferry schedule wasn't. In retrospect, given our luck, we really got lucky. So thank you, world, and people and fairies of all places for restoring our faith in the magical, the unknown.
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