Keira-anne.com

Today I checked out the Coombs Market (yeah, the one with the goats on the roof) with my Mom.

I didn’t buy anything.

I didn’t take any pictures.

I did eat moose tracks ice cream (the yummy Island Farms kind).

No one reads this anymore.

Tonight I’m drinking Vancouver Islander Lager with Laura. Laura is my brother’s girlfriend.

Tomorrow is the Filberg Festival and my last full day in the Valley.

That’s all.

The always exquisite Mt. Washington was the place to be this long weekend for all mountain bike enthusiasts on Vancouver Island. The second annual Bearclaw Invitational was held on what’s known as the “Green Chair” slope over August 2, 3 and 4.

Twenty riders were invited to compete on intense terrain for all to see.

Kokanee, along with several other sponsors, was out in full force with a beer garden and jam band to keep the crowd grooving and stumbling.

Unfortunately, I went this one solo so I was a little bit, ahem, bored. I would’ve loved to run into some people I know up there and relax in the beer garden, but that didn’t happen. However, for those that are completely into the mountain bike scene, the Bearclaw Invitational did not disappoint. Check out the video below and also my Flickr for a few more pictures (give the video a minute to pick up speed).

Mt. Washington
Bearclaw Invitational

Yesterday’s trip to Hornby Island was, undoubtedly, some much-needed soul food. However, sometimes there are also people that can enrich your life when you least expect it.

I spent time this morning and early afternoon with my aunt, doing a little bit of window shopping around the Valley and indulging in some bargain hunting. This is pretty standard for the two of us. I’d also like to say that I spent the day driving around in my brother’s new 2007 Ford Ranger Sport 4×4 and it’s pretty much just amazing. Better yet will be when I bring it back to the city with me on Tuesday and spend next weekend in it with Becky, christening it with a little bit of “MmmBop!”

As I headed towards Comox, I stopped in at the I-Hos Gallery, located on the Comox First Nation reserve. A couple weeks ago I promised myself that I would find a beautiful silver ring, crafted by a local First Nation artist, to wear as a daily reminder to be patient and loving with myself. I do that far too little.

The ring was crafted by an artist from the northern-Vancouver Island community of Alert Bay, namely John Lancaster of the Kwakwaka’wakw Nation. I’m not sure why I had it in my head that I needed a ring with a design of an orca, but it’s rather interesting (and perhaps eerily coincidental) that the whale is representative of great strength and bravery.

From I-Hos I continued my journey into Comox and met up with a dear old friend from high school, Emily. In fact, Em and I have known each other since Miss Mergens’ kindergarten class at Brooklyn Elementary. I hadn’t seen her in nearly ten years and, after a chance random meeting on Burrard street several months ago, finally got together with her.

It’s funny how some people in your life never skip a beat. In school, “friendships” are formed through circumstance. As we leave high school, the pull to deviate separates people, such as Em and I, who have known each other for the majority of our lives. Now that I am in my late 20s and have finally gotten a strong grasp on who I am and what is important to me, it’s funny to see the people I now tend to surround myself with.

Needless to say, spending the afternoon with Em was an enormous blessing.

History Tidbit: “Comox” is the anglicized verion of “kw’umuxws,” which is derived from “kw’umalha,” which in turn means “plentiful, rich and wealthy.” The First Nation community of the Comox Valley are North Coast Salish. For more information, check out the I-Hos Gallery’s historical lesson here.

Every summer, my family would spend a week or two camping on Hornby Island at the lusciously green Tribune Bay Campsites. Because it’s been more than half a decade since my last visit, I decided to kick off my mini-holiday with a day trip and dragged my mom along.

Our adventures ensued as follows:

We awoke at 5:00 a.m., discovered that the Courtenay Starbucks location doesn’t carry the new breakfast sandwiches, and headed south to catch the 7:00 a.m. sailing to Denman Island. From there, a quick drive across brought us to the Hornby Island ferry terminal, and we managed to scootch onto the 7:45 a.m. sailing.

It was a gorgeous morning.

After sunrise ferry rides, we immediately hit Helliwell Provincial Park to hike the cliffs and take in the views before it got too hot and sunny.

There were soooo…many cute dogs out on the trails with their owners, and I was practically salivating with jealousy.

We managed to finish the 5k hike in a little over an hour and quickly stopped in at Whaling Station Bay. That didn’t last long because the view was entirely comprised of the Mainland and I simply found that far too depressing. So intead, I steered the car in the direction of the Hornby Island Co-Op and adjacent Ringside Market. We window-shopped, ate food, took in the sights and I bought some awesome new wooden earrings. As I write this, there are twigs through my lobes.

And just as we left the market to head to Tribune Bay Beach, the sun came out in full force with oodles of bright light and sexy heat.

Tribune Bay isn’t known as Canada’s “Little Hawaii” for no reason. The sand is white and soft and the waters are clear and blue. I stretched, I napped, I waded, I explored and discovered the coolest new thing of all. Distant Mexican music beckoned me, and I found a completely random taco stand in the middle of the woods. Only on Hornby, kids.

We decided to check out a little earlier than we had planned, because I really wanted to stop at a vineyard we’d passed on the way to Helliwell Park. Carbrea Vineyard and Winery has been producing grapes for a few years, but only just last year started producing their own wine. We sampled a couple and I walked away with a bottle of their 2005 Estate Pinot Noir. And guess what, kids? It was only 22 bucks. I think I’ll save it for a special occasion though…maybe mon birthday in December.

Thinking we’d be smart, make the 4:00 p.m. ferry and be back in Courtenay in time to grab some of my beloved QF Chinese take-out, we headed back in the direction we came from. The line-up to get back on the ferry was super long, so we figured maybe we’d make the 5:00 p.m. sailing. That was, of course, until a B.C. Ferries employee started heading upwards of the car line-up to inform everyone that “the ferry has broken down and we expect to be up and sailing again in about three hours.”

Ack!

Okay, so it was all worth it in the end. We finally ended up on a boat at 7:00 p.m., exactly 12 hours after our journey began. As it turns out, one of the engines had died. Supposedly it wasn’t fixable, so B.C. Ferries had a solution. What you are about to see isn’t a super-imposed photo, re-creation or falsification.

A freakin’ tugboat pushed the ferry across the water to Denman Island! Something about being stuck in this situation created a comraderie between all passengers, and the sight to be seen had us all smiling. This photo was worth the three-hour wait.

So now I sit here back at my mom’s, completely tuckered out, sun-kissed and ready for sleep. Nothing about this day was anything less than perfect.

I have, however, decided that a day is not enough. I have decided that at least a week of camping on Hornby next summer is a necessity. I plan on spending my days laying on the beach, consuming copious amounts of beer on a daily basis, laughing with whichever friends I bring along, attempt at “quiet tent sex” every night with a later-to-be-named boyfriend, enjoy mucho sunshine and have the time of my life.

I’m super tired but I’ve uploaded tons of photos to Flickr, so check them out here.

It’s 9:42 p.m. and just moments ago I rolled into my mom’s driveway. It’s also my aunt’s driveway. We’re one big happy family.

I snuck out of the office at 2:40 p.m. today after I discovered that, rather than take the 5:10 p.m. sailing, there was a 4:20 p.m. sailing. Rather appropriate being that my destination was Vancouver Island. However, in true B.C. Ferries fashion, the ferry was a little over 30 minutes late departing, so I might as well have taken my originally planned sailing.


5:39 p.m. - “Attention all B.C. Ferries passengers: B.C. Ferries would like to remind you that smoking is only permitted in designated areas. Also, marijuana smoking is not permitted in stairwells, in bathroom stalls, or anywhere else on this vessel. *snicker*”

Only in British Columbia.

I finally arrived in Nanaimo shortly after 6:30 p.m. and headed straight for Woodgrove Centre for food and a bra. From there, it was non-stop to the Comox Valley.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. There’s something about stepping off the ferry onto the Island that’s somewhat of an instant transformation. Breathing becomes easier, relaxing comes naturally, and nowhere else on the planet matters.

The smell of the salt air is intoxicating and the sunsets are to die for.

Tomorrow, Mommy and me are waking up at the crack of dawn to head a little ways south and spend a day on Hornby Island. Quite obviously, you can expect pictures and posting galore after that little adventure.

Love-love.