Holiday 101 - Jackie's perspective

After a long November, our much-anticipated winter break had arrived.  Greg and I left Kingcome stuffed into the belly of a goose with several other locals starting their holiday ventures.  Flying in a goose is quite the experience; as it is part boat, part plane, part automobile.  We took off from the water at the government dock in Kingcome, had a short stop on the runway at the airport in Alert Bay, before the last stretch of flight to Port McNeill. We took a quick detour up island to drop off our friends Liz and Ory in Port Hardy.  Together, we had our first taste of the world outside Kingcome in over 2 months.   We dined on big juicy hamburgers, fresh salads, and cold frosty pints of beer.  What a treat after having to prepare every single meal: breakfast, lunch, and dinner for so long.  After lunch we loaded up our vehicle, Shelby, Greg’s tried and true 1989 Volkswangon Vanagon. Gave her a quick boost and we were on the road to adventure. Our plan was to travel from the Island into Washington through Oregon to California.  Destination: San Francisco and the sweet sunshine.

Shower time before leaving Kingcome

I had little idea at the time what Greg had up his sleeve.  He had long been planning to propose and had finally, just that morning, received the custom made ring in his hand.  It had been his hope to ask me in Kingcome, but much to his chagrin, the delivery of the ring had been delayed due to inclement weather.  Flying in and out of the community at this time of year is requires flexibility and a lot of patience. Flights are often delayed because of high winds and stormy coastal weather. 

We arrived in Campbell River and checked into the dog friendly Haida Hotel.  I was hungry and tired from a full day of travel and Greg insisted on taking me to a special spot that he discovered during his planting stint out of Campbell River in the fall.  So I reluctantly tagged along as he took me in the van to a spot “down by the river.”  Greg was acting somewhat suspicious as he had an extra big grin on his face and he seemed kind of nervous.  I asked him why he was acting so weird and he explained it to me by bending down on one knee and asking me to be his wife.  I was extremely delighted and confidently answered YES.  Why wouldn’t I want to marry my best friend?! The ring is as special as the man himself.  He had it hand engraved by Lloyd Wadhams Jr.   Lloyd is a resident of Alert Bay and a member of the Dzawada’enuxw tribe.  The same tribe as the majority of the people of Kingcome.  The ring is a beautiful representation of our relationship and our time together here in the inlet.  


Our first stop the next day, as a newly engaged couple, was a visit to the Veterinary Clinic where Atticus had to get his rabies vaccination updated, a requirement for his admittance into the United States.  He was declared fighting fit with a low resting heart rate and weighing in at an even fifty five pounds. He has filled out since the summer putting on 8lbs in the last 4 months. With an extra little bounce in our step, we began to head south to Nanaimo where we needed to pick-up a few last minute Christmas presents and hit the post office to send all our gifts east to our families.   We did the majority of our Christmas shopping with Gert Robertson, one of the local carvers here in Kingcome.  I think our families were very pleased with the beautifully handcrafted, 'as local as it gets' gifts.

Whoa Sushi!

While in Nanaimo, Greg treated me to one of the most delicious sushi dinners I have ever experienced.  I have certainly had my share of sushi, and I have yet to visit Japan, but the Old Fire Hall restaurant is something special.  We chased the chef’s special platter down with some hot sake, which I gladly drank most of. Once we were sufficiently stuffed we made like sushi and rolled onward to Victoria.

We spent a few fun filled days in Victoria catching up with friends and making new ones.  It was great to finally have a chance to hit the town to do some long awaited shopping and to let loose big-city-style.  After a weekend of excitement, we booked our tickets on the Black Ball Ferry Line, which is a fun and affordable way to travel from Vancouver Island to Port Angeles in Washington State.  We arrived in Port Angeles in the early evening.  Took some time to stock up on groceries and a few other last minute supplies for the van and began our journey south down hwy 101.  This road extends along the entire west coast of the United States and boasts some of the most scenic and beautiful coastline in the world. We were really starting to hit our stride now; beginning to relax and find our VW groove.   It was fun, Greg did most of the driving, while I would knit, play with our new GPS and take in the beautiful scenery.  We spent the first three nights tucked away in the abandoned off-shoots of old logging roads. I was super stoked when I noticed on the map that we would just so happen to be passing through Forks, Washington.
This tiny community provides the dramatic and dreary, backdrop to the phenomena known as Twilight. We had to stop!  In addition to Forks, we managed to checkout several picturesque seaside towns and explore a few of the stunning beaches and corky shops along the way.  We had three fabulous days on the road before our journey came to an abrupt and painful halt.  While heading south down the famous hwy on a beautiful sunny day; a women, speeding north, lost control of her vehicle and swerved wildly into our lane, colliding with us head on.  Our road trip, in that life-flashing-before-our-eyes moment came to an end and we took a sharp u-turn down the road to recovery.

Open beaches on the Oregon coast

It took us a few days to gather ourselves in Newport and gut out the remains of Shelby (RIP).  Post-accident, all we really wanted was to get home.  Our only option to get us back to the country before Christmas was to rent a vehicle in Oregon and drive it as close to the border as we could. All the airlines we contacted had a no-pet policy around the holiday season and would not allow our big pet to fly.  This made for a very daunting drive, with our heads hung low and our bodies aching, back north to Canada and universal health care.  We spent the remainder of the holiday with our dear friends Martha, Ricky, Hollis and Jake at their home in Vancouver.

Ouch.

 They were more than accommodating, even driving from Vancouver to Bellingham, Washington to pick up us, our dog, and a retired van’s worth of stuff.  We arrived at their house where they had carved out a small space for us to call our own and to a beautifully prepared Christmas Eve dinner.  There were even gifts waiting for us under the tree.  It brings a tear to my eye just thinking about their warmth and hospitality.  I am not sure if Atticus was more excited to see his bush camp girlfriend Bryar, a shy and sultry brown-eyed husky, or Bryar’s owner Martha, a highly energetic blond haired bundle of fun. Finally, he had some females to play with after months with the reserve boys.  Greg and I enjoyed a quiet Christmas day together, dinning on authentic Chinese food followed by a midnight movie.  Since having some extra time in Vancouver we had the opportunity to catch up with many of our friends, take in the culture and life of the city, and eat at some of our favorite Vancouver restaurants. 

Timer was a little quick on this one....

We brought in the New Year with elegant, thrift store style.  Martha and Hollis dressed us up in complementary attire, and introduced us to the crowd as the newly engaged couple.  The night boasted an intimate and hilarious atmosphere filled with games of giant Jenga, sparklers and stupid human tricks.  Cheers guys, for all your hospitality, it was a highly memorable holiday. Thank you for looking after Gregor while he is still recovering. 

After being held up in Port McNeill because of stormy coast weather for two and half days, I finally made it back to Kingcome.  I received a warm welcome from my students and co-workers.  Atticus was most happy to be back in the village.  In two short weeks he endured a visit to the vet where he had a thermometer shoved in his bum, a car accident where he was left on scene as we were rushed away by ambulance, and an afternoon at the Newport pound waiting for us to get discharged from the hospital.  Apparently this wasn't enough action for the cheeky boy and when an open gate offered itself, he disappeared from our friend’s backyard in East Van.  After a frantic search and no-find we received a call that he had been scooped up by the city pound and forced to spend the night in the doggy drunk tank.  Apparently, someone called the pound after they witnessed him almost getting hit by a bus.  Furthermore, he contracted a nasty case of kennel cough which he has since overcome.  A viral infection that runs rampant in the likes of the pound.  Good thing our boy is resilient, young and healthy as he seems to have bounced back from his extraordinary misadventures.

Fast forward 3 weeks and my class and I are finally up to full speed again.  Both the kids and I are greatly missing Greg and anxiously awaiting his arrival back in Kingcome.  Unfortunately, he got the worst of the automobile accident being on the driver's side and is battling a nasty injury on his lower leg. This is forcing him to stay in Vancouver where he can receive proper medical treatment. We miss you and love you Gregor. Get well and come home soon!

Breakfast!

Dancing on the Oregon beaches.

I hope this bridge has an exit?!

This road isn't going anywhere.