oh-sweet-pea
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July 18, 2004 - 9:36 am
last night we got back from salt spring island. it was a pretty good trip tho i really do hate crowded islands filled with rich white ladies and stores that cater to them. but anyways, we did have a great short getaway.
we woke up super early to make sure we would be guaranteed a stop on the bus -- as buses only have 2 bike racks and we didn't want to miss the ferry because of bus problems. however, when we arrived downtown, there were already 2 bikes lined up but the bus driver told us of another bus route about a block away that we could get on and we did. however, when we got into richmond to transfer onto the last bus before the ferry, there already was a bike rider so we had to wait for next bus. this was cutting things pretty close but we were able to arrive at the ferry with 5 minutes to spare. the ferry ride was nice and we played cards and tried to sleep. when we finally arrived on the island, our legs were so tired and stiff that just riding on the flat road was pretty tough. after a bit of riding, our legs got used to the journey and we made it up all the hills without having to get off and walk...even with heavy panniers at our sides.
we arrived at our "sleeping unit" and then headed off to town where we ran into c's lesbian aunt who runs a shuttle service around town. she was in between rides and she took us out to lunch and beers. when we rode into town c ran into a friend of his and she drove us to her year-round cottage. we chatted, drank beers, smoked funny cigarettes and met her kurt cobain-looking boyfriend. he is the definition of slacker. his eyes are permanently red-rimmed from all the pot and he barely works. she has a job on the island and also works as an inspector for organic farms. she actually gives him lists of things to do around the house and he does do them so i suppose their relationship works somehow.
she has the most beautiful garden and we picked yellow beans, peas, swiss chard, kale, potatos, broccoli, cauliflower and beets for the evening dinner. it was incredible! she made a dijon/pecan crusted-salmon and we cooked all the veggies and it was by far the best meal of my life! everything was so fresh and tasty and colourful. a vegetable garden is something i feel i have to have one day. after dinner, we smoked some more and played horseshoes and badminton. we even went to visit some 2 month old baby minature horses that lived next door. so cute!! we ended the evening with some mint tea picked fresh from her garden. oh my. i need a garden now!
the next day, after a very restful night in our "sleeping unit", we rode our bikes into ganges and checked out the farmers market and craft market. it was a bit too mummsy like for me, so we decided to find some lunch and then c called his friend and she picked us up and drove us to the beach where they were catching crabs and fishing for perch for the night's dinner. i didn't really feel that bad that we were going to miss such a great dinner, cuz we both wanted to head back to vancouver. it's not like we love vancouver and were homesick, but the hospitality of c's friend was too too much and it just made me a bit antsy. i guess she's pretty lonely and it was a bit too much to take. so we hopped on the 4pm ferry and headed home. we were lucky to catch every bus with no wait times and no other bikes. we got off on broadway and granville and rode our bikes to commercial drive to pick up a movie and some vietnamese food from the mekong. we got home, ate delicious food and laughed hard to the dvd of "curb your enthusiasm" which we'd never seen before. it was a great weekend.
today i think i might pick some blackberries from the bushes that are around the neighbourhood and make a cobbler to take over to c's family bbq tonight. i love weekends!!