Well, OK, so right up front let me confess, today itās not paradise.Ā Here we are in July, the 4th of July no less, and Iāve lit a fire in the woodstove to ward off the damp chill of another rainy gray dayā¦but Iām reliving the happier days weāve had this weekā¦
Company rarely comes this far off the beaten path.Ā But this week we had a second cousin visiting from Englandāhis first visit to Canada.Ā So we had to do the royal tour of Powell River and surroundsā¦
We squeezed in all the adventures we could starting with a tandem ride around Inland Lake.Ā Yes, we have more than one tandem so we in fact double tandemed around the Lake on a brooding-but-not-yet-raining morning, stopping for snacks and stone āskimmingā, finishing the 13km. circuit just before the rain began in earnest.
On a fine windy day of mixed sun and cloud (and a bit of spitting rain) we headed off under full sail to find sanctuary in our beloved Copelands.Ā Ā With just enough wind and mishap to make an adventure we had a full day of it—the motor quit at an important interval, but was readily diagnosed and put right.Ā Jimās long beloved hat went overboard, and then the pike pole that was to retrieve it!ā¦The pike pole was retrieved despite high winds ably manipulated by Captain Jim.Ā Unfortunately the old felt Fedora was lost from view in the scuffle and likely sank. sigh.
But the islands were lovely as alwaysā¦
On the lee side, out of the wind I wandered on a cliff among the treetops where little birds flitted and tweeted about finding refuge from the wind.Ā Hummingbirds came diving to spin in space staring at this new sightāan interloper in their private arboretumā¦
We had a campfire and introduced our company to the marvels of roasted marshmallows and the sticky sweetness of some-moresā¦And āsmokiesā too were a firstā¦ Hotdogs never taste so good as roasted on a stick over a campfire.
Tromping about we looked at oyster beds and found these strange mysteries recently sprung from the earthā¦ not iron at all, but some sort of fungiā¦
And eventually, when weād eaten, napped, hiked about and generally delayed as long as seemed feasible waiting for the wind to die down a bit, we headed homeward the long way, tacking,Ā into an only slightly diminished Southeaster.Ā My captain was in his element; I was glad to get back to finish that piece of the tour!
And so goes life in paradiseāmuch like where you areā¦not all sunshine, but always an opportunity for adventure of some sortā¦
–LS
