Ah Tofino

So - this is a photo of my sister lying in a hospital bed at the Tofino General Hospital. She'll probably kill me for putting this one of her up on here, oh well. Those are the risks I take for art.

Well... the 4 of us girls (Shannen, Mariana, Bettina and I) left for Tofino on Friday morning, June 23. The day started off well, we found Mariana's new house, we got on the 10:30 ferry (without a reservation) and the weather was stunning! It was a long day of driving, but we managed to make it to the Ocean Village Beach Resort. It reminded us of Kellermans (from Dirty Dancing). It was very "quaint" with basically 1 room to sleep 4 girls. There was a kitchen and a bathroom, and a patio overlooking the ocean. Beautiful! I'm ready to relax for the weekend while the girls go out and be active and learn to surf.

We had fresh crab Saturday night for dinner (killed out front by the crab guy), and lots of beer and good laughs. I'd gone to see the girls playing in the ocean that afternoon after my nice quiet walk along the beach - just myself and a camera - trying to lure out the artistic creature that I'm sure lives somewhere DEEP inside. I took some photos of them, for them, and then promptly fell asleep on the beach. Shannen and Mariana went into town in search of "a pot" and Bettina and I headed back to lie on the beach out front of Kellermans. I however neglected to put sunscreen on "the legs that never tan" and guess what! They burned.... pinky pink and very toasty.

Sunday I was supposed to head back to the mainland :( It was a little sad, I really didn't want to leave this little slice of heaven that I'd found. The girls left early for some more surfing, and after a few cups of coffee and a few smokes on the patio, I was off. I'd promised Mariana I would exchange a shirt she'd bought in the village, and that I would bring reinforcements and refreshments to the girls, and take some more photos for them. After parking for about 5 minutes, probably less, I got back in my car... and wouldn't ya know it .... it wouldn't start. Panic set in. I was supposed to be back at work on Monday... tomorrow.... the busiest day of the month for us at work... CRAP. After explaining to "christine" on the phone with BCAA Roadside Assistance the "gravity of my situation" the call was put in to get me a tow truck. I waited close to 5 hours, and never actually saw the tow truck - I did however have a very interesting conversation with the fellow at the tow truck place that went something like this:

Him: "I think that's the driver on the other line, can you hold for a sec?"

Me: "Sure"

(now at this point, he simply held the phone away from his mouth while he talked to the driver, so I could hear every word of his conversation which went something like this:)

Him: "Where are you? ..... "What's going on?" ... "Can you drive it?" .... "The WHEELS?????"

(at this point, my head is in my hands and i'm ready to cry - I seriously, can not believe this!)

Him: "The front axle is gone?".... "Where are you again?".... "Well, no, you can't FUCKING drive it like that!"

This goes on for another minute or so before he comes back to me. I attempt to tear a strip off of him, I'm tired, I'm cranky, I've been sitting here in the park for about 5 hours, and by now, I really WANT a drink. Evenutally, we sort it out - he's got to come and get the towtruck that has broken down and my car and he has to drive them back to Port Alberni (2 hours away on a really narrow windy road) to deliver my car to Harborside Ford in Port Alberni so they can fix it.

Sunday night - I got drunk. Shannen and I went out for some sister time, and to take some photos - mine are all crooked, Shannen's look great! We found a little art glass store, with a slightly crazy owner/artist. It was the ONLY place open on Sunday night (go figure). Shannen and Bettina went to bed early (they were going to surf one last time on monday morning) so Mariana and I continued to drink on the patio - we ended up going for a drunken walk on the beach around midnight (it all started when she dropped her pipe off the balcona country). That was pretty entertaining, it's hard to be quiet when you're hammered.

Monday morning I drive the girls up to Longbeach and then head back to the cabin for the final pack/clean adventure. Mostly, my adventure is trying to wake up Mariana. I get her up just as I head out the door to get the girls. Back down to Longbeach I go. I see Bettina and she asks me if I've heard her message (???). Nope, but then I spot my sister and she's holding her head in a funny way - like she maybe banged it against her surfboard and is now bleeding all over the place funny way. Yup, she's off to Tofino General Hospital for some rather reluctant stitching up. She's a brave girl - she did the stitches all on her own while Mariana, Bettina and I sorted out the cottage, the gear, and the coffee. 4 stitches later - we were on the road. A little later than expected but I'm already a day late for work so what does it matter at this point? A great lunch at a little off the road trailer called SOBO, a crowded ride back up to the Harborside Ford in Port Alberni where I got a really clean, and now working car, then one last trip into Coombs to say farewell to the goats and we were on our way home.