Granted it was a technical glitch with a downed router in my wing of the building forcing me to spend hours on the lobby couch to grab a wifi signal, update my web sites, answer tons of emails while collecting a lot of stares from the other hotel guests. I suppose pants would have been a good option.
After my shows I had a full day to kill so I trekked out to Salt Spring Island which was just off the coast of Vancouver Island. Salt Spring had been beckoning me for some time now as I had heard stories of its beauty, nice towns and remote feeling from society's matrix of a jungle. Hippies, artists, recluses and nature lovers. Sounded fun and I needed a day to decompress after all my couch time in the lobby.
I made the ferry crossing at Crofton BC which smells like a big fart due to the pulp mill on its shore. Like a mechanical sore it made the otherwise pristine coast line look industrial. When facing the water, waiting for the ferry, my advice is don't pan left with your gaze as the belching smoke stacks, cargo ships and cranes ruin the coastal retreat image.
Waiting for the ferry, whose schedule was more like a list of unaccomplished goals, I used the local restroom which had a sign telling people to not steal the toilet paper. I suppose the pulp mill was over charging for paper goods and there was an underground market for butt-wipe? Luckily I was not in need of this highly sought after paper product.
The ferry, once it finally showed up, took me to a quaint town called Vesuvius. A name also shared with a famous volcano that once wiped out the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in AD 79. I only hoped this Vesuvius would not turn out to be as deadly.
20 minutes later the ferry deposited me on the shore of Salt Spring and this small town which I quickly rode through before realizing the few buildings clustered at the shore was the town. Oh well, there was more island to see.
The roads have lots of corners to enjoy but the pace needs to be a bit relaxed. My 1200cc machine was a bit large for the roads and never got over second gear...but it was fun. Watch out for deer and wild turkeys on the road!
I had yet to camp this summer and my quest was a campsite, on the island, within short distance of food. I don't bring cooking gear on my motorcycle trips so nearby eateries are a must.
A place called Moby's won my vote. A view of a harbour filled with sailing vessels, owned by other travellers out seeing the world via their favourite mode of transport, a boat. Sea Bikers I silently dubbed them.
It was wing night so I requested 2 orders and a salad to counter the guilt. What was served was unlike any other pub order of wings. Presentation is a thing of pride and Moby's made my pub food look like a proper dinner.I dined alone on a magnificent deck, looking at the Sea Bikers and wondering why the locals were inside, where it was warm and stuffy, instead of out on the deck with the warm, fresh air? Perhaps they had grown weary of the outdoor beauty or they were drunk. I munched on the bird limbs and felt I was winning and they were losing.
Camp was only a 5 minute commute back. A well kept place called Mowhinna Creek Campground.
The native name had me thinking I could maybe trade pelts for a site, commune with the indigenous people and get back to nature. While I day dreamed of going back in time and meeting the locals it was not to be.
What was surprising is, after setting up my nylon condo I discovered I had, in my campsite, what The Ramada could not provide. High speed, wireless internet! The whole campground was wireless! A six pack on ice, purchased on the way to camp, was my mini bar, my inflatable mattress pad and sleeping bag was my comfy bed and my laptop was my flat screen TV. I then took a pic with my laptop and uploaded it to the web right from my site! Take that Ramada, a campground has you beat!
In case you are wondering what that is on my knee, I had to use my glove to hide the glare from my mirror. I knew the pic was not going to win awards but it was something I was unable to do from my hotel. Chalk one up for camping with technology.
Nature provided the wake up call with song birds at Kick-the-rooster-in-the-head-to-wake-it o'clock in the early morning. I just soaked it in and went back to sleep for another hour or 2 I could brag I slept in until 8:00AM.
I was packed and out of there by 9:00AM (a personal record for early camp departure) and took the ferry back to fart town vowing to come back to Salt Spring soon but not for a mere night.
Soon it was back to the mainland, via another ferry from Nanaimo to visit friends and continue my journey while trying to figure out a way to return to Salt Spring soon. It was just a tease to spend one night there.
Cheers
Daryl Makk
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