August 13, 2014
Day 2: Amelia: Sidney to Victoria
There was no rain in the night, so we could not really offer Amelia the experience of being secure in your tent. Still, it was a little bit chilly, so it was still satisfying to be in there. We woke up, as is normal, earlier than at home, and eager to start the day.
Since we had decided not to bring the stove, breakfast included gummies (wholesome fruit juice based ones - oh sure), cookies, and chocolate milk. Predictably, Amelia seemed OK with this.
We took down the tent, with Amelia carefully counting that all the clips were removed from the poles and that all pegs were accounted for. The tent uses a hub system, which means that all the poles radiate from a single point. We call the whole thing the "spider". Amelia was quite taken with the spider and insisted on holding it in her lap for the remainder of the trip!
Eventually the ranger came along and said hello to us. He agreed that this campground was really great, and somehow little known. It is part of the Gulf Islands National Park, and is the only component not exactly on an island (ok, Vancouver Island is technically an island. The ranger is married to someone from the south of France, and so was very familiar with the style of camping practiced in Europe. He said his wife, too, appreciates being in a trailer and off the ground. Amelia gave the ranger one of her "business cards" so he can further follow her adventures.
Part of the beauty of this campground is in how close it is, not only to the major Swartz Bay ferry terminal, but also to the town of Sidney. Sidney styles itself "Sidney by the Sea". This is a little debatable, since the water at Sidney is not the Pacific Ocean, exactly, but rather a protected passage between Vancouver Island and the mainland. It is technically Haro Strait, running between the Georgia Strait and the Juan da Fuca Strait. We won't quibble, though, it is salt water from which you can easily sail to China!
Sidney features a main street, Beacon Avenue, filled with restaurants and small shops, that runs straight through to the water, where there is a small park, a small beach, and a pier with a seafood shop. From there, one can walk or ride along the waterfront, where there is pleasant housing and more beaches. The road by the water is .. Lochside Drive .. the route that has been the focus of our ride.
In the bright morning sun, Beacon Avenue was particularly pleasant. The last half of it before the water was closed - for a "bed race". Several hospital style beds were parked, presumably waiting for the big event. We did not see any souped up or streamlined models, but it was still two hours to race time.
The part about Sidney that cemented it as a great town in our estimation (other than the sea, the parks, the beds, etc.) was the bakery - situated properly right in our path! Of course, this was not like a German bakery, because as I am slowly coming to realize, we are not in Germany. However, just for laughs they were offering "German" chocolate cake. Sticking a little closer to home, and hopefully to what they understand, they also had Nanaimo bars. Sticking with the geographic theme, what we actually bought were "Chinese" chews, which are a great form of macaroon.
I went in to the bakery to make our purchase, and came out to find Dodie and Amelia fielding the first Usual Questions of the day. This day we did not run into any further people who already knew the Grampies, but the combination of the Bike Fridays and Weehoos drew comments and questions all along the trail. Most questions were about the actual gear, but because we look like we must be on a round the world trip, people also commonly asked where we were from and where we were going. Did we just come off the ferry? they wanted to know. And if we were stopped for any reason, people asked if we needed help, advice, or directions. We never feel impatient with these inquiries from the kind people, but it is embarrassing to admit that we are from "here" and are heading to Aunt Karyn's house. I considered using the cagey answer that we are heading "toward Mexico", which technically is true!
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The trail continued to turn up new animals to look at, including some horses that had been far off yesterday, and most exciting the pigs. Amelia was most impressed with how dirty some of them were. I noted that the farmer looked almost the same. Where have these guys been playing?
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One of the advantages of going back over the same ground is that you can pick up on things missed the first time around. So it was at Mattick's Farm. Yesterday I reported that Mattick's offers tea, and I assumed that this would be at "Mattick's Tea House" or somesuch. So, when today I got around to checking out the pastry display of the tea house (yesterday had been all about ice cream there) I assumed that the tray of "Adrienne's Apple Strudel" held strudel made by Adrienne.
So I asked the salesperson "Who is Adrienne?" The answer was confusing. Adrienne was the owner, three owners ago. "Well then", I persisted, "who bakes these strudels?". I was told that they are made in-house from a family recipe of the present, German, owners. "So Adrienne never had anything to do with "Adrienne's strudel" - I am really confused!". It turned out to be simple - the name of the tea house is "Adrienne's"!
So, does anyone remember these lyrics from Arlo Guthrie: "This song is called "Alice's Restaurant." It's about Alice, and the restaurant, but "Alice's Restaurant" is not the name of the restaurant, that's just the name of the song. That's why I call the song "Alice's Restaurant.""
And what about the strudel - Amelia refused to try it. Dodie and I were impressed by the flavour and amount of the apple/raisin filling.
At Mattick's Amelia did choose a gift for her little sister Evee. It was a fitting one - a little deer, and good mate for Amelia's bigger deer.
Coming out of Mattick's farm we somehow started off on the wrong street. We realized our error soon enough - based on there being heavy traffic and no bikeway. Duh! We pulled out the map - embarassing since we have live here for 37 years - and determined that we could take the next right turn to get back on track. It was true, sort of. We had to push up a narrow and extremely steep pathway. I took the bike with the Weehoo and Amelia, and up we pushed. It was not far, and there is a strange pleasure in being so winded you think you are going to throw up!
The rest of the ride was, as we know, dead level, and passing over fun bridges and trestles. Eventually, it goes right by Karyn and Erhard's house. Erhard was there to give us a welcoming hug. And so, it was done, Amelia's first overnight ride!
Next up (tomorrow!) little Evee challenges the Kinsol Trestle while we wait for Avi and Violet to arrive from Seattle for the "main event".
Epilog
1. As we chatted about the ride with Erhard, along came two boys on the back of a long tail, electric assist bike. They had great places to sit and rails to hand on to, plus protection for their feet. Have a look!
2. Evee was thrilled with her little deer:
Today's ride: 29 km (18 miles)
Total: 57 km (35 miles)
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