Camping at Long Beach this weekend was an interesting trip as always. Leaving Friday I thought the drive was going to be a nightmare. Turned out only be really busy up to Nanaimo, then it was pretty much fine after that. We arrived at the Green Point campground at 8:30, set up camp, then went to bed. This weekend we used a foam pad instead of an air bed. Nice change. It is a lot warmer, so I ended up sleeping really well.

Saturday JJ and I headed towards Tofino to rent some surf board for his boys. JJ and I then join KandE, and Sox on the beach and to build a huge sandcastle. Yoshi and Digger ran and ran and ran. Both were frolicking in the water and enjoying the freedom immensely. I know they are supposed to be on leash inside the park boundaries, but when there is noone in sight, I can’t really see the point.

Yoshi was starting to show signs of fatigue, and soreness so I hooked him to the leash and headed back to the campsite. He was a thirsty pup, and down an entire bowl of water. He then settled in the truck for a sleep. A few minutes later he was really restless, and was digging in the blankets. I told him to stop, but he kept it up. I went to check on him, and made a horrifying discovery. He had puked up all that water he drank. Most of the blankets were wet, his foam sleeping pad was wet, there was a puddle in the foot rest in the back seat, he filled a cup holder, and it leaked into the storage compartment for the jack. Stinky sopping wet mess. Sox arrived at the right time, and took over from me. Well, I hadn’t started cleaning actually. I was in a state of shock.

All pics from the trip are here.

More camping goodness ensued and I tried to forget the image of a cupholder full of doggy puke. Back at the other camp we got down to figuring out what we would do the next day. JJ and K were going back and forth. What do you want to do tomorrow? I don’t know, what about you? Want to go to the beach? Sure, what do you want to do there? I don’t know, how about get married? *double take* They both looked and Sox and I with a silly grin on their faces. No way. They were eloping, and they kept it quiet from everyone. Not really believing them, JJ told us to look in the cooler in the car. Inside were bouquets of flowers. Holy smokes. What a surprise. They filled us in on their plans for the following day. Also, they told us about how they totally snowed everyone including their families. E didn’t even know at that time.

We awoke the next morning to the sound of rain. A lot of rain. We knew there was a possibility of rain, but we certainly weren’t expecting this. We had a river flowing through our campsite. Sox and I decided to kill some time in Tofino in the coffee shop while K figured out a plan for the day. So far things were not working out. K decided to postpone the ceremony a day in hopes of better weather. Actually, the plan was that unless it stopped raining by 3 it would be postponed to the next day.

Back at the campsite we decided to head down to the beach and play in the sand a little more. Sox and I had to make our campsite bare, so we were a couple minutes behind. As we left, we came across the Marriage Commisioner. Uh oh. Problem. She was there to do the ceremony. It had stopped raining at her place before the appropriate time, but it certainly hadn’t at the campsite. Sox and I hussled down to the beach to snag K and JJ. We watched E while they went back and straightened things out (side note: the sand castle that we made the previous day was still partly there, the tide hadn’t totally washed it away). Slight little snag, but it got all worked out in the end. The new plan was to go to her place in Ucluelet the next day at noon, do the ceremony, the head to Wickaninish beach to take the pictures. Good plan. I liked it.

We finished the day at the campsite with a nice steak, potato, and salad dinner with some Champagne. Mmmm.

The next morning we awoke to silence. Oooh, no rain. Nice. Exiting the tent, it was a little foggy, but above that it looked like blue sky up there. Hmm, possibilities. JJ came over and we loaded the surfboards up to return them. The food shack beside them had some excellent sounding breakfast foods, so part of the plan was to get coffee and breakfast there. Driving towards Tofino we found a couple pockets f sunshine along the way, so things were looking up. At the surf shop we learned that the food shack didn’t open until 8, and it was only 7:30. Dernit, no breakfast.

Back at Green Point we made coffee, ate some cereal and tore down camp. I left last and met up with everyone at the Golf Course. We got showered and prepped there, and had breakfast in the lounge. Soon it was off to Ucluelet for the ceremony.

What a great location. It wasn’t on the beach, but it was overlooking an inlet. Standing in the sunshine, overlooking the water, a slight breeze, but still nice and warm.

The ceremony was very nice, and suited both K and JJ. K, JJ, e, Sox, myself, and 6 teenage boys. Quite a mix at this wedding. The signing was done, and we prepared to move to Wickaninish beach. Sox and I headed for the front door, and discovered Yoshi standing at the front door. Uh oh. We left him in the truck! Yoshi escaped by squeezing out the back window, walking across all our camping equipment, and jumped to the ground. Then he hung around by the front door waiting. Thank god he didn’t take off. That could have been a bad ending to the weekend.

Down at the beach we couldn’t get parking in the shade so we took the dogs with us on the shoot. Digger roamed free, but we didn’t trust Yoshi to not get in the way. He was on his flippy, so I tied that to a log in the shade. Yoshi wasn’t too happy about this, so he kept pulling. A few minutes later, while we were having a picture taken, I looked over, and there was Yoshi, galloping full sprint, with part of the flippy leash trailing behind him. He broke it, and took off with glee. He ran into the water and played with Digger. We decided to let him run free as long as he didn’t bother anyone.

But then he ran towards the photographer, soaking wet, and tossing up sand. After that he was banished to the truck, and I had to take him there. I jogged most of the way there, but just as I reached the first parking lot I remembered that I had my cell phone in my camera bag. When I checked on it, it was gone. Crap. After giving Yoshi some water, I moved the truck closer to the beack we were on, and put some blankets over the windows. I carefully retraced my steps but didn’t find my cell.

A few more picture were taken with myself in the shot, and then the search began for my cell. Some people saw me scouring the beach and asked if I had lost my cell. They had found it and turned it in to the Info Centre. Score! Retrieving that Sox, Yoshi, and I piled into the truck and headed home. The drive was pretty uneventful, but once we got home we had the chore of hanging our entire camping equipment suite out to dry. Fun.

It was a great weekend, full of ups and downs. Lots of fun, with a little misery thrown in.