Tofino Eloping

misty morning on long beach

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.

Gonzales Grass

stairs leading to the old observatory

Last Tuesday (that would be July 19, 10 days ago!), the photo club met up in Gonzales Hill Regional park for a little photo shooting action. It was fun, until I got my truck stuck. I drove up over a curb, and on the other side was a hole I couldn’t see. Wheel fell in it, truck was stuck. Scared me good.

Anyway, the shoot was rather fun. We were high up over Victoria, and it was windy, windy, windy. I tried to capture that in some of the grass shots, but I am not sure if that came through very well or not.

Update: Pics are here

Programming Jersey

weird, just plain weird

Just got a very strange phone call. I am working from home this afternoon, and when the phone rang, my first thought was “telemarketer”.

After I answered, I heard a bad echo which was myself saying hello. Weird.

The guy asked for me by name, then introduced himself. He asked how I was doing. My telemarketer sense was tingling, so I quickly said that I was actually quite busy. He immediately asked if there was a better time for him to call. So far I knew his name, but not who he worked for, nor why he was calling me. I asked him what this was regarding, and he said he worked for some company (can’t remember right now), and that he wanted to form a partnership with me.

I told him I wasn’t interested in a partnership.

“You woudln’t be interested in $10/ programming hour” he asked.

Incredulously I said “No, I make more than that now.”, and hung up on him.

A couple minutes later I thought that I should get the caller ID just in case they call again. Very weird. *69 gave me 908-737-7426

A reverse lookup didn’t give me much, other than it is a New Jersey number.

Maybe this is some guy trying to outsource his work?

Transition Dismount

fast like the wind

Today there was another triathlon, the Tri of Compassion. Sox has done this race many times, under its different names. When the alarm went off at 5:30, I began to question if these races were really necessary. We got ready, and headed to the course, but were a little late in meeting up with KaptainK. Oh, no pictures from the event since I was part of it. I was on a team with KaptainK and JJ (I did the bike leg). Team muddylaces. Wonder where that name came from eh?

The race organization was a bit of a gong show. When I arrived, I couldn’t find the rack I was supposed to put my bike in, and the volunteers I asked had no idea since htey just go there a bit of walking around, and I found that the racks were numbered, but the numbers were only on one side. Since I came in from the wrong direction, I couldn’t see the numbers.

I realized I had forgotten JJ’s number for the run, so thankfully Sox was able to zip home and get it for me. Meeitng up with K and JJ, we got hting sfigured out, and got body marked. The race meeting was supposed to be next, bu I couldn’t find my way in there. The lady at the front desk said it was through the mens changing area, but when I went to find it, I got lost. I knew it was through the showers, but I there was only one door there that said the steam room was closed. One other competitor told me it was actually through that door, but that I probably shouldn’t go that way with my bike shoes on. Making my way back to the front desk the lady said I should just use the door the swimmers run out of. When I got there I was blocked by a volunteer saying she wouldn’t let me through unless I took my shoes off. I wasn’t about to take my shoes and socks off and get my feet wet ride before my ride, so we were at an impasse. Next time I hope the organizers hold the prerace meeting in a location that all team members can access. That was very frustrating, and I got a little snippy with the volunteer. I am sorry about that. It really wasn’t with her, since I am sure she was just doing her job.

JJ and K gave the low down on the meeting, and in retrospect I didn’t really need to be there. Weird.

I made my way back to transition, only to find that my bike was sandwiched between two others. Since I had no equipment on the ground, the other competitors left me no space to get my bike in and out of the rack. While K swam, I waited in transition. Very specific rules in transition. I couldn’t unrack my bike, unless my helmet was fully fastened. I couldn’t unrack my bike until after K and I had tagged off. After my ride I had to fully rack my bike before I could tag off.

I saw K round the corner after her swim, so I mentally prepared myself. Tag then unrack. Run, but not too fast. K passed a few people while running down the hill, and the announcer said “and the first woman out of hte swim is … K”. Haha, she wasn’t actually the first woman out of the swim, but she was the first down the hill. Tag, I was it. I grabbed my bike, and took off. I got to the road was told I could mount, I jumped on and took a couple pedal strokes. I then went to clip in, and discovered my shoes were clogged with grass. I smacked my pedals a couple times to fre the grass, got clipped in, and started to power away. I realized I was pushing a little too hard for the beginning of the race, so I settled down a bit. Turning onto Esquimalt Ave I had a long straightaway.

While fully up to speed I caught a bus that was at the side of the road letting people off. When I got close he turned his signal on and pulled out. I had to hit the brakes and downshift to avoid hitting him. Shaking that off I spun up to my previous speed and kept going. It was a fun bike course, and I passed lots of people. I felt a little bad since I was passing them with quite a difference in speed. I wanted to tell them that I was part of a team, but I couldn’t get the words out. As I passed the lap marker Sox and Lisa were there cheering for me. I was working hard, and didn’t want to break concentration too much, but it was appreciated. Finishing lap one I felt good. I was breathing hard, but I wasn’t out of breath. I felt strong, so I kept pushing.

On lap two I passed more people, but I had a bit of a surprise. Ahead of me on Gore street was a large tanker truck. Thankfully he turned left off the course before I got to him. At I made the turn at the base I could hear a whine approaching me from behind. I knew Todd was working the race as a marshal carrier, and sure enough it was him. He sailed past me at the crest of a hill while I was standing on the pedals giving a good effort. Lap two finished without issue, so I was on to my thrid and final lap.

I could feel myself slowing down a little. I checked my pace, and it was certainly slower than the first two laps, so I chided myself and sped up. The third lap I wanted to be my fastest. I thanked each of the many volunteers as I went past them, but I kept up my pace. Down Head street, on the biggest hill, I spun out my top gear. I got up to 58 KM/H down there. Past our house for the third time, back towards the base for the last time. While I was cresting the second to last hill, someone started to pass me on my left. I hadn’t intended this, but when the hill turned downward, I continued my pace, and geared up. I dropped them, and felt a little bad about it. I glanced behind me, saw they were a good distance back, so I moved over so I could turn back into the base.

The last hill I sped down knowing I was almost done. I clipped out, rested my feet on the pedals, and saw the marshals and aimed for them. They were frantically waving for me to slow down. D was there point to the (imaginary) dismount line. I think I gave the marshalls alittle scare since I came in so fast. I stopped easily though, jumped off, lifted my bike over the curb, and jogged to my spot in the rack. Jogging felt weird after riding like I had. Racking my bike I turned, tagged JJ and he was off.

I was out of breath at this point, and feeling the strain of a hard ride. I grabbed my water and walked it off. A couple people mentioned that my ride time was pretty fast, but I still am not sure how I did with that.

JJ was fast on the run though. His 5KM run, which is very hilly, took 21 minutes. Overall our time was 1:12 and we held the fastest time for a bit. There was some confusion on the announcer as JJ crossed the line though. K had signed up our team, so our team number had her name beside it. He was confused seeing JJ cross the line and reading K’s name. My ride time on my bike computer said 41 minutes 8 seconds, an average speed of 27.9 KM/H, max speed 58 KM/H, and a distance of 19.16 KM’s. I am pretty happy with my ride. I don’t think I could have pushed any harder than I did. It was pretty fun too, but I really can’t imagine having to do a run after that ride. Yeuck. I will stick with biking only thankyouverymuch. 🙂

Triathlon Coffee

KaptainK mounting her trusty steed

Thanks Todd for reminding me to put up my pictures from the Cowichan Challenge last weekend. Sox has done this race a few times before, but KaptainK was doing it for the first time. Actually, this was KaptainK’s first triathlon ever! Way to go K.

I wasn’t sure what the weather was going to be like for the race so I dressed conservatively. Turned out I was way overdressed. Before the race JJ and I stopped in Chemainus for some coffee and yummy breakfast burritos. Now that is the way to watch a triathlon. Good coffee, good breakfast, sun shining, dogs panting. It was fun.

There were actually quite a few people that I knew doing the race, so I was able to cheer lots.

I am just rambling now, and I guess that is about it. Results from the race are here. My pics are here.

Buzzing Cat

Things that kept me from sleeping last night/this morning:

  1. 10:00 – 11:00 mosquitos buzzing around me head
  2. 2:30 am loud teens yelling while walking up and down the street
  3. 4:00 am Yoshi wandering around upstairs bashing into things and scraping his cone on the walls
  4. 5:00 am cat wandering around the bed meowing because she can’t get downstairs because of the dogs outside the bedroom door.
  5. 6:15 am my alarm clock

I am a little out of it this morning. :O