Well, Sunday dawned cloudy and gray — a bit misty, with promise of rain…
I had asked to accompany Hetty and Alan to church — they sing in the choir (as the veteran performers they are) and then go to the local hospital to sing for some of the people in the long-term care unit there. In a former life, I had done similar things. So, I wanted to hear them sing, and visit with folks too.
Jill took the boys for the morning, and though I am not sure what they did, I know they had fun!
The little church is fairly new, but a good size for a vacation-retirement community. It wasn’t even half full, and there were no children at all. A few younger people, but most were older than I; no spring chicken! It was a typical service in the liturgical tradition, recognizable to any person of Lutheran, Catholic or Anglican background. The music was very nice — though one song had no music available, and I searched in vain for something in the hymnal that might make sense… hard to take the songleader out of me, even a decade on. I will put in a post about the sermon later, it gave me food for thought! The people there are very nice — a little too much for this “hiding in the library” sort of person — but generous and kind.
After the service and coffee hour we drove to the hospital — I am so very happy I went. I love to do things like that for people, and though I did not as Hetty had assumed know these “old favorites,” they were easy enough to pick up and sing once I had heard the chords through. Hymns tend to follow a very similar pattern, after all! The folks who came to the sing-a-long, though, knew them really well. I had to stop singing a couple, when I recognized them as some of my own grandmother’s favorites… but mostly it was a fun time. Only half an hour, but plenty long for these frail elderly.
Then we found a salmon for Hetty to make supper and went on home to gather the boys and Jill. Actually, Hetty and Alan dropped me off and Jill took us from her place across to Crofton on the big island via the little ferry at Vesuvius.
Now, Vesuvius is a tiny little place, a small convenience store and a few houses clustered around the ferry dock. There is sometimes a pub, though it is currently closed while the owner deals with legal issues. A nice feature of the gulf islands, is that ferries OFF are free… you drive on and go!
The ferry “terminal”:
And with the ferry in…
Getting on the ferry (it’s smaller than it looks):
Crofton is a nice industrial town, attached to a pulp mill and the ferry terminal. Working-class and decidedly “un-stylish,” it nevertheless has an air of purpose that is nice — and often lacking in bigger towns.
But our real destination was Chemainus, a former mill town that repurposed itself after the mill (the only real employer) closed down about 20 years ago. It has become a center for arts and artists. There are quaint B&Bs, a theatre (which I am told is quite good), murals on nearly any vertical surface that doesn’t move, and all the associated touristy-type shops that accompany an artist colony-cum-vacation spot.
We had a lovely meal at a small hole in the wall Greek eatery, then walked around the town for an hour and a half. The sky was overcast, but except for a quick sprinkle just as the lunch was brought out, it never rained. And we did NOT melt!
Pictures, of course!
Here is the “quaint”:
A view back to Salt Spring Island from the boat ramp at Chemainus:
And to prove that’s where we were…
After Chemainus, we spent a little time at Jill’s again. She has a new type of jig-saw puzzle that also has cross-word clues and answers on it. We had fun working on that until it was time for supper.
And supper…. AH! Jill’s meal the night before was terrific, and Hetty’s was eye-opening! I had not had fennel root before, so of course I made a pig of myself. It tasted so very good, especially with the salmon. Some home-made wine from Alan’s cellar; beautiful tender new potatoes, salad — and of course the company was delightful.
Here is a picture of the table that Hetty set:
And then dessert, followed by conversation while the boys watched Julie Andrews in “Cinderella” — the Rogers and Hammerstein musical that was the first to be live broadcast on network television.
By the time Jill left and we turned in for the night (after ten o-clock) I was beat, and sorry that we would leave the next day.
In the final installment, our trip back to the main island, the afternoon and evening in Victoria, and our long journey home…
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