Family and Food

Total distance: 1.5 km
Cumulative distance: 1684 km
Maximum speed: 7.8 kph
Average speed: 4.3 kph
Temperature range: N/A but it was about 18 today and sunny

You might have guessed that we didn't spend much time on the bike today. We are at Chesterman Beach with Nan's sister Betty and her family and their friends. This is our third time joining for their annual family vacation; Betty and Roger rent a big house on the beach near Tofino, and their two boys Justin and Field with their own respective entourages - they have families of their own now, and many of their friends, also some with families, come spend the week. It is always a social and amiable week.

Unlike in the OLDEN days, when Betty did a lot of the cooking, that chore is generally done by the group. It is always a lot of fun and even I got to step into the fray this morning, making pancakes for 20. The following pictures show what dinner time is like around this place.

             

Great food extends beyond the house as well.  Dinner was organized for a great restaurant in Tofino called The Wolf in the Fog, a worthwhile destination for foodies but also for those that like a creative cocktail. A popular one amongst the group this evening is the Cedar Sour, which has the unusual ingredient of rye infused with cedar chips. There were a number of other creative and fancy cocktails, none of which we tried because we were determined to be fresh for tomorrow morning. But the food was also very creative and beautifully presented, as these pictires will attest: 

In today's small world story. I happened to spot a colleague of mine be seated near to our table, so I promptly went to present myself and say hello. Jim was a whiley veteran when I started in the business in 1990 and remains one of the great thinkers in the industry and, as one of the chief architects of strategy for the firm, bears considerable influence on my own practice. Jim and his wife were visiting Tofino on their annual summer pilgrimage, coming over from Vancouver;  they also come over on an annual Christmas pilgrimage as well as an annual "one other time" annual pilgrimage. To give you an example of Jim's amazing intellect and foresight, saw that our group of about 20 were lovers of great company and revelry and generously bought our table a round. Now Jim, I'm not sure if you meant to be buying just Nan and me a drink or if it was really meant to be for the entire group but I can tell you that I personally got a great deal of mileage with Nan's family, so once again, thank-you very much.

We are back on the road early tomorrow morning, our goal being to make it to near Lillooet. We will have a good, long break on the ferry and we will be fresh from having had a day off the bike. We have been anxiously watching the forest fires and planning our route but at this point, it looks like we will be retracing our steps, though there are two fires just outside of Little Fort.

Frank Island, off Chesterman Beach

This is me with my GREAT nephew Finlay and my little buddy Toma.