Trip to Tofino with John
Today is the last day of my trip out west. We get back to Guelph tomorrow and my prof is going to pick up me, John, and the squids up from the train station tomorrow. This has been the best vacation ever and I have done so many new things that I have never done before. It all started back in September when I heard from Josie (my marine biologist in Tofino) that there had been a second stranding. I had started to worry about not getting measurements for the squids or weights for them when the stranding happened. I didn’t want to impose on Josie too much, so I thought about getting on the very next flight out to Vancouver. I told John what I wanted to do and he convinced me that we should go over Christmas and take the train. I had been wanting to take the train ever since my friend Rachel from work told me about the CanRail Pass which lets you travel for cheep if you’re a student.
So we got our tickets last minute and had to leave two days earlier than expected, giving us exactly one week to get ready. Mom and Dad came out to see me (since I was going to be gone for Christmas) and to take the rats to stay with Debbie for the month I would be gone for. I packed all my stuff into my backpack and attached my sleeping bag to the top with some straps I sewed on. I looked like a transient. When we went to John’s place for him to get his stuff the day we left, I found that he had an enormous backpack that I bet he could probably fit into. But I soon found out that he was incredibly prepared. We took the bus to Toronto and after it was over an hour late, we made a mad dash to the grocery store and I took what I thought I would need in five minutes. We got on the train with plenty of time. The first magical think John had was a sleeping bag that folded smaller than I thought possible. And after he took out a small pillow and then explained it came in its own bag. He had four juggling balls and a fork-knife-spoon Swiss army knife. I had a jar of peanut butter and a hunting knife in my pocket. I felt unprepared, but it turned out fine.
The train ride was amazing. It was like forced relaxation. I couldn’t get the internet on my computer so I couldn’t work on my thesis (and I was pretty relieved about that since I didn’t want to spend my vacation working). Every day I just sat beside John and read books, or listened to music, and we ate when ever we wanted and slept in the day if we felt like it. Sleeping at night was a problem because the train never gets very dark. John had thought to bring a blind fold and I laughed at him. It was all right though, I was able to get sleep with dreams eventually. Canada is beautiful. Ontario is a very wide province, and it was full of trees. The sky was white and there was snow on everything. The horizon blended sky with earth. We stopped in the town of Hornypayne and it was so small it was amazing it was really a stop. Every time the train stopped, many people got on. Eventually there were more people than seats so people were in the dome car permanently. I was lucky that we got on in Toronto, the start of the train ride so we got to sit beside each other the entire way there. We stopped in Winnipeg and had many hours to wonder, get cold, and then find a computer to write home with. We got to see Jasper, but it was so cloudy that we couldn’t see the mountains. We missed most of BC, since it was dark when we drove through at night. We arrived in Vancouver in the morning.
John had the good sense to get a guide book before getting here and had spent a few weeks looking through it to plan what to do. It gave us instructions to get to the ferry to Nanaimo. Now, we didn’t know this, but there are actually two ferries to Nanaimo. One takes you to the city where you could easily catch a bus to Courtenay, and actually if you take the Greyhound from the Train station it’s very cheep and takes you right to Courtenay. But we got on the other one. The one that takes you to nowhere. We got stuck in Nanaimo, a 40$ cab ride from the city part of it. After putting in quarter after quarter into the pay phone, I talked to Aunty Joan and then ran out of quarters before figuring out how to get out of the ferry station. So we looked in John’s guide book and tried to call a shuttle company but the number was outdated and I ended up calling a man’s house by accident. So we took the cab to the bus station and found we missed the last bus to Courtenay that day. We had also missed the last train.
And this is how we ended up spending the night in Nanaimo. We went to the hostel the guy recommended at the bus station, the Painted Turtle. The woman at the counter came up and showed us where everything was. We got a room that was just us because it cost the same as two dorm beds. It was a beautiful place. The bed was nicer than the bed I have at home. After five days on the train, the nicest feeling was being able to take a hot shower, getting really good hot food at a restaurant around the corner, and sleeping in a very comfortable bed.
We woke up the next morning and went to the train station. Well, we tried to but when we got there it was dilapidated and falling down, with boarded up windows. There was a sign saying to find the temporary station on the other side. I walked into the trailer expecting to see someone selling tickets, but it was just an empty room. I had also got the time wrong, and we were about an hour early for the train. Other people started waiting and the train finally pulled up. It was only two train cars long. It was great to see Aunty Joan and Stefan. We went out to lunch, and at about 2:20 I told them we wanted to go snowboarding, and had to catch the 3:30 bus to the mountain top. Only, I didn’t have proper clothes for it. So we ran through the Salvation Army and I got the only pair of snowpants they had, which were bright neon purple. And the jacket I got was grey, red, and, like the pants, were two sizes too big. I was able to borrow gloves from Aunty Joan, only they were matching but different sizes. And we were ready. John, prepared as usual, already had all his stuff ready.
I’d gone skiing a couple of times when I was 10, but never went after that. The idea of snowboarding, of being stuck to a board with immovable feet, and no poles to keep you up, speeding down a hill scared me a lot. I didn’t want to get lessons, because I’m stubborn like that, I can figure it out on my own. John had explained some of it to me on the train, about how you put pressure on the front of one foot and the back of the other to turn. And so I learned, going down a mountain side. I only got stuck once in an orange fence. And I fell down more times than I can count. But I made it down to the ski lift. Getting on was a little scary, but getting off was even worse. I stumbled and fell and with one foot attached to a board as tall as I am I didn’t really know how to move. But we managed to get to the top of the hill. After going down many times, I finally started to understand what to do and by the end of the night I managed to get off the ski lift and down the hill without falling over at all. I still can’t do it properly, but it was enough for me to be able to get down without getting more hurt. By the time we got on the bus, my knees were black and blue, but I was happy.
Because this adventure was non-stop, the very next day we set off for Tofino. It was a nice drive down, and I recognized it pretty well the entire way. I felt bad that I don’t have a driver’s license and so John had to drive the entire way there and back. We stopped to admire the trees at Cathedral Grove. Even with the cold weather, the place was incredibly green. It was very nice weather on the island. When we got to where Josie lives and works, we went to the field station. This is where we met a man, Ono, from Spain. I tried to explain to him about the squids that Josie had for me. They’re as tall as a man, with a beak and eight legs, eyes the size of your palm, and flash their skin different colours. He thought I was making it up, but showed us where to find Josie. She let us stay at the field station, which was like a hostel, for free! She is so nice. We made baked beans on toast in the kitchen, and I explained to a very British man there that when a recipe says a “cup” they mean a measuring cup, and not just any mug you find. He, Ono, and a girl invited us upstairs to sit on mattresses and watch a movie. The next day we went to talk to Josie and collect the squids. This is when I found that she had collected me three whole 3 foot long squid, and the contents of 15 stomachs. We had to go to the local fish packing shop and buy Styrofoam coolers. We came back and it was Christmas eve already.
I went quickly to Zellers to get silly stocking items. When we got back home, there was a tree decorated in the living room, Christmas lights all over the house, and a fire going. We ate dinner and then John and I were off to midnight mass. I’m not sure why I wanted to go. Midnight mass is something I’d heard of other people going to and I felt like I was missing out on something. John had gone before when he was a kid, and so he was perfectly fine to go along with me. It was really cool. Most of it was singing and saying prayers, even the priest sang some of what he said. Then they turned off all the lights, we light candles, and sand silent night. It was very beautiful.
Christmas day was off to an early start as me and John caught the bus up to Mount Washington when it was still dark out. I was still hurting and bruised all over from the first time, so I decided to stay in the lodge and work on my progress report for my thesis. John was finally able to go on all the big runs (which he wouldn’t have done if I had gone, since I don’t really know how to snowboard) and I got a lot of work done. When we got back, I had time to wrap up a toothbrush, toothpaste, gum, and chocolate for everyone’s stocking. Now it was real Christmas. Stef had a fire going and then turned on “log a Christmas special” on TV so we had a fake fire too. Jesse came over and it was great to see him. Stef made us Christmas dinner, and he’s an amazing cook, so everything except the turkey was vegan. Then after dinner we exchanged gifts. I got everyone silly little things easily packed into my backpack. Aunty Joan got us all planners and cards. It was a very nice Christmas.
Boxing day was a nice lazy relaxing day. John and I made our final plans for getting to Forks, Washington. We took a long walk by the beach. When we left the next day, we took the train all the way down the island to Victoria. It’s a beautiful city. We checked into the hostel and went to see a movie. The movie went until late but we still managed to wake up in time to shower, check out, and catch the ferry to Port Angeles. Port Angeles was a small place, but nice. We had a bit of time to wait for the city bus that would take us the hour and a half to Forks. The reason we wanted to go to Forks was because of the Twilight books. We had both read them (John had suggested I read them around the time the second movie, New Moon, was coming out) and loved the books. The books take place in Forks, Washington, and we couldn’t come all this way and not go. We checked into the hotel and then went to the guided tour of the city. We arrived at 3:00pm exactly missing the last tour of the day, and this was the only chance we had. The woman asked, did you come far to be here? Yes. Hang on. And she got them to wait for us to pay and get on the bus. It was meant to be, there were two seats left side by side. The town was amazing. It sat in a valley surrounded by misty mountains. The houses were exactly as the author described. And the best part was La Push, a beach where kids surf. It’s also part of the reservation. Huge waves crashed against the shore, bringing in driftwood and black sand. We were very tired and had an early night. The next morning we had enough time to get breakfast and fill out some post cards before catching the bus. Then we took the ferry across to Victoria. We checked into the same hostel and got to see the Royal British Columbia Museum, parliament, and walk around the city a little. The next morning it was back to Courtenay.
This was our last day in Courtenay. It seemed to me that we would be around a lot, but as it turned out there was so much we wanted to see so we had to leave the next day. We made special boxes to go around the Styrofoam containers and Stef put handles on them. We came up with the question of where would I store three squids, each 15 pounds and three feet long? The hostel didn’t have room, but they said they could store the stomach contents. So I looked online to find a grocery store to ask if they would store my squid for a few days. So I called up Super Value, for the second most awkward conversation of my life. Hi, can I speak to the manager? That’s me. Uh…hi…my name is Heather Braid and I’m a fourth year student a the University of Guelph, and I am currently working on a project involving squid from a recent mass stranding. I need to take the squid back to Toronto but I will be in Vancouver for three nights and I was wondering if I could keep them in your freezer? Well, I’d love to help you, really, but I can’t store them, it would be a liability. Why don’t you try a restaurant? And so began, the most awkward conversation of my life. It was worse than the one I had with the grocery store. I called up Takis’ Taverna on Davie street, just a block away from the hostel we were going to stay at. Takis was out, but the guy I talked to asked me to call back later. My hands were all clammy and I was really relying on this to work out. Everything I had carefully thought out came out in a nervous jumble. At one point I said I need the squid to “do science on them” rather than say DNA analysis or stomach content analysis that would have made sense. It was awkward. But he said, yeah sure just ask for George when you get here. The next morning we collected the squid and went caught the bus to Vancouver.
We got to the Greyhound station in Vancouver, and I was full with doubts as soon as we got off the bus. How am I going to carry all these squid to Takis’ Taverna? Fortunately I had John, who is at least twice as strong as me. Unfortunately, John had his snowboard to carry too, and it was awkwardly long and heavy. He carried them up to the bottom of the stairs to the skytrain, and then we each tried to carry one up the million stairs. I was struggling to get it up even a few steps when a stranger offered to take it up for me. Sure, thanks. And then we caught the sky train to the bus stop. We were smart and took the elevator down this time. But then we had to just get onto any city bus we could find that we thought would go in the right direction. It was a painful struggle to get these two heavy unwieldy boxes onto the bus, but we managed. We got off on Davie street and then looked for numbers on store fronts. Takis’ Taverna wasn’t very far away. But by this point my hands burned and there were bruises forming on the side of my leg from the box. George wasn’t there, but a waitress let us into the basement and found us a space to store them. Instant relief. We went down to the hostel and checked in. We had made a reservation for three nights and the first was New Years Eve, so we were lucky to get it - all the other hostels were booked up that night. We were both painfully tired after struggling with the squid, so we went out to find a nice restaurant. They made pizza in a stone oven and you could see the man making the crust. It was amazing. We walked around some of the streets to see Vancouver, but it was pretty dark out. We went to English Bay to watch for fire works. We counted down according to my watch. We had asked at the hostel if there was a New Years celebration anywhere, but the man said, I’m sorry but I’ve been looking all week for anything and nothing has come up, welcome to No Fun Town. But standing on the beach, we saw fire works start in all directions when the new year arrived.
On New Years day, we decided to take a nice walk down to the Vancouver Aquarium. The only problem was that Vancouver rains, on a near constant basis. By the time we got lost in the parking lot of the aquarium, we were both soaked and John was freezing from the cold. But then we found the entrance and it was worth walking through the monsoon to get there. They had jelly fish, starfish, a sloth, an octopus no one could really see, and beluga whales. We spent most of the day there. We got back to the hostel and went to sleep at 6pm. We had good reason though. Not only because traveling makes you sleepy, but because the next morning we woke up at 5am, out the door at 5:20 to make the 40 minute hike to Pacific Central (the Greyhound and Via Rail station). We got bus tickets to Whistler and then got in the incredible line. I didn’t snowboard there because I thought it was a huge mountain that only experts go on. And then I saw children everywhere on miniature skis, going down the mountain. I didn’t have the coat anymore anyway, I had donated it to Aunty Joan. So I got the sightseeing pass and journal and read my novel in the lodge and John would come and visit me every time he came back up the mountain. To get to the top, you got to take a gondola. The view was amazing. The mountain was huge, and I almost got off at one point, but the sign said that we were only 1/3 the way there. The reason we had to go early is because the gondola stops running at 3pm. We met up and caught the next bus back to Vancouver. That night, we went to Takis’ Taverna to try the food and thank Takis. It was amazing, and they were able to make mine vegan. Takis was such a nice man, and so helpful.
And the next day, we were supposed to leave to Edmonton and so we went to the Capilano Bridge. If you’ve never heard of it (like me until I talked to Aunty Joan), it’s a suspension bridge that shakes and sways as you walk over, and to make it scarier, it’s between two cliff faces with a ridiculous drop below, and it’s 140 meters long. And once you cross, you have to cross back. We used the map in John’s guide book along with instructions from the hostel to get there. We had to walk to the seabus, which was just that. Seriously, it looked like a bus on the inside, with sliding doors and seats, but it was in the water. Then we had to catch the most crowded bus. Once we got there, my hands got clammy. John is fearless, so it was no problem for him. He trusted the bridge. I was terrified. We took pictures on the bridge but I was so scared I just look terrified rather than smiley. But it was beautiful once you hit the other side. There were lower bridges between and around the trees. The sun came out, and made rays of light in the misty gorge. The trees looked so green and so strong. We were going to take the bus back, when I saw what John called a ‘dodgy shuttle’ (it was a small bus covered in a painting the bridge and it said in huge letters ‘FREE SHUTTLE - CAPILANO BRIDGE’). Let’s see where it goes. And it let us off just down the street from our hostel. We had almost caught it when we were going to the aquarium, but it seemed too sketchy.
We started early, going to get the squid at 5pm, and making our way to Pacific Central because our train was at 8:30pm. The boxes were incredibly heavy now since we added a very large party bag of ice to the boxes and a box of salt. I’m not even sure how we managed to carry them and all our stuff. We got on the bus with a great effort, and thankfully the driver let us off closer to the skytrain than he normally would have. We got to the entrance and looked for the elevator but instead saw we were on the wrong side of the building. Now, the boxes probably weigh maybe 60 pounds each at this point, so carrying them around would be a terrible struggle. So we went down two flights of stairs. And then we got to the escalator. A guy helped me get the box tipped up so it didn’t fall into John on the way down. And then more stairs. Finally we were at the train. We got off and found the elevator was further from the station and we might as well take the stairs. John took the really heavy box down and I came down slower. When I saw him a homeless woman was asking him if he wanted help. I offered to get a cart and come back, but John said he didn’t want to be left alone in this place in the dark. So we slowly made our way there. Now you have to remember that it’s a Sunday, so I was unable to get dry ice. The entire trip there was such a stressful adventure, that we were relieved that we finally made it. We walk into the train station and the man comes over and gives my Styrofoam boxes a disappointed look and when I ask about keeping them boxes somewhere cold, he says he’ll ask. Nope, it’s impossible. Ok, it will be alright. But then he says if it’s perishable, we can’t take it on the train in Styrofoam containers. I explain to him my situation, about how far we’d come to get them, and my project. The man was very kind and sympathetic. He asked again. Rejected. Can I talk to the manager? No, I’m sorry, she’s too busy. So he takes a picture of the boxes, and then takes my ticket. You’re not black listing me are you? He laughed. He came back, and said she really won’t let us on, we need a cooler. Why did you have to say anything, he asked? Then very quietly he said, make them box smaller, get a suit case and make it look different.
But it’s already past 7pm now. The only option they had given me was to ship it with Greyhound. But that would cost me an arm and a leg, that’s why I decided to get them myself. So we took the boxes outside. A security guard asked, do you have clothes in there? Sick on explaining my research to everyone I meet, I just said, yeah something like that. Time was passing us by. We need to make this look different. We took the bottom of one cooler and cut it all up with my large hunting knife. We opened it and when the security guard saw the tiny bodies in black plastic, I started to explain our story. We put all three squid in the same box and taped it as best we could. John asked me to get cardboard from McDonalds, but the line was too long. He checked his snowboard. He told me to get plastic bags in a last attempt to disguise it. We had to lose the handles to make the cardboard we had go around. Then it was 8pm. And we were struggling to put it into black plastic bags. And the tape was holding one on over the rips the corners had made. Remember, this was a Sunday, so everything was closed. We couldn’t get a cooler or a suit case. So we walk into the train station with this wet, dripping, salty box Black plastic. We stand at the gates. This was the other less helpful man now, he said we told you that you can’t bring on squid. And I have no idea how I did it, but I looked him right in his eyes and said with a straight face, this is a box of rocks. Wait over there please. I thought for sure we were about to be arrested. A third man comes over to us. He’s dressed in a button down shirt, clearly higher ranking than the people I talked to. I have been searching for the past two hours trying to find you guys a cooler in the back, we’ve done everything we can, I’ve tried everything and I’m sorry but I can’t let you on the train, it would be a liability. I wasn’t going to cry. It was already 8:10. I walked up to the Greyhound counter, and said, I need to ship something to Edmonton. Sorry, he said, you want the building down the street. But it’s a Sunday, so it’s closed. And I couldn’t take it. I collapsed on the floor and curled my legs up and sobbed into my sleeve. We had failed and there was no way to fix it. We’re never getting the squid out of here. Many times that night I wanted to just leave them, but with all we had to do to get them to this point was absurd. While I sat on the floor of the station, being sad, John went up to the counter and switched our tickets so that we would not be able to stay in Edmonton, but we would still get home when we wanted to. With no options left, we took a cab back to Takis Taverna. The guy that had helped us pack the boxes asked, what happened? I told him a very abbreviated story of rejection. Back in the freezer in the basement. And we went back to the hostel. So we did laundry and drank ginger ale.
The next day we walked down to Canadian Tire and bought their biggest cooler. We walked around English Bay and then went to see a movie. It was a lazy day. And the next morning we took the cooler full of squid and stomach contents to the bus and went to Praxair. Now the cooler weights more than15 pounds and so does each squid. We’re dragging 70 pounds up hill to get to the street that it’s on. Do they ever have dry ice though! I bought two blocks of 15 pounds each and then he gave me 10 pounds of cubes of dry ice for free! By now the cooler weights 110 pounds. He told us to stuff the top part of the cooler with news papers or plastic bags. We manage to get old news papers from Second Cup so we don’t have to go dumpster diving while we look scruffy like transients. We tape up the cooler and go to the ticket agent. It’s only 1pm now, we started early. Hi, I would like to check this. How heavy is it? Oh man, this thing weights a million pounds. It’s only allowed to weigh 50. And 70 if you pay a fee. What? What do you mean? So finally we weigh it and find out how huge it was. Can I speak to the manager? We sit down with our cooler in the Train Station. John turns to me and says, try to be polite. I smile. We’ll be ok, I say. She comes out and says that we can’t take it on. Can I take it as carry on? She laughs. I explain my research. She explains that her guys fought for me last time I was here trying to convince her to let me on. She won’t let us check it until it’s lighter. But I need to keep them frozen. If I had a second cooler for the dry ice, could I visit my squid like people visit their dogs and add more dry ice as it sublimates? Sure. Then she gave us the address for the Army and Navy Store. We walked through China Town, and it kept getting dodgier as we walked on. Stores boarded up, people sleeping in the streets. Stumbling as they walk. Not the kind of place you want to be in. Where did she send us? Finally we find it and I buy a used and overpriced cooler. We tried to walk back a better way, but it was much worse. I was so scared, and fearless John was terrified as well. We left the coolers and got our packs. We went back to the train station and John took two blocks out and into the cooler, and it was the perfect weight. We finally got on the train.
Uncle Eric was there, at 11pm, to give me a hug and 20 pounds of dry ice. It was great to see him, but I wished that I could have stayed with him for the two nights that we were supposed to. And then it was back on the train. The ride home was much too fast. We learned how to sleep on the train, and how to get four seats facing each other so you can stretch out. It’s forced relaxation again. But the ride back is a sad one. There is nothing to look forward to. Nothing new anymore. I’ve already gotten pictures of all these places. It’s just a matter of trying to slow down time and pretend the vacation is not over. But we both know that it is. It was a sad day, but a nice day on the train nonetheless.
So we got our tickets last minute and had to leave two days earlier than expected, giving us exactly one week to get ready. Mom and Dad came out to see me (since I was going to be gone for Christmas) and to take the rats to stay with Debbie for the month I would be gone for. I packed all my stuff into my backpack and attached my sleeping bag to the top with some straps I sewed on. I looked like a transient. When we went to John’s place for him to get his stuff the day we left, I found that he had an enormous backpack that I bet he could probably fit into. But I soon found out that he was incredibly prepared. We took the bus to Toronto and after it was over an hour late, we made a mad dash to the grocery store and I took what I thought I would need in five minutes. We got on the train with plenty of time. The first magical think John had was a sleeping bag that folded smaller than I thought possible. And after he took out a small pillow and then explained it came in its own bag. He had four juggling balls and a fork-knife-spoon Swiss army knife. I had a jar of peanut butter and a hunting knife in my pocket. I felt unprepared, but it turned out fine.
The train ride was amazing. It was like forced relaxation. I couldn’t get the internet on my computer so I couldn’t work on my thesis (and I was pretty relieved about that since I didn’t want to spend my vacation working). Every day I just sat beside John and read books, or listened to music, and we ate when ever we wanted and slept in the day if we felt like it. Sleeping at night was a problem because the train never gets very dark. John had thought to bring a blind fold and I laughed at him. It was all right though, I was able to get sleep with dreams eventually. Canada is beautiful. Ontario is a very wide province, and it was full of trees. The sky was white and there was snow on everything. The horizon blended sky with earth. We stopped in the town of Hornypayne and it was so small it was amazing it was really a stop. Every time the train stopped, many people got on. Eventually there were more people than seats so people were in the dome car permanently. I was lucky that we got on in Toronto, the start of the train ride so we got to sit beside each other the entire way there. We stopped in Winnipeg and had many hours to wonder, get cold, and then find a computer to write home with. We got to see Jasper, but it was so cloudy that we couldn’t see the mountains. We missed most of BC, since it was dark when we drove through at night. We arrived in Vancouver in the morning.
John had the good sense to get a guide book before getting here and had spent a few weeks looking through it to plan what to do. It gave us instructions to get to the ferry to Nanaimo. Now, we didn’t know this, but there are actually two ferries to Nanaimo. One takes you to the city where you could easily catch a bus to Courtenay, and actually if you take the Greyhound from the Train station it’s very cheep and takes you right to Courtenay. But we got on the other one. The one that takes you to nowhere. We got stuck in Nanaimo, a 40$ cab ride from the city part of it. After putting in quarter after quarter into the pay phone, I talked to Aunty Joan and then ran out of quarters before figuring out how to get out of the ferry station. So we looked in John’s guide book and tried to call a shuttle company but the number was outdated and I ended up calling a man’s house by accident. So we took the cab to the bus station and found we missed the last bus to Courtenay that day. We had also missed the last train.
And this is how we ended up spending the night in Nanaimo. We went to the hostel the guy recommended at the bus station, the Painted Turtle. The woman at the counter came up and showed us where everything was. We got a room that was just us because it cost the same as two dorm beds. It was a beautiful place. The bed was nicer than the bed I have at home. After five days on the train, the nicest feeling was being able to take a hot shower, getting really good hot food at a restaurant around the corner, and sleeping in a very comfortable bed.
We woke up the next morning and went to the train station. Well, we tried to but when we got there it was dilapidated and falling down, with boarded up windows. There was a sign saying to find the temporary station on the other side. I walked into the trailer expecting to see someone selling tickets, but it was just an empty room. I had also got the time wrong, and we were about an hour early for the train. Other people started waiting and the train finally pulled up. It was only two train cars long. It was great to see Aunty Joan and Stefan. We went out to lunch, and at about 2:20 I told them we wanted to go snowboarding, and had to catch the 3:30 bus to the mountain top. Only, I didn’t have proper clothes for it. So we ran through the Salvation Army and I got the only pair of snowpants they had, which were bright neon purple. And the jacket I got was grey, red, and, like the pants, were two sizes too big. I was able to borrow gloves from Aunty Joan, only they were matching but different sizes. And we were ready. John, prepared as usual, already had all his stuff ready.
I’d gone skiing a couple of times when I was 10, but never went after that. The idea of snowboarding, of being stuck to a board with immovable feet, and no poles to keep you up, speeding down a hill scared me a lot. I didn’t want to get lessons, because I’m stubborn like that, I can figure it out on my own. John had explained some of it to me on the train, about how you put pressure on the front of one foot and the back of the other to turn. And so I learned, going down a mountain side. I only got stuck once in an orange fence. And I fell down more times than I can count. But I made it down to the ski lift. Getting on was a little scary, but getting off was even worse. I stumbled and fell and with one foot attached to a board as tall as I am I didn’t really know how to move. But we managed to get to the top of the hill. After going down many times, I finally started to understand what to do and by the end of the night I managed to get off the ski lift and down the hill without falling over at all. I still can’t do it properly, but it was enough for me to be able to get down without getting more hurt. By the time we got on the bus, my knees were black and blue, but I was happy.
Because this adventure was non-stop, the very next day we set off for Tofino. It was a nice drive down, and I recognized it pretty well the entire way. I felt bad that I don’t have a driver’s license and so John had to drive the entire way there and back. We stopped to admire the trees at Cathedral Grove. Even with the cold weather, the place was incredibly green. It was very nice weather on the island. When we got to where Josie lives and works, we went to the field station. This is where we met a man, Ono, from Spain. I tried to explain to him about the squids that Josie had for me. They’re as tall as a man, with a beak and eight legs, eyes the size of your palm, and flash their skin different colours. He thought I was making it up, but showed us where to find Josie. She let us stay at the field station, which was like a hostel, for free! She is so nice. We made baked beans on toast in the kitchen, and I explained to a very British man there that when a recipe says a “cup” they mean a measuring cup, and not just any mug you find. He, Ono, and a girl invited us upstairs to sit on mattresses and watch a movie. The next day we went to talk to Josie and collect the squids. This is when I found that she had collected me three whole 3 foot long squid, and the contents of 15 stomachs. We had to go to the local fish packing shop and buy Styrofoam coolers. We came back and it was Christmas eve already.
I went quickly to Zellers to get silly stocking items. When we got back home, there was a tree decorated in the living room, Christmas lights all over the house, and a fire going. We ate dinner and then John and I were off to midnight mass. I’m not sure why I wanted to go. Midnight mass is something I’d heard of other people going to and I felt like I was missing out on something. John had gone before when he was a kid, and so he was perfectly fine to go along with me. It was really cool. Most of it was singing and saying prayers, even the priest sang some of what he said. Then they turned off all the lights, we light candles, and sand silent night. It was very beautiful.
Christmas day was off to an early start as me and John caught the bus up to Mount Washington when it was still dark out. I was still hurting and bruised all over from the first time, so I decided to stay in the lodge and work on my progress report for my thesis. John was finally able to go on all the big runs (which he wouldn’t have done if I had gone, since I don’t really know how to snowboard) and I got a lot of work done. When we got back, I had time to wrap up a toothbrush, toothpaste, gum, and chocolate for everyone’s stocking. Now it was real Christmas. Stef had a fire going and then turned on “log a Christmas special” on TV so we had a fake fire too. Jesse came over and it was great to see him. Stef made us Christmas dinner, and he’s an amazing cook, so everything except the turkey was vegan. Then after dinner we exchanged gifts. I got everyone silly little things easily packed into my backpack. Aunty Joan got us all planners and cards. It was a very nice Christmas.
Boxing day was a nice lazy relaxing day. John and I made our final plans for getting to Forks, Washington. We took a long walk by the beach. When we left the next day, we took the train all the way down the island to Victoria. It’s a beautiful city. We checked into the hostel and went to see a movie. The movie went until late but we still managed to wake up in time to shower, check out, and catch the ferry to Port Angeles. Port Angeles was a small place, but nice. We had a bit of time to wait for the city bus that would take us the hour and a half to Forks. The reason we wanted to go to Forks was because of the Twilight books. We had both read them (John had suggested I read them around the time the second movie, New Moon, was coming out) and loved the books. The books take place in Forks, Washington, and we couldn’t come all this way and not go. We checked into the hotel and then went to the guided tour of the city. We arrived at 3:00pm exactly missing the last tour of the day, and this was the only chance we had. The woman asked, did you come far to be here? Yes. Hang on. And she got them to wait for us to pay and get on the bus. It was meant to be, there were two seats left side by side. The town was amazing. It sat in a valley surrounded by misty mountains. The houses were exactly as the author described. And the best part was La Push, a beach where kids surf. It’s also part of the reservation. Huge waves crashed against the shore, bringing in driftwood and black sand. We were very tired and had an early night. The next morning we had enough time to get breakfast and fill out some post cards before catching the bus. Then we took the ferry across to Victoria. We checked into the same hostel and got to see the Royal British Columbia Museum, parliament, and walk around the city a little. The next morning it was back to Courtenay.
This was our last day in Courtenay. It seemed to me that we would be around a lot, but as it turned out there was so much we wanted to see so we had to leave the next day. We made special boxes to go around the Styrofoam containers and Stef put handles on them. We came up with the question of where would I store three squids, each 15 pounds and three feet long? The hostel didn’t have room, but they said they could store the stomach contents. So I looked online to find a grocery store to ask if they would store my squid for a few days. So I called up Super Value, for the second most awkward conversation of my life. Hi, can I speak to the manager? That’s me. Uh…hi…my name is Heather Braid and I’m a fourth year student a the University of Guelph, and I am currently working on a project involving squid from a recent mass stranding. I need to take the squid back to Toronto but I will be in Vancouver for three nights and I was wondering if I could keep them in your freezer? Well, I’d love to help you, really, but I can’t store them, it would be a liability. Why don’t you try a restaurant? And so began, the most awkward conversation of my life. It was worse than the one I had with the grocery store. I called up Takis’ Taverna on Davie street, just a block away from the hostel we were going to stay at. Takis was out, but the guy I talked to asked me to call back later. My hands were all clammy and I was really relying on this to work out. Everything I had carefully thought out came out in a nervous jumble. At one point I said I need the squid to “do science on them” rather than say DNA analysis or stomach content analysis that would have made sense. It was awkward. But he said, yeah sure just ask for George when you get here. The next morning we collected the squid and went caught the bus to Vancouver.
We got to the Greyhound station in Vancouver, and I was full with doubts as soon as we got off the bus. How am I going to carry all these squid to Takis’ Taverna? Fortunately I had John, who is at least twice as strong as me. Unfortunately, John had his snowboard to carry too, and it was awkwardly long and heavy. He carried them up to the bottom of the stairs to the skytrain, and then we each tried to carry one up the million stairs. I was struggling to get it up even a few steps when a stranger offered to take it up for me. Sure, thanks. And then we caught the sky train to the bus stop. We were smart and took the elevator down this time. But then we had to just get onto any city bus we could find that we thought would go in the right direction. It was a painful struggle to get these two heavy unwieldy boxes onto the bus, but we managed. We got off on Davie street and then looked for numbers on store fronts. Takis’ Taverna wasn’t very far away. But by this point my hands burned and there were bruises forming on the side of my leg from the box. George wasn’t there, but a waitress let us into the basement and found us a space to store them. Instant relief. We went down to the hostel and checked in. We had made a reservation for three nights and the first was New Years Eve, so we were lucky to get it - all the other hostels were booked up that night. We were both painfully tired after struggling with the squid, so we went out to find a nice restaurant. They made pizza in a stone oven and you could see the man making the crust. It was amazing. We walked around some of the streets to see Vancouver, but it was pretty dark out. We went to English Bay to watch for fire works. We counted down according to my watch. We had asked at the hostel if there was a New Years celebration anywhere, but the man said, I’m sorry but I’ve been looking all week for anything and nothing has come up, welcome to No Fun Town. But standing on the beach, we saw fire works start in all directions when the new year arrived.
On New Years day, we decided to take a nice walk down to the Vancouver Aquarium. The only problem was that Vancouver rains, on a near constant basis. By the time we got lost in the parking lot of the aquarium, we were both soaked and John was freezing from the cold. But then we found the entrance and it was worth walking through the monsoon to get there. They had jelly fish, starfish, a sloth, an octopus no one could really see, and beluga whales. We spent most of the day there. We got back to the hostel and went to sleep at 6pm. We had good reason though. Not only because traveling makes you sleepy, but because the next morning we woke up at 5am, out the door at 5:20 to make the 40 minute hike to Pacific Central (the Greyhound and Via Rail station). We got bus tickets to Whistler and then got in the incredible line. I didn’t snowboard there because I thought it was a huge mountain that only experts go on. And then I saw children everywhere on miniature skis, going down the mountain. I didn’t have the coat anymore anyway, I had donated it to Aunty Joan. So I got the sightseeing pass and journal and read my novel in the lodge and John would come and visit me every time he came back up the mountain. To get to the top, you got to take a gondola. The view was amazing. The mountain was huge, and I almost got off at one point, but the sign said that we were only 1/3 the way there. The reason we had to go early is because the gondola stops running at 3pm. We met up and caught the next bus back to Vancouver. That night, we went to Takis’ Taverna to try the food and thank Takis. It was amazing, and they were able to make mine vegan. Takis was such a nice man, and so helpful.
And the next day, we were supposed to leave to Edmonton and so we went to the Capilano Bridge. If you’ve never heard of it (like me until I talked to Aunty Joan), it’s a suspension bridge that shakes and sways as you walk over, and to make it scarier, it’s between two cliff faces with a ridiculous drop below, and it’s 140 meters long. And once you cross, you have to cross back. We used the map in John’s guide book along with instructions from the hostel to get there. We had to walk to the seabus, which was just that. Seriously, it looked like a bus on the inside, with sliding doors and seats, but it was in the water. Then we had to catch the most crowded bus. Once we got there, my hands got clammy. John is fearless, so it was no problem for him. He trusted the bridge. I was terrified. We took pictures on the bridge but I was so scared I just look terrified rather than smiley. But it was beautiful once you hit the other side. There were lower bridges between and around the trees. The sun came out, and made rays of light in the misty gorge. The trees looked so green and so strong. We were going to take the bus back, when I saw what John called a ‘dodgy shuttle’ (it was a small bus covered in a painting the bridge and it said in huge letters ‘FREE SHUTTLE - CAPILANO BRIDGE’). Let’s see where it goes. And it let us off just down the street from our hostel. We had almost caught it when we were going to the aquarium, but it seemed too sketchy.
We started early, going to get the squid at 5pm, and making our way to Pacific Central because our train was at 8:30pm. The boxes were incredibly heavy now since we added a very large party bag of ice to the boxes and a box of salt. I’m not even sure how we managed to carry them and all our stuff. We got on the bus with a great effort, and thankfully the driver let us off closer to the skytrain than he normally would have. We got to the entrance and looked for the elevator but instead saw we were on the wrong side of the building. Now, the boxes probably weigh maybe 60 pounds each at this point, so carrying them around would be a terrible struggle. So we went down two flights of stairs. And then we got to the escalator. A guy helped me get the box tipped up so it didn’t fall into John on the way down. And then more stairs. Finally we were at the train. We got off and found the elevator was further from the station and we might as well take the stairs. John took the really heavy box down and I came down slower. When I saw him a homeless woman was asking him if he wanted help. I offered to get a cart and come back, but John said he didn’t want to be left alone in this place in the dark. So we slowly made our way there. Now you have to remember that it’s a Sunday, so I was unable to get dry ice. The entire trip there was such a stressful adventure, that we were relieved that we finally made it. We walk into the train station and the man comes over and gives my Styrofoam boxes a disappointed look and when I ask about keeping them boxes somewhere cold, he says he’ll ask. Nope, it’s impossible. Ok, it will be alright. But then he says if it’s perishable, we can’t take it on the train in Styrofoam containers. I explain to him my situation, about how far we’d come to get them, and my project. The man was very kind and sympathetic. He asked again. Rejected. Can I talk to the manager? No, I’m sorry, she’s too busy. So he takes a picture of the boxes, and then takes my ticket. You’re not black listing me are you? He laughed. He came back, and said she really won’t let us on, we need a cooler. Why did you have to say anything, he asked? Then very quietly he said, make them box smaller, get a suit case and make it look different.
But it’s already past 7pm now. The only option they had given me was to ship it with Greyhound. But that would cost me an arm and a leg, that’s why I decided to get them myself. So we took the boxes outside. A security guard asked, do you have clothes in there? Sick on explaining my research to everyone I meet, I just said, yeah something like that. Time was passing us by. We need to make this look different. We took the bottom of one cooler and cut it all up with my large hunting knife. We opened it and when the security guard saw the tiny bodies in black plastic, I started to explain our story. We put all three squid in the same box and taped it as best we could. John asked me to get cardboard from McDonalds, but the line was too long. He checked his snowboard. He told me to get plastic bags in a last attempt to disguise it. We had to lose the handles to make the cardboard we had go around. Then it was 8pm. And we were struggling to put it into black plastic bags. And the tape was holding one on over the rips the corners had made. Remember, this was a Sunday, so everything was closed. We couldn’t get a cooler or a suit case. So we walk into the train station with this wet, dripping, salty box Black plastic. We stand at the gates. This was the other less helpful man now, he said we told you that you can’t bring on squid. And I have no idea how I did it, but I looked him right in his eyes and said with a straight face, this is a box of rocks. Wait over there please. I thought for sure we were about to be arrested. A third man comes over to us. He’s dressed in a button down shirt, clearly higher ranking than the people I talked to. I have been searching for the past two hours trying to find you guys a cooler in the back, we’ve done everything we can, I’ve tried everything and I’m sorry but I can’t let you on the train, it would be a liability. I wasn’t going to cry. It was already 8:10. I walked up to the Greyhound counter, and said, I need to ship something to Edmonton. Sorry, he said, you want the building down the street. But it’s a Sunday, so it’s closed. And I couldn’t take it. I collapsed on the floor and curled my legs up and sobbed into my sleeve. We had failed and there was no way to fix it. We’re never getting the squid out of here. Many times that night I wanted to just leave them, but with all we had to do to get them to this point was absurd. While I sat on the floor of the station, being sad, John went up to the counter and switched our tickets so that we would not be able to stay in Edmonton, but we would still get home when we wanted to. With no options left, we took a cab back to Takis Taverna. The guy that had helped us pack the boxes asked, what happened? I told him a very abbreviated story of rejection. Back in the freezer in the basement. And we went back to the hostel. So we did laundry and drank ginger ale.
The next day we walked down to Canadian Tire and bought their biggest cooler. We walked around English Bay and then went to see a movie. It was a lazy day. And the next morning we took the cooler full of squid and stomach contents to the bus and went to Praxair. Now the cooler weights more than15 pounds and so does each squid. We’re dragging 70 pounds up hill to get to the street that it’s on. Do they ever have dry ice though! I bought two blocks of 15 pounds each and then he gave me 10 pounds of cubes of dry ice for free! By now the cooler weights 110 pounds. He told us to stuff the top part of the cooler with news papers or plastic bags. We manage to get old news papers from Second Cup so we don’t have to go dumpster diving while we look scruffy like transients. We tape up the cooler and go to the ticket agent. It’s only 1pm now, we started early. Hi, I would like to check this. How heavy is it? Oh man, this thing weights a million pounds. It’s only allowed to weigh 50. And 70 if you pay a fee. What? What do you mean? So finally we weigh it and find out how huge it was. Can I speak to the manager? We sit down with our cooler in the Train Station. John turns to me and says, try to be polite. I smile. We’ll be ok, I say. She comes out and says that we can’t take it on. Can I take it as carry on? She laughs. I explain my research. She explains that her guys fought for me last time I was here trying to convince her to let me on. She won’t let us check it until it’s lighter. But I need to keep them frozen. If I had a second cooler for the dry ice, could I visit my squid like people visit their dogs and add more dry ice as it sublimates? Sure. Then she gave us the address for the Army and Navy Store. We walked through China Town, and it kept getting dodgier as we walked on. Stores boarded up, people sleeping in the streets. Stumbling as they walk. Not the kind of place you want to be in. Where did she send us? Finally we find it and I buy a used and overpriced cooler. We tried to walk back a better way, but it was much worse. I was so scared, and fearless John was terrified as well. We left the coolers and got our packs. We went back to the train station and John took two blocks out and into the cooler, and it was the perfect weight. We finally got on the train.
Uncle Eric was there, at 11pm, to give me a hug and 20 pounds of dry ice. It was great to see him, but I wished that I could have stayed with him for the two nights that we were supposed to. And then it was back on the train. The ride home was much too fast. We learned how to sleep on the train, and how to get four seats facing each other so you can stretch out. It’s forced relaxation again. But the ride back is a sad one. There is nothing to look forward to. Nothing new anymore. I’ve already gotten pictures of all these places. It’s just a matter of trying to slow down time and pretend the vacation is not over. But we both know that it is. It was a sad day, but a nice day on the train nonetheless.