Saturday, August 16, 2014

August long weekend back in Newcastle

August is typically busy for me.  The summer is when Vancouver really comes alive with all sorts of activities and events, and if you don't stay in town it's the best time to explore the surrounding area because the weather is finally HOT and SUNNY! Even if I'm stranded far from a safe roof over my head, 'tis the time to camp out on a park bench.

The start of August is a long weekend here, which we made into a 5-day weekend and sailed over the Newcastle Island - revisiting where I went in May, this time in a boat, to meet with a group of people.  The same location is now a very different experience than being alone, as I expected it would be; more stability and organization, but less spontaneity and independence.  It was very relaxing, and I had a leisurely time drinking on the docks and a short hike to find the other three geocaches I missed finding in May - one up a tree with branches I had no faith in to support my weight, so I figured I wouldn't reach without a corps of engineers and a system of pulleys and lines to get me up there.  Maybe someday.  I saw raccoons, bats and otters, and there was a protected colony of purple martins, the largest swallows in North America, in the pilings of the marina - noisy but a gentle way to wake up in the morning.