Go back to Day 3
Miracle Beach -> Rathtrevor
At the start of this day I was a bit nervous for a couple of reasons:
- the crazy cramps I got the last time I rode this distance
- wondering if Rathtrevor would be able to squeeze me in
Due to my concerns I was antsy to get an early start. I also felt more inclined to keep my route simple. ie stay on the highway, rather than finding good side road routes. Of course I made sure to catch the Headquarters Road turnoff, cuz it was so straight, quiet, smooth and lovely..
I think my first pit stop was at the gas station store at Buckley Bay. (where one catches the ferry to Denman Island) This stop was a bit like a visit to the Room of Requirement. I’d realized that I should get some pain meds for my sore back. (“But stoicism feels good!”) I also bought a Powerade, hoping it would help me avoid my end of day leg cramps.
Joy o joy, the Powerade worked! I finished the ride with no cramps. As an added bonus, I made it to Rathtrevor in time to get a walk-in site (there we two left when I arrived) I felt quite good rolling up to my tent spot.
I’d only been there a couple of minutes when a 3 yr old girl and dad came over to my camp spot. Given there weren’t any other people around it seemed like they were seeking me out for something. I soon realized they were not seeking me out, but instead were seeking out the rabbits hiding in the bushes at the edge of my site.
Kate, the kid, was attempting to feed carrots and snap peas to them, and dad was giving her a lot of ‘don’t be so nervous’ type advice. Fairly quickly I was chatting up a storm with Kate, and enjoying our conversation. Meanwhile her dad had drifted back to their campsite on the opposite corner of the walk-in area.
me: How come bunny and rabbit are different words for the same thing? Other animals only have one possible word, like ‘dog.’
Kate: what about ‘puppy’.
me: hmmm, good point.
This carried on for quite a while, until her dad came by and told her it was time to go to the beach. (I’m pretty sure he still hadn’t said a word to me.) Kate calmly and firmly let dad know she had zero interest in going to the beach. dad: ‘I’ll give you a treat.’ Kate; ‘not interested.’
At this point, I kind of felt bad for dad and he appeared to be some combination of frazzled, frustrated and angry. I’m pretty sure Kate spent weekdays with mom and only saw dad on weekends. Dad gave up and went back to his tent. I could have done more to push Kate away from me, but for some reason I decided not to do that. Anytime dad was attempting to entice Kate away, I’d say nothing, and let her assert what she wanted to do.
I was looking to go for a swim. Also, seeing Kate’s carrots and snap peas made me realize I was hungry for some yummy vegetables. So I told Kate I need to go have a bath. She looked at me like this was a peculiar thing to say, but I was worried if I told her I was going swimming she’d want to go with me. I felt bad, in that she’d recently brought a book over to my camp site with the idea of reading it together, but I had to tell her it’d have to wait until after my ‘bath.’
I ended up going for a very long tootle, first to the beach/bath and then I found a wonderful farm store back at the highway. Kale, carrots, grapes, garlic, all of it so good.
When I got back to camp with my produce, I got started making dinner. No sign of Kate and dad. Dinner with the veggies was truly delish! While I was cooking/eating the Victoria couple that said they were heading to Hornby (Melissa and Jim?) rolled into camp.
Through the evening, I saw a bit of Kate, but did my best to be as uninterested/uninteresting as possible. While it worked in that she didn’t linger in my camp site it felt unfortunate to be giving her the cold shoulder.
Go to Day 5