Summer Fades, and Memories Return

A friend sent me photos of a camping vacation, a thing that I used to do quite a bit of but I feel was made...challenging...by Covid times, when suddenly if you hadn't reserved three months in advance you were basically out of luck, regardless of campground.

It was a timely reminder, the day I was talking to her, and I chatted about a trip to Saltspring Island I'd taken by bike ones. As it turns out, that once was exactly 15 years to the day earlier. Funny how that works.

I remember that summer as a conflicting onc. I'd moved out of a basement apartment I'd lived in for a very long time with a family (and two kids) I cared about a great deal. I'd gone back to an old job, and that didn't end well so suddenly I was moving out, rent was doubling and I was unemployed. I lost touch with the family and the kids. Emotions ran high.

Still, I made the best of the summer: lots of swimming at the glorious 137.5 metre length Kitstilano Pool (the monthly pass in Vancouver was a deal); lots of free movies in parks (I may have seen Back to the Future more than a few times if I recall.) There was a day when a Humpback Whale came into False Creek: it was one of those summers where I could worry about things like that, for a bit at least.

As summer waned I wanted a vacation, so I added a front rack to my bike, stuck a lot of camping gear in it and headed off to Ruckle Park on Saltspring Island (or, if you prefer, Salt Spring...I'm not picky.) One of the great things about Ruckle is that it's first come first serve--get there midweek, and you'll get a spot. Get there on a Friday? Ha. Later, I got used to watching the ferry line up to get off the Island grow from 8:30 and never seemingly shrink. It's a popular place.

It turned out to be a glorious few days, and the inadvertent start of something new and unexpected. The nights were warm, and I spent time reading books long after the sun had set, sleeping well, and exploring an island by bike that I later spent a lot of time on. I still have that bike--fancier fenders, better saddle, new rear derailleur and brakes--though I don't ride it as much as I used to, mostly thanks to working from home. That thing is like a part of me. It might get a bit of a re-fit this winter: I think I'll be riding it for a long time.

What's the lesson from this? A change of place can be a good reset. A break from your phone can be useful. Sometimes, sleeping in a tent is the right answer (always better on warm summer nights without rain.)

I probably need to take a few of those to heart a bit more closely.