We recently returned from a journey north in our little metal boat. The long-anticipated trip up part of the Inside Passage from Puget Sound to most of the way up Vancouver Island in BC was a rich and full experience. We left our little marina and returned 12 days and a little over 900 miles later.
Our trusty boat, the captain and our load as we headed out
Novel stimuli abounded on this adventure, and we were on the fun part of so many steep and intersecting learning curves. What did we learn (in no particular order)?
· Travel by boat offers a great way to move through the world
· The world offers vast and varied habitats
· The habitats along the Sunshine Coast of BC are awe-inspiring
· The awe we experienced offered us a deep gratitude for life
· Of all kinds
A very large cedar tree, shell midden beach, an island walk
We also learned that:
· We are small boat people
· Who prefer to ‘anchor out’ rather than tie to a dock overnight
· We like to move from place to place fairly quickly, and then go ashore to walk and look around
· Stand-up paddleboarding is a great way to quietly move through secluded coves and bays
· A bucket for a toilet and a bench for a bed are not so bad for 12 days, but any longer might be too long!
The areas we visited allowed us to swim in warm water, rinse off in solar-heated freshwater once back onboard, collect oysters and catch salmon to eat, anchor among yachty neighbors, anchor alone without another boat for many miles, escape from alerts on our devices, watch grizzly and black bears forage along low tide shorelines, be surprised by a large brown bear on the way to the bathroom in the early morning on the one night we slept tied to a dock, hike and swim in freshwater lakes, meet and chat with wonderful and colorful Canadians, hear the exhale and inhale of a humpback from our little bed in the boat, and see & feel new textures and shapes in the treasures on these remote shorelines and forest floors.
This trip has also allowed me to get some perspective on many things. The artist/maker in me was recharged by the thinking time as we moved through vast and varied areas and spent time in unspoiled places. My creative process ebbs and floods like the 19-foot tides in northern BC – and my maker thoughts are flooding hard right now. Back at my bench, I have been busy designing new pieces inspired by the clarity I got from the time away in an amazing part of this planet. I am also finishing up some commissions and new orders from the newest fall collection that was just released in Artful Home. Stay tuned for some new designs in the coming months.
