So....first impressions...well, I'll tell ya..I didn't have a good feeling when the ticket lady in the Vancouver airport told me I had to "walk outside to get onto the plane". Um....seriously? They make planes like that in real life? I honestly thought only private planes and helicopters had "walk-on-yourself" stairs. Ugh...then I saw it. Hello, Tin Can. My immediate reaction was I'm going to die in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It was cozy...very cozy. I DID get a jolt of excitement when I breathed in enough oxygen to allow myself to focus on my surroundings; Haida symbols adorned hats, jackets and a shiny gold necklace which instantly caught my attention. Hmmm, I thought, they obviously didn't die on the WAY to Vancouver...so here's hoping I don't die on the way FROM Vancouver.
Willie thought it would be nice to show me their old cabin/schoolbus in Copper Bay. I'm pretty sure his sister's van yelled at us for making it drive on those roads. WOW....bumpy! The Copper Bay road seemed to have a mysterious feel to it. I was told at one time the road was covered in a canopy of tree branches...I bet that was beautiful but guess what, LOGGING ruined it...ugh. Still, it was a very nice ride. I was surprised to see moss growing all the way up the trees and hanging from branches. Wow, only in a rainforest area I guess. I had never experienced that in Nova Scotia! Then again, our trees are dwarfs compared to these. When we did arrive at the old campsite...there was a bus missing. Willie was shocked to see the deck gone too. Hahaha....poor guy. On our way back, we stopped so I could dip my toes in the Pacific Ocean.....brrrrr!! But I swear it was still warmer than the Atlantic, even if it was only the end of March!
My next moment of "OH GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE" came when we had to board a ferry to get to the house. Really, now? A tiny model airplane and now a bath toy? I say this because it was a small, very open "ferry". Something that one perhaps WOULD use in a bathtub and not the open frickin' ocean. I see now why the Haida are so resilient! How else would they travel?! Well...as scared as I was, I did manage to enjoy part of the ride. Willie and I got out of his sister's van and enjoyed the slightly-foggy and slightly-chilly view. Little islands tucked away, seagulls gathering on another, open water and then....off in the distance...home.
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| Welcome to Skidegate! |
The smell is very distinct when you arrive on the island. I noticed it again when we returned from our adventure to Prince Rupert for my 20-week ultrasound. I can't really describe it...it just is. Cool, fresh air mixed with a hint of saltiness which is then enhanced with that it's-about-to-rain aroma. And I swear there's a hint of magic in the air. Hmm....no, not even that did it justice. Well, folks, this is a case of "come smell it yourself"!
Driving off of the ferry was another harrowing experience because I thought we were going to fall into the water or bust the van up. But we survived! Huh..it was like he'd done it a million times! Go figure! We drove into Skidegate and he took me on a tour of the village. Why are all the houses SO close together, I thought. I was feeling a bit clausterphobic. Where I came from there was tons of space between houses. I mean, my neighbours consisted of sheep, hay fields, my grandmother's abandoned house and my uncle's house. Any other neighbors were a half-mile down the road in either direction basically. This would take some getting used to. But the view of the ocean helped fend off a panic attack. It's breathtaking. Anywhere you look you either see huge cliffs and cedar trees or open ocean.
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| View of Skidegate from the old band office |
I guess you could say I was overwhelmed. Everything was so different. When we finally got back to his mom's place, I got a very warm welcome, some hugs, a few toys to play with from his nephew (peace offerings, maybe? haha) and a reminder to call my mother. News from the other end?
Snowstorm.
Ahhhhh, it was good to be on the West West Coast.
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