A Perfectly Perfect Birthday

September 9, 2022

Today was a fantastic day!!  We awoke to clear skies and because of where we were anchored the sun was shining on us by 07:30.  We enjoyed the morning and then headed out in Kiki at around 09:30.  The water was a perfect glassy calm!   

Since we were leaving during a time of strong current we had to be very careful as many of the scattered crab-trap buoys were being pulled under water by the force of the current.  Many of them were also covered in eelgrass and other seaweeds, which made them look simply like a clump of floating weeds.   

As the current was speeding past the Tofino harbour, creating a turmoil of mixed-up wake and current rip, we pulled up to one of the two public docks.  Up until today we had always used the one that was a bit further from town, but today, since I was just running up to the store to grab us some good picnic items, we pulled up to the busier dock, and Jason dropped me off.   

While I was gone Jason got to witness the full craziness of the Tofino Harbour.  Boats were constantly coming and going, planing in and out, creating large wakes right around the dock area.  And, because of the shallow areas close by, the wakes were transformed into large, steep waves that hit the dock and shook everyone and everything around.  He saw one boat that appeared like it might get lifted right up onto the dock as the set of waves passed underneath it.   

Equipped with ingredients for a good picnic we headed over to the far side of Stubbs Island.  Stubbs is an interesting island in that it literally doubles in size at low tide. 

The large tidal-sands flats that extend out from both sides of its spit are extensive, and much of the eastern side of the island is sand, including some beautiful sand dunes. 

On the far side of the beach area Jason and I felt like we were much further away from Tofino than we actually were, and most of the sounds of the busy harbour were silenced by the sand dunes.

We were very surprised that on such a beautiful day, on such a beautiful beach, so close to Tofino, we only saw two other people, and they had come in in kayaks and were at the far end of the beach.  It was lovely to have the beach pretty much to our selves.   

When we first got there we went for a walk all along the shoreline enjoying the feel of the sand on our feet and the heat from the sun. 

We enjoyed our delicious picnic, played some Frisbee, and Jason played around with his wing for his wing-foil setup.  

In the late afternoon we headed home, stopping back in at Tofino on the way.  Once again I ran up and grabbed a few groceries while Jason waited in the chop.  

Since it was my birthday I also grabbed a cake and some ice cream.  With the ice cream wrapped up well in a puffy jacket we headed home.  The ice cream transported quite well and then went straight into the freezer.   

We had a lovely evening with a delicious dinner of burgers and Greek salad, and then cake for dessert.  

It was a perfectly perfect birthday!