Deep Cove Canoe & Kayak - North Vancouver, British Columbia -

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I played with the Big Fat Flying Pigs at the annual women's hockey tournament at Canlan Ice in North Vancouver. But, unfortunately, we lost every game on Friday and Saturday which left us with no games to play on Sunday. Time to play outside! About 10 minutes away from our hotel was Deep Cove, a little neighborhood by the water, which I haven't been to in a long while. So, I decided to head over and check things out. I thought a few hours of paddling was an excellent way to wind down from the tournament. The others who were going to join me bagged saying they were tired or something silly like that (sorry, I don't understand what that means). So, while they piled into their cars and headed up to Whistler (where it was raining up top - snicker), I headed down to Deep Cove where it was warm and sunny and rented a fiberglass Necky Eliza (wheee!) from Deep Cove Canoe & Kayak for a few hours.

I left the shack and headed up the left hand side of Indian Arm with the goal to make it to Twin Islands and then come down the other side of the inlet. It wasn't like I was away from it all - it was like paddling on Lake Union or Lake Washington in Seattle. Noise from powerboats and sea-doos/jet-skis surrounded me and, at first, got on my nerves. But I soon forgot about it once I settled into my own activity. Once you got away from the beach where the rental shack was located, it quieted down significantly. I watched a sailing race for a few minutes mainly because I wanted to see the outcome of two boats that were way too close and ended up just narrowly missing each other - this was followed by an exchange of colorful words....boat rage. I was going at a pretty good pace with the wind working in my favor and reached Twin Islands in about an hour. Ooops - this was supposed to be relaxing but I was motivated by thoughts of a hot tub back at the hotel followed by a cold glass of Sauvignon Blanc, and the string cheese that was sitting in my fridge in my room (always prepared!). Along the way, a few harbor seals floated alongside me and I also stopped to watch a bald eagle searching for food along the shore. I didn't see her catch anything but it was great to watch her soar and dive down close to the water.

I practiced my edging and bracing in the wakes left by the motor boats. Still a little shaky especially since I was on my own and not really interested in practicing my self-rescue technique despite how warm I was at that time of day. But, I took my time heading back (and a good headwind slowed my pace) since I had a few hours to kill enjoying the scenery and the general good feeling I get whenever I'm outside. To me, life is all about enjoying the things large and small on this little blue planet. I'm grateful for all of it and the experiences which impact the way I live my life - ok, thank you for bearing with my existential moment :-) (I had a high school teacher that talked about existentialism all the time...yeah, in a private Catholic school - go figure. I think I'm getting it now, although, he always associated that philosophy with baseball which I just don't get.) Afterwards, I stopped for some ice cream and inhaled it before any of it had a chance to melt. Then, I headed back to the hotel for some muscle therapy which involved some time in the hot tub, followed by a dip in the cold pool, and back into the hot tub, then back into the pool.....Relaxed, and pruney fingered, I completed my relaxation with a glass of wine (ok, maybe 2) and some cheese I brought with me. Later on, I headed out with my hockey teammates for a carnivore feast, more wine and more laughs. Life was good.

Anyway, if you're ever in Vancouver, Deep Cove on the north shore is a nice, protected place to paddle. Go to Deep Cove Canoe & Kayak and sign up for at least 3 hours and head further up into the inlet to get away from all the motor activities and hullaballoo. A good 4-hour excursion is the one I did - up the west side of Indian Arm to Twin Island, and then down the east side of the inlet back to the shack.

I am looking forward to my paddle and camping trip around San Juan Island (the western-most island in the cluster of the San Juans) and leisurely exploring the smaller surrounding islands in June (a nice follow-up to the cycling century that I'll have finished just prior to the trip). Hopefully, we'll run into the J-pod of Orcas that make their way up in to the Haro Strait around this time of year. I need my fix of marine mammals since I live so far away now from the actual ocean :-( I'm sure we'll see some Dall's (or is it Dahl's) and Harbor porpoises, Harbor Seals and California Sea Lions. But, how great if we could see some sea otters (I miss my sea otters down in Monterey, CA) - very unlikely though. I am so looking forward to the campfires, sunsets, the stillness of the mornings, and the beautiful scenery. It may not be the Great Bear Rainforest but it'll do for now. We might get lucky and see some migrating humpback whales as they make their way up the coast to Northern BC and the Alaskan waters for feeding. In fact, as I type, there is a report of a humpback lingering in the southern part of Puget Sound which is extremely rare (oops - wrong turn). I think I will head out and try to spot it this weekend.