The Pacific

OK, so there probably aren't many blogs dedicated to a body of water, and I might jusssst be blogging because finals are here and I am a procrastinator...but I have to say SOMETHING!

There is something about the island (Vancouver Island) for all you non-BCers (to add to that, Im not ever sure why we refer to it as THE island, because it is absolutely NOT the ONLY island in BC, in fact, because we are a coastal province....you get where Im going, and Im pretty sure you don't want me to bore you with a geography lesson)....back to my story...

My dad's parents have lived on the island my entire life and school breaks and long weekends were usually spent in ferry line-ups. There was something SO exciting about riding on the ferry as a kid, that feeling of sitting in class knowing that RIGHT after school you would be hopping in the car and going straight to the ferry...so maybe, Im still a kid at heart?

My husband doesn't share this thrill of ferry. The ferry to him is a cash grab, a monopoly, a conspiracy. The mennonite in him is disgusted with the cost of riding the ferry (I agree, it's unquestionably expensive). He doesn't mind going to the south coast, like Gibsons, because you only have to pay one way (which is genius). But on the high traffic routes like Victoria or Nanaimo, you pay a lot! OK, so this blog isn't shaping up to be anything about the ocean is it? I have to tell you this though...the one thing that Jordan LOVES about the ferry is the food...I know, weird isn't it. The truth is there is a white spot on every boat (which he loves) and for some reason THE BEST clam chowder IN THE WORLD is made by BC Ferries, they must add extra sulphites or something? It's just one of those things....but the KICKER for Jordan is the Pacific Buffet. He LUUUUUURRRRVVVEEEESSS the Pacific Buffet. I think he likes it because he knows he can get his money's worth, he knows he's able to put away more than 20$ of food and somehow feels a sweet sense of justice when he feels like he is robbing BC Ferries of all their roast beef or salmon filets. He also told me, and I quote, "it's just the whole dining experience, really." WHAT? If you know my husband...if you ask him if he likes something his reply is usually...."is it food?" Dining experience?! who is this guy?!

I like to say that I altered his palate a little bit, or as a TRUE foodie would say 'refined' his palate. He said he didn't really eat a lot of seafood before. Crab to him was something you get at fancy restaurants and you pay insane amounts for. The look on his face was priceless when, while camping, I asked him if he wanted to get some crab...."here?" he said is shock.

See, being a west coast girl (here's the part about the ocean), raised by VERY west coast parents, crab to me was something you ate while camping...there is nothing glamorous about crab?! Basically you sit hunched over a dead crustacean, tearing wildly at its shell, dipping the flesh you've ripped from it's body in melted animal fat - what's so glamorous about that?! He was amazed when I got him to drive me to the docks and bought two of the..and I quote..."the best crab I have ever had" for 30 bucks (which is really a steal for the fisherman)...two whole dungeness crab for 30$, he couldn't believe it. I taught him how to cook it and clean it...he already had the eating it part down...and we sat, around a campfire and ate a meal he thought you could only get in fancy restaurants...

I also taught him about oysters, taught him how to BBQ them. Taught him about scallops, how to cook those properly too.

Then I took him salmon fishing...for his birthday. He grew up on the prairies where icefishing is what they do. He was excited to take me icefishing for the first time too. We sat on a frozen lake in Manitoba, with blowing winds, over a hole in the ice with a fishing rod that looked like part of a cat toy and waited for the elusive Jack fish. We had to drink the beer quickly, otherwise it would freeze and take our gloves off to clean the ice off of our lines. I remember thinking to myself "this is not like any fishing trip I've ever been on". Fishing to me is on a boat, on the ocean, in the sunshine with a beer you need to drink quickly or else it will get warm. He'd also done some trout fishing locally, told me the biggest trout he ever caught weighed 12lbs, I knew then what I had to do. I took him fishing....in the ocean...on a boat...in rolling waves and the sunshine..

He hooked a 25lb spring salmon at the mouth of the Capilano River. That smile is genuine, a fisherman who had finally met his match. Im please to report that he plans on doing more salmon fishing. I bought tags for both of us for the year, so he should be able to get some fishing in before it expires :)

The ocean for me has this healing quality. I read somewhere that saltwater cures everything: sweat, tears and the sea...I couldn't agree more. The ocean has such a commanding presence, it deserves to be respected...I just feel humbled by its power. I have long since said that the Pacific Ocean will always be my first love and so she will remain. You either LOVE the ocean or you HATE the ocean, I don't think there exists an indifference. Whenever I feel sad, confused or lonely I drive to the ocean and sit on its beaches and let the waves cleanse my soul, it's spiritual for me. I got the opportunity last year to see the Atlantic...and I must admit it doesn't have the same appeal. There are no sunsets over the Atlantic like there are over the Pacific. That picture at the top of my blog was taken on wikininish beach in Tofino, one of the most breathtaking places on the face of this earth.

I just cracked an authentic smile and I am bursting at the seams with excitement because today I get to see her and bask in all her glory!!!