How to Become a Ski Bum: In Tide, Out Tide and Low Tide

Low tide yesterday 10:40 a.m.

Low tide 11:40 am

Lets go exploring! It still boggles my mind which that such an astronomical amount of water can move every 12 hours or so. High tide today rose 11.52 feet. They creep up the sandy beach not by a couple of meters, a couple hundred of meters.

Bob having a closer look at the starfish

A sharp contract seeing the creatures of the sea in their own environments. The colours of he ocean are not quite as spectacular as they are when they are submerged in a salty brine.

all choked up!

Yes, salt. I feel like a salt lick after a walk on the beach. The exposed mounds of rock where clams, crabs, starfish and sea anemones make their home is exposed each and every day. Touch on and they cower, thinking a predator is after them. Food for the birds, a palate of colour for our eyes to admire.
They look so fragile out of water. Just try to pry loose a clam or starfish. We watched a seagull trying to pry loose his breakfast. A lot of work to choke down a spiny starfish. We were told sea gulls would swallow starfish whole to scrape the oesophagus and digestive system clean. We did witness this circus act. Have a look at his neck: that is the leg of the starfish.

Colourful starfish clinging on the barnacles and rock

They look soft and slimy, but not so. They are very hard, leathery, spiny creatures.

Ornaments of the sea...... will wait until the tide returns and come back to life.
As for the sea anemones; their bright colours seem faded in the salty air by comparison to their underwater brilliancy.

This is one way to get the surf board to the beach

As for the two legged creature on the beach, the surf is what brings them here. The surfing capital of Canada. Tofino. We now see why. We watched the surfers practise their techniques in the small waves. We spoke with a delightful young couple, (who were snowboarders from Calgary) that moved to Tofino for the lifestyle. Surfing.....mild climate and culture. Here on the west coast the temperature doesn't drop much below 9 degrees Celsius.
By the way, surfing is much more difficult than snowboarding, we were told. A similarity to skiing and snow boarding: surfers need to find the centre of balance much like skiing. Surfers work against gravity and waves. Skiers work with gravity and the snow. Surfers don't need lifts to take them to the top. Surfers have no lift tickets to buy! Good point...

But, they pray for a day or two of snow. Vancouver Island is home to Mount Washington Ski Resort. When it snows,.... it snows and locals trade in the surf boards for snow boards for a few days.

Transportation is inventive. Surf board carriers for bicycles. One observation is: No one wheres helmets. When we asked why, we were told the locals won't have any part of it! They protest helmets. Well, for those who know Bob and myself, we don't need to rant on how imperative it is to wear them. Helmets save lives.

Meanwhile, the surfers were out in the rain. Don't bother hibernating. Water is water that is.

Cold warm, but always wet.
I like the idea of dry suits. We are contemplating on investing in a couple of suits for kayaking. Lake Superior is a cold lake at the best of time and would extend our season in the Northwest. We will make a visit to Grand River Kayaks and visit our friends Ed and Tanya for their expertise!

Looking Good!!!

We did manage to find sunshine later in the afternoon. So did everyone else. They all came out of the woodwork to basque in the golden rays. The sun rarely comes out in May. With sunshine comes tourists in droves.
We are told the beaches are absolutely insane with people. Even in the misty weather, it is beautiful and the beaches are ours to walk and explore.