The Unlikely ADVENTURER T H E F I N A L I N S TA L M E N T I N T H E 2 0 2 1 S E R I E S by Wendy Maurer
PROXIMITY TO WATER PLAYED A BIG ROLE IN ADVENTURES THIS YEAR—OCEAN, RIVERS, LAKES. It wasn’t planned. The reality
20 21 A YEAR FOR ADVENTURE!
was that not much was pre-planned this year. My husband, Lotar and I fit our adventures into the last-minute windows of opportunity presented by COVID-19 conditions. We chose to be flexible and take on adventures on short notice. Walking the sand of Long Beach—marvelling at the sky reflections on receding waves, absorbing sounds of the crashing waves along The Wild Pacific Trail in Ucluelet, watching the tides come and go along the east coast of Vancouver Island and hearing people play—all fed my soul. My favourite was during the first rain of the fall season while we were camping— hearing the sudden bursts of children laughing as they rode their bicycles through puddles and water sprayed out—real joy! Another favourite moment was while tubing down the Cowichan River as my seven-yearold great-nephew explained to me why we couldn’t wait for his dad to catch up—a young grinning boy saying “the rapids are just making us go fast,” then giggles. Luckily he was on a tube (wearing a life-jacket) and I was faster in a kayak, with a paddle and could stay close and wave back to his mom and dad. There were 14 family members tubing on the river that day and it was a fun, casual, relaxed time to chat and catch up as we social distanced. A great way to beat the summer heat and the series of gentle rapids on the second half of the float did create excitement. This 2 ½ hour float down the river comes with a bus to pick you up and drive you back to your starting point. We were making memories to take us through the coming winter.
9 PASSIONS | FALL 2021
