Port Alberni,

Just before Port Alberni there's Coombs Candy.  As soon as you park and open the door you can smell it, the aroma of freshly prepared fudge.  Murray is the owner and has been a candy maker for decades.  I can think of so many friends who would have appreciated this more than me (I'm a carb. freak) but I did purchase three pieces and a couple of postcards, payback for taking up so much of his time with my questions, not about making fudge but about his history.

Murray, the candy man!

Now to Port Alberni.  I'm a bit of a procrastinator.  Not news to anyone who knows me.  Fortunately, I've

learned a few lessons early in my journey.  1. When you're going to hit someone up for a place to stay, don't wait for two days before you arrive to make contact,  and   2.  If you're going to write a blog, do it everyday because what happens is you lose the immediacy of emotions.  As regards the first, I knew some long ago friends of mine, Marek and Donuta, were now living on the coast.  Hadn't know they had been overseas until Nov. last year.  Anyway, I was given their number about a month ago.  Did I call right away?  No.  When I finally made contact, I learned that they were  heading out again within two days.  Dang.  We hadn't seen one another in over a decade and my procrastination would prevent us catching up on each others lives. 

I arrived at 4:30pm and didn't expect to stay long as I knew Donuta was expecting company and was extremely busy trying to organize and prepare for the trip.  Before I arrived I thought I might be imposing but when we embraced, that feeling fell away as did the decade that separated us.  I love when that happens.
Well, we did catch up.  I was also introduced to Terry, a friend from Victoria who was the expected company.  Well, you'd think we'd known each other forever, such was the ease with which we communicated.  We went to the Crab Shack, no, that's not what's it's called.  It's the Crab Bucket for supper.  Again, the food was delicious.  Highly recommend the Halibut Florentine with a potato thing called a croquette.  Better than the food was the conversation which flowed easily.  Why I didn't have the waitress take a picture is beyond me.  Guess I'll have to come back!  As everyone would be on the go early the next day, it was lights out by 11pm.  I awoke at first light, around 5:20 am, got up, dressed and stood outside looking at the cherry trees in full bloom and listening to the lovely racket of birdsongs.  Not for the first time, I smiled and thought how fortunate I was to be here, with these people. in this place, surrounded by splendid nature.  It was 4 degrees but the coolness didn't deter me from standing there for 15 or 20 minutes.
Soon the others were up and about and we ate breakfast.  Marek was soon gone to work which left myself and Donuta chatting while Terry got ready for the drive back to Victoria.
We sat on the couch and talked for a few hours.  Terry walked in and sat down a few times then, seeing how entirely involved in conversation we both were, got up and left.  Sorry Terry!  Time seemed to pass slowly yet by the time I left it must have been 10:30am.  I was going to leave at eight!
My plan was to head to Tofino right away but, through the jigs and reels as we say back home, I ended up staying in town overnight and I'm glad I did.
I stayed at the Riverside, an older motel but very clean and the price was half of the Best Western.  Afterall, it was just a place to lay my head for one night.  So I went back to the Clam Bucket (not Crab Bucket, I really have to take a notepad along with me).  Afterwards, I decided to drive around and see what I could find.  Well, I found the wharf and a first nations couple who said there was a grey whale in the harbour.  "In my 26 years," he said "I have never seen a whale this far in."  He told me I was lucky.  I smiled and said I knew it.
It swan very close to the ships tied up by the wharf and it came to the surface three times while I was there but unable to predict exactly where or when, I didn't get the shot I wanted but I did get a shot of the spray from its blow hole.

That little patch of whiteness in the upper centre of the pic.  Honest it is.

Port Alberni waterfront.

Port Alberni above the waterfront at sunset

So that's it for Port Alberni.  No, that's not right.  After I had seen the whale, I decided to walked to the opposite part of the waterfront hoping to spot it again.  It was really cold with the wind blowing in off the water and I wondered why I was still standing there when it was obvious the beast would not show then a woman walked toward me and within a few minutes I realized she was the reason I stayed put.  She asked me if I was a tourist.  Not really I said then launched into my story.  I've got a short version now.  She said she was in the same place I found myself before I started on my journey.  "So that's why I'm standing here," I said.  "I was waiting to meet you and tell you this".  She said she had become very discontent in her life and said she wanted to do the same thing.  Isn't that amazing.  That's how the trip has been so far.  These supposed random chance meetings are turning out to be something entirely not random but intentional, though I can't name whatever is orchestrating these encounters but I've learned not to question but to embrace and go with whatever or whomever is coming into my life!  We shook hands and Barbara said she was very glad to have met me.  I returned the same to her.  There we go again, I thought to myself as I headed back to my car.  I was up just after 6am this morning and refreshed my 'new, natural color' and repacked for the 100th time my things so I'm better organized.  I feel the most organized today than I have since I started and what I mean by that is when I want something, whether its a digital card, a comb or a book, I know exactly where it is.  It's only taken three plus weeks but it's one of those things you can not completely prepare for ahead of time.  At least I couldn't as this is the first time I've packed my worldly possessions into the trunk of mycar.

So, here it is 1:37pm.  I've been sitting at the Serious Coffee cafe at 3755 10th Ave. in Port Alberni, five hours after I first sat down here, though it flew by, up to date on my blog and with the pledge to do this daily, if opportunity allows so I can capture more the emotion of the day.  I'm heading back to the wharf to check out a restaurant I saw there last night and to see if I can spot the grey whale before I head to Tofino.

That's it I'm gone.  No time to edit so errors and ommissions are to be expected!