island adventure 9 - shop till you drop

Have you noticed I haven't done much shopping on this holiday? I'm actually not terribly fond of shopping. But you can't visit Ganges and entirely skip the shopping—it just wouldn't be a total Salt Spring Island experience.

I tackle the market Saturday morning very intentionally. I have gifts to buy, and money burning a hole in my pocket.

One of the first things I find are Kool Bandanas. These are rectangles of cloth filled with water-absorbent crystals to be used as bandanas or headbands. Water plumps them up and makes them a coolant when worn  around the forehead or neck. I think of all kinds of folks who could use these and pick up several.

At another stall I buy soap (with wonderful names like Vesuvius Bay, Salt Spring Fling, and Weston Lake Wheat Germ 'n Honey). The proprietors are all so friendly and talkative. The soap lady (Dermalove.com) shows off her iphone gadget, which is a credit card reader that lets me use my card instead of cash. (I still haven't given the soaps away; they smell so fabulous, I'm tempted to keep them!)

At another kiosk, I buy artisan vinegar (Apple-rhubarb and Blackberry) in tall, elegant bottles.

 I ask, at the Artisan bread stall, if they have any of the fruit ginger bread we bought at their shop a few days ago. They say they're all sold out of that. So we buy a hearty raisin bread instead. A minute after leaving their kiosk, I feel a tap on my shoulder. It's the lady from the bread place. "We found another loaf," she tells me, handing me a loaf of fruit ginger.  I start fumbling for my wallet, but she waves that off. "Take it," she says, "You can have it." (And I will forever have a soft spot in my heart for Salt Spring Island Bread Co.!)

By now my backpack is bulging. But I can't bypass the soft little dolly without any buttons or chokables for my baby Mimi that I find at yet another table.  So I squeeze that into my pack as a last purchase (and discover later, that the doll-maker is the mother-in-law of the lady who has been in charge of our motel's cleaning crew all week).

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On our last full day on Salt Spring, I tell hubby that I want to explore the Ganges shops. (He is quite happy to stay in the room and do whatever). What a fun afternoon that turns out to be!

I poke around in this shop and that, and find all kinds of goodies. How about these bins and bins of colourful felt booties.

At a toy store called West Moon, they have every kind of toy known to kids and I have a hard time deciding what would be just right for my grandboys. But I do eventually decide on something that will help us in our spider watching.

In the second-hand store I find musical instruments for my sister, chickens for my sister-in-law, and racks and racks of pop-up cards for myself (but only taken home in my camera *sigh*).

There are wonderful galleries too. My favourites are Steffich Fine Art and Gallery 8, where I view all manner of incredible (and pricey) photographs and paintings. I don't take pictures of these because they are under copyright, but I do note the names of the artists' work I see, so I can look them up online later. Some of the names in my notebook from these galleries are:

Steven Friedman (photographer)
Carol Haigh
Bly Kaye
Heather Kocsis
Jade Boyd
Jerry Davidson
Gail Sibley
Pieter Molenaar
Dennice StambuckDavid Goatley
Kathryn Amisson
Florence Roberge,
Curtis Golomb
and Carol Evans

I fall in love with Carol Evans' West Coast watercolors! The scenes are exactly what we've been feasting our eyes on for the last week. And so when I find, in a corner of Gallery 8, a softcover book of her paintings, I know I have to own it. The Shores We Call Home now sits in a place of honour on our coffee table, a beautiful keepsake of this fairy tale holiday.

island adventure 8 - morning walks around Ganges

 Hubby and I tend to stick to the routine we keep at home when on holidays. This means we're up most mornings before 6 to have our quiet time of Bible reading, meditation, prayer, and coffee (on our own). Then at 8 o'clock (before we have breakfast) we go for a walk together.

Our morning walks on Salt Spring are a highlight of each day.

As an aside, that daily walk is one of the best things we've done for our health and fitness. Why? An article on MedicineNet.com cites ten health-related reasons to walk.


1. Prevents Type 2 diabetes.
2. Walking  strengthens your heart if you're male.
3. Walking strengthens your heart if you're female.
4. Walking is good for your brain.
5. Walking is good for your bones.
6. Walking helps alleviate symptoms of depression.
7. Walking reduces the risk of breast and colon cancer.
8. Walking improves fitness.
9. Walking in short bouts improves fitness too.
10. Walking improves physical function.

Writer Richard Weil expands on each reason in the article. Read entire...

But on our morning vacation walks around Ganges avoidance of diabetes, cancer and depression, improving bone, colon and brain health are the last things on our minds, because there is so much to see.  Of course I take my camera to record the nooks and crannies of the town. I'm always lagging  behind to snap just one more photo. Here are some of the things I find:

Murals

and tree-framed scenes

Sayings

and a tide pool still life.

Inspiring stuff around the school

The poster says: "This mural's purpose is to inspire everyone to protect and conserve water to ensure a healthy future for our rivers, lakes, oceans, and communities. Each fish painter has learned about the local watershed and how to keep it healthy."

"Dream Lofty Dreams, For As You Dream, So Shall You Become."

and boats in primary colors

Funky finds

The fruit-and-veggie festooned bike is outside of Bruce's Kitchen.


and a garden of dewy faces

Public works of art on land

and beauty reflected on water.

What a beautiful and interesting place!

island adventure 7 - Baker Road: a church and a beach

Hubby has checked online and picked out Bethel Pentecostal for us to attend on the Sunday we are on Salt Spring. Thursday we do a reconnaissance drive to find the church.

Bethel Pentecostal Church, Salt Spring Island, BC

We step out of the car in the parking lot of the cute little wooden structure and hear a piano playing. It turns out the pastor and his wife are both on site, so we meet them and have a chat. I give them a copy of my novel for their library and while visiting in the parking lot pastor's wife points out the paintings done by her predecessor on the rock wall. I love these!

Bible verses painted on the rocks, Bethel Pentecostal Church, Salt Spring Island, BC

Before we leave they explain how to get to a beach at the bottom of their road (Baker Road). The beach on Booth Bay ends up being one of the most interesting beaches we find on our Salt Spring Island stay. At low tide every pool is alive with creatures and under every sea-weedy rock hide the most brilliant purple starfish you'll ever see.

Starfish on Booth Bay beach, Salt Spring Island, BC

And what about these rocks! I think they're shale.

Shale rock formation, Booth Bay beach, Salt Spring Island, BC

We return to church on Sunday and are struck by the beautiful quarry setting that frames the brown wooden cross—seen from the church driveway. We even meet the man who made and installed it, as he happens to be at visiting the service that day. It's wonderful that because of Jesus we can feel a deep bond with people we've just met.

Cross on the driveway leading to Bethel Pentecostal Church, Salt Spring Island

island adventure 6 - Mount Maxwell

Map of Salt Spring Island, pointing out Mount Maxwell

Later in the afternoon of the day we tour the bread and cheese places, we drive to the top of Mount Maxwell, which is a provincial park.

The last part of the climb is a bone-rattling gravel road that's  narrow and twisty. But the views from the top (Baynes Peak) are spectacular!

The cliffs beside the chain link fence plunge straight down hundreds of feet.

View from Mount Maxwell, looking toward the Fulford Habour

Distant and closeup views of Burgoyne Bay, from Mount Maxwell

View from Mount Maxwell overlooking the Gulf Islands toward Vancouver Island

island adventure 5 - artisan bread and cheese

One of the brochures we pick up at the Visitor Centre is called "Salt Spring Studio Tour." It's a description, together with a map, of 34 working studios on the island that welcome tourists. There are lots of pottery, jewelry, wood, and fabric studios. The two that snag our attention are the Salt Spring Island Bread Company, and Salt Spring Island Cheese. Both of them are near Ruckle Park, and so after one of our visits there, we tour first the bread studio, then the cheese place.

We follow the signs (the main roads have signs to each studio together with the numbers on the map—pretty well coordinated) and come to a long, picturesque driveway that leads to a quaint yard, and a path to the 'bakery.'

Our brochure describes the Salt Spring Island Bread Co. as "Organic artisan baking in a wood fired oven." (Salt Spring Island Bread Co. website.)

They are indeed baking bread in a brick oven, and there are rows and rows of loaves rising on the table waiting for their turn. There are also stacks of yummy-looking pizza-cheese breads already baked along with many other kinds. One of the workers even opens the oven for me so I can take a picture of the bread that's now baking!

Every bread type looks rustic and yummy. What to buy? We finally decide on a loaf of fruit and ginger bread. Later, we enjoy it slathered with butter and hunks of cheese, along with coffee—and I feel just like Heidi! 

Our next stop is Salt Spring Island Cheese ("Handmade goat & sheep cheeses. Free tastings, tours—beautiful courtyard for picnics." - and we do eat our lunch in the courtyard after our tour.)

As we walk around the plant, we see information posters that describe the cheese-making process (and here is Cheese-making 101 as described on their website). There are also large windows perfect for viewing what's going on inside. The place looks very clean and wet. All the workers wear hair nets and gum boots. As we watch a woman sprays the floor with water. The inside of the windows are covered with droplets.

Here are some of the steps of cheese-making we observe. We notice that they are packaging cheese for Costco.

 Our self-directed tour ends in the store, where there are crackers and spreads, along with every flavour of cheese to try. We end up buying a plain goat cheese, which it turns out neither of us is crazy about... something hot, like the chili or peppercorn would have been a better choice. As you can see, there are a lot of cheeses and spreads to choose from!

island adventure 4 - Ruckle Park beach hikes

It's a short drive from the Ruckle Farm to the Ruckle Provincial Park picnic area and trailhead.

On this beautiful sunny day we bear right, taking the path to Beaver Point (named after the Hudson's Bay Company paddle steamer Beaver, the first steam boat on the B.C. coast).

Here are some scenes from that walk.

Twice more we drive to Ruckle Park to do more hiking during our seven-day stay on the island.

The path to the left is more rugged but very rewarding, as it hugs the coast and we pass beach after beach and vista after vista.

We  come to a beach full of inukshuks. Someone spent a lot of time here!

The last time we hike the path, the day before we leave, we take our lunch, prepared for a long day but still don't make it to Yeo Point, the end of the marked path.  It's just too rugged for us oldies!

 On the way back, we take our time, basking in the sun on the beaches that we can clamber down to.

And we're back at the picnic area. I get E. to take my photo with my trusty walking stick before I toss it away for the next hiker.