Bobby and I left Courtenay shortly after noon, heading south through Nanaimo toward Oyster Bay, just north of Ladysmith. The plan was simple: a weekend to rest, swim, and reset at the Wyndham. We stopped off at the convenience store in Qualcomm Beach where I pointed out the little package of what they now call “Candy Sticks” (see photo to the right). I told Bobby that they used to be called “Candy Cigarettes” when I was young, and they were red on one end, to denote that they were lit by a match. I bought him a pack, and he really liked them, but exclaimed that they were quite hard.
As we checked in we noticed that the pool was empty, so we quickly unpacked with the aim to be into the pool asap. Bobby announced that he didn’t have his swim trunks, so back in the car we went, to Nanaimo, the closest probable place to get a pair of swim trunks. As soon as we were out of the parking lot Bobby mentioned that he did bring his shorts, but said that since we were now in the car we might as well get new swim trunks as the ones he currently has are kinda tight. So, off we went to Nanaimo.
Up in Nanaimo, Walmart had nothing and Winners had nothing. Finally, at Sport Chek, we found a pair — perfect fit, half off, $30 instead of $60. By the time we returned, though, the peaceful hotel had transformed into a hockey village. A tournament was in town — eight-year-olds everywhere, including a swarm of them at the pool.
Bobby didn’t want to go into the pool with so many kids, so we pivoted. At Bobby’s request we grabbed dinner at A&W — Teen Burger specials at $4.99 each, one for the boy, two for me. We also went to Save-On Foods for supplies and munchies. Simple, comfort food provisions for the weekend.
Those hockey kids and families took over the joint… 🙂 They even partitioned off the end of our hallway and set up a makeshift “Street Hockey” arena to play on! One kid stopped by to bang on our door with his hockey stick. I answered the door and pointed to the “Do No Disturb” sign and one of his friends said “Why did you knock on that door” and off they went.
Every half hour, we’d wander down to check the pool, but it was packed. It wasn’t until around 9:30 p.m. that it finally cleared out. The hockey families must’ve turned in early for their morning games. We slipped in quietly. Bobby went straight to the slide, racing up the stairs and laughing each time he hit the water. I slid into the jacuzzi and let the warmth erase the day. Thirty minutes of heaven.
Back in Courtenay my wife and Katie went for a 10 km hike on Mount Washington! Katie did some research for her “Model UN” club (she will be representing China on nuclear proliferation).