We always try to stay for at least a couple days in Seattle.  The campground is nice, we have relatives in the area that we try to meet up with, and we take advantage of our last USA stop to stock up on things we can’t get in Canada.  This time we had one more little issue – I had a pretty bad tooth ache.  I’ll spare you all the details but I ended up needing to have the tooth pulled.  I was very thankful that I was able to get the situation taken care of before going across the border.  Canadian healthcare ain’t so free when you’re not a Canuck.  Everything else in Seattle went fine and we headed for the border.

Border crossings both into Canada and into the U.S.A. are always met with some level of trepidation.  We have spent hours at the border waiting for clearance after being selected for a more thorough inspection; nobody wants to go through that.  This time our crossing into Canada was simple and quick.  We spent the night at a campground just across the border then early the next morning headed for Tsawwassen (no that’s not a misspelling) to catch the ferry over to Vancouver Island.  It’s a large ferry and can probably hold at least 100 semi’s on the truck deck plus at least twice that many cars on the car deck.  The crossing is right at 50 miles and takes just over two hours.  Breakfast (breckie) on the ferry is a tradition and the difference between the Canadian way and the US way of doing things is like our welcome back to Canada.

Once on the island it’s another 5 or 6 hours of driving to get to the place we’ll be calling home for the next 5 weeks.  When we got here our campsite was waiting for us and we were all set up in short order.  The view we have from our picture window here at Scotia Bay is one in a million.  This picture was taken from inside our trailer just after a light rain shower; I think just about everyone in camp was out with their cameras for this shot.

But, we’re not here just for the rest & relaxation, we’re here to FISH.  Many of you have asked about the boat so this year I made sure I got a picture. That’s me waving and Robin kicking back in the passenger seat.

It’s a 20 foot Bayliner Trophy and although it doesn’t have the name on it yet, next year it will be sporting Cool Change on it’s sides.  The inspiration for the name comes from this 1979 song by the Little River Band.

The fish weren’t nearly as cooperative this year as they have been in years past.  If we had wanted to catch our limits of everything, we would have really had to work at it.  I felt kinda bad for the folks that just came up for a few days hoping to have their winter supply of fish on ice on their way back home.  Don’t get me wrong, we caught fish, but it was more work than it had been in recent years.  And – there was just about no halibut caught by anyone.  Ling cod is just about as good as halibut (some say better) and we’ve got lots of that.  Here’s a couple a fish pictures.

Both of those are salmon, the one I’m holding is a coho or silver and the one Robin has is a chinook or king salmon.  Of course hers is bigger, she always catches bigger fish than I do.  I won’t even show you the picture of my ling cod; it looks like I should have thrown it back compared to this fine specimen my wife hauled up from the depths.  As I recall this guy was right around 30 pounds.  The REALLY big ones are over 45 pounds.

As you can see, these guys have NASTY teeth.  You need to exercise extreme caution anytime you are in the vicinity of their head.  This one has been dispatched and is ready for the fish box, followed by the freezer – although I do believe we ate some of that bad boy for dinner that night.  Ling cod meat is white and every bit as tasty as halibut.  It’s not quite as delicate though, so it stands up better than halibut if you’re going to be moving the meat around at all during the cooking process.  Ling cod would hold up in a fish soup for example – but it’s also very good sliced thin and fried in a pan with a little flour and seasoning – Yum!!

On good fishing days the assembly line goes into production.  I fillet the fish then bring the meat back to the trailer for final clean-up and bone removal before it’s vacuum sealed and put in the freezer.  This is what the kitchen looks like in the middle of the operation.

Of course, every day wasn’t spent fishing.  Some days the wind was blowing so hard that fishing for us was out of the question.  On those days, the projects you have move to the top of the list.  This year I put a new antenna up on shore and now the VHF radio we have in the trailer works like a dream.  Robin doesn’t mind so much when I go fishing by myself if she has a way of checking up on me.  Cell phones work about half the time but that VHF radio is almost a guarantee.

Another project that I finished this trip is the limo lighting.  Our trailer has LOTS of interior lights but they are mostly task type lights and are way too bright to just be on while you’re watching TV.  No lights at all isn’t the solution either; so I bought some adjustable LED strips and one windy day I got them installed.  This isn’t the best picture but you get the idea.  It is the perfect amount of light for just about everything except for the ‘tasks’ that you need task lighting for.  We are both very happy with the new limo lighting.

And yes – that is a fireplace underneath the TV.  It is fake of course, but it looks pretty good and it does have an electric heater associated with it.  The heater is behind the light show and a fan blows the warmed air out through the top of the unit.  It’s the perfect thing for those cool early mornings when you don’t want the whole house heater cooking the person that’s still under the covers.

Our last fishing trip was an overnight trip to a place called Seymour Inlet.  It’s about 35 miles from Scotia Bay and is often THE place to go get salmon.  My father gets that far away look in his eyes when he talks about the magical trips to Seymour Inlet.  The fish don’t show up there until the end of August or the beginning of September and we’ve never been up here that late, but this year – we’re gonna be checkin’ it out.  Our friends, Dennis and Linda lead the way.

Unfortunately, the fishing at Seymour was about like it was 35 miles away.  We fished all day and only managed two salmon per boat.  We were tired at the end of the day and sleep came easy down in the cuddy cabin.

The next morning we were both rubbing a couple sore spots and making mental notes on what would make the next overnight sojourn more comfortable.  Coffee and donuts then a couple more hours dragging bait around before it was time to head back to the camp.  We would like to thank our friends Dennis and Linda for going with us and making the trip that much more enjoyable.  I’m sure it won’t be the last time we make the trip.  I’m still interested in that experience that my dad talks about so fondly.

We stopped at a hot spot and picked up another ling cod or two on the way home.  By the time we got the fish processed it was time to pull the boat and start the winterization process.

It’s a little sad to be leaving our friends but we very much enjoy our lives back in California and we are looking forward to getting back home.  This is the sunrise on our last morning at Scotia Bay – wishing us a warm goodbye and see ya next year…