November/December 2021
The days following my return from Canada, I had been contacting Kirill, Guy, and anyone else that I knew that could help me complete Tech 2. I only had 1 dive to go but there didn’t seem to be any real opportunity until maybe the following spring; and even that was up in the air. I was feeling extremely discouraged and unsettled. I was also thrust back into the harsh reality of dealing with the mountain of shit involved in settling my Mom’s estate. My mothers house sat eerily empty up in West Virginia full of a lifetime of accumulated things that my sister (who lives in Massachusetts) and we would have to somehow find time to sort through in a meaningful way. My mother didn’t leave any real instructions for us except for some handwritten wishes but it wasn’t anything really to go by. Generally the estate was a mess, and we had to essentially play detective to find all the paperwork and other things needed to begin the process of settling, which would likely up to a year or more. The physical labor and hours needed to go through this process is hard to articulate. And since neither me or my sister lived close to “home” we’d end up having to make many weekend trips back to WV to begin cleaning out the house. There was also the perpetual game of phone tag with everyone from attorneys, to the county (literally “faxing” stuff), to making arrangements for a funeral service etc. Not to mention the emotional toll. We were not prepared whatsoever but we did the best we could. Meanwhile Tech 2 seemed pretty unimportant, yet it remained unfinished, like a festering wound which contributed greatly to a general state of depression that I was feeling.
On November 14th, after a fairly emotional trip back to WV, I decided that I needed to complete the class now or I may not get a chance to if I waited. The fastest way to get it done would be me flying back to Canada. So I contacted Guy via messenger and began to sort out arrangements for a return trip. Guy happened to have some time in early December for a weekend and the plans began to evolve. I decided to fly into Seattle this time, so I could drive across the boarder and avoid the stress and worry about the possibility of getting stuck in Canada. I would fly in Thursday December 2nd, drive from Seattle to Vancouver, catch the ferry and then drive to Duncan. I would rest or do an easy dive Friday and then we’d do our T2 final dive on Saturday. On Sunday, I’d drive back to Seattle and fly home on Monday the 6th. The accommodation options were limited but I found a super cozy BnB overlooking Maple Bay that had great reviews. From what I could tell from the pictures, It was basically a basement apartment of someone’s house but looked cozy and they were a legit BnB where they did serve breakfast in the morning. I thought it would be nice and relaxing, given the stress I was under with everything going on and it was only a few minutes from Guy’s house.
A week or so before my flight, I began the familiar process of sorting gear and packing. I chose the DUI drysuit this time since it was cut bigger for thicker undergarments, I also brought another backup suit which was bigger as well. I also had to go through the same process of COVID testing to get cleared to fly but again this was all familiar by now. Vancouver Island would be a bit colder now so I packed additional warm clothes. The dive plan ended up changing to now doing my final dive on Friday the 3rd instead of Saturday because there was an opportunity to do some wreck diving Saturday with a bunch of GUE people which sounded good to me. Albeit I had already booked my flight and I did have concerns with being “ready” to do a big 250′ dive the following day after my arrival, since I don’t usually sleep well after traveling all day. Regardless, it was my opportunity and I did have my flights booked in such a way that it should be fine.
I arrived at the airport on the morning of Thursday Dec 2 with plenty of time to spare. My flight was 8:25am and I’d have a stop in Denver. I padded my trip with enough time that I was expecting to arrive in Seattle in early afternoon Pacific time (1:13pm to be exact) and then drive just a couple hours or so to the Canadian boarder, catch a ferry and at the BnB in the early evening, which should let me get settled and get a good night sleep. All seemed to be working according to plan.
My flight from Orlando to Denver, and then to Seattle were on time and all my gear arrived as well, which if you know me, I’ve had trauma from past adventures about airlines losing gear so this is always something I consider on trips like this. I made my way out of the airport to grab the rental car. The car rental place was offsite, and there was a bit of a walk to get to the shuttle. But based on the previous trip, I had mastered the technique of hand carrying all four bags like a Himalayan Sherpa, with one halcyon bag on my back like a backpack, another on top of that forming a “T” with the strap across my forehead, the other backpack worn on the front, and I hand carried my DUI dry suit bag. It was a lot of gear and it probably looked ridiculous but It had to be done.
I picked up a Jeep that was fairly beat up but seemed to be ok for my needs, punched in the address for the ferry terminal into google maps, and made my way north. As I drove through Seattle, which as been on my bucket list of cities to visit ever since I was a kid in the 90’s listening to all the grunge music, I queued up a Pearl Jam playlist which seemed fitting. The weather was chilly and gray with light rain, which is typical of that area. My Ferry (The Spirit of Vancouver Island) was booked for 5:53pm out of Tsawwassen, just south of Vancouver City and by my GPS I had plenty of time to make it. I even stopped to grab a quick gas station sandwich, snacks, water, and a couple Monster energy drinks for emergency caffeine, since I was starving. I was feeling pretty good about everything and honestly pretty excited to get back to Vancouver Island and take a ride on another BC ferry.
I finally arrived at the boarder and passed a sign that said “Customs and Immigration 1 Mile” at close to sundown and my GPS was showing a small delay (37 mins) which I expected. Great, I’m going to make it I thought. As I drove up over a hill I could see a line of cars stopped. So I patiently sat in traffic fully expecting to move through customs pretty quickly. I texted Guy to let him know I was at the boarder and waited. The ferry was just about 5 min across the boarder so I was still good on time. But Traffic wasn’t really moving more than a few feet and the 37min delay came and went. At this point I started to be pretty concerned that I was going to miss my ferry but I still had about 40 mins to make it.
I waited and moved just a few feet at a time before stopping for 20-30 mins, and then repeated this process to the point where it became obvious I was going to miss the ferry I watch the clock on the car as 5:53 came and went. I logged into the BC ferry app and booked the last ferry for the night leaving at 9pm. It was now 6pm and I thought that I might never get across. I had been at the boarder now for over an hour and a half and I had probably moved less than 200 yards the whole time. It was excruciatingly slow. At this point, I had to piss like a racehorse, because I made a crucial mistake drinking a monster as I got to the boarder because I was starting to get tired (my body was still on east coast time and it was 9pm for me). The only container I had in my possession to piss in was an empty can of monster which presented a “small” predicament. There was absolutely no place to pull over nor would it have been cool to explain that to the boarder patrol so I climbed into the back seat and grabbed a catheter and did what needed to be done with the empty monster can. I fully expected to start seeing people exiting vehicles running for the bushes but never did. They either were prepared for the wait, had piss bottles, or can hold it pretty damn well. Anyway, my teeth were no longer floating so I was good, besides still waiting and barely moving.
I inched closer and closer to the boarder until finally it was my turn. The process took just a few minutes, of them asking where I was going, what I was doing etc etc, and then I was on my way to the ferry terminal…FINALLY. I had been at the boarder for almost 3 hours. But I was starting to get super tired and I still had several hours left before I could crawl into bed. Furthermore, I had a big dive in the morning and I was starting to get pretty anxious about being tired for that.
I made it to the ferry terminal with no issues and sat in line for a half hour or so before they began to load. Even though I was exhausted by this point, I was still pretty excited about the trip since it was all familiar yet new at the same time. I parked the Jeep on one of the lower levels and discovered that the Jeep would not lock. The remote was apparently dead so I had to use the hidden key in the remote to lock the vehicle which normally would have annoyed the crap out of me but I was tired and hungry and didn’t much care. I made my way to the upper deck of the ship and went out to smell the salty air but it was super cold and windy so I didn’t stay long. I grabbed a snack from the cafe and found a spot to sit along the wall where I could look out at the familiar inky black water. I mentally prepared myself for the dive in the morning and had that feeling when you’ve been traveling for so long that you just can’t wait to “be there” and go to sleep. I started to wonder what it will be like to stop moving. It was well past midnight my time and I was definitely feeling it.
The ferry arrived on Vancouver Island and I disembarked and began the hour and a half drive north to Duncan/Maple Bay. I had let the BnB people know I was running super late so they would expect me close to midnight and not be freaked out. I’m always a little weirded out staying at a place that you know the owners will be upstairs but at this point it is what it is. The drive north was easy, I had done that same drive several times before during class so I half remembered. I did need to stop for gas along the way and this is one of those places where things start to close down after 10pm so finding a gas station was a bit tricky. However I finally arrived at where the BnB was but it wasn’t clear where exactly it was and I ended up driving up and down the hill a few times until I was sure it was the place. The last thing I wanted to do was roll up to someone’s house at midnight uninvited. It is Canada though so I’d probably be fine. If it was the USA, you’d be shot and since Canada doesn’t like guns I felt pretty ok. I did find the place and the entrance was around the back of the house. From what I could tell the view was going to be amazing in the morning. The BnB was perched high up on the hill overlooking Maple Bay. I found that the door was unlocked and went inside the little apartment which was exceptionally clean and comfortable. The BnB is called “The Maple Rise Guest House” and it absolutely deserved every bit of the 5 star review it had. https://mapleriseguesthouse.weebly.com/
I was finally able to stop moving, I took a shower, and tried to crash. Unfortunately I had reached that point where I was mostly running on adrenalin and caffeine. I was so tired I couldn’t sleep and had anxiety about not having enough sleep for the big dive, exacerbated by the caffeine which became a vicious cycle. I tossed and turned until at least 2 or 3 am until finally I got some sleep. But I had made it, again.