Ganges

Sort of a strange name for a town on Salt Spring Island, until you think about Victoria and the British Colonies and the fact that there was a Royal Navy ship called the HMS Ganges that pulled up here around 1860 in search of free trade coffee, garlic dill goat cheese, and tie dye t-shirts.

It's a busy harbor with sail boats, sea planes, enormous yachts, and kayaks. On Saturdays during the summer, local crafts folk come out of their tree house studios, hobbit holes, and million dollar waterfront homes to sell clothing, art, food, and just about everything that fits in a booth at the market.

Fulford

Tuesday night we drove back to Fulford and to Rock Salt for dinner. It was a big hit last year (hshipman: Fulford, 2008) and seemed worth visiting again.

Vancouver International Airport (VYR)

It's the Friday night before we catch the ferry to Salt Spring Island. We've tried different options - the Sandman (previously the Delta Pacific and the Ramada Plaza) with the big water slide, the River Rock Casino, and the Coast Tsawwassen, but this year we found a good rate at the Airport Fairmount. It's fun to flirt with the travel scene - the hotel is located above the International Terminal - but a little strange to not actually be flying somewhere.

VYR is not just about flying to exotic places. It's also the venue for some neat First Nations art, including Bill Reid's The Spirit of Haida Gwaii. His overcrowded Jade Canoe is filled with a strange cast of characters with no clear destination or purpose. No life jackets, either, although many are good swimmers. Better they chose the canoe and not a small float plane.

There's a great new display - a double-facing totem pole and a blue-green sky, in the center of the airport where the skybridge from the new Canada Line enters the terminal. There is supposed to be a neat piece by Susan Point in the train terminal itself, but that is still a week from opening. Good reason to come back.