This weekend in Nanaimo is bathtub weekend. Bathtub weekend has always been the weekend every year where my family gets together and enjoys each other's company. My grandparents used to own a cabin where we spent most of those weekends. This place is and was simply and permanently my idea of paradise. The cabin is full of so many memories that I get goosebumps when I think about it. My mind fills with days that consisted of bike rides on the dirt and gravel roads... I basically just feel like making a list of all the things I loved about the cabin.... feel free to add any if you have some
- All of the signs grandpa had around the cabin like "kangaroo crossing" and "beware of alligators"
- Sitting on the "poop deck" being shaded by that huge umbrella that looked like a hula skirt
- Listening to all of grandpa and grandma's stories about all the animals that lived on Protection Island
- That styrofoam surf board that always gave you a rash on your stomach
- Picking all types of berries that grew around the island (huckleberries, blackberries)
- Pirates park and the old wooden playground
- The ferry driver that always had the crazy converse runners
- Poking geo ducks with our toes and always freaking out when they squirted us (even though it happened every time)
- Playing games in the mud and having to wash off with the rain bucket in the back yard
- The outhouse
- Tractor rides with grandpa
- Happy hour: filled with soda, banana cake, chocolate chip cookies and everything else that is great!
- Fishing for bullheads and perch (the perch were always hard to get)
- Mr. Ruff next door and his dog max
- Rides in grandpa's boat
- Making the long trek to the lighthouse to watch the bathtub races (seemed like the longest walk EVER)
- Granny's clam chowder
- Feeding Louseal. Truly an experience I will never forget.
- All the toys we played with: like the little cast iron kitchen set and the felt winnie the pooh set
- The bikes that grandpa worked so hard on to keep them working for us
- That old stroller that we all rode in at one point
- The ice cream bowls that looked like boats and oars
- Horseshoes!
- The granny tree on newcastle island across the bay
- Always wanting to row to snake island, but never succeeding
I think it's safe to say that a big part of me every summer wishes that the cabin was still around. It was seriously full of so many memories it's hard to name them all. I love you guys, and I hope you have a wonderful bathtub weekend!
-Carlye
