Day 98: recap of July!

So... looks like I haven't posted in about a month and a half. OOPS. So lets just go ahead and recap the entirety of July, and part of June, and part of August: Lobsters, Canada Day, 4th of July fireworks, frantic last minute SAVS work before trip home, TRIP HOME, return to (mostly) empty island, petrel babies!

Okay so let's start from the beginning. In late June we got to go lobster fishing! It was both enlightening and horrible at the same time. It's always good to see first hand where our food comes from, so we can appreciate the work that goes into what magically appears on our plates. However, as cool as it was to watch the traps get hauled in and to help put elastic bands on lobster claws, the inevitable occurred for me. I got sea sick. I got reeeal sea sick. This may not come as a surprise for some of you who know me. Motion sickness has always been one of my downfalls! I can't even go on most rides at a fair, lame! Anyway, needless to say the gravol did not do its duty, and I had a less than enjoyable experience for the remainder of the boat trip. It didn't help that the boat was going in circles and circles and circles while pulling up lines of traps. But once we straightened out our course and headed for Grand Manan I felt much better! Plus, we had lobsters!

After that, we had a delightful afternoon on the island. This included real showers (and toilets!) at our lobster fisherman host's home, followed by a lovely meal of seafood and corn chowder (some of the lobster we caught was consumed the next night back on the island). We also made a trip to the Swallowtail lighthouse, at which we had a lovely tour and took lots of photos of the view:

Early morning on the lobster boat. Tranquil. Lovely. Before the nausea.

Raquel and her huge catch! Again, before the nausea.

Lighthouse selfie! After the nausea. You almost can't even tel!

Just a little imaginary fishing by Hannah?

View of Grand Manan from the lighthouse

Next on the agenda came Canada Day on the big island! Grand Manan has a very special tradition on Canada day known as the 'greasy pole'. It involves a horizontal telephone pole, mounted so that it overhangs the water, which is greased up with dish detergent. A large barrel is attached so a person can jump on it, propel themselves forward, and slide down the pole. The object of the game is to retrieve a small Canadian flag mounted at the end of the pole. Regardless of success, you end up in the chilly water. But if you have the flag, you are $10 richer. Needless to say, it is incredibly amusing to watch. Most fail. However, probably the most amusing part of the entire event, besides watching a few of our own Kent Islanders make attempts, was listening to the non-participating locals watching from nearby, as they commented in all seriousness on the methods and tactics each person used, and the best ways to succeed. You know they've been watching this event for years, and are now experts on this incredibly random skill.

Kent Islander attempt at glory

Yet another valiant effort... Unfortunately none of our American friends were 
10 Canadian dollars richer after this event.

After the greasy pole, we visited a few other fun tourist attractions on the island, in what was much like the fashion of a family vacation. This involved packing two vans full of people on a hot day, getting lost somehow on an island with one primary road, and questionable enthusiasm and decision making on where to go.

Our family vacation to the 'hole in the wall' on Grand Manan: "We're going to see this tourist attraction and you're going to LIKE IT" - Brad (possibly fictitious quote? I can't remember)

Onto the next July events! Since the island was largely inhabited by Americans, we decided to have a little 4th of July celebration, involving sparklers and fireworks on the beach! It was a fun little celebration, though brief. It was no greasy pole, though.

Oh yeah, and we can't forget about the tropical storm we survived in early July! With winds over 100km/h and a fair bit of rain, it was a bit of an interesting experience. However, it was not nearly as bad as it sounds. Although one building near the wharf lost part of its wall, it was not very disastrous. It was fixed quickly, and I was more concerned about the outhouse blowing over while I was inside it. Luckily, this did not happen.

Survivor of tropical storm Arthur. The aftermath is not really that impressive...

Shortly after the great Arthur passed through, I finally took a short vacation from the island!! Yes, after about 83 days of living on Kent Island, I said goodbye to the Bowdoin students and began the 2 day journey home that consisted of a half hour boat ride, a night on Grand Manan, a 2 hour ferry ride, an hour car drive, 2 flights (Saint John to Toronto, Toronto to Winnipeg), a 2 hour drive home to Kenora. As you might have guessed, I was incredibly happy to be back in my comfy bed again. Especially after sleeping on a rock hard mattress for almost 3 months! I got to do some fun stuff while at home, including fishing and boat rides, swimming, perogy-making, hot tubbing, sauna-ing, and more!

Me and the fam jam out on a beautiful day on the Winnipeg River, right in my back yard

View from my deck, sitting on the swinging chair. Also, I assure you my house is architecturally
 sound, it's just the wide angle lens making it look like a funhouse.

This fine specimen let us get a really nice close up!

Eep! I've been spotted! This was one of about a dozen eagles we saw on
 our evening boat ride!

After a brief, but awesome, visit home, my parents and I packed up my car and drove down through Northern Ontario all the way to Kitchener-Waterloo to visit my brother and his girlfriend in their new house. After a short visit, I left my parents behind to fend for themselves and I headed to Windsor for a day before departing back towards the island for round two of island life.

That brings us back almost up until now! Since this post is getting to be ridiculously long, I will save the rest for next time, and will likely devote an entire post to my adventures with storm-petrels so far this August! Be prepared for cute fluffiness!!!

I'm an awkward teen now, I'm still cute though right??