Despite my experience with water supply ghosts the night before, I was still up at 7 o’clock. Anabelle and I had breakfast together, then I realized this might be my last opportunity to get out in the canoe. Rain is forecast for Saturday and we’re leaving on Sunday morning.
Since I had found it to be extremely weedy upstream on my first outing, I decided to try my luck downstream. A light breeze rippled the water in some places while leaving it as smooth as glass in others. Both the current and the breeze were in my favor, and I was able to simply drift quite often. I tried my luck with the fishing pole several times, my cast improving with every try, but not a nibble. It’s difficult to measure distance on the river but I estimate I went between 2 and 3 kilometers before turning around and heading back.
I first paddled toward the opposite shore where the water was smoother due to the wind being blocked by the trees somewhat, and I made good progress. I made a cast and trolled most of the way back but still no interest from the fish. I encountered an area in mid-river where the canoe was scraping bottom and, for a few minutes, it became more of a poling situation than a paddling one. Several times the wind came up and did its best to turn me back the way I’d come, but I prevailed, and by noon I was back on shore. Dragging the canoe up to the top of the hill was a bit of a challenge, and I was puffing like a steam engine by the time I collapsed in a lawn chair to catch my breath.
Another lazy afternoon, which included more Google research of local eating establishments. Boy, some people leave stupid reviews. We finally decided it would be a Chinese food night and headed into town. The first two places we tried had signs on the windows saying Take Out Only. Finally, we arrived at the Welcome Back Restaurant, which had a nearly full parking lot, indicating their popularity, and we were right about that, as we were third in line waiting for a table.
Fortunately, the wait was worth it, as we found the food to be some of the best Chinese fare we’d experienced in a long time. Had we found this place early in the week, we would have returned a second time. I asked one server what the deal was with so many of the Chinese restaurants in the area doing only take out. Her explanation made a lot of sense. She said, during the pandemic, they switched to take out only, and laid off excess staff. They found this to be more profitable, as they could operate with lower overhead costs and better profit margins than prior to the pandemic. So much so, they continued the practice when the pandemic was over. Unfortunately, many of them now find their revenue diminishing but can’t find anyone willing to work, as the ones they laid off have found employment elsewhere. It seems so wasteful to see those dining rooms sitting idle while elsewhere restaurants have waiting lists.
Before returning to the cottage for the night, I went back to the Super Store to see if they carried any radlers, as I was still curious. The only flavor they had in stock was grapefruit, and since I’m not a grapefruit fan, I took a pass. While there, I discovered something interesting on the shelf. Out of curiosity, I picked up a couple of cans to try. Root beer with 5% alcohol. Man, these micro breweries will try anything, won’t they?
I recall our Chinese food experience in Grand Falls, way back in 1980. The waiter asked if we wanted long or short noodles in one dish. We opted for short and it turned out to be macaroni, so we can only assume that long would have been spaghetti. Happy times. Not much of a fan of Chinese food these days. Glad you found a sit down spot. As to the canoe, your premonition of how difficult it would be to get it back up the slope appears to have been right. Allan