Midnight Madness and More...

Friday in Ucluelet, we were introduced to Midnight Madness, an annual event in which from 5 PM until midnight, the town's businesses open their doors and invite the townsfolk in to share some Christmas cheer and bargains. We began our evening by revisiting Ukee Dogs Eatery, where Paige and friends served us a scrumptious Mexican dinner accompanied by a wonderful blonde ale... Yum! We arrived early to be sure we got a table, and sure enough, the place filled up rapidly as we ate our way through our tasty dishes. For dessert, we tried a Chocolate Diablo cookie, which incorporated pepper and was sprinkled with salt. Wow, amazing combo, chocolate and pepper, and although the salt was a bit much for Marcelle, I loved it.

After our leisurely meal, we tottered off to see some of the rest of the town and immediately got waylaid by an open house at High Tide Records, a recording studio right in downtown Ukee. As I spent over ten years in the music business myself during the 70's, including doing live sound and studio work, it was a treat to see this marvelous studio, and the owner, Jamie Osborne, was very gracious and open in showing me around. Music has always been a passion for me and I've always tried to get involved with and support local musicians, so I look forward to exploring what the area has to offer, and see how I can contribute.

Next we visited the Mark Penney Gallery, a showcase for local talent, of which there are many, very fine artists. I was also anxious to talk with Mark as he is the current President of the Pacific Rim Arts Society, an organization I am interested in joining to offer my photography workshop, and to get to know other artists in the area. Mark was very welcoming and we hope to talk further about my possible involvement and contributions.

In the same building is the Cedar House Gallery, where John was kind enough to answer our many questions about the local tribes and to showcase some of the outstanding pieces he has there. One of the many things we wish to do as new residents here is to learn more about the indigenous people who reside here, and to better understand their customs and history.

We spent a while longer in some of the other Whiskey Landing shops, where there were many and varied craft items, and then finally walked back home, listening to the rain on our hoods and the not-so-distant surf from Big Beach. Altogether, a great evening.

A quiet Saturday followed, but Sunday turned out to be quite sunny (at least early on) and Marcelle and ventured out to do the Artists Loops on the Wild Pacific Trail. The surf was pretty energetic and we spent a couple of hours moving from spot to spot, bench to bench, just reveling in the power of the waves.

And finally, some pictures for you:

That's it for now, but stay tuned...