North Island

Last time I was up here the cheeky mountains hid behind the clouds, leaving only their skirts for view. Clouds gone, today, revealing weathered, rocky peaks, alternating patches of forest and clearcuts, cathedral-topped snags pointing accusing fingers at the sky.

I'm beginning to wonder at my mother's ability to book accomodation for our family trips. Nothing really wrong with the place we are at. It's adequate for what we wanted and the price. But our host is decidedly kooky.

Much like the lady that ran the last place we stayed at, this one is one of those people who seems to feel that she has to tell grandiose stories about her past to make herself sound far more cultured and important than someone who works at a bed and breakfast. Whereas the last one used to run huge conferences at the Vancouver convention centre for foreign dignataries and politicians and travelled the world before taking up running a bed and breakfast that barely breaks even because she thought she needed less stress. This one turned down a $150,000 job in Los Angeles to work here in the middle of nowhere. She's sailed far more than my sister and she's qualified to be a skipper. She sailed to Maui and back in a sailboat with three PhDs but they were boring because she only has a master's degree, you know.

And of course, none of this information was anything that we had asked for. She's completely delusional, I tell you.

So yeah, I'm on an island that's kind of remote. I've managed to find some wireless up here. 1 Mbps. I'm less than thrilled.

What's up with you?