This summer we packed up the babe and the dog and the Subaru and went on a three week long camping and island hopping trip. It was truly magical in so many ways, too many to mention, but was made especially so by being able to introduce our then 3 1/2 month old little man to some of our dearest, most beloved friends.
During this trip we went up to Sointula, which is on Malcolm Island, between the northern end of Vancouver Island and the mainland. Sointula, meaning 'place of harmony' in Finnish, was founded in 1901 as a socialist utopian society. The commune disbanded but many of the settlers continued to live there and it is still a vibrant little community. We had wanted to go up thatta way for years for a couple of reasons, one: across the waters from there is the birthing ground of my dear sweet man friend, two: I had read about Sointula years ago in a book about utopian communities in BC (highest amount of communes per capita!) and was smitten with the landscape and the folklore. And then some favourite friends moved there to start up their art/life project, The Sointula Art Shed. Serendipitous! And so the deal was sealed and away we went.
And the whales! You see, in addition to it's legit socialist past Sointula is also home to Bere Point, where the northern resident orcas come to rub on the smooth pebble beaches. I've always been a huge fan of whales, so much love and awe. So the whales were a big draw. While there we saw a pod of orcas, dolphins, and a humpback whale breach while we watched from the beach. Humbling and amazing. In honour of this, Milo's first whale sighting, I decided to make him his very own humpback whale. I'm a little late on the draw, but hey, better late than never! I'm also perhaps the most uncreative stuffy namer in the world (we've got a Foxy, Puppy, Baby...) so we've just been calling her Humpy. Here she is in all her glory!
You can find the instructions to make your own knit humpback whale here.
xo Kirsten
