Insanity, thy name is diving
Aug. 31st, 2007 09:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
windemereDive trip to ass end of...Picton? Mostly a bust.
1-2m waves in the middle of Lake Ontario? Hell.
Remembering why I hate diving in cold water? Priceless.
It took 4 hours to get there because we stopped for lunch. Then we got turned around in Picton; population like 5,000 and one main street. Don't ask; I wasn't driving. And then we arrived...in the middle of god-fucking NOWHERE.
If you know where Picton is, you are ahead of where I was four days ago. It is in the middle of Prince Edward County, which is the entire penisula area south of Belleville, 2 hours east of Toronto. It is populated mostly by wineries and farms and a lot of nothing else. Ducks Dive is located at the most south-easterly point of the County. It is reach by a barely paved road 10km from the nearest turn off. There are about 8 other places along the road. The closest is 2km away in one direction and is very nice, and 1.5 km in the other direction that is a fishing village. A FISHING VILLAGE. Like, ass-end of NOWHERE FISHING VILLAGE.
There was a house. A dive shop and 7 cottages. It was better than the French River.
Day One: Arrive. Edie and Todd decide to go shore diving. See? Nothing. I went swimming out after them, but only got halfway to where the ended up. But the water was like 70 and nicely warm.
Day Two: Alarm goes off at 6:45am. Flashback to Belize. Breakfast then load the gear on to the boat. GO 3/4 OF THE WAY TO FUCKING KINGSTON BY BOAT. IN 1-2 METRE WAVES. Manage to make it into gear and into the water. Nice wreck. Water tolerable at 90ft. Come up to rabid surge and barely manage to get on to the boat without hurting myself. Feel sick. Listen to aunt throw up and decide that sounds like a good idea. Return to starting place to dive second wreck. Decide looking at the horizon line is more enjoyable and decide to sit it out. Nice wreck. Oh well. Return to cottage for lunch and realize I am do exhausted to eat. Pass out for three hours. Find myself incapable of doing anything the rest of the day.
Day Three: Alarm goes off at 6:45am. Wake up. Look out window. Realize we are not going diving today and try to go back to sleep. Todd makes coffee. Give up and get up. Load gear back into van. Eat breakfast. Spend three hours exploring Prince Edward by car. Visit Maritime Museum. Discover Sandbanks Provincial Park, where you can walk out nearly half a kilometer into the bay on sand and still touch bottom. Return to Toronto.
In the last three days I:
-wrenched my shoulder out of it's socked rolling over in bed and thankfully was able to twist it back in. OW. Not the first time I've done it, but man, rolling over in bed?
-pulled every musle in my stomach pulling myself out of the lake onto the boat that was WAY above my head.
-remembered cold water diving may be more trouble than it's worth
-discovered a whole region of Ontario I never knew existed even though I've driven right passed it before
-suffered first night of lost sleep over leaving next week
-had the first honest conversation with my aunt EVER
Into Toronto tomorrow for Girl's Day Out. Maybe lunch at the golf club? Must get to packing.
Also, clearly I survived the family party. Also, Annmarie and I talked. It was...the way I wish I could talk to my mother and know I never will. I love Annmarie. She's the most honest person I have ever met. Wine helps.
1-2m waves in the middle of Lake Ontario? Hell.
Remembering why I hate diving in cold water? Priceless.
It took 4 hours to get there because we stopped for lunch. Then we got turned around in Picton; population like 5,000 and one main street. Don't ask; I wasn't driving. And then we arrived...in the middle of god-fucking NOWHERE.
If you know where Picton is, you are ahead of where I was four days ago. It is in the middle of Prince Edward County, which is the entire penisula area south of Belleville, 2 hours east of Toronto. It is populated mostly by wineries and farms and a lot of nothing else. Ducks Dive is located at the most south-easterly point of the County. It is reach by a barely paved road 10km from the nearest turn off. There are about 8 other places along the road. The closest is 2km away in one direction and is very nice, and 1.5 km in the other direction that is a fishing village. A FISHING VILLAGE. Like, ass-end of NOWHERE FISHING VILLAGE.
There was a house. A dive shop and 7 cottages. It was better than the French River.
Day One: Arrive. Edie and Todd decide to go shore diving. See? Nothing. I went swimming out after them, but only got halfway to where the ended up. But the water was like 70 and nicely warm.
Day Two: Alarm goes off at 6:45am. Flashback to Belize. Breakfast then load the gear on to the boat. GO 3/4 OF THE WAY TO FUCKING KINGSTON BY BOAT. IN 1-2 METRE WAVES. Manage to make it into gear and into the water. Nice wreck. Water tolerable at 90ft. Come up to rabid surge and barely manage to get on to the boat without hurting myself. Feel sick. Listen to aunt throw up and decide that sounds like a good idea. Return to starting place to dive second wreck. Decide looking at the horizon line is more enjoyable and decide to sit it out. Nice wreck. Oh well. Return to cottage for lunch and realize I am do exhausted to eat. Pass out for three hours. Find myself incapable of doing anything the rest of the day.
Day Three: Alarm goes off at 6:45am. Wake up. Look out window. Realize we are not going diving today and try to go back to sleep. Todd makes coffee. Give up and get up. Load gear back into van. Eat breakfast. Spend three hours exploring Prince Edward by car. Visit Maritime Museum. Discover Sandbanks Provincial Park, where you can walk out nearly half a kilometer into the bay on sand and still touch bottom. Return to Toronto.
In the last three days I:
-wrenched my shoulder out of it's socked rolling over in bed and thankfully was able to twist it back in. OW. Not the first time I've done it, but man, rolling over in bed?
-pulled every musle in my stomach pulling myself out of the lake onto the boat that was WAY above my head.
-remembered cold water diving may be more trouble than it's worth
-discovered a whole region of Ontario I never knew existed even though I've driven right passed it before
-suffered first night of lost sleep over leaving next week
-had the first honest conversation with my aunt EVER
Into Toronto tomorrow for Girl's Day Out. Maybe lunch at the golf club? Must get to packing.
Also, clearly I survived the family party. Also, Annmarie and I talked. It was...the way I wish I could talk to my mother and know I never will. I love Annmarie. She's the most honest person I have ever met. Wine helps.
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no subject
Date: 2007-09-01 07:20 am (UTC)In the three hours I have known Annmarie (and, admittedly, she was in a pretty bad place at the time), I found her kind of awesome.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-01 07:59 pm (UTC)