The Awning Incident

October 23
It rained steadily overnight, and I was more than surprised when I took a look outside and found our awning buckled and full of water.  I’m not sure how many gallons were being held in there, but it took all my strength to lift from underneath and dump the water.  As you can imagine I was totally soaked , and once the water was gone I could see that the main beam of the awning was bent.  A few surfer dudes were getting ready to leave, but I managed to recruit them for a man handling straightening effort……didn’t work……..no time to fix it now as we have bears to see.  

Off to town we go, and check in at the tour office for the bear tour………they tell us that it’s not going to be such a nice day (big surprise, it’s fucking raining and overcast) and maybe we would prefer to go tomorrow.  We were the only people booked today so thought it would be kinda nice to have the whole boat to ourselves, so we decided to go rather than wait for the Saturday weekend crowd, and all the same, the rain was subsiding and the skies clearing…….fingers crossed.    Nice boat, and nice guy as the captain.  Lot’s to chat about as we headed out…….saw some bald eagles, herons, seals…….no bears yet.  The captain slowed as we approached various coves and inlets, scouring the shores for those little black furries…….none.  Tried a few other areas…….none.  Two hours later, now getting quite chilly even though we were layered and waterproofed, still none.  Oh, look over there……guns the boat towards a rocky shore and I start snapping pictures of what appears to be a bear looking over the top of a large boulder……..I have since checked the pictures……..none.  Another false alarm as we headed back to base, still none.  So when it’s all said and done, two and a half hours on board, now freezing cold and dying for a pee, we were happy to be on dry land and heading back home. Unfortunate, shut out, but I guess it happens.

Took out the big camera and found some great subjects

Back at home base I started to try and figure out a way to straighten the awning beam.  I called our Airstream dealer in London, googled, and found numerous people online who have had the same problem, and decided that the best option is to somehow get enough pressure on the beam to make it at least straight enough to properly retract.  Who cares if we have it for the rest of the trip, but we sure can’t travel with it this way.  I still haven’t solved it, but tomorrow is another day.  Time to think about dinner.

Jutta decided we needed something good to happen today, so we booked a spot in the lounge at the Wickininish Inn, “The Wick” (dining room fully booked) and got all gussied up for a nice night out.  We had great seats at the bar, and chatted away with a husband and wife bartending team who have been there for twenty years . The food was wonderful, even though it was from the abbreviated lounge menu, washed down with a lovely Painted Rock cab.  Lovely hotel, great service. 

I’m not sure what to try tomorrow with the awning, but I’m sure we will figure something out. Could be I need to take it apart, but will get online first to see if there is an easier option.  Jutta has been discussing the shortcomings of American engineering VS other countries (German).  She asked, “Does Audi make RV’s”.  Could I expect anything less?  Goodnight folks.