Find Your Oasis

Chapter 5

(Still) April 29th

Kailani walks beside me as I lead us around the corner to a bus stop, where I stop and sit down on the bench.  She looks at me and smiles before she sits down beside me.

"You're not going to tell me where we're going, are you?"

I shake my head.   "You'll know soon enough.  I'm sure you've been there already, but I haven't.  I've heard they're really cool, though."

An amused look spreads over Kailani's face, and I wonder for a second what it means.  Just then, the bus pulls up to a stop in front of us, and we climb aboard.  After a short ride down several streets, I lead the way as we climb off the bus and walk into Stanley Park.  Stanley park is over 300 acres of protected land right beside Vancouver, but the place I'm heading for is on the far East side.  We walk on a trail through the nature park for about fifteen minutes before finally coming to a clearing with several totem poles, which we stop in front of and gaze at intently.

"Okay, the things I've read about these were right.  These are really neat."  I say as I study them closely.

The totem poles truly are amazing works of art.   They're extremely detailed, intricately carved and carefully painted with vibrant colors.   It amazes me how people can take just the trunk of a tree, get an idea in their head, and carve it out in such detail.

"I love the bright colors they chose to paint these.   It just makes them that much more captivating to look at, you know?"  Kailani says with a sigh.

I nod in agreement.   "Every time I think I'm done looking at one of the poles, I'll find something new I haven't seen yet."

She laughs.  "I was just thinking the same thing."

We stand there for a while, the totem poles completely captivating us.  The way the wood curves, forming the faces and animals that are carved into the wood is completely fascinating.  Suddenly Kailani looks down the path and an excited look fills her eyes.

"Follow me, Noah!"  She says as she quickly starts walking down the path.

I shrug and walk after her, following her through the park.  Soon we are standing in front of a small square lighthouse that's painted white with a thick red stripe running around the middle.

"Isn't it neat?"

I nod in agreement.  We walk over to a sign at the front which tells us about the history of the lighthouse, all the way back to the early nineteen-hundreds.  The lighthouse keeper that lived here was curiously named Davy Jones, and he apparently went above and beyond his job, rescuing people from within the harbor as well.  After we read the sign, we follow a walkway that leads out underneath the lighthouse, overlooking the harbor.   I stop here, my hands on the railing, gazing out towards the water.  Kailani stops beside me and leans against the railing as well, her eyes locked onto the waves passing by.

"Imagine what the old lighthouse keeper would see when he was out here before this place was so busy."   Kailani said dreamily.  "He must have seen pilot whales, orcas, sea lions, dolphins, maybe even humpbacks..."

"That must have been really neat."  I agree.  "Imagine being able to just be eating dinner, and look over and see a family of dolphins playing in the water."