Ever since I set out on the road in a camper van to play music, I would travel to Canada every year to play shows and festivals. It’s become a deep part of who I am. Coming back has been like meeting up with an old part of myself I dearly missed. It’s brought me back to life and set my mind and spirit flaring.
Our first stop was Tofino, Canada’s main mecca for surfing. It’s a wild place nestled in ancient red pine trees with many little nooks and crannies full of surf shops, taco vans, breweries and old rustic cabins for people to stay and experience surfing. The waves aren’t pumping, the water is cold and it’s foggy most days, but occasionally, the sun blasts through the fog and the whole place is bathed in a brilliant sunlight. It’s amazing to watch the gigantic trees literally reaching for the sun. Surfing at these times is jaw dropping. You look at the environment in complete and utter awe.
I linked up with a bunch of friends I used to hang out with at the Long Beach Surf Shop and we jammed and had huge fires on the beach and surfed until after ten o’clock in the evening most days.
The shows were at a new place in town – Lil’ Ronnies BBQ. It’s like a smoke house right on Chesterman’s Beach surrounded by the ancient forest – tiny little place though and it holds about a hundred people. We played three nights there and stayed in an airstream trailer behind the stage. Again, just a beautiful and different experience that left me in awe of everything around me. So happy now to be continuing into the Rocky Mountains and then on to Montreal where there are some cool waves to catch in the river!
Check out Kim’s new music video below!
