Fish & Chips on the Waterfront

A walk on the seawall in Nanaimo, and seafood at a floating restaurant; my idea of a good time!  Last Sunday I had some time to myself so I took the dog for a long leisurely stroll, drinking in the restorative ocean breeze and the scenery of the bay and the islands.

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Float planes come and go over yachts and rowboats. All kinds of people saunter by, many with delicious-looking ice cream cones in hand.  I took pictures of some of the beautiful flowers beside the lagoon and sat on a bench a while.

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I walked some more and would have gone farther but my dog was done so I brought him back to the car and went to Trollers.  I had a hankering for their deep fried oysters! 

A good time to go at 2 pm when it’s not too busy.  Last time I went there it was suppertime and there was a long wait plus they ran out of the salmon that I had ordered.  But  they replaced a piece of the salmon with a deep fried oyster, and I remembered how delicious that was!  This time the wait was only about 10 minutes.  Five plump oysters, a bit of coleslaw and lots of fries with a bottle of Pure Leaf ice tea for $21. I was savouring my solitary meal and quietude when a couple of tourists joined me at the other end of the large table.  Before long another couple joined us as well.  The man, who had retired from a broadcasting career before they recently moved to Nanaimo, proceeded to interview the rest of us.  Well if it didn’t turn out that his wife and the other man had been classmates in Alberta when they were kids!  So they all knew a lot of people in common.  Already being in a melancholy reflective mood, it made me feel all the more alone, missing old friends 😪.  But it was nice listening to them. 

By the time I had downed the third oyster I was full but still enjoying the meal.  I had to leave the last few fries though, as I was on grease overload by then.  The talkative man didn’t want me to leave, but I was ready to go home to my husband, who would be glad to have me back after his own quiet rest time.