This Magnificent Cake!

Well … Thursday was a blast! 

I went very early to the ferry to be sure to get on the 9:00 am sailing. I parked my car in the lineup and then walked Her Highness for quite a while along the coast and then came back to the car. When I got back, I saw my friend, Doug who was also in the lineup, and we talked until the boat arrived. Time spent waiting for the ferry just flew by.

Once on the big island, I went to Walmart for some plants and supplies before going to meet Jane at the Black Swann Inn. I’d been there once before and really enjoyed myself, so I proposed that we meet there.

It wasn’t easy to find the Inn, but I did it. I got there about twenty minutes early and met a lovely man who’d spent all winter in the park surrounding the Inn. He has a large camping van and lives in it, moving around to various parks. He used to go to southern California for his winters before Covid. His mobile lifestyle is a response to losing his wife to Cancer. It was lovely to talk with him.

When Jane arrived, we walked around for about half an hour, going down to the beach, and looking around the cabins surrounding the Inn. The Inn is in a vast and beautiful landscaped park full of little cabins, each beautifully maintained and with its own little patio. But no one was there. Then we had lunch.

The Inn is closed. Only the large garden is open where picnic tables are scattered widely apart. Jane and I were in heaven in the place. The food was fabulous, the staff wonderfully friendly, and we had a view to die for, plus the weather was perfect. It was like eating in Stanley Park.

I drove home with no regard to the ferry schedule, but the ferry arrived about ten minutes after I arrived and Merrill was parked right beside me, so we talked together until boarding.

When I got home, I unloaded everything, made dinner, and crashed onto the couch. I’d had such a lovely day. I loved talking to Doug, the man with the camper, Jane and Merrill—my day was full of people! It’s been ages since I had so social a day.  

In the evening, I watched This Magnificent Cake on Kannopy. I don’t think I have ever laughed so much at anything—play or movie—in my life. I was giggling like a schoolgirl, but I was laughing at atrocities because the film is a scathing takedown of Belgian colonialism. 

It’s animated and its sets and puppets are absolutely, thrillingly gorgeous; everything is made of wool, and the soundtrack and sound effects are brilliantly perfect. It’s just the most awesome creative achievement. I highly recommend it to you. (I called Dwight and insisted he watch it and then to call me so we could talk about it.) I’ve rarely enjoyed a film more.

This was our view from out lunch table at Black Goose Inn.

This is the Inn. The tables are between the road and the building.

My beloved partner eyes her domain.

Jane and the garden restaurant in which we ate.