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Published: October 07, 2008 5:00 PMUpdated: October 07, 2008 5:23 PM
You can’t go home again, especially if it isn’t home anymore.
I learned this for myself over the weekend, while in Tofino and Ucluelet. I lived there for five years when I was first married. My husband and his eight brothers and sisters grew up in Ucluelet.
Some things of course have not changed. It still rains torrentially, the beaches are still breathtaking, the Co-op is still the only place to grocery shop and the Bird family name is still infamous.
But everything else has changed. There are new streets, new businesses and new people everywhere. Of course, Tofino and Ucluelet have exploded with tourism in recent years, and the communities have responded with lots to see and do and places to stay and eat.
Suburbs have grown up to house the folks who run or support all the services. New buildings are on every available corner and old buildings have been given a fresh look. The highway into Ukee is freshly paved and work is being done on the highway from Port Alberni.
But while the beaches are tempting, I don’t envision us ever living there again. The small-town atmosphere we loved seems lacking. Everyone is busier, the pace quicker, and the tourist season unending.
Many of those on the streets are tourists. The line-ups at the Co-op are long and again clogged with visitors. Locals, while still friendly, seem more stressed and many new people are from more urban centres. Nothing wrong with that, it just changes the dynamics.
Ucluelet and Tofino were my home for only five years, but they are years I remember fondly. Over the weekend, despite running into a few people I know, I felt like a stranger in a strange town. Good thing I have a great place to call home here on the North Island, ’cause for me there’s no going back.
Gazette editor Teresa Bird lives in Port McNeill.
