My wettest day yet as Adele, her daughters and I left Charlotte for Masset, where I will finish my trip at Susan Musgrave’s Copper Beech Inn.

I am sad to leave Charlotte. I will miss my morning walk to Queen B’s, the friendly staff and the chitchat on the covered deck. I will also miss Adele and her family, who have been so kind to me. But there will be other visits

Our drive was dominated by the usual topics, one of which was Abraham Rogatnick, the UBC architect who passed away last year after a long and hidden illness. Abe, Adele and Ian Thom wrote the B.C. Binning book, while for me Abe was a relentless source of information on Vancouver art in the 50s and 60s.

Adele and I also spoke of the islands, a more involved conversation that will find its way into an essay I am preparing. I am sure Doris Shadbolt and Bill Reid will figure into this essay, as will linguist-translator John Enrico and poet-typographer Robert Bringhurst.

After checking-in we drove around the Massets, where I saw the oddest structures: repurposed military housing (tall and stout, in contrast to Haida architecture, which is long and low); vinyl-sided nightmares with out-of-scale bay windows and perilously high porches; homes whose entrances do not face the street. Clearly both towns are without a building code.

Lunch at a greasy spoon then, as the rain let up, goodbye to my friends from Charlotte.