Couple days ago we made the move from Matilpi to Lagoon Cove.  We wanted to get to Lagoon Cove because everyone we’ve talked to says it’s “classic Broughtons”.  A low key, family run establishment that exists because it caters to folks cruising in these waters.  The issue though has been that there have been rumors it is closing.

Let me be clear to any cruisers reading this.  LAGOON COVE IS OPEN AND DOING WELL.

Now that’s covered, here’s the news.  Jean, the 80 year old owner has found a buyer and is transferring ownership as I type this.  The good news is we have met the new buyer – Jim – and he is a wonderful man with a vision of carrying on here as it has been in the tradition of Jean and her late husband Bill.  And it’s going to continue to be family run.  Several of Jim’s children (in their 40’s) are going to live here and run it while Jim and his wife with stay involved as well.  And rest assured they are still doing a daily prawn feed and pot luck that everyone comes to at happy hour!

Ann and I spent an evening with Jim just talking about his plans and it sounds like this place is in very good hands.  An extra bonus on our evening – Jim and I played some music down on the dock with an audience of some of the cruising folks here (spoiler alert: those present said we should put out an instrument case so they could make donations for the entertainment so I guess we did OK)  Turns out Jim plays a mean banjo.  In fact he also made it himself.  It’s a beauty.  I won’t go into detail although it deserves it, but suffice to say, for the round body, he repurposed an old antique “grain measurer”.  Apparently this is a circular wooden box, joined with copper “clinch nails” that he cut in half to make two banjos out of.  It’s a work of art.

We didn’t play together.  Turns out his banjo is tuned differently that my uke and he is taught in an Appalachian style of finger picking (think the soundtrack to “O Brother Where Art Thou”).  He therefore doesn’t read musical chords.  I am too novice to play by ear, so we did the next best thing.  He would play a song from his repertoire (he’s been playing for something like 17 years) and then I would play a song from my songbook/binder I have put together and he would sing along with me.  Other’s joined in when they knew the words and we all had a good old time down on the dock in the twilight singing and just enjoying being out here in the land of eagle, salmon and bear.  And that’s what this is.  While there is a pier here with a dock, couple sheds and a house, most of the rest of the island is pure forest.  In fact, a sow grizzly was seen here with her two cubs a week or so ago, so we have been taking our noise-maker, air horn and pepper spray on our hikes.

Fun, fun, fun!