Had to get out of Nelson, this town gets claustrophobic. So I grab the bus out to Balfour, an hour on the beach scouring, nothing found, not even a flake, water’s still too high, I need rain, the lake level to drop, no further trips until November. Waiting for the bus back I revisit the old restaurant, new restaurant, they’ve about a dozen tables, still sticking to mostly reduced hours, 5 servers, a bartender to pull beer and serve wine, I ask what’s up, there’s no good explanation, they’re closed holiday Monday….all these staff and for a moment I feel a twinge of envy, one server assures me that despite the number of staff they’re all making great money, she quotes an improbable sum, I look around, do the mathemagic, it’s seems damned unlikely they’re coming close to those numbers, how are they even paying them all? But the vibe is good, everyone relaxed, I've never seen it like that, and given the stress my job’s been the last few weeks (every night, slammed, run off your feet,) it's seems like a chill change of pace. Too late in the season to consider the change in scenery, another few weeks and this place will be empty, they’ll be overstaffed with one server, it’s a little bit bougie for Balfour, the prices, atmosphere, so I'll be curious to pop in again in November and where they're at...
a miscellany of completely unrelated thoughts...