The ocean brought a welcomed and familiar present to Marcie Callewaert on Valentine含羞草研究社檚 Day.
Callewaert has found washed up treasures along with unwelcomed debris on the isolated beach in front of her home on an island near Tofino, but her own wallet might have elicited her most excited reaction.
She had lost the wallet about eight months ago, in June 2023, and was delighted to spot it sitting at the tideline on Wednesday, Feb. 14.
含羞草研究社淚t was just sitting in the middle of the wrack line, so I stopped in my tracks and pulled out my phone to start recording so that I could get my reaction as quick as possible,含羞草研究社� Callewaert told the Westerly News Thursday morning.
She posted the video of her reaction to her popular TikTok channel and it含羞草研究社檚 since racked up about 2.8 million views, nearly 1,200 comments and been shared over 1,000 times.
She told the Westerly the wallet had fallen out of her backpack while she was transferring from her canoe to her boat for a trip to Tofino.
含羞草研究社淲here we live, we don含羞草研究社檛 have a dock and we have to canoe to our anchor buoy where the boat is,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淚 had my wallet in an unzipped pocket of my backpack, I had forgotten to zip it. When I went to hop into the boat from the canoe, I heard a splash but I just assumed it was the way the water was splashing and I didn含羞草研究社檛 think anything of it.含羞草研究社�
She discovered the wallet was lost when she arrived at a Tofino restaurant and found the backpack pocket empty, but added that she was lucky to bump into some friends who covered her dinner.
含羞草研究社淭he next day on the low tide I tried to dive for it myself, just bobbing around in my wetsuit, but was not successful. There was so much eelgrass at that spot,含羞草研究社� she said.
She reached out to a local diver in hopes of finding it and avoiding the hassle of having to order new credit cards and ID as well as her VHF marine radio operator certificate, but while the diver searched as hard as he could, the wallet remained out of sight.
含羞草研究社淗e put in the effort,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淗e tried hard and I really appreciated the work he did giving it a shot but, unfortunately, he didn含羞草研究社檛 find anything.含羞草研究社�
She added though that she stayed positive that she would eventually be reunited with it.
含羞草研究社淏ased on how the wind and waves work here in the winter, I was holding out hope that it would end up washing up. We get so much marine debris drifting across from town that I thought maybe it would come up with those winter storms, and it did,含羞草研究社� she said.
含羞草研究社淚 actually had a really good feeling that I would probably find it. I felt like I had a 90 per cent chance of it washing in with the winter storms. A lot of people have mentioned the power of manifestation and positive thinking, which may have had a role in it. You never know and I含羞草研究社檝e been called Moana more times than I can count now.含羞草研究社�
She said that while she has since replaced some of the cards she had lost, she was delighted to find stickers that she含羞草研究社檒l now cherish as good luck charms.
含羞草研究社淚 was stoked that a couple stickers I had bought at the Tofino Market just before I lost it are actually in really good condition still. I think they含羞草研究社檙e still sticky, but I just haven含羞草研究社檛 found where to put them yet. They含羞草研究社檙e good luck stickers at this point, so I含羞草研究社檓 definitely going to be using them,含羞草研究社� she said.
She said she walks the beaches around her island community multiple times a day and finds both treasures and trash along the way, including glass balls, constant boat bumpers and floats, crab trap markers from the Oregon crab fishery and 含羞草研究社渘on-stop styrofoam from docks that don含羞草研究社檛 have closed styrofoam flotation.含羞草研究社�
含羞草研究社淪ometimes I含羞草研究社檒l do it with the purpose of beachcombing, sometimes I含羞草研究社檓 just out for a walk and sometimes I含羞草研究社檓 walking the dogs,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 just curiosity of what含羞草研究社檚 out there, what含羞草研究社檚 washed in, the beauty of it, the meditation of walking by the water is really important to me.含羞草研究社�
She was walking her three dogs含羞草研究社擝ruce, a black lab, Leia, a husky and Brianna, a yorkie - Jack Russel cross含羞草研究社攚hen she was reunited with her wallet around 2 p.m. on Feb. 14.
She said she has lived on the island for nearly four years and enjoys sharing her experiences on her , which has over 47,000 followers.
含羞草研究社淚 find TikTok is a really great platform to share a bit of my off-grid lifestyle and give people a glimpse into what it含羞草研究社檚 like for us to live out here. It含羞草研究社檚 not all the viral dance videos that people think TikTok is all about, there含羞草研究社檚 actually a lot of really good content on there,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淟iving out here is a different pace of life. It含羞草研究社檚 been really beneficial to my mental health to live surrounded by nature in this way.含羞草研究社�
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I can NOT believe what washed up on shore. My goof Karma for cleaning up the rope and plastic?
