Homeward Bound - {Part of our Summer 2017 Top Ten}

Day 7 (Friday) - The day we began our journey home.

This was a sad day for me.    John (clearly sensing my hesitancy to ever leave the Island) woke me up at 5:15 am so that we could have one last look at the ocean.   We left our kids sleeping soundly in their sleeping bags and made our way down the little path to the shore of Long Beach one last time.  

The fog was heavier than it had ever been (or perhaps it is always that thick at 5am?) and there was just the slightest hint of a sun rise.    We were all alone and able to just drink in the beauty of it all.  

One thing I really grew to appreciate during this week is how small I felt whenever I was near the ocean.  It was spectacular!!  We ran along the shore together and dipped our feet in the water one last time.   By 6 am we left the ocean behind us and made our way back up to our campsite knowing full well that we may not ever get back to this place but so grateful for the memories we'd made.  

By 7 am we were on our way.

We were leaving the Island from a different port this time which gave us the opportunity to drive further south on the Island all the way to Victoria.   The salmons were taking a ferry out of there early that afternoon and thought it'd be fun to show us Fisherman's Warf before we parted ways.   I'm so glad they did!!   Unfortunately they had to leave to catch their ferry so we were pretty much on our own to explore from this point on.   It's a fun/vibrant part of the city.  The harbour is filled with boats and homes on the water.  Apparently there is a resident harbor seal named Lucy who hangs around but we didn't see her.  

What we did see though was lots and lots of vendors selling all sorts of yummy food.  Of course we had to try some Fish n' Chips!

There is nothing tastier than a basket of fish n' chips while sitting on a dock.  

nom nom nom...

We walked around the Parliament grounds for a little while before hopping in the van and making our way to Sidney. 

  Our Ferry would be leaving from Port Sidney that evening and we wanted to give ourselves a few hours there to explore as well.  Both Victoria and Sidney were more beautiful than I'd expected and part of me wished we'd given ourselves a full day for each of these places.   

Sigh....it just means we'll have to come back, right?

Sidney was perhaps my favorite town.   I'd actually been here before as a teenager and it was fun to recognize few familiar landmarks.   We spent some time exploring a local fish market, watching locals trap crab from the pier and exploring some of the gift shops. 

Oh and ice cream.  We spent some time eating ice cream too;)  

Occasionally John and I would be shocked to discover that somethings were actually cheaper on the Island.   Gasoline....Cereal....and Ice cream.   Hooray for that!

We took the kids over to the marina and walked along the docks there for a while.  

This is where my high school class had set off from for our week long biology trip.   I spent some time trying to locate the actual boat we'd travelled on before remembering that that was 25 years ago. 

We loved the seagulls in this area.  So large and fat (obviously with so much fish to eat) but they weren't annoying scavengers like the ones I'm used to.   They were actually lovely to watch.

We could have watched this seal for hours.   It was just meandering around the boats in the marina. 

I imagine she is well known to the locals.  

The time quickly came for us to head to the loading bay for our final ride back to the mainland.   I'd inadvertently booked this final trip on the "Spirit of Vancouver" the largest vessel in the BC ferry fleet.   It was impressive to say the least.  It had the same gift shops and restaurants as the previous one but also an arcade - which blew my boys' minds!  haha.   

A few of us remarked that this may be the closest we come to ever taking a cruise!

Ever since our first Ferry ride Nate had been wanting this toy from the gift shop. All week long I'd continually promised him that if it was on the ferry headed home that I'd get it for him.   You better believe that the gift shop was the first place he went to the moment we were on the boat!  I'm actually super proud of this kid.  Prior to leaving Alberta he'd expressed lots of worry about walking across a suspension bridge, whale watching and - riding on the Ferry.   Throughout the week he'd gone along with each scary thing and overcame a lot of those anxieties.   

We were told that the channels we'd be sailing through is home to some resident orcas and that they can occasionally be seen on trips like this.   It was by biggest hope to see a pod of orcas and we anxiously scoured the horizon for the entire duration of the ride.   (I was probably more anxious to see them than others;)

We saw other Ferries...

...and beautiful sunset views.

....but no orcas.  

Sigh.... I guess that means we'll have to come back, right?

We reached the mainland around 9pm and returned to Capilano RV campground to camp for the night.   Our initial plan was to play in Vancouver the next day and then arrive back at home late Sunday night.   As we woke up Saturday morning though (Day 8 of our trip) we wondered if we should just make the drive early and push to get home that day.  With the Salmons gone and the Ocean behind us - there was little point in hanging around anymore. 

 I was probably just sad and wanted to be home.

It's about a 13 hour drive from Vancouver to Home but it is a very mountainous drive which makes it feel longer.   I was immensely proud of my kids and the way they handled that change of plans and the discomfort of travelling in a crowded vehicle for such a long, windy journey.  

By the time we reached Calgary we'd all agreed that a reward/celebration was in order.

We'd recently been introduced to a sushi grill called KINJO and menu item #75 was on all of our minds!  haha  

So- at 9:30 pm we stopped for a sushi supper celebration.  

Our waitress was surprised to hear that we'd gone all the way out to the coast and not tried the sushi there.   She said it was 100x better than Calgary sushi.   oops! 

  I guess we'll have to go back again, right? 

That last stretch of our trip (from Calgary home) was a quiet one.  

All four kids were sound asleep which gave John and I lots of time to reflect together about the trip.  

It was amazing and special and perfect in every way.  

So grateful for friends who led out with the planning of it and for the chance we had to go. 

Heaven on Earth (AKA Tofino!) - {Part of our Summer 2017 Top 10}

We'd made it!  After three days of driving, more than 1400km and a LOT of "when are we going to be there?" questions (mostly from me) - we had arrived!!!

We had booked our campsites in the beautiful Green Point Campground and I wish I had snapped a photo of that place.  The campground is located within Pacific Rim National Park and runs alongside a section of Long Beach.  As a result our site (#31) was just a hop skip and a jump away from a short foot path that led to a private beach along the ocean.  (This proved to be super dreamy;)

As soon as we arrived though, we took 25 minutes to set up camp and then hopped in our vehicles.  We had a 20 minute drive to Tofino ahead of us and a 500 appointment for some Whale Watching!!!

Tofino is a hippie kind of town.  A slow moving, eclectic little community full of surfers and fishers.  

We'd booked an excursion with the Whale Center and we all immediately liked our guide Howi.  

Howi grew up on a nearby Island and boating was all he's ever known.   It was really cool to watch him and notice how comfortable he was on the water.   

While in the bay, the boat (a Boston Whaler) glided peacefully through the water and I was certain we'd enjoy a nice relaxing cruise.  I'd expected it to be somewhat like our experience on the Ferry had been.   

No such luck

As soon as we left the bay and entered open ocean water we were greeted with the choppiest water I've ever experienced.   It was crazy!!   Nate was super nervous and tucked in under my arm the whole time, fat fearful tears rolling down his cheeks.  I assured him all the while that we were perfectly safe while inwardly wondering if this was how I was going to die.   haha.  

Howi on the other hand was perfectly at ease as he raced us out further into the watery abyss.   

He told us that at that moment the waves were about 1.5-2 meters high.  He personally draws the line and refuses to do a tour when the waves reach about 4 feet.   (I tried to take comfort in the that.   Even if this was way out of mine and Nate's comfort zone it was still well within Howi's. haha;)

Despite the rough waters and speedy race into them, all of my anxieties subsided the moment we were led to calmer waters where we found this beauty.

A Gray Whale!!

I couldn't believe it! 

I was instantly thrilled with the whole experience and I knew that no matter what happened the rest of the week I would be happy knowing that I'd gotten to see this whale.   It was lovely.

Howi stopped the boat and let us watch it for awhile.  

It would surface every 3-7 minutes, blow a few times and then dive back down occasionally giving us a goat view of its back or beautiful tail.  

Absolutely majestic!

Other wildlife that we saw on this trip include seals, this darling little otter......

a sea lion sun bathing on a small island....

...and more than one bald eagle.  

As we coasted back into the harbour I found myself longing for just three more hours!   How had that time gone by so quickly?

A bit of Tofino Sunset for you.  You're welcome!

Our legs were a little wobbly when we got off the boat but we were all elated to have gotten to see what we did.   We are determined to do this again one day!

The Island is a temperate rain forest which provided the most spectacular camping experience.  

This earthy scene was taken from my hammock. 

As in, this is what I got to camp in for three days!

See?  

Here is me kickin' back in a rain forest.

Ummm...I can still smell the richness of it!

Did you know that a rain forest environment is good for the soul?

I'm pretty sure this is scientifically proven somewhere.

Day 4 (Tuesday) was our favorite day.  This is the day we met Long Beach.   

Just a short walk from our campsite, past the bathrooms and down the foot path was this private stretch of long beach - a place that stole our hearts immediately!

I'd been to the coast once, as had John, but our kids had NEVER seen anything like this.

Keep in mind that it is the middle of August which means the beginning of the rainy season on the island.  Though we didn't ever get much rain, we did get lots of Fog.   It rolled in every night and lingered well into the day.   I LOVED the ethereal feeling of fog and because it was still plenty warm out, we enjoyed the beach just the same, though we seemed to be the only ones.   For most of the day we pretty much had the place to ourselves!!

The kids ran along the shore and stopped constantly to notice shells and abandoned jelly fish that had been left behind when the tide went out.

Sam had a real knack for finding the largest jellyfish and because they were moon jellies he felt perfectly safe playing with them.  

Sam was also fascinated with the kelp that dotted the shore, and really we all were.  These fascinating plants provided lots of entertainment.  Clearly Sam wore it, him and John also tried to use it as a bullwhip, and at one point we even had a group of kids jump roping with it.   

Shauna new lots about ocean flora and was a useful source of information, especially when exploring tidal pools and such.   She knew when high tide and low tide would be and she was more skilled than I when it came to recognize rip tides and the like.   Thank goodness for her!

Sigh.....!!

We had initially planned to just run down to the beach after breakfast for a quick look.   "We promise we won't get wet!" the kids said.   That quick run down to the beach ended up lasting well past noon.  We just couldn't leave it.

We took lots of photos with the foggy backdrop.

Lots and lots of photos!

We stopped only to have lunch and change into our swimsuits before heading right back down to play.  This time with every intention of swimming in the water!

Which we did for hours and hours.  

In fact we really only stopped when everyone was hungry enough to hike up the hill for supper and then it was right back down for John, our kids and I.  We couldn't miss out on one moment by the ocean.     Even at nighttime the beach was a fun place to be.   We stayed out one night as late as our nervous kids would let us (well past dark) and watched the stars.

Day 5 (Wednesday) was another beach day.  I don't know, despite the fact that there are a million and one things to do in this area (hikes, touring shops etc) Shauna and I could both sense that the only thing our kids really wanted to do was play by the water.   We did branch out a little bit early in the day and visited Incinerator Rock.   Still a beach but just further down the road and with more public access.   

We mostly just played in the sand here.  Incinerator Rock is a stretch of beach that was used during the time of WWII.  The RCAF and Canadian Army had placed an incinerator here that was used to burn trash used by the air force and military camps.   Though the incinerator is gone now, the name remains.   It is a stretch of beach that is lined with large jagged rocks, which the waves crash against violently.   It was a stunning place to see but I was happy my kids were content to stick to the sand here.  Less for this mamma to worry about;) 

 Nate built a heart in the sand and carved his and my initials into it.  (swoon;)

Although we liked seeing a new place, it wasn't long before we decided that the best beach was our campsite beach.  It was beginning to feel like home to us!   We spent the rest of the afternoon there back at "our beach" frolicking in the waves, venturing out further and further and playing in the sand.

At one point we noticed that off in the distance (yards and yards and yards out) there was a whale.  It stayed there pretty much all day, but sure enough we could set our watch to it.   It would blow a few times, dive down and then resurface three minutes later.   We watched this whale for hours!!  

While the kids played - I stared at the horizon just willing that whale to come in a little closer.  

  

Unfortunately we had to take a break from the water fun late in the afternoon so that we could drive into Uclulet to do some laundry.  Though Uclulet seemed like a darling down (probably a gem that I've overlooked) it will forever be tainted because of the horrific luck I had at the laundromat.  

Picture dozens of machines to chose from and somehow I managed to pour our money into every machine but the ONE working one.   Twenty dollars (in quarters) and three hours later - we were back at our campground with sorta clean clothes and all felt right in my world again.  

I was ready for bed and filled with anticipation of one last day on Long Beach.

Day 6 (Thursday) was an anxious feeling day for me.   

We walked down to the beach in the morning and I couldn't help but cry a little at the thought of leaving this place the next day.  I began working out a plan in my mind that would enable me to live hear forever.   Perhaps John could get hired to teach in Tofino?   Maybe he could just commute and we could stay here?   

We drove back into Tofino and spent the morning looking through gift shops and clothing stores.  I wanted to find a thank you gift for the Salmons and Abby wanted to find a T-shirt for a memento.   

The afternoon and evening however was spent back on our beautiful beach.  

As the sun began to set we all realized that this was our last real chance to enjoy the ocean like this.   We jumped and danced along the beach, taking photos every few minutes.  

(John and I)

(Shauna and I rejoicing in the success of a great trip) 

After the sun dipped down below the mountains, the kids built a lean to out of drift wood and John set up the propane fire pit.    There were only a couple of others on the beach at this time, including one young man who stood at the waters edge and played old familiar songs on a trumpet.    (Much like the violinist who had played for us in Cathedral Grove, the sound of this trumpet being played softly seemed to be the perfect fit for this evening.  The melodies he played matched our mournful yet peaceful moods.

As we snacked on s'mores we laughed about highlights and discussed the possibility of future trips down the road.   Where would we go?  Could there be anywhere as beautiful as this?

We enjoyed the campfire well past dark and only called it quits when we absolutely had to.  

Literally, we only quite when camp security showed up on the beach.  They'd seen our fire from on top of the hill and had thought we were burning driftwood.   Even though we were relieved that they approved of our propane fire - it was still motivation enough for us to walk up the hill and hesitantly say our good nights.  

What a perfect few days.