Saying Goodbye

Like most of our recent weekends, this one was a busy one. Unlike the recent weekends, we only had two days to cram everything in. Friday night we headed up to Sombrio Beach to celebrate Josh's birthday.

Life's a beach.

After some early struggles with the fire were out of the way, we relaxed with some beers. The weather was just about perfect. As night fell, the skies cleared and there were countless stars to be seen.

Josh fans the flames while Gion gives it a poke.

Cozy Brenda.

Happy birthday Josh.

Saturday we hosted a little party at our place and then went out to see Five Alarm Funk downtown. Brenda's skating coach even came and gave Brenda a trophy! Apparently Brenda is very sportsmanlike, good job B!

The award ceremony with Coach Heather.

Heather, Brenda and Amy.

Five Alarm Funk rocked. We had high expectations and they surpassed them. If you see that they are coming to your town you have to check them out. Their energy level was incredible and how they kept up with the constant tempo changes of their drumming frontman is a mystery to me. The lead guitar player in particular stuck out, not only for his ridiculous outfit, but his wild solos.

The guitar player in all his short shorts/gold jacket glory.

The band, featuring Larry Bird.

Sarah and Brenda down by the water after the show.

Sunday was a recovery day of rest, packing, and landlord dealings. We went out for dinner with Ryan and Megan at the Canoe Brewpub down by the gorge. Ryan had just flown in from Switzerland the night before so it was good that we had a chance to catch-up with him and Megan before we left.

Ryan, Megan and I at Canoe.

Saying goodbye at Clover Point.

And that's it. Tomorrow morning we get up and leave the Island. We saw a ton of stuff while we here, met a lot of great people, and we will miss it all. At the same time we are eager to be heading home, back to friends and family we haven't seen enough of in the last couple of years.

We will continue to blog our journey home but then it is likely the blog will go on hiatus. Who knows, we could be back in B.C. some day. We certainly hope to visit, so maybe there will be sporadic posting in the coming years. So goodbye to some and to others, we hope to see you soon!

The Long Weekend

Who am I kidding? Lately all of our weekends have been long weekends, Brenda hasn't worked a Monday in a month and a half!

This was our last official long weekend in Victoria and it was a good one. We were treated to a visit from Rachel and Zak and their two dogs Nero and Blaze. We also got our first use out of our new bike rack, and went for a ride on part of the Trans Canada Trail near Shawnigan Lake.

The end of the road.

Our bike ride took us to the historic Kinsol Trestle. The trestle finished completion in 1920 and is the biggest in Canada. It hasn't been in use since 1979 and while it's looking pretty rough these days it is still an impressive sight.

A lot of wood.

Looks like a fun crossing.

Having Rachel, Zak and the dogs around was a lot of fun too. We shared them with a couple of Zak's other friends on the Island, and we also got to know his friend Brook who just happened to live around the corner.

Sunday night Brook invited us out to a BBQ in the neighbourhood and it took me a whole day to recover.

Me, Rachel and Zak sitting by the fire.

Back at home, a late night with the girls.

It was another full weekend, but not nearly long enough. I'm not sure how we're going to handle this two-day weekend we have coming up. I guess it's a good thing that we both quit our jobs and only have to work one day next week. This summer is going to be awesome.

Up-Island Ho!

Brenda and I truly had an adventure last weekend. We had a rough plan when we left the apartment, but we didn't follow it too much. We ended up in some interesting places, including a deserted campground in the middle of nowhere, and we had a blast!

Welcome to Denman Island!

Our first destination was Denman Island. Denman is one of the Northern Gulf Islands and has a population just over a thousand. I don't think we saw a man on the island without a beard and the place definitely had a hippie vibe about it.

Vancouver Island from Denman.

The heart of the shopping district.

We spent the night at Fillongley Provincial Park on the shores of the Pacific. The park was donated to the province by George Beadnell, and George is buried on site.

Thanks for the park George!

George's magical pasture.

Brenda amongst the flowers.

I don't know if it was the salty ocean air, or some concoction of hippie dust, but there is something about the clearing in Fillongley that is very inspiring, almost spiritual. There was no one around, and it was extremely peaceful there.

Hornby Island from Denman.

In the morning we headed to Boyle Point Provincial Park for a quick hike. We also stopped in Denman village and picked up some cute gifts from the local craft store.

Brenda investigates Chrome Island.

Chrome Island.

An eagle flying off of . . . Eagle Rock.

Back on Van Isle, we continued north, heading through Campbell River and on up to Lake Schoen Provincial Park. The last 13 km into the park was a deserted, pothole-marked road, and the rain pouring down on us made it all feel quite lonesome and eerie. We were not alone though, we spotted deer and had our first elk-sighting on route to the lake.

We discovered the campground to be devoid of human life, but there were plenty of signs of recent animal activity. I will spare you the pictures of droppings. Because of the rain, and our still modest outdoor skills, we decided to camp in the car for the night (it was also prettty chilly to be outside).

Cozy life in the Loon.

It was pretty awesome being on a lake in the woods and knowing you had the place to yourself. Even just watching a raven fly over the water presented a sense of grandeur. It would have been nice to stay longer, but Brenda was a little freaked out that we were so isolated and we left just as the Sun was beginning to fight its way through the cloud cover.

Where'd everybody go?

Car camping by the lake.

Life is good.

On the road back out to the highway we spotted three foxes as well as the first chipmunk we've seen on the Island. There were also some strange sights, such as a pipe graveyard and old constuction equipment hiding in the bush.

Croman Lake.

Where pipes go to die.

It was a bit of a relief to be back on the highway and have some solid pavement under us. We drove back to Campbell River and explored the town for a bit. It is a really nice town and they've done a good job of keeping most of the oceanfront as public lands and parks. Elk Falls Provincial Park is also just outside of town and that was our next destination.

Elk Falls.

Dam pipes.

The little running man makes this sign awesome.

Campbell River's Big Rock.

Heading south down highway 19 our adventure was mostly over. We took in a leisurely game of mini-golf in Parksville and had an easy drive home. The golf game was highlighted by my recording of not only two hole-in-ones for myslef, but also knocking in one of Brenda's wayward tee shots to hand her a hole-in-one. It was a jam-packed weekend and a great way to cram a bunch of exploration in before we head back to Ontario in a couple of weeks.

Brenda sizes up the pirate ship hole.

Cam wins!

The Marathon

We started May off with a big adventure to Vancouver. Not only did we get to see Rose and Kate, but my Mom flew out to be the weekend's special guest. Why would she come all this way for one weekend? Because she's crazy!!

Just kidding Mom. We all gathered in Vancouver for some serious exercise, Mom walked the half-marathon, Brenda ran the half-marathon, and I took my best shot at the marathon. Brenda and I had been training for awhile, but we both came down with injuries or illnesses that really slowed us down in March and April and we were probably not at our best. Alas, I am getting ahead of myself, let's start at the beginning.

The Aquabus.

Rose and Emmy-Lou escorted us to Granville Island via the Aquabus, a small ferry that made for an enjoyable cruise. Enjoyable for most of us at least, Emmy was not so easily impressed.

Emmy has yet to find her sea-legs.

Rain in Vancouver? Imagine that.

We spent the afternoon exploring Granville, and then headed back to Rose and Kate's for a lazy evening of pasta and movies. Sunday morning came early as Brenda and Mom's event began at 7 am, and mine at 7:30.

Ready to go!

Running the marathon was a gruelling experience. I was good for about three hours and then I was a wreck. I jogged/walked the last ten miles or so, and even though I didn't do as well as I would have liked it was still quite an accomplishment just to finish it. Mom really enjoyed her walk, and Brenda still thinks she can do better and is already itching for another shot.

42.2 km in the books.

We were all pretty spent after the race but we managed to rally ourselves to go out for lunch and drinks at Sandbar with Rose and Kate. The food was delicious, but I think I was hungry enough that just about any passable food have been pretty tasty.

The ladies after lunch.

Monday was a day of recovery (I could barely walk), but it was also Cinco De Mayo and we happened to stumble in to a Mexican restaurant for drinks on W 4th Avenue. Afterwards we dropped Mom off at the airport and then it was back to work and reality for the rest of the week. Thanks to Mom for flying out, and a huge thanks to our most awesome hostesses Rose and Kate!

At Las Margaritas.

Captain Awesome's Vancouver Island Adventure

A couple of weeks ago my little bro came out for a visit and it was great. Not only did we get to hang out with Jeff for 5 days, we got to experience the Island through fresh eyes. Jeff had never really seen the ocean or mountains or such huge trees before, so everything was a new experience.

Jeff's visit started on Thursday night with an intense game of Bohnanza, followed by a rousing game of Pit. Needless to say, I was victorious at both - albeit by the slimmest of margins.

Jeff, Sarah, Donovan and James - the Bean Farmers!

Friday morning Jeff and I headed out to Goldstream for a hike up to the train trestle. Jeff was a little braver than I once we were actually on the trestle, but I followed him out there anyway because we all know that one cannot be shown up by their little brother.

The train trestle.

Jeff at the top with Mt. Finlayson in the background.

Friday afternoon we hit the road for our weekend in Tofino. We took our time on the drive up to stop and check out the sites along the way. The highlights were definitely Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park for the big trees and the winding road from Port Alberni to Tofino.

Cam and Jeff.

The largest tree in Cathedral Grove.

The "picture tree" in Cathedral Grove.

Sunset over Kennedy Lake.

After almost 6 hours on the road, we arrived in Tofino and we were in need of a beer. Luckily, our hotel (The Weighwest Marine Resort a.k.a. The Days Inn), had a pub on the water. Not a bad way to start our weekend in Tofino.

Yay! We made it!

Beers at Dockside Pub.

Oh grandma...

We arranged a surfing lesson for Saturday morning. We met our surf instructors at Cox Bay and got all our gear on. It felt so nice on a cool April morning in Tofino to put on a damp rental wetsuit. Then we had the task of carrying our surf boards down to the beach - this was probably the hardest part of the whole lesson, at least for me. But alas, we made it to the beach for a brief lesson on currents, types of waves, surfing safety and etiquette and, of course, surfing style. After perfecting our surfing style on land, it was time to hit the water. We spent the next 2 hours attempting to surf. By the end, we were mostly just floating on our boards, which is also a fun way to spend the day in Tofino.

Jeff's surf style.

Ready to 'catch a wave'.

Cam perfecting the skill of wiping out.

Yay! I am surfing!

We were pretty exhausted after surfing, but also hungry. We ate a yummy dinner at Shelter restaurant before crashing for the evening. Sunday morning we awoke to rain - surprise, surprise. But we had planned a trip to Meares Island to check out Big Tree Trail and a little rain wasn't going to stop us. After a short water taxi ride, we arrived at Meares Island. The taxi driver pointed us towards the boardwalk and we set off. The boardwalk takes about 30 minutes to complete and goes over, through and around the trees on the Island. It felt a bit like being in a huge tree house. It is a great place to check out if you are ever in Tofino.

Part of the boardwalk on Meares Island.

Starting to understand why it is called "Big Tree Trail".

Did we mention the big trees? They are unreal!

Meares Island.

After a great weekend in Tofino, we decided it was time to head home. But not without a stop on Long Beach, a quick visit with Cam's cousins in Port Alberni and some ice cream.

Long Beach.

Our ritual ice cream place near Port Alberni.

Monday Jeff and I toured around Victoria taking in the local attractions like the Oak Bay seals, Mount Doug and downtown. I had a fantastic time with my brother and want to thank my mom for helping to make the trip happen!