East Sooke Park

Whoops, somehow our explorations along the East Sooke Trail slipped through the cracks, buried beneath a pile of other photos. I completely forgot to write a post about this stunning trail, and I must admit, in my laziness, I was tempted not to (let sleeping dogs lie, as it were). But it would be a shame, as it really is a beautiful trail.

Neck Point Park

I've been unbelievably lazy about finishing the posts and photos from our trip to Vancouver Island. I always fool myself into believing it will be easier to write all of my posts after the fact (more time to enjoy in the moment, adventuring and such), but every time - without fail - I seem to find a way to drag these bad boys ("bad boys" meaning posts, naturally) out for months after the fact, and the more time that passes, the more of a chore it becomes to catch up.

Home

"It doesn’t matter where you are, there’s comfort in knowing you have someone else there with you.  A testament to how adaptable we really are, and to the fact that even the gloomiest of places can feel familiar if you have the right people with you."

{An excerpt from our time on the road - somewhere between Alberta and British Columbia - accompanied by a photo from Addo Elephant National Park, my beloved South Africa}

On the Road: Victoria to Nanaimo

On our tour of Vancouver Island, we drove from Victoria to Nanaimo. We managed to stretch the excursion into an all day affair, stopping to explore the bugs, and the bees, and a few trees along the way. We turned over rocks, slipped in the mud, and explored the nature hidden in different nooks and crannies. A handful of snaps, if you'd care to see:

The Colours of Victoria

Our adventure in Squamish marked one of the last days of Mom and Dad's visit to mainland Vancouver, and before we knew it, we were all bundled into the car and heading for the Island. Our first stop was Victoria, where we spent a couple of days exploring (i.e. eating our way around) downtown Victoria. We devoured fish tacos (Red Fish, Blue Fish, you delicious fiend, you) by the harbour overlooking the picturesque parliament buildings, wandered through Beacon Hill Park chasing after peacocks, took photos of the charming Fisherman's Wharf, pretended to be Royalty whilst ambling amongst the flowers in the Butchart Gardens, and of course, took to the trails in nearby Sooke (but Sooke will be another post for another day).

A few favourites from Victoria below:

 Beacon Hill peacocks, everywhere (it was awesome!)

Soaring Over Mountains in Squamish

After hunting for sea lions (not hunting sea lions) at Whytecliff and trekking around Cypress, we were lucky enough to go flying in Squamish. One of J's friends, Mr. Cameron Ross, is a pilot at the Squamish Airport, who kindly agreed to take us soaring over the mountains. Dad is currently in the process of obtaining his private pilot's license in Ontario (not so many mountains), so it was extra special for him to be able to fly over the mountains here.

Anyways, before flying, we spent the morning in Squamish (the rock climbing/bouldering capital) where we started the day off right at the ever delicious Fergie's, a local hotspot. With full bellies and big smiles, we headed over to Shannon Falls, where we ogled the falls, before moving on to Stawamus Chief Provincial Park, just down the road, to check out the boulder field.

Down by the river at Fergie's

Exploring Mount Cypress

One of my favourite stops on our tour around Vancouver with Mom and Dad was Mount Cypress; it was so mystical and beautiful. After exploring Whytecliff, we decided to stop and see Cypress ('cause we were in the neighbourhood and all) and although we didn't tackle any crazy hikes, we did find a nice trail which took us on a loop around the mountain.