We have moved the blog to allthewaythere.wordpress.com
Hopefully you will continue to follow our fascinating adventures there!
Wednesday, 27 July 2016
Tuesday, 26 July 2016
Another orcanary day
Just to pick up where Rach left off yesterday: we finished the day watching a family of raccoons forage in the garden from the hot tub, complete with a class of Canadian wine (oh yes they do, and very nice it was too). The raccoon kittens were making a right racket, so much so that I was thinking of making myself a Davy Crockett hat - that would have silenced the critters.
Today, we bade farewell to our fabulous hosts, Jim and Lori, and the delightful Bella's Beachfront B and B, not forgetting 10-week old Salem. But not before a huge and lengthy breakfast. We eventually set off for the untamed reaches of Northern Vancouver Island, but not without first visiting the glorious Nymph Falls, which were especially alluring with the clear blue skies that remained with us throughout the day.
Ahead lay a 4 hour and 250km journey, which required a fuel stop (about £40 to fill up @ roughly 66p a litre), and who knew how many breaks en route to admire the scenery. As it turned out, fewer than we expected.
Rach was great company as she always is when we travel more than 20 miles (zzzzzz) but the journey progressed quickly (as it always seems to do when measured in kilometres), helped by some spectacular scenery and easy roads. It went especially quickly for Rach (zzzzzz).
We took a shortish diversion to Telegraph Cove, which is a small community that developed as a, well you can guess why it was established I'm sure! As well as being a pleasant place to visit, it also provided a great view of a pod of orcas as they swam past. This was truly spectacular and we've already cancelled the whale watching trip!
We're now in Port Hardy, which is a small town in the far North of the island, and we'll be staying in the Orange Tabby Guest House for three nights. First impressions are really positive and we have a great room. Of course, it all hinges on the breakfast in the morning. Wish us luck!
Again, pics below I'm afraid as Blogger and iPad really don't get on!
Today, we bade farewell to our fabulous hosts, Jim and Lori, and the delightful Bella's Beachfront B and B, not forgetting 10-week old Salem. But not before a huge and lengthy breakfast. We eventually set off for the untamed reaches of Northern Vancouver Island, but not without first visiting the glorious Nymph Falls, which were especially alluring with the clear blue skies that remained with us throughout the day.
Ahead lay a 4 hour and 250km journey, which required a fuel stop (about £40 to fill up @ roughly 66p a litre), and who knew how many breaks en route to admire the scenery. As it turned out, fewer than we expected.
Rach was great company as she always is when we travel more than 20 miles (zzzzzz) but the journey progressed quickly (as it always seems to do when measured in kilometres), helped by some spectacular scenery and easy roads. It went especially quickly for Rach (zzzzzz).
We took a shortish diversion to Telegraph Cove, which is a small community that developed as a, well you can guess why it was established I'm sure! As well as being a pleasant place to visit, it also provided a great view of a pod of orcas as they swam past. This was truly spectacular and we've already cancelled the whale watching trip!
We're now in Port Hardy, which is a small town in the far North of the island, and we'll be staying in the Orange Tabby Guest House for three nights. First impressions are really positive and we have a great room. Of course, it all hinges on the breakfast in the morning. Wish us luck!
Again, pics below I'm afraid as Blogger and iPad really don't get on!
Monday, 25 July 2016
Going a little wild...
Today began with another of Jim's excellent breakfasts and a good chat about a wide range of subjects, from salmon farming to fracking. He's a really interesting chap to talk to and we wish we could have spent more time getting to know him better.We then packed up the mobile wardrobe with walking gear, swimming gear, food, water, maps etc and headed off to explore a little more of the local area. Our first stop was Mount Washington Alpine Resort, a ski area which is popular in the summer with hikers and mountain bikers. After our training at Whistler last time we were fearless about hopping onto the chairlift and were soon whisked the mile to the top of the mountain. The views were amazing although there was quite a bit of cloud swirling around, but we were plagued by clouds of flies so didn't hang around too long. After a quick picnic lunch we then drove a short way down to Strathcona Alpine Meadows where we really enjoyed walking on the beautifully maintained trails, many of them on boardwalks as the meadows are largely fenland. There were loads of wild flowers, and we encountered squirrels, a StellarsJay, and most excitingly a garter snake sunning itself on one of the boardwalks. The photos are all below as it's very challenging to use Blogger successfully on the IPad!
Our next port of call was the town of Campbell River, about 40K north of Comox. We had quick look round then drove out to see Painter's Lodge, which I've definitely heard of via Julian I think? Finally we visited Elk Falls which has a stunning new suspension bridge paid for by the local Rotary Club.
Fish & chips on the harbour back in Campbell River rounded off an excellent day. We will be sad to leave tomorrow as we love both our accommodation and the whole area.
Our next port of call was the town of Campbell River, about 40K north of Comox. We had quick look round then drove out to see Painter's Lodge, which I've definitely heard of via Julian I think? Finally we visited Elk Falls which has a stunning new suspension bridge paid for by the local Rotary Club.
Fish & chips on the harbour back in Campbell River rounded off an excellent day. We will be sad to leave tomorrow as we love both our accommodation and the whole area.
Sunday, 24 July 2016
In and around Comox
Today, we dragged ourselves away after a great breakfast and chat with Jim, which included the sight of a whale's fin as it breached a few miles off shore, to visit the local area. This included Comox, Seal Bay Natural Park, which was alive with a group very vocal seals, and Courtenay, where they were hosting a vintage car event - won by a very shiny 'British Leyland MGB'. I'd no idea that British Leyland was so revered.
We finished off with a bite to eat and pint of local ale on the terrace of the Black Fin pub. Now we're enjoying our surroundings as it's such a lovely evening and why would we want to be anywhere else! I'll leave you to judge that...
We finished off with a bite to eat and pint of local ale on the terrace of the Black Fin pub. Now we're enjoying our surroundings as it's such a lovely evening and why would we want to be anywhere else! I'll leave you to judge that...
Drove my Chevy to the Ferry
So (much over used by commentators on Radio 4 these days to prefix a sentence), after breakfast with our new best friends from Tel Aviv, we set off in Sonic the Chevrolet to catch the ferry, and about 3 minutes later arrived at the ferry terminal hoping for an earlier crossing.
After a tense period of waiting on standby, we snuck on to the ferry and set off on the 2 hour crossing to Vancouver Island. As with many aspects of life in Canada, it was an easy experience: unhurried and not crowded plus the stairs to the car decks must be double the size and half as steep as those you find on a cross channel ferry. Oh, and the sun was shining, which always helps.
We then headed North via the sand sculpting event at Parksville before arriving at Bella's B&B near Comox. And what an immediate impression it made, located as it is above the beach with uninterrupted views across the water to the mainland. Not only that but we were greeted by our delightful host Jim who gave us a guided tour around the accommodation which is truly impressive.
And to cap it all, Jim introduced us to his 9 week old kitten who reminds us in so many ways of our 17 year-old cat Dylan (although he's a bit bigger these days). Pics to follow.
After a tense period of waiting on standby, we snuck on to the ferry and set off on the 2 hour crossing to Vancouver Island. As with many aspects of life in Canada, it was an easy experience: unhurried and not crowded plus the stairs to the car decks must be double the size and half as steep as those you find on a cross channel ferry. Oh, and the sun was shining, which always helps.
We then headed North via the sand sculpting event at Parksville before arriving at Bella's B&B near Comox. And what an immediate impression it made, located as it is above the beach with uninterrupted views across the water to the mainland. Not only that but we were greeted by our delightful host Jim who gave us a guided tour around the accommodation which is truly impressive.
And to cap it all, Jim introduced us to his 9 week old kitten who reminds us in so many ways of our 17 year-old cat Dylan (although he's a bit bigger these days). Pics to follow.
Off to Canadia
After a fitful night in the hotel ( cheap parking equals cheap mattress, obviously) we had an uneventful flight to Vancouver, with much excitement from Jon when we flew over Greenland and saw lots of icebergs. We've heard a few horror stories about Air Transat, but so far our experiences have been wholly positive.
It took a while to get through passport control but this meant that our bags were already on the carousel by the time we got there, and picking up the car was very easy once Jon had resisted all the pleas to upgrade, buy extra tyres in case we needed them, etc etc. We have a little Chevrolet Sonic which is brand new and perfect for our needs - even the mountain roads are so well constructed that there's no need whatsoever for any kind of all terrain vehicle here in the summer.
It took us awhile to find our way from the airport to our first B&B, Seaspray Guest House in Tswawassen, very close to the ferry terminal. We were recommended a very nice place to eat by the guesthouse owner, Jenny, but by the time we got there at around 7.30pm we were both aware that it was 3.30 am in the UK and it was a struggle to stay wake long enough to enjoy our meal. We were in bed by 9pm and Jon slept well....!
We spent a very enjoyable breakfast chatting to some other guests, an Israeli couple who were at the end of their trip around BC. He was flying home, and she was meeting their 2 daughters in New York to spend 10 days shopping. Jon found this hard to comprehend, but they were great company and we were sorry we didn't get to spend longer with them. We packed up and left quickly as we wanted to catch the 10.15 ferry across to Vancouver Island.More to follow in the next post.
It took a while to get through passport control but this meant that our bags were already on the carousel by the time we got there, and picking up the car was very easy once Jon had resisted all the pleas to upgrade, buy extra tyres in case we needed them, etc etc. We have a little Chevrolet Sonic which is brand new and perfect for our needs - even the mountain roads are so well constructed that there's no need whatsoever for any kind of all terrain vehicle here in the summer.
It took us awhile to find our way from the airport to our first B&B, Seaspray Guest House in Tswawassen, very close to the ferry terminal. We were recommended a very nice place to eat by the guesthouse owner, Jenny, but by the time we got there at around 7.30pm we were both aware that it was 3.30 am in the UK and it was a struggle to stay wake long enough to enjoy our meal. We were in bed by 9pm and Jon slept well....!
We spent a very enjoyable breakfast chatting to some other guests, an Israeli couple who were at the end of their trip around BC. He was flying home, and she was meeting their 2 daughters in New York to spend 10 days shopping. Jon found this hard to comprehend, but they were great company and we were sorry we didn't get to spend longer with them. We packed up and left quickly as we wanted to catch the 10.15 ferry across to Vancouver Island.More to follow in the next post.
Saturday, 9 July 2016
The countdown begins...
We are heading off to glorious Western Canada again, so I thought I'd do another blog to keep myself entertained.
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