Stars and Sea Stars – A West Coast Experience Part Two: The Activities – Shore Walk, Kayaking, Snorkelling

See Part One, here.

Shortly after arriving at Outer Shores Lodge, I asked Scott if there was an agenda or schedule that would be followed each day and he answered that each morning at breakfast he would come up with a list and time for activities based on the day’s weather, tides and people’s interests. We would be free to join in or do our own thing. A show of hands was needed for certain activities that were limited by gear availability or space and those were repeated throughout the day so all 13 of us could partake if we wanted (e.g. kayaking, boat outings). I really appreciated the easy-breezy and casual-ness of it all! It immediately relaxed me.

Each day went something like this:

  • 6:30 am Cold breakfast (granola, yogurt, fruit bowl) was set out by the beverage station (always stocked with coffee, tea, cold beverages and 3 jars kept topped up with homemade cookies!).
  • 8:30 am Hot breakfast is served.
  • Morning activities
  • 12:00 pm Lunch is served.
  • Afternoon activities
  • At some point in the afternoon, delicious snacks (like Outer Shores Lodge’s flapjack bars!) magically appeared at the beverage station.
  • 5:00 pm Appetizers were laid out. Did I mention the cold drinks at the beverage station included beers and coolers as well as soft/non-alcoholic drinks? Wine was also available upon request.
  • 6:00 pm Dinner is served, with a choice of two wines. Usually accompanied by Scott entertaining us with some of his vast knowledge of the area and its history, plus some suggestions for our group as to how the following day could unfold, activity-wise.
  • Evening – various activities depending on weather, availability of people (e.g. outdoor talks on the night sky, musical entertainment or subject experts brought in, etc.).
Some people started their day at the property’s natural cold plunge pool (bottom left corner), followed by a visit to the Lodge’s steam shower or hot tub.

Shore Walk – the first morning Scott took us on a low-tide walk right outside the lodge, showing us the natural wonders at our feet and explaining the tidal eco-system in funny and immediately graspable ways.

We saw so many beautiful sea stars on this walk, as well as many crustaceans and other sea life.

Kayaking – The Lodge has 6 kayaks for guest use. A guide must accompany you if you want to leave the inlet (insurance requirement); otherwise you can take them when you like and explore the inlet on your own.

The Lodge supplies its guests with 12 foot Delta kayaks, for our kayaking pleasure!
Some of my group getting ready to leave the inlet and go exploring. We saw a mama black bear and 2 cubs when we visited a salt marsh! I didn’t take any more photos as I’d forgotten my waterproof phone case for this trip and was getting a bit nervous I could drop/lose my phone.

Snorkelling – the Lodge provides a full range of gear for snorkelers who didn’t bring their own. All 13 of us geared up and went into the water at the same time – from the youngest among us up to the octogenarians!

Here is a photo of (almost) all of us, ready to explore the underwater world just a few steps away. Sara Ellison is in the front wearing the red weight belt (her husband Jon Willis – fellow astrophysicist and snorkeler – is behind her). Photo by Scott Wallace
Here’s some underwater footage I shot with my GoPro. There was a bit of wave action pushing me around!
Still smiling at this point – started to feel queasy from all the wave action shortly thereafter so I headed to the nearby kelp forest, where it was a bit calmer (next video).
Some video of the crabs hanging out in the kelp.
Lucky me! Sara Ellison photobombed my video.
Maureen Scott took this gorgeous photo of a nudibranch. Note to self: need better camera and free-diving gear!!!

As this post is getting a bit long, I will stop here. To be continued in the next: Night skies, boat tours, hiking etc.!

Rock on,

The WB

18 thoughts on “Stars and Sea Stars – A West Coast Experience Part Two: The Activities – Shore Walk, Kayaking, Snorkelling

  1. Wow your post drew me in with the food – very much like the sound of that set up – cold and hot breakfast!
    And then the snorkelling videos! Fantastic!
    I’m loving following your adventures. Thanks for sharing

  2. Joyce van de Water-Balch

    Wow 🤯…. That’s all I can say.
    I was gobsmacked the whole post and videos.
    I never knew the sea creatures and fauna could be so colourful!!!
    Ok … guess I could say a bit more 😂
    But still … wow 🤩

  3. Deb, I’ve never seen (or heard of) a nudibranch before. I had to goggle it; it looks like a painting or a fake AI photo. Amazing.
    Thanks for sharing your daily itinerary as that gives us a good feel of the pace of your trip; easy breezy is how I love to roll, so this would be so enjoyable to me too.
    The underwater videos are amazing; so much sea life down there. I can see how you could get a little ‘off’ with the waves moving you around.
    Funny that you can them ‘Sea Stars’ as we call them Starfish. I like your version better.

    1. I used to call them starfish too, but now they are supposed to be called sea stars as they are not fish at all! I don’t usually have a problem with motion sickness EXCEPT when snorkeling, and I think that is absolutely unfair 😠. Thank you, Suz 💕

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