As mentioned previously, Joanne and I were invited to partake in a 3 day/2 night ocean kayaking trip by Jude. This happened the first weekend in August and we had a blast! Other than us 3 (who knew each other through blogging and are now fast friends), there were 5 others on the trip – all friends of Jude, who knew her from her academic life. Those folks, and our two fabulous guides made a contingent of 10 kayakers on this adventure.
Our two amazing guides from Majestic Ocean Kayaking: Jeff and the aptly named Marina! Learned so much from them. 💕
Captain Gary dropped us, the kayaks and all of our gear off at Moon Snail Beach on Dodd Island.
Moon snail on its namesake beach.We each received a laminated map of the area, to carry with us while kayaking. X marks the spot we were dropped off (and later picked up) at Moon Snail Beach on Dodds Island. In the upper right (under Crawford Lake) is the location of the Broken Islands Lodge. Broken line indicates Captain Gary picking us up at the lodge and depositing us on Moon Snail Beach for our last day of kayaking.Joanne and I in all of our kayaking gear (including spray skirt). I think Jude took this picture of us. One of our first stops, at the tiniest of the Tiny Islands. That’s Marina (L) and Joanne (R) in the shot. Joanne in her trusty boat (with Jude in the background).Eventually we made it to our cozy, comfy lodge for the next 2 nights. Where we were amply fed and watered. Our boats in the foreground, awaiting tomorrow’s adventure.Apres kayak. View from my Muskoka chair.A young black bear came to forage at the lodge’s beach every morning.Our mornings started out calm and foggy.But soon enough, the fog lifted to reveal stunning views.We took many breaks, allowing us to explore different islands and their beaches.Jude and Joanne (and one of Jude’s friends) relaxing during one of our lunch breaks on yet another island.Guide Jeff made sure we made it to Willis Island, to experience a giant cedar tree growing there. Jude in front of it. I used panorama mode to try to capture the whole tree (and Joanne) in this shot. I think I took this shot just before we headed into the roughest waters experienced yet, on this trip. On the last day. Some of our group were quite shook up by this experience (especially the newbies). Guide Jeff had said it was nothing we couldn’t handle, so I felt quite safe and enjoyed being tossed on the waves. Was I too stupid to be scared?
I used my happy-birthday-to-me new GoPro camera to take some video and GoPro made me a short highlight reel. Yay!!! The clouds and fog started rolling in on the afternoon of the last day, and it was perfect timing to load the kayaks (and ourselves) back on the boat and head “home”: to Majestic’s headquarters in Ucluelet.
And I wasn’t home too many days before this happened. Many thanks to our guide Jeff for giving me great advice on what type of sea kayak to look into.
Meet “Libelle” (lee bell uh). Dutch word for dragonfly.
I hope you enjoyed coming along for the ride on this fabulous adventure of mine (and Joanne’s and Jude’s). It was challenging and thrilling and contemplative and awe-inspiring and, and, and….it was a wonderful experience that I feel so grateful and privileged to have been a part of.
It all started last January, when Jude casually mentioned in a Zoom call that she was booking a 3 day/2 night ocean kayaking trip in the Broken Islands for August with some friends and would I like to join their party? WOULD I?!? Is the Pope Catholic? Do bears poop in the woods? And most importantly: is it OK if I ask Joanne if she wants to join us?
The answer to all of the above was a resounding YES! (And a resounding HELL YES! came from Joanne as well 🤭.) Who immediately started researching flights to the island.
We had to be at Majestic’s headquarters in Ucluelet the night before, to get sized for our wetsuits and lifejackets so that meant booking an overnight stay in town.
Actually, we could not find a hotel, resort, AirBnB etc., that would allow us to book only one night so we had no other choice but to book for 3 nights at the Black Rock Resort. As one does.
It was quite the hardship 😉, but we screwed up our courage and made the best of it (including starting our visit with a trip to the Drift Spa, visiting the Ucluelet Aquarium, noshing at the iconic Tacofino, AND enjoying the most delightful restaurant meal I’ve ever experienced at Pluvio). Making lemonade out of lemons, ya know? 😜
Morning view from our balconyFull moon view from the balcony (right before I scared Joanne to death as she independently decided to ALSO step out on the balcony at 2 am 😂).We brought provisions to sustain us.We explored the local trails…View from the Wild Pacific Trail as the fog was lifting.Joanne snapped this beauty from the side of the road in Ucluelet.We visited the beaches.
We made friends with the locals:
And then (in a heartbeat, or so it seemed), our time at the resort was over…and we were departing for the Broken Islands.
All of our group’s gear on the tarp, waiting to be loaded onto the boat.
After spending last year enjoying my Universal Yums snack box gift subscription (and blogging about it), Donna and I were inspired to dream up a Canadian version.
We started with this list and then added some items of our own. I present to you, dear reader, our Canadian snack box:
From top left: All-Dressed chips, Hickory Sticks, Ketchup chips, Kinder Surprise Egg, Crispy Crunch bar, Kraft peanut butter, Butter tarts. Missing: Macintosh’s toffee (chilling in the fridge).
Donna created a score card for us too (isn’t she talented?!)
Beauty, eh? 😉
But first, we sat down to a lovely Canadian lunch, lovingly prepared by Donna:
Every bit as delicious as it looks!
Now for the contents of our Canadian “Yum Box”:
Firstly, I retrieved the chilled toffee bar from the fridge and gave it the de rigueur “whack” across the counter’s edge to break it into pieces. Way to be bilingual, eh? 😉Now this is how I serve a MacIntosh’s toffee bar!
Next up was the beloved (by Canadians, anyways) Crispy Crunch. I think the American equivalent is called a Butterfinger bar.
Mmmmm…I had forgotten how good these were.
I was surprised to learn about the Kinder Surprise Egg being banned in the US because the toy within is thought to present a danger to children. Insert snarky comment about assault rifles and school shootings here.
The danger involved makes it all the more appealing 😉.Inside the egg. Note the few escaped hickory sticks on the board as I forgot to take a picture of them outside of the bag.Inside the capsule were these adorable spinning tops, that actually did spin very well!
Next up: the infamous Ketchup flavoured chips! I remember this flavour being introduced when I was a schoolgirl. Oh, the excitement of a new flavour of chips!!!!
Now as an adult, I feel kinda “meh” about ketchup chips. Pretty much the last flavour I would pick.The former It chip, known as ketchup-flavoured.
Mover over Ketchup, there’s a new sheriff in town: All-Dressed chips! Side note: I had thought these were also known as “storm chips” but apparently storm chips are something unique to the east coast*.
I always thought these chips came about as a happy accident when someone at the factory decided to use up all the leftover bits of various seasonings on a batch. But I can’t find anything to support that notion, so I must have just dreamed it up.They are pretty tasty, but no exploding tastebuds were sacrificed by either Donna or myself. I think I speak for both of us when I say we prefer a perfectly salted, kettle-cooked plain chip.
Working steadily down the list, we come upon the Hickory Stick. I have not tasted a hickory stick since I was a child, and I remember not liking the hickory smoke flavour very much back then.
These are really good! Why have I been depriving myself of their tastiness all these years?!?!
Would it be a Canadian Yum Box without the Butter Tart? We think not!
These grocery store “buttery” tarts can’t hold a candle to a real bakery or homemade butter tart BUT they taste very much like the butter tarts of my childhood (my mom was not into baking) so the nostalgia factor wins these for me. There is a great Canadian debate on which is best: a runny butter tart or a solid-centred one? Solid ones are definitely easier to eat but there is something about a runny one…I dunno. My all-time favourite butter tart comes from a bakery in my former home town – Dee’s peanut butter butter tart is the perfect combination of salty and sweet (and runny to boot) – butter tart perfection! Argh, I just found out Dee’s is no more 😫…RIP, Queen of Tarts Dee Miller.
Speaking of peanut butter (of which I love all things made of and associated with this product), Donna informed me that Kraft Peanut Butter is uniquely Canadian, so of course it was added to our list!
Dark roasted is my favourite, but Donna’s choice is tasty too. My question is: what did they replace the fat with? I suspect carbs.
Our finished scorecard.
Just 2 Canadian hosers, standing outside in their toques and flannels…😂 (Donna is wearing a toque in the colours of the Newfoundland flag…before they joined Canada).
We hope you enjoyed this Canadian snack box post as much as we did creating it.
Now take off, eh! Good day!
Rock on,
The WB
* actual photo of storm chip run on the east coast 😉
Some of you may have surmised from Bowser’s complaining recent posts on ye olde blogge that I have been away on a holiday. Yes! For the first time since the pandemic started in 2020, I left Canada once again for Barbados. But first I spent a lovely bunch of days with my friend Joanne in Ontario. Who graciously lent me full use of her closet and laundry facilities so that I could travel with only carry-on luggage despite needing to dress for full-on winter as well as full-on summer temps.
My whole world is in these bags for the next 3 weeks.
Of course we hiked!
How I have missed this view! 😉Two colourful rascals, together again!Good adviceWhere our feet are was definitely where we were!
One of many exciting things (to me, anyways) we did while I was at Joanne’s was drop into her local library to get me a Toronto Public Library membership. I’ve been wanting one for years, ever since I saw what my Barbados buddy (CJ) could borrow online.
Wheeeeeeeee! Best $120 ever spent.
As a non-resident of Toronto, I had to pay (gladly) yet also appear in person in order to get my card. Which makes no sense to me…why couldn’t I just subscribe online since I am paying for the privilege anyways???? Why do I have to show up and prove where I live?!?! Just SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY. Hopefully now that I have the card I can renew online since the volume and access to digital items far surpasses what my local library has on offer.
All too soon my time with Joanne was over and I headed out to meet up with CJ, to catch yet another plane, this time to Barbados!
View from our patio. Our room was on the pool deck level of our hotel this year.There is nothing like that first icy cold Banks beer. Taken at Mama Mia’s, the delightful Italian restaurant across from our hotel.Sunset on our first night.I immediately fell back into my Barbados routine of sunrise and sunset walks on the beach.The full moon at 550am.Moon behind the clouds on another early morning walk.Sunrise with palms.Sunset with palms.
New this time: a decrepit, abandoned hotel along the boardwalk had been taken down and the property cleared for redevelopment. The privacy fence along the property has been turned into a beautiful, beachside outdoor art gallery. Which provided me with inspiration and additional food for my soul every morning.
Sign explaining the galleryApproaching the gallery
Unfortunately, one week into our two week stay CJ needed to fly back home due to a medical emergency involving a family member. I offered to fly home with her but she wouldn’t hear of it. (Thankfully the crisis passed and the patient was successfully discharged from hospital after CJ returned. Still, CJ was glad she cut her vacation short to be in attendance and provide support.)
This left me on my own for the 2nd week of the vacation. I kept myself busy with snorkeling, beach walking, exploring, and plenty of people-watching!
Wading into the ocean daily to swim and snorkel.Walked to Pebble Beach early one morning to see the racehorses take their sea bath, as I do every trip.I chatted up the friendly visitors to our catio patio.
Another visitor to the patio:
Whistling frogs – not native to Barbados. Who knew?This little guy was about an inch long.
And just when I thought the whistle frogs couldn’t be any tinier, this guy showed up:
That’s my index finger for size comparison.Here’s the same frog, with an ant in the frame too. The white spots on his back and legs are grains of sand.
After seeing this guy, I was very careful to watch where I walked, lest I accidentally step on one of these frogs (who look a lot like tiny pieces of debris!).
I had a very good second week. Except for all the rudeness I witnessed from hotel guests directed at hotel staff. I don’t remember so many people being so rude and such whiny ass entitled complainers from previous visits. Perplexing, to say the least. You’re on vacation, people! CHILLAX.
Readers who have traveled since the pandemic: have you noticed the same thing? I let it suck a lot of the joy out of me (my bad). I can’t even imagine how the hotel staff put up with this shit. These workers all deserve instant sainthood.
At one point I was able to actually intervene on behalf of a manager being treated abominably by a guest. I knew she couldn’t say anything but I certainly could AND DID. I told the man he was being rude and asked him where his manners went, and he slunk off. I was kinda proud of myself because I am usually slow to react when these things happen around me, due to shock and surprise.
I was primed this time by all the rudeness I had been witnessing I guess, and when he barged into our conversation to make his stupid remarks about the manager’s long braids (Is your hair real? Is it a wig? If I tug on it, will I pull it off your head?) I let him have it. Definitely not sorry about it, either.
Here’s a couple more pretty beach pics to take the bad taste of that guest away…
Colourful sunrisePerfect sunset
Overall, it really was a wonderful 3 weeks! Two days of plane travel back to back (and 4 time zones) on the way back home proved to be quite exhausting though. I haven’t been that tired for a long, long time. So tired that I noticed my thinking was impaired enough to make me afraid to drive my car for my first couple of days at home.
It was great to go away and also great to come back home, even if I traded the warm sands of Barbados for this:
Walking with Bowser after a late February snowfall on Vancouver Island (and more predicted on the way!!!).
Have you resumed travelling abroad? Have you seen people who have apparently forgotten decent behaviour and manners like those I encountered on this trip? Let me know in the Comments please!
Last Friday, I reunited with Donna (home from an extended visit to the mainland) and we went for a walk down to the Parksville Community Beach. The annual Sand Sculpture competition had resumed, after a 2 year hiatus due to Covid-19. This was my first visit. I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I did taking them. The theme was the Roaring 20’s. Here are the sculptures that I deemed the best of the best (and they were all great!).
Very literal interpretation of the theme.The Algorithm – my personal favourite. Giving me Metropolis vibes.Another view of above sculpture, showing both the young and the old woman’s beauty in the mirror.CommunicationFront view of the prize-winning sculptureBack view of UnbearabullGreetings from Parksville
I have a new grand doggy in my life. Bowser is an 8 week old Miniature Schnauzer puppy. He was named after the first Vancouver Island community his new Mom and Dad moved to. Plus it’s gotta be because it rhymes with schnauzer, doncha think? I am looking in on him during the day, while his parents go to work to keep him in toys and treats. Here’s a few words (and pictures) from His Royal Cuteness:
I am trying hard to be a goodest boy. Oma says I am a work in progress.I love my new bed but……not as much as I love Oma’s lap.Oma says she feels trapped but I know she loves it.I love being outside too. Oma is always nearby to make sure I don’t get snatched up by an eagle or owl.So many sticks and fir cones to chew on. Oma says bite these, not her please.I am getting so good at walkies.I walk best with my tongue out, just a little bit.Walkies can be tiring. Oma says good!
Note: none of the sea life depicted here was harmed in any way during our class observations. We were observing and listening to our knowledgeable instructor, retired marine biologist and author Rick Harbo. All flipped over rocks were carefully and gently replaced to protect the wildlife revealed.
A windy but dry and sunny day for our field trip to Lantzville to explore the intertidal sea life.Overturning a rock revealed this pair of Plainfin midshipman. The female is upside down because……she was depositing her eggs on the underside of the rock. Once done, she leaves and the male stays behind to guard the eggs until they hatch.Closeup of the pairPrickleback, found under another rockSea stars found clinging to yet another rockCast-off red rock crab shellLive sand dollarUnderside of live sand dollarNudibranches (dark spotty things) and their egg casings (cream ribbony things)AnemonesMy favourite find of the day…Maggie (the sea dog!). Killing me with cuteness.Maggie coming in for a boop while I was trying to get a closeup of the anemones.
Donna and I headed to Qualicum Beach today.We live on such a beautiful planet. We were loving the fine weather!We noticed something strange. Three young deer exploring a spit of land.Now what?Uhhh guys…let’s go back.I mean it. Let’s go back!They all eventually made it off the spit and closer to shore. Then they disappeared into the trees. After all that deer watching, it was time to replenish with a loaded “Big Dog” from a hot dog stand just off the beach. It tasted amazing in the warm sunshine.
Donna sang me this song as we ate our dogs. Now I can’t get it outta my head. Uhhhh…thanks for nothing, Donna!?!
Before heading home, I went to my hair appointment in Parksville. I got my hair seriously chopped! Love how light my hair feels. Sherry did such an awesome job.
A lot of readers were interested in knowing what was in the next (and any subsequent) snack boxes I received with my gift of a subscription to Universal Yums (original post here). I could couldn’t just sample the snacks on my own so I enlisted the help of esteemed snack judge Donna once again, and off we went to Poland (snack-aphorically speaking).
Contents of Poland box, artfully arranged by Donna
First up on the scorecard was Poland’s iconic dark chocolate-covered marshmallow bar. According to the brochure, this is Poland’s most famous confection and the name translates to “an unobtainable delicacy”. We’ll see!
That tasted exactly like you would expect. Maybe it was “unobtainable” and a “delicacy” back in 1936 when it was first created, but it seems pretty average now. Marshmallow bar sampling. Photo by Donna.
Next, we were guided to a salty snack. Pretzels are Poland’s favourite salty snack, according to the writeup on this one:
Now you’re talking! (Donna and I are both salty snack fans.) Cheese and onion flavoured aka pierogi-flavoured, apparently.
Back to sweet, for taste test #3:
Chocolate-covered gingerbread sticks. I didn’t think this would be such a good pairing.But I am happy to report that they were quite good! Poles love gingerbread – especially at Christmas time – and their favourite holiday film is Home Alone, according to the brochure. KEVIN!!!!!
Next was something that intrigued both Donna and myself:
Too cute to eat…almost! These are considered a national treasure in potato and salty-snack loving Poland.
The next item came from the “yum bag” included in the box: a hard candy – fruit yogurt flavoured.
The bag contained 4 wrapped candies. Two of each variety. Jogusie tasted good but neither of us are hard candy fans (caramels excepted, of course). Seventy three percent of Polish people list yogurt as their go-to dairy snack, and Jogusie yogurt candies were created to “get a yogurt fix on the go”, apparently.
The next sampling I hoped would be good, since I liked the chocolate-covered gingerbread sticks so much:
However, neither of us found anything delicious about this particular snack. Frederic Chopin, however, sang the praises of gingerbread, as described in the brochure. Maybe he should have kept his opinions to music only.
Again, I had high hopes for the next offering – it even had a cute wrapper.
It was a disappointment, to say the least. Kinda crispy on the outside and blah on the inside. We’ve both had better caramels and better fudge. Apparently this is Poland’s most popular candy. Can I introduce you to a little thing called “Werther’s”?
Last but not least was a milk chocolate bar with a peanut cocoa filling.
I thought it had a nice nutty flavour but Donna was kinda “meh” about this. Manufactured by the company run by Jan Wedel, the “Willy Wonka” of Poland, who also created “the unobtainable delicacy”, seen previously. Jan Wedel was also famous for being a humanitarian by producing food for hungry citizens when the Nazis seized control of Poland’s food for themselves.Donna, in her snacking judging glory.
Here’s what the finished scorecard looked like:
And here are the Poland box snacks ranked by us, from favourite snack to least favourite snack (LEFT TO RIGHT):
My rankingDonna’s ranking
And the winners are…..
Us! Because we got to have a bunch of laughs and spend time together sampling exotic snacks! Photo by Donna
Where in the world will we go next (in terms of snack boxes)? Stay tuned!
Please enjoy these photos taken at Friday’s hike. It was the first time the sun had broken through the fog in about a week!
We weren’t the only people enjoying this foggy early morning.Fog is lifting and the sun is peeking through! (And rejoicing was heard throughout the island 🙂 )Blue skies to the north and east, and fog to the south and westSpookyView of lagoon when the tide is inDistant ships in the fogThe tree looks to be cradling the sunSalish SeaDonna on the lagoon side, with Salish Sea also in background…and the welcomed sun!Donna, further along the trailIt’s good for people to rest at this time too.Beautiful mainland mountainsMountain peaks framed by treesWe are having a lovely timeDistant islands viewed from a rocky outcroppingStill foggy when looking to the south. There were 3 river otters swimming in the sea below us, but unfortunately they were hard to capture effectively in a photo.Logs, beach and islandsTypical log-encrusted island beachWhat a glorious morning to be at Pipers Lagoon Park!
