On my last full day on Vancouver Island, the three of us (Mizz J, K and I) got up early and hit the road to Tofino!
We stopped along the way at a picturesque mountain lake.
I think this is called Kennedy Lake.
Tofino straddles the tip of a peninsula on the west coast of the Island. One side is quiet inlet.
Calm waters of the inletTofino Totem Pole
And the other side is a paradise for surfers.
The surf at Chesterman Beach. Yes, there were many surfers in the water (2 in this photo) on Groundhog Day, February 2.Admiring the view and soaking up the sun.One of the many pretty shells to be found on the beach.
Both sides of Tofino are beautiful and cool.
We drove downtown and parked near this place as we just had to see what it was all about.
A large gallery featuring the works of native artist Roy Henry Vickers. Loved his stuff. Someday I will be back and buy a print or twelve… 🙂Inside the gallery.
We also visited a series of stores, surf-related shops, and restaurants inside and just outside of the downtown. And there were flowers blooming outside! On Groundhog Day!!!
Crocuses blooming already!
I loved the signage of this coffee shop:
I had a London Fog here and it was so. damn. good.The wildlife at the Wildfire Grill were very assertive. The restaurant had signs up, warning people of crow thievery. They just came for us. With their buddies. (OK, so we encouraged them. Because of the novelty. We’re just the kind of people that like birds landing on our picnic table and staring at us.) Like a scene from The Birds. 🙂
We also did a short walk on the Tonquin Trail, that led to another beach.
Sign at entrance to trail.As the day drew to a close we visited another beach – Long Beach.Beautiful Long Beach scenery.
And so ended our last day together (for a while). It was a glorious one, filled with sun, surf, art and togetherness.
Vancouver Island is such a beautiful, magical place. I’m going to let the pictures do the talking, mostly.
It is filled with lovely souls – such as Donna, from Retirement Reflections who generously filled me in on the Island’s wonders.
Always a treat to meet bloggers you follow in real life!
Donna and her charming husband Richard also took the time to show me a lovely walking trail between Qualicum Beach and Bowser area.
A very accessible trail designed to accommodate as many community members as possible.One of 1,000s. A gorgeous tree on this trail.
And Donna lent me some great books to read up on Vancouver Island fun attractions, facts and figures!
I learned a lot about the history and attractions of the Island from these!
On Mizz J’s day off work, we hit the road to do some exploring.
First up: Little Qualicum Cheeseworks at Morningstar Farm. A “dairy/berry” farm, and a delight for agri-tourists, like us!
Love the no smoking sign.Helpful signs everywhere explaining how the farm works for us non-farmers.Robot pushing the feed closer to the hungry cows.Curious goat says hi.Miss Thing from the maternity pen also says hi.Potted flowers blooming outside farm store entrance. Complete with painted mandala stone. This is February 1, people! In Canada!!!Lovely treats brought home from the farm store.
Entrance to CentreIt was tough to get a good shot of the many birds housed there (including eagles, hawks, and ravens) through the wire mesh of their enclosures. So here’s a resident turkey, for your viewing pleasure. 🙂There was also a garden area, showcasing native (and some non-native) plants to be found on the Island. Seen here: oregon grape, heather, and kinnick-kinnick.
After a delightful visit, it was on to the next: Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park, Parksville.
We were delighted to come across many bunnies on our way to the beach. They let us get quite close.Beach view. Overcast but still lovely.As with most places on the Island, we were in awe of the beautiful, giant trees.
After such an attraction-packed day, it was time to head back to Mizz J’s for a well-deserved soak in the hot tub.
In the summer, I like to hit the road. Whether for a few hours, a day, or a weekend – the long, temperate days and good driving conditions make it a joy to range further afield.
I have plans for taking much longer road trips, once I am retired. I wrote about that here (during last year’s A-Z Challenge), and also here.
I am still thinking about this almost daily and flip-flopping between a trailer to pull behind me or a small RV (when I am not calculating how many nights’ stay in motel rooms would come close to the cost of either of these options – even second-hand). 😉
I am fortunate that my home is zoned commercial/residential, which means I can park a trailer or RV year-round on my property, even though I am in town – I checked with the by-law officer a few years ago.
My fantasy rig has me road tripping in full-on glamping style:
Like this.Or this.And the exterior looks something like this, on my fantasy trailer.And then there’s the fantasy RV.Fantasy RV interior.
So far my pros and cons list for each type looks something like this:
Small trailer Pros
Roomier
Can leave at campsite while using vehicle to explore surrounding area
Better for extended stays somewhere
Small trailer Cons
Have to learn to tow
Entering/leaving my driveway will be difficult (incline, and on busy street)
Need bigger vehicle than I currently own, in order to tow even the tiniest trailer
Camping Van Pros
Can fit in regular parking space
Easier to drive and manoeuvre
Better for trips in which only planning to stay 1-2 nights max in each place
Can rent one to try out before I buy
Camping Van Cons
Now I have to own and maintain 2 motor vehicles
Have to pack up the campsite every time I need to go to town or do some local exploring
Less space to move around in
I’m currently leaning towards the camping van, as I envision my first few years of road trips will be more driving around than staying in one place. Perhaps I could pack a bike or an electric scooter, for local exploring.
No matter what I decide upon, once I am retired I can chase summer year-round….Canadian road-tripping in the summer, and heading south of the border in the winter.
What about you? Is road-tripping your thing too? Any thoughts or advice to share? What would you choose – a trailer or an RV?
Rock on,
The WB
Can you guess my theme for this year’s A-Z Challenge? All of my A-Z posts this month will be tied into my theme, which is represented by the title of a song that was popular when I was a child. Can you figure it out as the days (and posts) go by? Leave your guesses (one per day only, please) in the comments. At the end of the challenge, I will reveal the theme. Have fun!
Just before leaving for Barbados, I learned that a museum in upstate New York was hosting an exhibition of Alphonse Mucha’s works, until March 18. So I knew I had to work in a trip shortly after returning home. I asked my intrepid beach travel buddy, Mizz CJ, if she was interested in accompanying me, and got an affirmative once I mentioned the art museum was in the Hyde family home. I didn’t even have to mention the world class collection of art – I had her at “historic home”, apparently.
So, off I hop onto the interwebs, to find us accommodations:
Package offered at the Queensbury Hotel, in Glen Falls. Also: historic AF. Win-win.
After a scant week of work, I was off again for another 2 days – this time driving to Glens Falls, NY.
The weather gods were with us on this trip – no snow, sunny, clear dry streets and highways, and above freezing. We got to the hotel in time for happy hour.
House red in Fenimore’s Pub at the Queensbury – delicious. The hanger steak with parmesan frites I ordered from the pub wasn’t too shabby either!
Our room was newly renovated and overlooked the park. We really enjoyed our stay at the Queensbury and would come back.
Night view from our room. Pardon the reflection.
After a scrumptious breakfast the next morning (the pork sausage with sage – to die for), we made it to the Hyde Collection, nearby.
Entrance via the Education Wing and Exhibition space, attached to the former Hyde home.Close up
I loved seeing the full sized Mucha posters, as they would have hung on the exterior walls in Paris, advertising Sarah Bernhardt’s latest plays. There were also some creatively framed pieces, and actual paintings and sketches, showing the range of Mucha’s talent.
The house itself was lovely and the art collection of the previous owners was displayed with their furnishings. And what a collection: Rubens, Rembrandt, Picasso, Degas, Renoir, Botticelli, El Greco, Seurat, Whistler, Homer…and they are still adding to it, with modern and contemporary artists.
The house is on an estate, along with 2 other homes that belonged to Mrs. Hyde’s sisters’ families. The plan is to eventually open all 3 homes up to the public and restore the gardens.
Behind the house still exists the original source of the family’s wealth – the pulp and paper mill.
Mill behind the Hyde Property.
Unfortunately I couldn’t take any pictures inside, but I did pick up a book on Mucha before we left to head home through the Adirondacks.
Lovely museum. I would definitely go back to it, and Glens Falls and surrounding area.
Now I am home to stay for a while, and settling back into domesticity. I used the self-clean feature on my oven for the first time ever today.
That white stuff is the ash left over after the oven cleaned itself.
I’ve never had a self-cleaning oven before. I am used to cleaning my oven the old-fashioned way – by moving to a new house and leaving the dirty one behind. 😉
This is going to be a two-parter, because Summer finally came to town in September and hung on through almost all of October.
Afternoon at Little Tract September 13. Blazing hot out.Visiting Alton Mills Arts Centre September 16. Lovely spot and worth the drive!Beaching it at Bayfield September 17. I even swam, twice – to get some relief from the heat!Hiking with Mizz J September 23. Another scorcher of a day.Watching the dancing at Jane Austen’s Country Ball (hosted by the Fashion History Museum) September 23. I felt a little sorry for all the revelers in their hot costumes. Obviously no one thought it would be so hot and humid so late in the season when the event was planned. It did not stop the festivities though!Hiking at Rattlesnake Point September 30. Hasn’t cooled down yet!
I did try to make the most of the great weather while it lasted, and when I wasn’t working.
Tomorrow I will do a photo recap of the glory that was October.
Coming at you from a hotel room in Kelowna, British Columbia on this fine 3rd day of September – which would have been my 7th wedding anniversary. (Or would it? Hmmm…I’d like to think I would not have divorced my mentally ill, betrayer of a husband had he not died from cancer…but who knows what alternate reality I would be living by now had things turned out differently…) Anyhow, I don’t have a whole lot of emotion surrounding this day anymore…and I think that is a good and healthy sign.
August has been a stressful month for me. My sister has been quite ill and in hospital here in Kelowna – hence my presence. Most of the month I was on pins and needles, not knowing when her surgery would finally happen or if she would be healthy enough to even qualify. This, plus lots of goings on at work made the month both drag on and fly by simultaneously, if that makes any sense (and it does to me).
I did manage to get up to see my other sister (Me Too) and her wife at their lovely lakeside home, on the Civic Holiday Long weekend…and stopped in at a National Park (another one crossed off the list) along the drive up there.
At Thousand Islands National Park. Check out how straight my teeth are becoming! #InvisalignloveJust another peaceful misty morning at Me Too’s place.
And I did get to Riverfest Elora 2017. A fantastic festival with such a great vibe – I think this will be an annual event for me. Hopefully next year I can convince someone to join me. I didn’t mind going alone, but naturally it would have been even more enjoyable to have company.
Mother Mother at Riverfest
As I fretted and stressed the month away, I decided to pour my feelings into the paint I was applying on some canvases.
Practically a copy of a painting done by another artist, Elspeth McLean. Don’t all artists start out by copying the greats? 🙂 This is for the sister I am currently visiting. I named it “Feminine Energy”.Another finished piece. No name yet. This is an original.
I did find some time to get on the river.
My happy place!
And then I got word that my sister’s surgery had finally been scheduled and was happening within 48 hours, so it was a mad dash to get plane tickets and book a hotel. I arrived in smoke- and ash-covered Kelowna on Tuesday. This has been the worst season for forest fires in 60 years, I’ve been told.
Daytime skies over Lake OkanaganMy feet (de-Birkenstocked) after a day of trudging back and forth to the hospital.Patio chair after a night of falling ash.
My sister’s surgery was a success and she is steadily improving. And the skies have cleared up too!
That’s much better! Still hazy but at least it’s blue!
I have booked my flight home for this coming Tuesday. Now there is nothing left to do on this Labour Day long weekend but enjoy visiting my sister and eat my fill of Okanagan peaches.
A quest is a long search for something that is difficult to find. It is also the basis of many a good story – at least the ones I liked growing up (and still like!).
Stories like The Hobbit, and Lord of the Rings, Alice in Wonderland, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Talisman etc., etc.
When I put on my knapsack and lace up my hiking boots, I like to imagine this is the start of a grand quest. That I could just keep going and going until I am in some foreign place – far from home but fragrant with adventure and possibility.
I have to laugh to myself when I have these thoughts. Coming from the same woman who, on the day of a long-planned and desired vacation, picks up her suitcase and looks around her cozy home and wonders why she is leaving it; why she thought taking this trip was a good idea. Not that it has ever stopped me. I get on the plane and I have a fabulous time and I never think those thoughts again…until leaving day of the next trip.
Does anyone else have these thoughts, I wonder?
Despite these conflicting thoughts, I am planning some quests for my retirement. Hopefully not overly long or difficult searches, but quests all the same. Like to quest to travel the length of Route 66. Cross Canada by car or train. Explore the Florida Keys. And the low country of South Carolina. Basically visit the places I have been reading about in books for years.
I don’t know what I am searching for, exactly.
But isn’t the idea of a going on a quest exciting enough in itself?
K is for Knapsack, which means hitting the road (or trail)!
When I see my knapsack I think of hiking trails, road trips and camping.
One of my biggest dreams for my retirement is being able to “hit the road” and explore North America (and it’s byways and hiking trails), for several weeks at a time. I haven’t quite settled on whether I will do this from an RV (but quite small, like a VW microbus) or haul a trailer behind me (also small, like a T@B or T@G or – if I win a lottery – an Airstream Bambi!), or just stay at motels. It may end up being “all of the above”, depending on the type/length of trip and as I try things out to figure on what’s best for me.
I camped a lot growing up, and also as a young wife and mother. Tents, trailers, tent trailers…I’ve experienced them all. I loved the camping life and am confident I will again. I have found people who camp to be generally the friendliest and most helpful of people. Wherever we went, campers were always there for each other.
However, I’m a bit nervous about hauling something behind me as I’ve never done it solo. Luckily, there are support systems out there for female camping enthusiasts, like Sisters on the Fly and Girl Camper.
I believe SOTF will even assign the newbie a mentor to offer encouragement and answer questions about camping and hauling a trailer, as a lone female. I like their rules for their outings: “No Men, No Kids, Be Nice, Have Fun.” They are big on “me-time” and getting together as women-only to rejuvenate and re-energize, sans daily responsibilities – hence the “no men, no kids” rule. And their motto: “We have more fun than anyone.” It’s a group I think I will explore further as I get closer to retirement. From the information on their website (and the pictures of the so-cute decked-out trailers – many vintage), it certainly does look like they have a lot of fun. And you don’t even need to own a trailer or even a tent for that matter, to be a Sister.
Girl Camper (Motto: Going places. Doing things.) offers a regular podcast on all things “girl camper”, no surprises there. I’ve listened to a few podcasts so far and the interchange between the host (Janine Pettit) and the guest speaker is often a real hoot. These are the campers and camping enthusiasts I remember from my younger days! Having fun and living life, telling funny stories around the nightly campfire, and always available to help a fellow camper out.
First – Housekeeping: for the past couple of days myself and some readers have been experiencing trouble making or replying to comments on ye olde blogge. I replied to 2 comments this morning without issue. This is since upgrading to the latest version of WordPress. I hope this means the problem is resolved. If you do get the “white screen of death” when trying to publish a comment, please try again. It has worked for me the second time, each time. I am now in the habit of copying my comment before hitting publish, just in case. But I had no issues this morning and am hopeful this means things are back to normal now.
Retirement is a time for experiencing things you didn’t have time for when working. Like taking a month-long road trip across Canada. Or volunteering your time in a developing nation. Or participating in a 10 day Vipassana retreat. Or going to India to study yoga. Or visiting Australia, New Zealand and Japan – all in one trip.
Or committing to an intense, time-consuming goal. Like training for a full marathon, or committing to do every race in the Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon series. Or hiking the Bruce Trail in its entirety in one year. Or spending a whole week just drawing and painting. I could go on but I think you get the picture.
These things are infinitely more do-able with that extra 40 hours per week and unlimited (hehehe) vacation days.
These are just some of the ideas I have rolling around in my brain. I am sure if I gave it some more time and thought I could come up with a list as long as my arm of experiences I would like to commit to. Or at least investigate further.
I plan on being very open to new experiences and to keep on saying yes! to them for as long as I can. This widow has a lot of catching up to do, once she lifts her nose away from the grindstone.
