stubsadventures

I love this country. I can never say that enough. There are endless corners meant to be explored and every time I lay eyes on a part I never have before, I honestly feel a little more complete.

Yesterday was spent exploring Galiano Island by foot. All in all, about 15km of walking for the whole day. The town centre here is pretty tiny but I did manage to find a couple of awesome, locally made products for the house. One of the top priorities for me is to shop locally. There is nothing better than going into a little store, owned by someone who lives near where you are vacationing and it being filled with things made by the people who live around there. For me, I am just as conscious a consumer here in our country as I am when I travel the world.

The parks and roads of this island are both beautiful. The roads are lined with huge trees and everything is still green. Today and yesterday, there was no rain at all, which is pretty rare for this time of the year. Caper has been exhausted the entire trip, she has been getting a crazy amount of exercise. Tired Caper = Well behaved Caper.

Today was all about exploring another island. A noon ferry to Mayne Island was well worth the trip. The first stop was to a free park, with a Japanese garden. Although everything wasn’t in bloom, you could tell how beautiful it must be when it is. It was still very quiet, and we were the only people there, it was a nice hour of complete silence.

From there, we explored the little town and did some shopping at another local shop owned by Darrell Perfumo. This place was amazing, filled with things made by people on the island. I bought quite a few things in there and can’t wait to see what they look like up in the house!

The ferry rides between the islands are awesome. Although the wind is damp, it is still warmer than the -37c I came from at work, so it’s amazing to take in the fresh air and for it to not burn the inside of your nose, lol.

Tomorrow, I turn 31. I can’t wait.

Stubs.

My birthday trips have been pretty epic the last few years, I have been making a point of spending more time in BC and taking the time to explore this amazing and very vast province. You could spend a life time driving, hiking, snowboarding or taking ferries around this province, and I intend on doing all of it.

The Gulf Islands as they are called are nestled between Vancouver and Van Island. They are all different shapes and sizes and each has it’s own unique flavor. All are quiet and beautiful. The passing ferry horn every hour or so is the most noise that you will hear and even then, quickly you don’t seem to notice them anymore.

To get to the west coast, you have to drive up and over the Rocky Mountains. This is never a simple drive. The mountain passes are full of surprises with any number of things from terrible crashes (Poncho and I encountered a massive train accident once), freak snow storms, animals of every shape and size, idiot drivers and roads that require your full attention. The drive through the Rockies is majestic but has to be respected. Two years ago, when heading to the coast, I saw two tire marks going straight off the side of a cliff and police tape marked between two trees. Something like that makes a person slow down.

In the south of BC, there is a beautiful park called EC Manning Provincial Park. The road through it is winding and impressive. After staying a night in Princeton, we hit up the resort first thing in the morning to less than 15 cars. A day of boarding was a perfect way to stretch out after the long drive. I am finally able to do an entire run down the mountain, although I do need to stop and have breaks. I’m still not totally confident on my front edge yet, so I tend to use my heels a lot, which is really hard on the quads! Only two spills the whole day pretty much equals a success.

Today, we woke up and took a Nia class, which was very cool. Modern dance, yoga, martial arts all mixed together. Very cool. For the rest of the day, the mission is to explore Galiano, on foot.

Stubs.