Tag

trip

Browsing

Myles and I consider ourselves pretty worldly, for our age at least. We have both explored different corners of the world, but we both agree that Vancouver island is unlike anywhere either of us has ever been. Perhaps it’s the expensive ferry ride to get here or the incredible charm of Victoria that makes people not want to explore further, but we have found ourselves in the clearest of waters and the most incredible of beaches without a single other soul in sight – and we are traveling in August, what should be peak season.

On our drive from Nanaimo to Tofino I tactfully convinced Myles to pull over at a rest stop along the way so we could nap. What I didn’t expect was Myles to come running back to me before my head could even hit the pillow and tell me to follow him. What he found literally steps away from the rest stop was a little lagoon filled with the clearest water either of us had ever seen. Fully equipped with a rope swing and lots of rocks for cliff jumping, the only thing that was missing was the hundreds of other people that would have been sitting there as well. Maybe we just come from a big city but I couldn’t help but feel like Vancouver Island was this absolutely gorgeous unexplored tropical island with lush rainforest and some of the most beautiful sights that was yet to be discovered by anyone else. If you don’t believe me, take a look at some of the places we’ve found, all without another soul in sight: 

Spoke Potholes, Sooke, BC

Holland park trail, Duncan, BC

CY Hampson park, Saanich, BC

Taylor river, Port Alberni, BC

East Sooke, BC
The funny thing about it is, we have been told by most of the locals that the northern part of the island is much more remote than the southern and central parts that we have already explored, as wild as that seems. Who knows what’s yet to be explored, one thing we do know is always have a camera close by!

Before we started this trip Myles would rave how Nelson would be a perfect stop for us in this trip. The people, the shoppes and the lifestyle combine into an eclectic atmosphere. After falling mesmerizingly in love with Nelson, we decided to spend our evenings at the nearby Ainsworth hot springs.


A mixture of the hot steamy water with the enchanted swim through caves and our long hot sunny summer days left us wonderfully relaxed and ready to sleep. Unfortunately for us, life had other plans. That night I awoke to a little baby mouse crawling up my curtains inches away from my face. I wish I could say this was the first time I had a startling wake up with unwanted creepy crawlies by my face but I do also have a not so distant memory of awaking to a cockroach on my hair in Vietnam, but that’s a different story. 

Fast forward a few hours and Myles and I found ourselves in a 7/11 getting energy drinks and fuel. After a chat with the attendants we were on our way to a 24 hour Waffle House (of course) where we were served by a modern hippie talking to us about his views on life, business and travelling and inviting us to stay on a compound that he and a group of about 80 people live on together. 

Another 10 hours (for a typical 6 hour drive in a modern vehicle) and we were back at my parents place washing all of our clothes and planting mouse traps. Too much spray foam and a wonderful week spent in the sun with our loved ones and we were itching to get back on the road. On the bright side, the break and access to tools let us do some much needed projects to make our home even homier.


 It took about 15 minutes of us driving to remember how much we loved this lifestyle, with no rushing and endless beach and family time, what’s not to love.