Tag Archives: skateboarding
Our favourite things from 8 months on the road…
We have been home now for 2 weeks and are still transitioning back into things. The first question that EVERYONE asks us is “what was your favourite thing?”. That is a really loaded question and one that just seems impossible to answer, other than with the simple statement of “spending time together” or “visiting family”. In 8 months we saw and did so many different things and had so many amazing experiences…
We’ve broken it down into favourite things by segment, to help highlight some of the top things:
Favourite Mountain Biking
Favourite Kayaking
- Mexico
- The pacific ocean (Tofino, Neah Bay, Oceanside)
- Rio Vista, San Marcos Texas
Favourite Surfing
Favourite Touristy thing
I’m still working on a wrap up post so stay tuned for “Our learnings from 8 months on the road”!
Exploring the Comox Valley
Our goal last week was to explore as many of the Gulf Islands as possible. Goals are a nice thing to start from and we’ve learned that they are even better when you adjust on the fly… With multiple days of rain scheduled, we had to adjust our expectations along the way.
- loaded up for our day trip!
- Quadra Island Fire Department
- Hunter on the community centre trails
- Hunter at the Quadra Island Bike Park
- Exploring the reforestation at the north end
- looking small on a logging road
- logging roads & maps don’t seem to go together – argh!
- remnants of an old mine
- view from Rebecca Spit looking north
- view from Rebecca Spit looking east
- cape mudge lighthouse
- looking west towards Campbell River
- Heading back on the ferry! GPS not happy…
Day One of exploring was on Quadra Island. We caught the ferry over from Campbell River and made our way to Smokey’s Bike Shop to say hi to our friend Finn, who was down taking a bike mechanics course. We then spent a few hours doing laps of the community centre bike trails, managing to put in 15km. A quick lunch (thanks to travelling with our kitchen) and we were off to drive around the Island. We were surprised at the fact that the entire north end of the island is actively being logged and there is no real residential presence. We were also surprised at the fact that there really isn’t a main “village” as you find on other islands. People are spread out all across the mid and south island. We had a nice walk out on Rebecca Spit, checked out the lighthouse at Cape Mudge and then caught a late ferry back as none of the restaurants were open on Monday night for dinner.
- Comox Skate park
- Comox Skate Park
- Comox Skate Park
With rain off and on all week, we still managed to fit in some time at the Comox Skateboard park during non-rainy windows of time. It’s a great park, always full of kids and a diverse set of features.
- Fun lane way sign
- Certainly a presence…
- Signs of spring
- and really cute as well
Our next island adventure was Denman and Hornby, which are just south of Comox. Our original plan was to stay overnight so get the most of our ferry spend and get lots of mountain biking in on Hornby Island. It was grey and drizzly when we left the mainland and that proceeded to pick up all day, to the point of it being torrential rains when we were in Hornby driving around. We made the decision that the trails would be soup the next day and opted to catch the last ferry home instead.
- Denman Island trails
- a centipede on the trail
- snail spotting
- more slugs
- big slugs!
- tidal flats full of oysters & clams
- goes on forever
- we learned how to dig, clean & prepare the clams
It was only moderately wet when we were exploring Denman so we hopped out of the truck and went for an exploration wander when we hit Fillongley Provincial park on the east side of the Island. Denman actually has 3 provincial parks on this island and this is the smallest of the 3. It has 10 campsites, which are first come first serve and packed in the summer time, lots of beachfront to explore and a wooded set of trails.
Unfortunately we hit Hornby on the Thursday night of easter weekend and it seemed to be just waking up from Winter and getting ready for “outsiders”. A few places were open, but most don’t open up until the May long weekend. I was definitely disappointed that more things weren’t open as it looks to be quite an eclectic culture, with shops and restaurants that I would enjoy and Tim would describe as “hippy”.
- Taking a break in Campbell River
- some fun switchbacks
- and it just keeps on going
- and going
- another windy piece of trail
- drinking water system for Campbell River
With a break in the weather, we spent the afternoon up in Campbell River on the Snowden Demonstration Trails. They were a nice mix of terrain and trail difficulty and not at all soupy from all of the rain. A perfect place to blow off all the energy we had built up over 3 rain days. We got 12km in, some bush whacking and lots of smiles as well.
- Mount Washington base lodge
- snow on Mount Washington easter weekend
- Day one – front view, puffy right cheek
- day one – side view, bruised eye & cheek
- Day two – starting to see the easter egg (shape and colour)
Saturday was cool, windy and overcast so we caught the farmers market in the morning and then drove up to see Mount Washington as it was their last weekend. They had a bit of a tough season this year as it was an abnormally cool and dry winter on Vancouver Island, which meant very little snow for them early season. The rain was still holding off so we hit the skateboard park when we were back in town. Hunter had another great session, with no signs of being ready to stop after 90 minutes AND THEN the rain came… it was just light but when you put rain + spray paint, it makes surfaces slippery. He went down a drop and was on his way up the other side when the board slipped out from under him and his right cheek hit on a metal rail. OUCH…
- Easter bunny visited the camper
- searching the campground
- over 20 kids out hunting
The Easter Bunny found us in Comox and we awoke to eggs and treats all around the camper (which was a feat in itself). The campground management also put on a hunt for all the kids, which was an extra treat.
- the power of nature in action, taking back an old road
- trying to feed the chickadees
- chickadees all around us but they just won’t eat out of your hand!
- trying a new approach now
Monday was only a light rain so we wandered down the street from the campground (Cape Lazo RV Park – fabulous… we stayed here in the fall as well) to the Lazo Marsh trails & conservation area. It is a set of trails that make for an easy family walk – enough to keep you amused and a manageable length.
Tuesday saw us up early in the morning to drive to Nanaimo and catch the ferry over to Tsawassen (mainland). This is the official beginning of our drive home – ack!!! (more on that later). Ferries are a very expensive part of our adventure as we are over in our height and our length. It costs $300 each way so we are sure to make the most of our Island time.
- School work on the ferry for the first hour
- and then into duelling Subway Surfer sessions on their Idevices
Tofino – it just keeps getting better…
After leaving Tofino in the fall, with it continuing to be cemented as my top “happy place”, I was a little hesitant about heading back for a spring visit. We’ve always visited in the fall and I just didn’t know if spring would bring us the same kind of experience or 7 days or straight rain.
Heading westward out of Port Alberni and the weather had us wondering… We spent the night in the Walmart parking lot in Port Alberni and were pleasantly surprised to awake to sunshine. 30 minutes down the road and we were staring at snow and wondering what things were like on the other side of the mountain…???
We rolled into Tofino with the sun just breaking through and breathed a great big sigh of relief. Hunter has spent weeks waiting to get back to the Tofino skateboard park as that is where things really clicked for him in the fall. As parents we were cringing as he hoped to relive an experience and we were worried about him being rained out. After a quick brunch we went straight to the skatepark to catch the sun while it was out. Hunter was thrilled to discover that he has gotten better over the past six months and that he can successfully tackle more of the features.
The foundation of our stay was unit 37 at the South Chesterman Beach condo’s, which was very generously lent to us by a friend for the week. It is a one bedroom unit with pull out couch, great amenities and you walk right out of the complex to South Chesterman beach. Not only was it great to have a bit of space to spread out in when it rained, and a place to dry our gear, it was also nice to be able to walk right out to the beach with our surf stuff. (P.S. – it’s for sale and is used as a vacation rental if anyone is in the market…).
- Hunter getting ready to head out
- Tim (on the left) & Hunter (on the right)
- Tim catching some surf
- Hunter catching a wave
We surfed almost every day, rain or shine. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was not cold in my super duper wetsuit that I bought in the fall. The waves were great – even better than California! It was a nice place to finish off our surfing for the trip.
- Finding treasures on the beach
- caves at low tide
- digging for razor back clams
- playing wiffle ball on the beach
We went out for at least one beach exploration a day, mostly at low tide to see what we could find.
- Colourful Sea anemone’s
- fabulous orange shell
- the fun of getting your finger slurped by a Sea Anenome!
- In search of starfish
- The starfish wall – and they are really stuck!
- starfish seem to be nook & cranny animals
- finally got one loose
- pretty cool to touch
- hermit crab captured
- Hunter’s baby hermit crab farm
We also wandered out to Frank’s Island every day to play in the tide pools – an experience we really missed in the fall. Every day we found something new and different.
- Tim at the Bike Park
- Tim at the Bike Park – skinnies that just keep getting skinnier
- Hunter with his BMX bike at the skate park
- having fun at the skate park with the jumps & drops
We made it back to the bike park once and the skate park a number of times.
We also had fun with daily/nightly card games, in between playing outside and getting school work done.
Once again – worrying turned out to be wasted energy… yet another fabulous stay in Tofino 🙂
Back on the Island – spring visit
Our entry point back into Canada was via the Ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria. Our original plan was to stay at West Bay Marine Village in Esquimalt and spend a few days walking around downtown Victoria and checking out the historic sites. That plan went out the window when we pulled into the driveway and the attendant looked at our length and went – Ohhh, I didn’t understand when you explained your set up… you won’t fit here.
Moving on to a quickly created plan B – Pedder Bay RV resort & marina in Mechosin, just west of Victoria. It is a new campground facility run by the Oak Bay Marine Group and it is beautiful. It is between Mechosin and Sooke, out in the country, and right on a small bay. Big sites, beautiful views and clean facilities. No cell coverage but decent internet.
The weather was beautiful (15c and sunny) so we got ourselves organized and headed out on the Galloping Goose Rail trail. It is a bike trail built on an old rail trail that runs from west Victoria all the way to Sooke. We hadn’t been biking for over a week so it was great to get out and moving. We found a great sunny stop beside a lake for snacks.
Day Two was spent doing school work and at the Skate Park in Sooke. Another sunny day so we hung out and played, flipping between skateboarding and wiffleball, with some lunch in between.
- Slug Spotting
- Brave dad picks up the slug first
- and then it won’t let go…
- Hunter gets brave
- and then he won’t let it go…
- king sized slug we found further down the trail
We ventured out for a quick hike before dinner and were welcomed into the world of slugs… Hunter was the first to spot them on the trails and Dad (who we make do everything first) picked one up so we could investigate. Hunter then decided that it might be OK to hold it – after the first squishy feeling he was a fan, and carried the slug (whom he named) for the rest of the 40 minute walk. With much dismay, he returned him to a bog as we refused to allow him in the camper.
We ended our stay here with a fun dinner with Great Uncle Neil and Aunt Susan, whom we haven’t seen for a while. They generously drive out from Victoria to the rural sticks where we were and we got all caught up over dinner at the My Chosen Cafe.
Parksville, B.C.
After the rainy drive from Tofino and Ucluelet, we made it all the way back to the east side of Vancouver Island and spent the night at Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park just south of Parksville.
Wow – what an amazingly beautiful park! It is 3km south of downtown Parksville and is a highly wooded park that sits right on the ocean. The campsites and facilities are immaculate and there are over 5km of trails to walk, hike or bike.
Between a morning of homework and some quick rides on the trails, we didn’t manage to leave until just before noon. This was planned to be a quiet day with our only real stop being the Parksville Skate Park as part of Hunter’s new addition to the activity list.
The Parksville Skate Park is part of the main community park, which contains baseball fields, play grounds, fitness park, water park, arboretum, skate park, public beach and boardwalk and more. Pretty impressive for a small town. Hunter’s comment was that “this is like all the parks in Whitehorse put together!” and that pretty much sums it up – definitely something for everyone!
We highly recommend a pit stop in Parksville. I’m sure it’s quite jam packed in the summer time but off season gives you all the same family friendly experiences with waaay less people!