After a very restful night's sleep, John and Gerald woke to a beautiful clear bright blue crisp sunny day. I am saying this because it is the ONLY blue sky I have seen since we arrived. John woke and took a video of the dawn breaking over the trees from the balcony of the cabin.
Once Gerald had awoken and green tea made (the coffee machine did not have filters for the coffee we had brought), they sat on their balcony experiencing the moment. Then they were off for a walk along the Wild Pacific Trail. The views were incredible to start with but and became progressively better. The surge of the ocean waves crashing over rocks set against the azure sky took John's breath away.
They met two women walking what Gerald called their 'ugly' dogs. They were shar peis, the ones with all the wrinkles. One woman said the dog who came up to us was a chicken and didn't need to be on a leash, because he never ran off - at which point he ran off - down the path the way from whence they had come. We had to stifle our laughs as they coaxed, cajoled and begged the dog to come back so they could continue on their journey. John said children and animals always make liars of us all.
They walked by a Coast Guard place and lighthouse that is still run by people and not automated. Then it was back to the cabin to check out. We looked for a place for breakfast but it was 11am and we got a Mexican brunch. John had black bean soup, and a chicken tortilla wrap. It was good but hot.
Then we took the long (about 3 hour) ride back to Nanaimo through the same gorgeous country that we had just travelled over the day before, past Kennedy Lake, over the pass to Sprout Lake all the way to Port Alberni. We got gas and a drink there - Gerald had a dark roast coffee and John had a hot chocolate with whipped cream. Gerald said it was no wonder John was fat. hahaha
Finally back in Nanaimo, we went to get the crabs with which John was going to say thank you to Gerald and Karina for their hospitality. They got four jumbo crabs, took them home and returned the rental car. Gerald prepared the crabs for Karina's arrival and all three of them sat down to a feast of crab and stir fried vegetables. It was delicious! And the three had a great time talking about schools.
It was time for bed and John was happy to fall into his, knowing that tomorrow was going to be another full one.
TBD
Showing posts with label Uclulet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Uclulet. Show all posts
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
To Tofino
Thursday Nov. 26 (posted on Nov. 27)
For the first time since we arrived there was no rain. The sky started off clear and then clouded over a bit. After a good breakfast of muesli, OJ and Coffee, John and Gerald set out. The first place that Gerald wanted to visit was starbucks. John had a green tea latte and Gerald a regular coffee. Going down the divided highway north from Nanaimo the mountains became visible. They were awesome! And after turning onto highway 4 west to Port Alberni they became even more awesome. Stunning with snow on them. We stopped at Cathedral Grove and walked amongst trees some of whom were little saplings in the year 1206. They let any trees that are blown over by the wind stay there as nursery trees for the new trees.
Then it was on to Port Alberni for Tim's. John had a strwberry, banana, coconut doughnut. Gerald had a tea biscuit. The road after Port Alberni was another wonderful experience. Twisted and winding among the mountains, trees and lakes, the road took the car on one direction after another all the time.
There was a bank of cloud alongside each mountain as if it had a feathery white necklace. They took the fork to the right to go to Tofino. Going through the Pacific Rim National Park they went immediately to Tofino. It is a quaint little village really. Very picturesque. They had a drink and a snack at a little restaurant. John said he enjoyed his veggie rolls (like sausage rolls with veggie stuff inside). They walked all around, going down to the waterfront and seeing what seems ubiquitous on the island - float planes, fishing boats and water taxis. They stopped into an artist's gallery. It reminded John of the artefacts he had seen in the Royal BC Museum.
Returning down the same road - Tofino is the end of the road - we stopped in the Park, bought our day passes and went down onto Long Beach to see the waves. They were rated as extreme today and it was a magnificent sight. We also went on a walk through the rainforest where Gerald told John the colour was green, green, green. A highlight was seeing two coho salmon mating in the small rainforest stream.
Finally we arrived in Uclulet where we found our cabins. Incredible place. Three stories with a living room, kitchen, a loft bedroom upstairs with a hot tub, and a bedroom in the basement. Gerald insisted thet John take the loft. Then it was off to dinner at a nice little restaurant before heading back to the cabin. I wrote the blog while John took his bath. After three days of walking, his legs are getting mighty sore.
TBD
For the first time since we arrived there was no rain. The sky started off clear and then clouded over a bit. After a good breakfast of muesli, OJ and Coffee, John and Gerald set out. The first place that Gerald wanted to visit was starbucks. John had a green tea latte and Gerald a regular coffee. Going down the divided highway north from Nanaimo the mountains became visible. They were awesome! And after turning onto highway 4 west to Port Alberni they became even more awesome. Stunning with snow on them. We stopped at Cathedral Grove and walked amongst trees some of whom were little saplings in the year 1206. They let any trees that are blown over by the wind stay there as nursery trees for the new trees.
Then it was on to Port Alberni for Tim's. John had a strwberry, banana, coconut doughnut. Gerald had a tea biscuit. The road after Port Alberni was another wonderful experience. Twisted and winding among the mountains, trees and lakes, the road took the car on one direction after another all the time.
There was a bank of cloud alongside each mountain as if it had a feathery white necklace. They took the fork to the right to go to Tofino. Going through the Pacific Rim National Park they went immediately to Tofino. It is a quaint little village really. Very picturesque. They had a drink and a snack at a little restaurant. John said he enjoyed his veggie rolls (like sausage rolls with veggie stuff inside). They walked all around, going down to the waterfront and seeing what seems ubiquitous on the island - float planes, fishing boats and water taxis. They stopped into an artist's gallery. It reminded John of the artefacts he had seen in the Royal BC Museum.
Returning down the same road - Tofino is the end of the road - we stopped in the Park, bought our day passes and went down onto Long Beach to see the waves. They were rated as extreme today and it was a magnificent sight. We also went on a walk through the rainforest where Gerald told John the colour was green, green, green. A highlight was seeing two coho salmon mating in the small rainforest stream.
Finally we arrived in Uclulet where we found our cabins. Incredible place. Three stories with a living room, kitchen, a loft bedroom upstairs with a hot tub, and a bedroom in the basement. Gerald insisted thet John take the loft. Then it was off to dinner at a nice little restaurant before heading back to the cabin. I wrote the blog while John took his bath. After three days of walking, his legs are getting mighty sore.
TBD
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