Friday, November 6, 2009

We woke up to rain this morning but by 10:30 it was just drizzling, but quite a bit cooler out, only about 43F (6C).

We headed north along the Ocean Highway and about 3 minutes after we left the park the sun came out and the sky cleared – bonus!! We drove north to Campbell River and on the way went through Courtney and Comox as well as a lot of little burgs. What a pretty drive and it is so nice along the ocean and bays. The mountains running down the middle of the island were very visible today and at the top the trees were glistening with frost – neat!



Looking Across to One of the Islands off Fanny Bay



We stopped at Salmon Point and there was a really nice RV park right on the ocean with a marina in front, as we drove through I got out my iPod Touch and picked up the internet right away so managed to download my e-mail. It is one of the nicest parks we have seen so far and they advertised winter rates but I have no idea of what they would be.

We stopped in Campbell River for lunch then took the Island Highway back to Qualicum Beach, a much faster trip coming back than going but not nearly as nice!

I am going to walk over to the office and get this posted before it gets dark. A dinner of left overs and a quiet evening is in store. And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to another nice day tomorrow.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Well, our nice weather is over, I woke up during the night to hear rain on the roof, which is soothing during the night, but it basically POURED all day – not real nice!

Janet & Dave are coming for dinner tonight so John & I went to Save-On-Foods in Parksville and picked up a few groceries then we stopped at the café where Janet and I had coffee the other day as they have free internet there. We had a coffee and did the computer stuff on the internet, I got my blog updated again and answered a couple of e-mails.

Not a very exciting day but we are looking forward to a nice evening with Janet & Dave. And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to another nice day tomorrow.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Wow, another day without rain. It wasn’t real sunny today but it wasn’t pouring rain either.

I walked down to the water this morning and it was as calm as an ocean can get – no surfing today!! I met a young couple who seemed to think that tomorrow will be a good day, hope so for their sake.

Looking Towards Tofino


The Beach at Cox Bay


We left Cox Bay about 11 to head for home, if it had been windy this morning we would have gone back to Ucluelet to see the waves crashing, but that not being the case we headed for home. We stopped at a river on the way back and it was black with salmon who had come there to spawn – quite a sight.

Can You See the Salmon?


We stopped in Port Alberni and walked around a bit and had a coffee and donut. Port Alberni is a pretty town at the end of a very long inlet but the mills there are closing, and as that is the main employment the town is really going to hurt. The main street is only two lanes but is wide enough for at least four lanes – quite pretty.

We ran into a bit of rain when crossing the “hump” which is the low mountain that runs along the island but once over we ran out of it again.

Mountains with Snow


Sproat Lake


Dave stopped at Cathedral Grove so we could take pictures of the pumpkins. There were some really neatly carved ones there as you can see from the pictures.

Pumpkins








John & Janet


We got back about 3 and came home and got the furnace going to warm up our little home on wheels as it was quite cool after being closed up for a couple of days.

I have tried the internet and as usual here there is nothing so I will go over tomorrow at some point and get this posted.

And so ends another great gift of a day, and a great trip to Tofino and Ucluelet, and we look forward to another nice day tomorrow.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

What a wonderful day we had today and bonus - the weather co-operated and was lovely.

We had a great breakfast of bacon, eggs etc. – John did the bacon & Dave did the eggs and after eating we headed out to see the sights. The waves were coming in pretty good in front of here and there were a lot of surfers out taking advantage of them. I didn’t have my camera when I walked down to take a look so no pictures, plus I doubt that I could have got a really good picture without a good telephoto lens.

We headed to Ucluelet (pronounced U-qu-let), with our first stop being Radar Hill. This high point was formerly cleared for a radar installation during the clold war and the views from there are marvelous.

Views from Radar Hill




At Ucluelet we walked about half of the Wild Pacific Trail where the scenery was absolutely stunning. We saw the Amphitrite Lighthouse; the original wooden lighthouse was built in 1906 after a tragic ship wreck in 1905. The lighthouse was destroyed by waves in 1914 and the current structure was built in 1915. There were also a lot of neat tree formations along the way.

Scenes Along Wild Pacific Trail











Dave & Janet were a bit disappointed that it wasn’t really windy today as they said when they were here a couple of years ago the waves were crashing in and were incredible.

After walking the trail we drove around town before heading back to Tofino to check it out (Cox Bay Beach Resort is about 7 km from Tofino so we hadn’t actually made it into town yesterday). While driving around town we were amazed to see Palm Trees!!



We stopped at Long Beach on the way back and walked out the beach as the tide was out. There was lots of kelp on the beach and we couldn’t believe the logs piled up along the shoreline, another pretty place.

Long Beach









In Tofino Janet & I checked out a store and a restaurant for dinner then we stopped at a coffee shop for a coffee & muffin. While there I saw a notice for the H1N1 clinics in Ucluelet and Tofino and the first one was this afternoon from 3 to 7 in Ucluelet and it said it was open to any one over 6 months of age so we decided to go back and see if we could get our shots.

When we got there we talked to a public health nurse who said the rules had changed on Friday and as we were over 65 we weren’t eligible to get the shot – dang!!

We turned around and came back to Tofino where we went to the Blue Heron Restaurant for dinner. Their special tonight was 2 for 1 Haddock fish & chips, that sounded good to all of us and it was a good dinner.

We came back and had tea and I am now trying to get this done and posted before going to bed.

And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to another nice day tomorrow.

Monday, November 3, 2009

I woke up to hear rain on the roof during the night, great, just what we need for our drive to Tofino!

We went over to Janet & Dave’s for about 10 and they said they would drive so we loaded everything into the back of their truck and put the suitcases etc. in big tubs and the cooler in a plastic garbage bag to keep it dry as Dave didn’t want to put the cab on the truck.

It had stopped raining when we left but the whole drive we were in and out of rain with periods of sun – a strange day. It seems to be a tradition that people in the area of Cathedral Grove take their carved pumpkins and put them along the side of the road after Halloween – neat to seem all lined up along the way.

We stopped at Tim’s in Port Alberni then drove up to a provincial park where there is a fish ladder for the fish to use when they go to spawn. Fortunately, we hit a period where it wasn’t raining so walked down to the ladder and there were a lot of fish there and what a gorgeous part of the river it was, the water was just roaring through. Of course, guess who had packed their camera in the suitcase so I didn’t get any pictures.

The drive to Tofino was really pretty, when it wasn’t raining, but there were a lot of low lying clouds on the mountains. The sun came out just as we arrived – how good is that!

We are staying at the Cox Bay Beach Resort, Janet and I booked it through Expedia and the cost was $99/night so we were both worried that it might not be as nice as it had looked, however, it is every bit as nice as advertised. There are no vehicles allowed around the buildings, they provide carts to load your stuff on to take to your room, no big deal and it looks nice without vehicles all over the place. Janet and Dave’s room is right across from ours so that is handy for visiting.

It was advertised as fully furnished and they weren’t kidding, there is even a dishwasher and stacked washer and dryer in each unit. The dishes, silverware etc. are all good quality and the pots and pans are Paderno. We figure it is pretty new and we enjoyed the fireplace tonight.

We are right on the ocean, with a beautiful view, how lucky can we get. Today it was too late to do anything so tomorrow we hope to do some sightseeing and hiking, they are calling for a nice day so here’s hoping.

Views of the Ocean






Cox Bay Beach Resort


John on the Patio


Janet Playing Hide & Seek


This is the Inside of Our Unit





We brought dinner with us, Janet had made chicken wings and I brought the rest of the fixings so we had dinner at their place.

I am having trouble keeping my eyes open, so it is time to say good night and I will post this in the morning.

And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to another nice day tomorrow.