We’ve had a lot of wonderful adventures in our four-and-a-half years of full-time travels, but our five weeks on Vancouver Island was definitely one of the highlights so far. From outdoor adventures to world-class museums and farmers’ markets to gourmet restaurants, Vancouver Island offers all of the things we enjoy, wrapped up in a package […]
Archive for Canada
In mid-October, we wrapped up our Vancouver Island adventure with a few days in Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia. It’s kind of like traveling to England without having to cross the Atlantic. Afternoon tea, flower-filled gardens, and horse-drawn carriages trotting along streets lined with grand Victorian architecture are reminders of Victoria’s British colonial […]
Just off the southeast coast of Vancouver Island lie the Gulf Islands, an archipelago of more than 200 craggy and wild isles. Many are little more than rocky prominences; a few are large enough to be quite civilized, in the unique Pacific Northwest style of artistic hippie chic, mossy forest trails, exquisite coastline, and a […]
There’s only one highway that traverses Vancouver Island from south to north. Which means that as we returned south from our northern and western explorations of the island in early October, we had the opportunity to visit places that we missed the first time around. Southern Vancouver Island boasts of a Mediterranean climate, which seems […]
Wading through thick fog on a late September morning, we boarded the MV Frances Barkley, a sturdy steel-hulled 1950’s vintage ferry originally built for the fjords of Norway. Along with 40 other passengers, bags of mail, and freight for outposts along the route, we chugged out of Port Alberni. Our destination: Bamfield, a remote village […]
“You ARE going to Tofino, aren’t you?” That was the query of everyone we met on Vancouver Island. Considered the gem of the island, Tofino has it all—astonishingly beautiful scenery, epic outdoor adventures, and a surprisingly sophisticated food scene. All this, in a town of 2,000 perched on the remote and wild west coast of […]
Nestled into a peaceful inlet on the northeastern coast of Vancouver Island lies a tiny, picturesque boardwalk village with a reputation for outstanding whale watching. This would be our furthest northernmost adventure on Vancouver Island, and we had been looking forward to it since we arrived on the island. Leaving Campbell River, we found ourselves […]
We’re back in our hometown of Ashland for a three-week visit before heading south for the winter. In addition to seeing friends and enjoying the beautiful fall weather, for the first time in months we have reliable internet. Before life gets away from me, I can catch up on our backlog of posts from our […]
Canadians spell it “harbour,” we write “harbor.” It doesn’t sound any different, but that extra “u” certainly gives the word more panache. Noah Webster didn’t think so, though. When he compiled the first American dictionary in 1828, he ditched the extra “u” in color, flavor, humor, neighborhood (and many more words) in favor of spelling […]
We sailed away from Vancouver Island on Friday, after five weeks of adventures, British Columbia style. You would think five weeks would be enough time to cover every inch of an island 290 miles long and 62 miles wide. Not quite. But we did our best. We explored the length and breadth of the island, […]
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If you enjoy hiking, biking, kayaking, birding, art, music, quirky towns, good food, and good friends—you'll enjoy traveling with us. Join us as we explore the backroads of North America—we love company and comments!