Vancouver Island 10 Year Anniversary Road Trip!

August 25-31, 2010

The exposure to the ocean from our Mexico trip had really awakened something within and it seemed like we had just unpacked when we were packing our bags again (and car this time) for another adventure; To Beautiful British Columbia once again, but this time, as a family and far from the Alberta/BC border right to the west coast on Vancouver Island, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary.

We made a quick stop in Jasper, AB to stretch out and enjoy the beautiful views before continuing on our 8 1/2 hour drive to the BC Ferries terminal in Vancouver. We drove through the night and arrived at the terminal just in time to catch the first ferry and the sunrise while crossing the Straight of Georgia to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. The ferry ride in itself was exciting and new, feeling like a cruise ship with its amenities and gift shop. The views as we travelled across were beautiful and the smell of the salty air, unforgettable as I could already sense something bigger growing from within and we’d barely just begun.

As soon as we got off the ferry we knew we were somewhere special. Totem poles greeted us as well as some of the common wildlife on the roadways, the deer. Our first stop was at Rathtrevor Beach in Parksville. We had timed our arrival with the low tide in hopes of beach combing and finding some sand dollars. Although we didn’t find any, we were able to explore so much marine life in the tidal pools and walk the sandy beach for what seemed like miles. Tony was exhausted from the overnight drive so he and Madi slept on the beach while Rhylee and I went off on a beach exploration adventure!

We then drove on to the Coombs Country Market, famously known as The Goats on the Roof Market for the goats that literally live on the grassy roof top. The atmosphere here was so quaint and relaxed and made you feel good all over. From the sounds of the local musicians, to the colourful market inside, as well as the other shops along the Main Street; this was definitely a super cool place to be. The highlight for the girls was petting the goats of course. I was really taken by the amazing soap stone sculptures on the other side of the market grounds.

Continuing on to our westerly destination, we stopped at Cathedral Grove, an old growth rain forest with massive trees over 800 years old. It was was surreal to walk among theses giants that we could barely wrap our arms around collectively between the 4 of us! The green canopy hung high above our heads, offering protection from the elements like Mother Nature’s umbrella. Their branches swaying in the breeze as they squeaked and cracked, almost as though they were talking to each other. It was quite an experience, and the smell….wow! The smells of the forest is like no other. The millions upon millions of fallen needles make up the spongy forest floor, giving off an aroma to fill your senses for a lifetime. Something profound was happening inside me on this trip….for all of us, and nature had everything to do with it.

We were now almost halfway to our destination and the scenery just kept on giving to make the drive easier, until we hit the winding roads (S bends) that take you the rest of the way to the rugged west coast of Canada. Side to side, up an down the roads went and Rhylee’s stomach was not having it….mental note * gravol for the drive back. Before we knew it, we arrived to the quaint municipality of Ucluelet, also known as Ukee to the locals and means “people of the safe Harbour” by the indigenous Nuu-chah-nulth people. It is known for its salt water fishing for cod, halibut, salmon, crabs and prawns and also the amazing Wild Pacific Trail. We stayed at a modest seaside hotel with access to a marina where we could watch the fisherman come in with their catch and more entertaining, watch the sea lions try to steal their fish. We enjoyed a delicious 10 year anniversary family dinner at the Black Rock Resort and explored the tidal pools afterwards. The Aquarium in Ukee was a great hands on, up close and personal look at the marine life that makes up Canada’s western Pacific shores and waterways and we really enjoyed all of the knowledge we were gaining of the ocean beyond just its surface beauty. Another highlight for us in Ukee was the cool eating experience on the Canadian Princess Ship, turned floating restaurant. It was brought to Ucluelet in 1979 after suffering damage from hitting Ripple Rock near Campbell River, restored and made into a restaurant for the neighbouring resort to bring in tourism. Sadly today, the ship is no longer there as it was towed away and dismantled in 2016, 6 years after our visit, so we were really glad we got to experience this landmark when we did.

With Tofino just a 40 minute drive away, we made our way to experience what is considered Canada’s true west coast life. Tofino is on the tip of a peninsula made up of lakes, inlets, rainforest and of course it’s sandy beaches world renowned for it’s great surfing. We had beautiful sunny weather and a whale watching tour booked with Jamies Whale Watching. We were quite nervous and experienced some anxiety as our vessel left the bay into the ocean waters with the mishap from our Mexico trip still being so fresh on our minds having happened only 3 months prior. It wasn’t long though, through the expertise, care and understanding of our captain, that we were put at ease and enjoying ourselves. We saw eagles, sea lions, jelly fish, and humpback whales on our day trip. An amazing time that helped ease our fears of being on the ocean. We spent the remainder of the day shopping around, and beach hopping the Tofino beaches of Cox Bay, Chesterman, Mackenzie and lastly, Big Beach where Tony tried his luck fishing on shore and caught his first ever Green Lingcod. The final curtain was the amazing west coast sunset to really put the exclamation point on this whole experience. Our time spent here saturated in nature and the ocean made that thing inside grow, just a little more.

Well it was time to start back tracking towards home but not without spending some time in Vancouver first. We spent a day at Canada’s largest aquarium, the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park which was super fun from the tropical rainforest exhibit to watching the live dolphin show. Stanley Park is world renowned and has been a staple of Vancouver since 1888. A huge, 400 hectare urban park with it’s beautiful 8.8 km sea wall trail, Totem Poles, monuments and panoramic views of the Lions Gate Bridge and downtown across the harbour. You can run, walk, bike, drive or even go by horse and buggy through this beautiful park surrounded by huge trees, beautiful gardens and the ocean. We definitely did not get enough time to explore Stanley Park completely, but we were thrilled with our experience for the time we did spend here.

On the road again, homeward bound! As we put this life changing trip behind us and inched closer to home, we made one more stop at the Fraser River before crossing back into Alberta. As an avid fisherman, fishing the Fraser has been a bucket list item for the hubby, so it was a must do and a good time to stretch out and get a break from the drive. We did finally get to see a bear on this trip and even though it was just a little dinker, Tony was able to cross off another bucket item off by catching a fish in the Fraser River. This was a trip of a lifetime that felt like we were a world away from our then home in Alberta…. I say “then home” purposely…stay tuned!