Tuesday, October 03, 2006

UCLUELET, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada


Since I've been adding comments on my last post about what's happening thus far, I made my own executive decision to add a post sans photos (I don't have Internet for my laptop where my pics are stored but at least we have Internet access).

As I said in a comment on the last post, OMG! You are not gonna believe this place. We totally made up for lost time yesterday and got a preliminary preview of this part of the island--Ucluelet--walking 3 km around the area of the lighthouse. Our lodging is out of this world; the view of the harbor is right outside our living room window. I got a pic of the morning fog a few minutes ago that is worth the entire trip for me :)

Today we are gonna drive the 41 km or so up the coast to Tofino (see last post for the maps), spending the day on the beach along the way, beachcombing. Once in Tofino, we'll visit shops and galleries, drive around, get the lay of the land, eat dinner, and take lots of pics (but of course!).

Tomorrow we have a reservation for a 5-hour Archipelago Nature Cruise in the Broken Islands of Barkley Sound, with a gourmet meal while anchored in the islands. It's mostly for whale watching but includes sea lions, bears, eagles and whatever else we see! It's run by a husband and wife team on their 53-foot motor yacht. Doesn't that sound heavenly?!! And it all starts and ends a stone's throw from our living room window across the harbor!

Thursday is a "do nothing" day except for whatever strikes our fancy. Just BE in this incredible nature. Friday morning will come soon enough when we drive 3 hours across the mountains (memories of Colorado and northern California) back to the ferry and ride over to North Vancouver to meet up with Expat Traveler. Friday afternoon she'll be our tour guide of that incredible city, Vancouver. Her hubby will meet up with us for dinner. Then we'll spend the night at the airport before we both go our separate ways on Saturday--Donica to Palm Springs for a week of work and I to LA for a couple days to visit Dennis' parents (Judy and Dave) before I head back to Atlanta.

So, no pics yet for a post (lots of pics taken, tho'!) but just a more detailed itinerary of what we're up to. In case you wanted to know :)

22 comments:

  1. I can't wait to see the pics! P and I are dying to take a trip to this area also. So all of your tips on where you stayed and your cruise will be so helpful!

    It sounds so exciting but I'm just so happy the weather has been so awesome!

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  2. Of course, we want to know :-)

    That cruise sounds absolutely awsome! Can't wait to read more. Enjoy every second of it (I know you will) ;-)

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  3. Yay! I'm so glad you posted about it so far, even sans photos. We know you'll make up for it. ;)

    Sounds so exotic!

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  4. You really seams to be bussy and have a lovely trip. Thanks for keeping us posted!
    Wishing you the very best meeting with ET Thursday:-)

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  5. YES!!! I knew you'd love it, I mean what's not to love about that area, right? There's beauty everywhere you look. Don't miss Chesterman Beach - that's where we stayed an it was just gorgeous.

    Enjoy every minute!

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  6. British Columbia is grand, isn't it? Swede just bought a coffee table book of Alaska to remind us of where we are going next. To inspire us. I miss nature. I need to be wild and not so civilized, often. Those images of nature will never be removed from your mind, and if you are like me, at times when you are reminded, it will bring tears to your eyes.

    Swede and I saw the movie "Guardian," which takes place in Alaska, and there was a scene that overwhelmed me with memories of B.C., and I said, "When you go to Alaska, you will never want to leave." Both of us were in tears.

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  7. Ha, I can't believe I used the world "grand." I am reading Catcher in the Rye in my class, and Holden was commenting on how he hates that word because it sounds so phony! I personally like it;)

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  8. Everybody: We spent 6 hours yesterday driving along the coast the 41 km to Tofino, stopping at every beach along the way. It was foggy until after noon so my pics are very mysterious, which I love. Better than the overhead, too- bright sun. We had planned to stay in Tofino for dinner, but by just after 3p, after seeing what we wanted to see of the little town, we headed back to Ucluelet and ate dinner here. Even got to see "Dancing With the Stars" last evening :)

    Our nature boat tour had to be switched to tomorrow (Thurs.) because they have to fix something on the propeller. That means today is our "off" day. I'm sorting through river stones we found on the beach near a spring that empties into the ocean on one of the Ucluelet beaches. How beautiful and fun. I'm even gonna build my own Inukshuk from the stones (don't worry, I'll post about that, if you haven't a clue!).

    Today we awakened to NO fog, so there's a completely different feel. That's part of the beauty!

    Thanks to all of you who have looked in on us and left comments. That means a lot!

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  9. Thanks for keeping us posted. Sounds exciting even if there was some propeller trouble.
    Have a lovely hump day and good luck further on with your trip:-)

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  10. Oh Ginnie - I am so excited with your updates. See you Saturday! Dave and I will be the ones with the BIG smiles on our faces to finally meet you IN PERSON!! Yeah!!!! Good next week to Donica - we'll miss her! Next time for sure.

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  11. Isn't the fog wonderful the way it comes in and out? You just never know what it's going to do.

    Hope you have a glorious time cruising the Broken Islands!

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  12. It's good to hear your updates. Enjoy your travels! We'll look forward to hearing more later. :)

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  13. I wasn't expecting you to be posting, so I didn't even think to look . . . but so nice to hear the updates and that you both are having a wonderful time. Love you both!

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  14. HA! I know you didn't expect these updates (Judy and Amy in particular) and it's definitely hard for me to NOT be posting with pics! I guess this is a nice compromise.

    Our off day yesterday was very relaxing here at the apt/condo and in town. We did more beachcombing but not for shells. STONES. We look for an art print every vacation spot we visit, and the one we picked this trip is of Susan Heslop's watercolor stones (she does several). Once I do a real post on that, I'm sure I'll find a link for her. But that tells you something, that our art remembrance is of stones! Round, speckled and colorful, they are unique.

    BTW, we have awakened to another clear and non-foggy day (as yesterday) for our cruise of the Broken Islands near us. The only day that was foggy was our along-the-coast day to Tofino when it was perfect for pics. The Universe is watching out for us :)

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  15. Definitely!!! Make the weather keep up please please. ;-) Either way, our plans will still work... hehe

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  16. It's great to be picturing you there. Soon I'll see if what I see in my imagination is close to what you'll actually post. :)

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  17. OH - And I've got a restaurant booked now. :)

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  18. So much to read here! I'm glad everything is going so well with you and all of yours. Look forward to your pics!

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  19. Woow, you really getting around. Thanks for sharing your adventures as I relly love to read it in every detail.
    Have a great time and give our greetings to ET and P and have a lovely dinner together!

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  20. I almost don't need photos because you've described the area so well! Almost. Me being the visual and same photo junkie as you are. :) I can't wait to see all of them!

    The Vancouver/BC/Western Canada is my 2nd favorite place I've ever been (happily, first is where I live!). Serious considerations of moving there were discussed, oh, a couple of years ago or so. Exploring more of Vancouver Island outside of Buchart Gardens and Victoria is a dream but perhaps one that may not come true...there's so much to see in this beautiful world of ours. Nothing is ruled out though, especially since I have such a love affair with the area.

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  21. So sorry I couldn't get back to you all as you left comments but I will now have Internet access here at home where I can also now catch up on YOU. So much to post about. So many great pics and memories which will come out little by little!

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