canada – My Travel Journals

This was a short three day getaway to celebrate a friends special birthday. Got a great deal at a resort that offered cabins and hotel type rooms. There were 10 of us. We had a large 2 bedroom (with a sofa bed) waterfront cabin, a one bedroom waterfront cabin and a large one bedroom, with sofa bed suite in the main building. Managing to get this many together was great. Half live on the mainland and the other half on the island.

Besides having a fun few days we were hoping for some great storm watching but that was not to be as we had terrific, fairly warm, sunny weather for April.

April 24 Wed

Up early to catch the ferry at 8:25. Left from LG’s house. Her husband, Gabe, decided he’d ride his motorcycle so Linda, Mike (friend) and I followed in her car. Motorcycles get priority boarding on BC Ferries and the best spot right at the front, so first off. We took the ferry (had made a reservation) from Tsawwassen that goes to Duke Point to save a couple of extra hours of driving up from Victoria.

Was a beautiful day so a really enjoyable ferry ride. It takes about and hour and half.

Off the ferry just after 10. Nice drive to Port Alberni, just over an hour. Part of the drive takes you thru the Cathedral Grove in McMillan Provincial Park. It’s an amazing forest of huge, old growth Douglas Firs. Very pretty trails on both sides of the highway and bathrooms! Didn’t stop this time.

Met the rest of the group for lunch at Pescadores Bistro, great menu with lots of variety. No problem getting a nice big table for all of us.

The drive to Ucluelet from Port Alberni took a couple hours with a stop or two along the way. Arrived at the Terrace Beach Resort around 3.

Terrace Beach Resort. Waterfront cabins on a nice little bay with great views.

Got checked in and organized. Eileen and Ken, Kim and Al and myself shared the big cabin. Not huge but good enough. One loft type bedroom and bathroom up stairs, main floor has a teeny little kitchen corner, nice big living room and a full bathroom and a nice little deck. Downstairs was one bedroom. I had the sofa bed! The other cabin, Peggy and Gordie, was a similar layout without the loft and a hot tub on the deck. The hotel room (Linda, Gabe and Mike) was a suite, sort of. Mike had the sofa bed. The cabins had great views of the bay, and a gorgeous sunset.

We had come well supplied with food and drinks!! Had a lovely happy hour, got caught up on what everyone had been doing. Our cabin was the biggest so used as the gathering spot. Got dinner going. A couple of big pots of beans and E put together a very pretty salad tray.

Great day and evening!

April 25 Thurs (Birthday day!)

Up early! Made coffee and grabbed a muffin then took a bit of walk down to the water. What a pretty spot this is. Not another person around…..which was great but then I remembered there are lots of bears, and it’s not unheard of to see a cougar or two, in the area!

Back up to the cabin to start decorating before Peggy popped in. Got my bag of decorations out and Kim and I started putting up the banners. LG arrived with her bag so we got it all done before Peggy came to get coffee and muffins! She was thrilled! Slowly everyone was up and about so some of us went on a bit of hike along the trail that leads to the Wild Pacific Trail head. Was a beautiful morning. A bit nippy in the shade but quite nice once in the sun.

While we were out walking E and K had found a guy to get some crab to have a birthday feast tonight so she drove Ken down to the marina to go out with the guy while he set the traps.

The girls went to explore downtown Ucluelet. It’s not very big!! A few shops (jewelry, gifts/crafts, a BC Liquor Store), a couple of little cafes and that is pretty much it. Another wee ferry terminal but not sure where it goes. Probably way busier in the summer.

E heard from Ken that they’d gotten a pretty good haul already and would be back in around 2 so we all headed down to the Eagle Nest Pub for lunch and to wait for our crab. The pub is a funky place….food was OK but great views out over the inlet and marina. A real interesting mix of clientele…..some that had been there since opening I think! Entertaining for sure.

Ken and the crab guy arrived back with an incredible haul for an even more incredible price!!! We had 20 Dungeness and 3 rock crabs!!! Long story of how he got paid but short version is $200 plus some beverages and “smokeables”!! Ken did make sure he had a valid license before he went out with him so that was all good.

Lucky they’d gone out earlier in the day because by the time we got back to the cabin the wind had really picked up. It was almost impossible to open the door to our little deck! Spent the rest of the afternoon just sitting around and prepping dinner. They guys took the crabs down to the beach to clean them, the girls got the rest of the food ready. Had to go and buy another big pot for the crab…..our cabin had one but the others only had medium sized ones. And we only had two burners to work with so who doesn’t need another huge pot!

Dinner was excellent!! The crab with melted garlic butter was so good. There was so much each person could have had two! I never thought it was possible to get my fill of crab but it was to a point that I was just eating it because it was there. We even had leftovers! Just a great evening….birthday presents, cake, music and lots of good conversations.

A great day!

April 26 Fri

Another glorious morning. Still pretty windy but not as bad as last night. After breakfast most of us bundled up and went for a walk on the Wild Pacific Trail hoping for some storm watching! There are many trails up and down the coast between Ucluelet and Tofino.

The trail is absolutely beautiful. Ancient trees covered in moss, beautiful coves and bays, lots of great lookout points and waves crashing into the rocks and shoreline. Even though is was quite windy it wasn’t the great storm watching that usually happens but still pretty spectacular!

No big storms but still an amazing and beautiful coastline.

After our walk we warmed up back at the cabin with a few beverages, leftover crab and snacks.

Dinner tonight was at Frankie’s. Fun place with a good but simple menu.

Another great day and another fun getaway with this gang.

April 27 Sat

On the road by 9 in the rain!! We were so lucky to have had good weather for this getaway. Was a bit tough on Gabe and his bike but no problems luckily. Lots of road work on the way though which meant we were stopped a number of times for one way traffic. The drive is quite nice, which helps!

A quick stop in Port Alberni again for lunch and off we all went in our respective directions heading home.

No problems with the ferry from Duke Point to Tsawwassen, which was good because we didn’t have a reservation to go home.

Not all trips have to be off to far away or exotic places……so many great adventures on our own doorsteps!

We get together at least a couple times a year for fun getaways. We’ve known each other for decades, some of us since we were 4 and we are now celebrating birthdays that begin with a “7”!! Six of us….three on the mainland and three on the island…. so we try to alternate getaway locations. Three or four days of food, wine and other beverages and lots of catching up…..good times!

Whistler is a great place to head for a few days even in the off season. Some amazing galleries and museums, a good variety of restaurants, pubs and cafes and gorgeous scenery and trails to explore.

I don’t usually journal these getaways as other than the location we don’t always have a set plan in place…….

Sept 15

What a beautiful day! Got to Horseshoe Bay just after 11 so lots of time to see J and P’s ferry arriving from Nanaimo.

A quick rendezvous in Squamish with L, who picked up E from her ferry ride over and K in North Vanc. We stopped in Brackendale for lunch at The Watershed Grill, also known as Jack’s Bar from the show Virgin River.

Burgers, delicious bowl dishes and the usual pub fare

The bar is kind of a hokey place but the food was good and the views were just lovely. Weather was terrific so we found a big table outside and enjoyed our lunch beside the Squamish River. Brackendale (and Squamish) is a big bald eagle viewing area from October – January each year.

Took our time as the drive from there to Whistler is only an hour or so.

Arrived just after 3. Stayed at the Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside hotel. Great deals to be had off season here. We had two, two bedroom suites side by side, which was handy. Got the rooms for just over $300CDN per night for each one.

Rooms were perfect for us, two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a good little kitchen with table and chairs. One room looked out on the mountainside and the other over the pool and Whistler village. Got settled in and off to explore a bit before it got dark.

The plan had been to take the PEAK 2 PEAK gondola at some point over the next couple days but that was not to be as it was shut down until November when ski season starts again…..ah well, lots of other things to do and see here.

Crantini’s in a coffee pot…..whatever works!

Went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and to have our celebratory Crantini’s…..the traditional getaway starter beverages! We often have to improvise on how they’re served depending on what’s available where we’re staying. This place has a great little kitchen but no pitchers in sight so a coffee pot worked just as well!

Had made a dinner reservation at Quattro, a highly recommended Italian place in the village. Food was all very good and the portions were a great size. Kim and I shared a caesar salad and the halibut main course……they very nicely split it up for us. Not as expensive as I thought it might be…..including my share of a couple bottles of wine mine came to just over $100.

Wandered around a bit after dinner checking out a couple of pubs…..all were rocking!! Don’t know where all those people were earlier because not many out and about when we got here.

Just went back to the hotel, cracked open a couple more bottles of wine (thank goodness for full size fridges!!) and got caught up on what everyone had been doing. This was our first get together since last year due to COVID!!

Sept 16

Slept great! I got the sofa bed but it was nice and comfortable. We just had coffee and muffins and other treats in our room before getting ready and heading out to explore.

Some great trails all around here for walking, hiking and biking. Walked over to Blackcomb and one of the trails along the river. There were a number of trails closed though due to grizzly bears roaming…..hmmmm. Did worry me a bit as all the trails seem to be connected one way or another and how would the forest rangers know the bears wouldn’t wander over to the open trails???? Luckily lots of people around so hopefully that was enough to keep them away. Was just a beautiful morning…..very pleasant temps if you stayed in the sun.

Checked out the menu at a couple of the Fairmont Chateau Whistler restaurants but decided it was a little pricey so wandered back to the village and had brunch/lunch at La Brasserie. Prices were better and the food was OK…..we all left full so I guess that’s good.

The Whistler Museum was fun to visit……tells how it all started and how it became the resort it is today. Lots of great artifacts and pictures. Admission is “free” but they request a $5 donation, which is worth it.

The Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre is excellent and definitely worth a visit….could have spent another hour there. Beautiful gift store and cafe that would have been a great spot for our lunch/brunch had we thought about it!

A quick stop at the Brewhouse for a beverage break and back to the hotel to check out the hot tub before going to dinner.

Terrific dinner at Indian Masala Bistro. The food was all delicious and there was a lot of it !! Kingfisher beers to wash it all down.

Great morning and afternoon being a tourist!

Lots of fun this evening…..laughing so much my cheeks hurt!

Sept 17

Very cold overnight. Woke up to a mix of rain and snow and lots of snow up on the mountain. Should have saved all our indoor museums for today!

Breakfast at a funky little place called Gone Village Eatery (sadly it is permanently closed now). You go in through a bookstore. Order your food at the counter and take your table marker to your table. A great menu with a good variety of regular (bacon!!), vegetarian and vegan options. Food was excellent.

Did a bit of shopping and browsing around the village then went to the Audain Art Museum. What an amazing place it is!! Even the building is a piece of artwork! There are many painting by BC and other Canadian artists, including Emily Carr, as well as beautiful indigenous art and crafts. There was a bit of an odd, to me, exhibition happening, lots of weird things and stuff (?) with no explanation that I could find……about 30 Tim Horton’s coffee cups on a large piece of material on the floor for example and a few other sculpture type things for lack of a better description. Was interesting just wandering around the building itself…..the rain pouring off the specially designed roof to catch and store it.

Still raining, and quite chilly, when we left so back to the rooms for snacks and beverages and another visit to the hot tub for some of us! They supply you with very soft, fluffy robes and flip flop type slippers which was nice. Lots of towels down by the pool.

No one was really up to a big dinner after all the snacks so just went to the hotel pub for shared finger foods and a really good bowl of clam chowder! Lively place, lots of fun and a live band too! I think we got back to the rooms close to midnight and then had more wine and snacks and sat around yakking until almost 2AM!

Great day, weather and all!

Sept 18

Packed up and checked out around 9. Back through Squamish for a breakfast stop at Chef Big D’s Restaurant. Kind of a greasy spoon type place but good food, lots of it too, and good coffee.

Dropped the Nanaimo girls off at the ferry, said bye to the others and headed home. Alway so much fun with these guys. Good food, good wine and good company!

Tag: canada

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