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Author Archives: Meg and Cam
Christmas 2025
Reflection and Sharing
Our Christmas was a quiet affair this year. Michaela came over around 9AM and we opened some presents followed by a hearty breakfast of double cinnamon French toast.
We then had a Zoom call with all the cousins and Omi. It was great to catch up.
However you choose to spend this time, may Peace, Joy and Happiness be with you and your family.
Our Philippine Adventure – Deserted Islands and Typhoons!
Commencing our trip
The evening before our tour started, we attended an orientation briefing for the upcoming expedition. TAO Expeditions was the outfit we selected, based on research. They seemed less ‘boozy’ and more environmentally focused. https://www.taophilippines.com (we do not receive anything if you follow the link.) They were also the most expensive, which, naturally culls the herd of 20-somethings. The briefing had 22 of the 25 guests show up. The talk started with a drink of “Jungle Juice”, basically 1 ½ oz of local rum and 1 ½ oz of pineapple juice. Remember this is the less booze cruise. The outline covered off the company history, the community work it does, the planned route, accommodations, food and other things. One-hour later we left, feeling excited.
The Group Make Up – Spoiler Alert – We Were the Oldest
The group around us was mostly young folks with the exception of three older couples which included us. Any one of the three couples could easily be parents to the other passengers. Everyone seemed friendly and there didn’t seem to be that ‘one’ idiot who could be annoying and foolish at the same time. We met at 8 AM the next morning and signed in. Our luggage was tossed on the roof of what I could only call a Magic Bus, in reference to the Who’s 1960s hit. When I say ‘tossed’, I actually mean tossed. Nothing was lashed down for the one-hour drive. Then we boarded the Magic Bus for the journey. There was no air conditioning and all the windows were down as we sat on two wooden benches facing each other.
Once at El Nido port, we jumped off and hiked through the woods for about 15-minutes. Arriving at TAO Base Camp, we saw huts, eating areas, common areas, community bathrooms and more. A quick orientation followed by a delicious breakfast started our day. More talks, then lunch, then on to our boat where we headed to a nearby remote island. This was our first snorkelling adventure.
Colourful Reefs and Fish
What we saw underwater was more impressive that what we were able to see on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). This was likely due to the ‘bleaching’ of the GBR. In the Philippines, there were more colours and the water was warmer. While there were more fish on the Barrier Reef, both the coral and fish were brighter in the Philippines. Both places had numerous things that could bite, attack, harm and kill you. Caution was in order the entire time.
That evening we returned to Base Camp for a four-course meal that was well prepared. The focus was on local ingredients and flavours. Each course was explained and there was more food than we could eat. Seconds and even third helpings were encouraged. After dinner, we wandered a bit, looking at the countless stars we could see. Then, returning to our huts, we hunkered down, on a mat under mosquito netting for a great sleep. The only sounds were the ocean and nature. As the temperature only dipped to 26C at night, we were both a bit worried we’d be too hot, but that was not the case.
Day Two – Sailing and Snorkelling
We woke up, around 6AM which was sunrise. There was not much to block the sun, but we were not complaining. Looking around, it hit us that we slept in an open-air bamboo hut next to the ocean. There was a stretch/yoga class for those who were interested, like me. There were also pots and pots of fresh coffee for those who so desired, like Meg. Breakfast was another feast where there was no shortage of food. Fresh fruit was a key to all meals.
Today was Meg’s birthday. Me being me, I rapped my glass with my spoon to announce the special day and all of Meg’s new 24 friends sang happy birthday to her. There were also bets on if they would witness a burial at sea later that day as she was likely to kill me for what I did. We packed up our stuff into our dry bags, and swam out to the boat. Nothing like a dip in the ocean to start your day.
More Reefs, Snorkelling and Eating
During the day we sailed to a few islands where we snorkeled, ate and enjoyed life. It is pretty hard lifestyle to beat. Later that day the ship anchored off Linapacan Island. Then we got to jump back into the water and swim ashore. As the water was warm, it was not too much of a hardship. Once ashore, while dripping wet, we were told where our huts for the night would be. They put the couples on one side of the camp and the single travellers on the other side. Couple huts are a fair bit wider and accommodate two foam mattresses.
Settling into Our Camp for the Evening
Putting our drybags into our hut, we wandered around and were in awe of how picture perfect this was. On a beach, on a deserted part of a large island, with a breeze blowing and sunset approaching. Our home was a bamboo hut. It was so magical. Wandering the beach for views, the clouds were putting on a show of red, pink and other colours. Since we had been in and out of the ocean a number of times, a fresh water shower was in order. There were four showers, all in one area, with no dividers between them. You just showered with your bathing suit on.
Once we had gotten the salt off us, a pre-dinner drink (jungle juice) was provided. Our dinner that night was another feast, followed by a bon-fire and eventually off to bed. As we scrambled up into our huts, it was breezy which made the warm temperature pleasant for sleeping. Since there was really not much artificial light on the island, there was really no point in staying up late. Sunrise would be at 6 AM, so going to bed and rising early made sense.
Storms and a Diversion
Waking up and hearing only waves on the beach was great. Sunrise was at 6AM, and with nothing to block the light, we were up by then. Wandering the beach, we saw fishermen, there are no women fishing there, heading out for the day.
Once breakfast was over, our tour guide made an announcement. He told us there was a storm coming and it looked nasty. The word he used was typhoon. An open-air boat with no radio or radar and two outriggers for balance is no match for a typhoon. Mother nature will win every time. To keep the passengers, crew and boat safe, the planned route was being altered. We would be going east instead of our planned westerly route. This would keep us in a wind shadow and likely avoid the worst of it. As we swam out to the boat, we were all just glad to be safe and everyone agreed, it was all part of the adventure.
Rain, Rain and more Rain
As we sailed, we could see the rain approaching. Eventually there was no place to hide from the rain, other than the galley. In the end, 15 of the 25 guests were crammed into the galley to try and keep warm and dry. Nine hours later, through wind and rain, we arrived at camp for the night. Similar to the previous evening, they placed couples on one side and singles on the other. The two rows of huts were only about 40’ apart, but faced different directions.
We all managed to get dry and eat a lovely dinner before settling down in our huts for the night. It was a bit breezy. Little did we know the wind was only starting…
Meeting A Tropical Depression in a Bamboo Hut
Around 11 pm, we woke up to torrential rain hitting the side of our hut. There were also high winds whistling through. The shaking of our bamboo hut was not either of us moving around as we both first thought. Remember, always blame the other person. It was actually the wind shaking the hut. Howling wind with no reprieve. Between crashing waves, violent wind and driving rain, the noise was deafening. We kept telling each other that we were dry and warm, we would be fine. In reality, we confessed to each other the next morning we were both quite scared. Recently, we had both read “One Perfect Couple” by Ruth Ware. It is a story of group who ended up stranded on a deserted island after a storm. No one came to rescue them and slowly people started dying. It was not a comforting thought for either of us.
We managed to stay dry. The hut, for all its basic-ness, did an excellent job of keeping the rain out. We could feel mist coming in the front and back of the hut, but no leaks from the roof. Then we heard a crash. While we can’t be sure, we think it was a palm branch or a coconut hitting the ground nearby with a terrific thud. The rain continued to drive and the hut shook. Lying in bed, with driving rain and wind while your home shakes is not for the faint of heart. Actually, it isn’t for us either. More thuds and more wind.
Staying Put
Eventually, around 1 AM both the wind and rain seemed to stop. Then one of the staff came around and asked if we were ok. We said yes. He then asked if we wanted to go to the safe hut, a concrete building where most of the other guests had gone some time ago. Ummm, why were only checking on us now? As the wind and rain had both died down, we decided to stick it out in our hut. We were dry, fairly warm and it seemed the worst had passed.
Once the staff member had left, we remembered that sometimes, the eye of the storm is the calmest. What if we were in the eye of the storm and round two was about to start? In the end, our decision to stay turned out to be the right one. Things were quiet for the rest of the night and a few hours later, we heard the others coming back to their huts.
The Morning After
Most of the others were not so lucky. Some huts had water pouring in from holes in the roof. Others leaked from the sides. All of the single huts faced the storm and rain came in at full force, they, along with everything inside was soaked. The couples huts took the storm on the side, so less damage. We traded stories of how we managed with others and learned that our hut was one of only two that did not leak. A couple from Australia had water pouring in through their roof all night long. We were one of two couples that did not go to the safe house. Most of the other passengers thought we were crazy to stay in the hut, but it all worked out fine.
In the end, no one was physically hurt – but four guests opted to leave the tour the next morning, so there may have been emotional injuries.
Storm Report
The next morning, there was debate amongst the staff whether the storm was a tropical depression or a typhoon – either way, it was scary. 53 mm of rain in about 2 hours; wind at 40 km/hr sustained with gusts to 65. Nothing that we don’t encounter at home – but in a bamboo hut, in the pitch dark, it feels a lot different!
Updated bucket list
Survive a tropical storm in a bamboo hut was not on the bucket list, but now that we are safely through it, it’s a pretty unique thing for have on our resumes!
Carrying On With Our Trip
In reality, how can you top that? The next day was uneventful in comparison. There was a stop at the ‘best’ reef on the tour. Unfortunately, that reef was a bit murky with the previous night’s storm but still plenty of coral and fish.
We made it to the final campsite where we took some time to relax, wander about and share stories. A grand finale dinner put everyone in a good mood and we all slept well that night. There was no wind, no rain and no crashing waves. Only gentle lapping of water on the shore. Our huts were all dry.
Finishing Our Expedition
In the morning, we broke camp and by noon were in Coron where we caught a flight to Cebu Island. At the Coron airport, there is not much there other than the landing strip. It is paved. We managed to check in without issues, although you need to show your boarding pass to get into the airport terminal. As we had not checked in, we held up our phones to a lit screen and were waived through. I guess they don’t check tourists as carefully as locals. To pass the time, after check-in, we left the airport and walked across the road to a series of small restaurants. These are really just roadside stands and they back onto the runway. But don’t worry about security, even though there’s no fence, there is a sign there that says do not enter, so it’s safe.
The flight was uneventful and we arrived on the Island of Cebu for the next phase of our trip.
Thanks for reading,
Cam and Meg
“People don’t take trips, trips take people.” – John Steinbeck
Sydney – Our Australia adventure continued
Sydney – An Amazing Cosmopolitan City On The Water
Arriving in Sydney, we were awoken to the higher costs and busy environment. First off, if you take the train from the airport into town, it is $22/person. If you take the local bus from the airport to the next train stop on the line, a five-minute bus ride, it will cost $2 AUD and then the train to downtown will only cost $4/person. That is an easy hack to beat the airport service fee. So, for $6, you can get to downtown.
But really, who wants a train or bus when there is Uber? A quick check the night before, from Tasmania showed the Uber fare was only $45. Sign me up, only 2 times the $22 train fare, for a couple, that’s a deal. Unfortunately, with dynamic pricing and multiple flights arriving, the price shot up to $98 when I checked while waiting for our luggage. More than double the night before. Bus and train it was for us. We were certainly not the only ones using that hack.
The Sydney Opera House – A World-Wide Symbol
On our first day in Sydney, we toured the Sydney Opera House. Anyone who has travelled or read any sort of travel magazine, or watched Bugs Bunny, has likely seen pictures of the Sydney Opera House. It is up there with the Eiffel tower and the Pyramids as symbol that almost everyone knows. Our hour-long tour did not disappoint us, learning facts and stories about the construction, operation and behind the scenes. The two largest venues – the ones within the iconic shells – are spectacular.
They seat 1500 and 2700 patrons respectively and are designed without pillars that would obstruct views of the stage. Each is engineered so amplifiers are not needed and every seat hears the same music at the same volume. The larger venue is used for symphony; the smaller for opera. Quite amazing to think that one single human voice can be equally projected to 1500 spectators without amplification.
Another surprise is that the building is not white, despite how it looks in every picture. The shells are actually textured beige-y, gray-y tiles. To the eye up close, it looks almost gray – but the camera picks up white. We have many photos – from the air, water, bridge and plaza, day and night, up close and far away. The Opera House looks white in all of them!
The Shiralee – An Australian Story
We decided, after touring the site, to see if we could get tickets for a play. We were fortunate to get some just released tickets for a play on our last night in Sydney. The play, called ‘The Shiralee’ was an amazing 2 ½ hour play that highlights the life of a “Swag-Man” in the Outback and his daughter.
The Opera House Lives Up to its Expectations
The play, which was wonderful, kept us both riveted the entire time. It was held in one of the smaller venues, maybe 750 seats. But there are no poles or support beams blocking any seats in the theatre. Acoustics were great and there were no distractions. Audience noises were almost none existent. The only thing to focus on was the stage.
The theatre was completely black – walls and ceiling starkly so with no decorations, chandeliers or curtains, just black wood. No dim lights marking the aisles, no illuminated exit signs (at least none that we saw from our seats). The audience had no choice but to fully immerse in the action on the stage. Being six rows from the stage, we were close enough to see expressions on the faces of the actors. It may have been the best live drama I have ever seen. The story moved us both. If you do find yourself in Sydney, I recommend not only a tour, but a play if you have the time (and the plot interests you).
So Much To See
With over 5 million people, countless harbours and coves, many with soft sand beaches, the problem was what to do during our four days? We were staying in a studio apartment in the CBD (downtown), close to a lot of the action but away from other must-see sights. The Bondi to Bronte walk, along the sea was recommended to us and we enjoyed that. Following that, we wandered up to Watsons Bay and went for a swim to cool off.
Murals and Street Art
In the evening, we visited NewTown, an area known for its murals. The “I Have a Dream” mural, likely being the most famous. The quote and a drawing of Dr. Martin Luther King is inspiring. The murals throughout the area depict many scenes of daily life as well as sci-fi and fantasy. My favourite was a drawing from 2015 that is even more relevant today. It is called “The Housing Bubble”. It features a lady sitting on a man’s back reaching out for a house that is floating away under balloons. The house is out of reach for her and her family, a scenario that is being played out in Australia more and more, as well as Canada and other places.
Manly to Split walk
Another walk, that is well worth the effort is the Manly to Split walk. It is 10km and features a lot of stairs. The reward is stunning views of the harbour from numerous angles as well as multiple beaches that you can swim at to break up the travel. Due to the nature of the walk, I did this on my own, as Meg didn’t think she could handle the ups and downs.
Sydney, a Liveable City (Although Maybe Not Affordable)
As we wound down our time in Australia and Sydney, we were captured by Sydney. It helped we saw an outstanding play on our last night and the weather was good. There are buses, trams, trains and ferries to get you around. If you are touring, you don’t really need a car. The town is not as clean as other places in Australia, but it seemed safe overall. Given it has such a major airport, I can certainly see coming here again and visiting places that I only walked by or missed. On this visit, we skipped the museums. A must for next time.
Given that Australia is a Commonwealth country, like Canada, the similarities are striking. Language is the biggest, they are easy to understand and speak a clear dialect. There is almost no need to carry cash. Card is accepted everywhere, although most places will charge a surcharge of up to 2% for using a card. Given the ease of card, we withdrew no cash while in Australia. Everything was on card, normally tap to pay from our phones. There is a transit card called the Opal card but the benefits are the same if you use your credit card.
It is amazing how fast a month can go, but we are leaving Australia now and heading off to the Philippines for our next phase of the Fall 2025 trip.
Thanks for reading,
Cam and Meg
“Life is a journey. Make the most of it.”
Our Australia adventure continued
Heading from Melbourne to Sydney
Our time in Melbourne was winding down and we planned to drive to Sydney. A number of people had asked us if we were going to do the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne to Adelaide. That drive was in a westerly direction and we needed to head east. Unfortunately, there would not be enough time. We’ve learned that to miss some things is to actually see more. Cramming too much into an itinerary only makes you forget much of what you’ve seen and miss the moments.
Our drive to Sydney started by heading to our friends home – Chez McBing. On a river cruise ten years ago, we met Tim and Bing and have kept in touch since then. They suggested we spend a night at their home in Rye. We accepted their gracious offer and started by heading to the Peninsula Hot Springs for some soothing soaking in natural hot springs. Water logged but revived after two hours, we returned to their beautiful home and mysteriously wine bottles appeared. Then the food came. It was a wonderful evening.
Shrimps on the Bar-Bee
In classic Australian style, they “threw some shrimps on the bar-bee” and they were so good. We spent the next few hours eating, drinking, laughing and going on a few short walks with the true boss of their home, Pebbles. It was such a relaxing evening and a welcome respite from hotels and restaurants.
In the morning, their hospitality continued and we were able to walk the national park. Just prior to leaving, a last tour of the wonderful works of art in their home, most of them by Bing herself, reminded us of how talented she is.
On to Philip Island and the Penguins!
There are stands set up and viewing areas that allow you to see them. The stands are set back so as not to interfere with the penguins or their activities. If you are in the area, we recommend you visit the site https://www.penguins.org.au/attractions/penguin-parade . You would also be encouraged to dress warmly and, If you can, take a blanket to put over your legs as you sit there watching the show. We did not and paid the price of being cold. The wind picks up and the temperature drops. It gets cold, but the stars of the show don’t seem to mind. They have feathers after all. Also, if you can, upgrade your tickets to grandstand seating vs general admission. We did this and were only about 20 meters away from the birds. General admission seats were more plentiful and were over 100 meters away.
As we drove on, we headed to Cowes, a small resort town that would likely be unremarkable except for one thing. It is the gateway to Philip Island and Parade of the Penguins. Every night, about 1,400 – 2,000 of these adorable animals comes ashore just after sunset. A group of penguins is called a ‘raft’. These rafts of 50 – 100, more or less, come back to shore to rest, feed their young and mate. There is safety in numbers which is why they ‘raft’.
How Penguins Come Ashore
About 30-minutes before sunset, the penguins, still underwater, approach land and start calling out to each other. They form a critical mass, or raft, and then start swimming around together. Then, when one of them decides, they all break for the shore and check it out. Sometimes, someone disagrees and they all go back into the ocean. Other times they all make a break for the shore, waddle across the sand and into their dens. Still, other times most will go back into the ocean and a few will make for the dens or vice versa. They are so cute waddling as a group.
There are raised walkways over the dunes that allow you to be close to the birds, but not block their passage. You can see their dens and where they go. Being that close to nature is inspiring. At the end of our visit, around 9:30 PM, we looked up and had our first view of the Southern Cross.
Cowes to Wilsons Promontory
Australia has many national parks and Wilsons Promontory is one of the larger ones. We spent most of the day there, enjoying the pristine beaches, walks and views. In short, it was beautiful. We headed to Squeaky Beach, although we were not sure why it was called that, but the interesting name drew us in. It turns out it is called Squeaky Beach because the sand squeaks underfoot as you walk on it.
The sea had lovely colour, the sun shone through the brushy trees and the temperature was pleasant. It is early enough in the spring that the crowds were not oppressive although convenient parking was still hard to come by.
During our travels in the park, we spotted our first emu. This fellow was at the side of the road, minding his (her) own business and then wandered back into the woods.
Raymond Island – Koala Bears!
Our next day we headed to Nicholson. We decided to stop at Raymond Island to see if we could spot any koala bears. All over Australia, we had seen road crossing signs for koalas, kangaroos, wombats and other animals. Honestly, I think these signs are warning signs for the animals to stay away. We had not seen any. Unfortunately, we had seen a number of kangaroos on the side of the road, victims of car strikes.
In 1953, when koala bears were very endangered, researchers introduced 25 of them to Raymond Island. There were a lot of eucalyptus (gum) trees on the island and no predators. The plan worked and the bears are thriving. There is a free passenger ferry to the island (cars have to pay) that takes about five minutes. Once there, we wandered around the island, spotting no fewer than 16 of the furry little guys.
Driving on to Sydney
The next two days we spent stopping at various beaches, historic sites, lighthouses and other places of interest. Our schedule had us driving a few hours each day to allow for stops of interest. Anything that caught our fancy. From roadside bakeries, to walks in the woods. It was a lot of fun. One thing we found, and both really liked, was-new-to us birds.
We were fortunate enough to see a stunning tiny blue bird, about the size of a sparrow. It turned out to be a “Superb Fairy-Wren”. Not just a “fairy-wren”, but a superb one! There were cockatoo’s and so many others. The sounds they make are foreign to us, but captivating and we enjoyed searching for them as we wandered the woods, shores and neighbourhoods of Australia.
Leaving the mainland for Tassie
Our drive was now complete and arriving in Sydney, we hopped a flight to Tasmania for a week of exploring the remote part of Australia.
Thanks for reading,
Cam and Meg
“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” – Saint Augustine
Travelling around Brisbane and Melbourne
On to Brisbane
Brisbane is 1,500 km from Cairns and flying was the logical way to go. Virgin Australia did a fine job of getting us from A to B. There was also the drive option between the two cities. It is supposed to be an amazing drive, but time, as always, is an issue. Arriving in our second major city, we were impressed with the transportation from the airport to town.
We were able to check into our downtown hotel due to Meg’s elite status with the Mariott chain. Uber worked well and once in our room, we headed out for lunch and our first tour. I had reserved a tour of the Brisbane City Hall clock tower. https://www.museumofbrisbane.com.au/whats-on/clock-tower-tours/ This free tour runs every 15-minutes and has a capacity of only seven. It takes you up the 95-year-old tower, in an old freight elevator. As we went up, we learned the history of the building and were treated to some amazing views.
Walking Tour
Brisbane is a major city with tons of things to see and do. The problem, for us, was we were only spending one day there. To learn as much as possible, we opted for a walking tour. The city has ‘greeters’ who will take you on a free walking tour https://www.351k.bookeo.com/bookeo/b_brisbanegreeters_start.html?ctlsrc2=rWOPDlUpc%2B4ExZdzbqwRwfCKlc6JZ9zGaAIosdvaPbo%3D&src=02n that hits a number of highlights depending on the tour. Our guide was Tina, a long-time resident who was charming and knowledgeable.
Seeing arcades, Australian for covered street shopping centres, cozy streets and bustling squares, we took in as much as we could. Tina then took us to the top of the Star building where we had a splendid view of the city at sunset. As Tina told us about Brisbane’s Expo in 1988, she mentioned that she was excited to have had her picture taken with a real Mountie back in 1988. She was even more excited to learn that I had been a Mountie. To thank her for her time, I gave her an RCMP Challenge coin which made her day.
Brisbane’s Broad Transit System
On our tour the previous day, we learned that taking transit in Brisbane cost $0.50 AUD. That’s all. If you transfer, within a specific time, it costs nothing more. It doesn’t matter how far you travel. Two stops or 40 kilometers. In addition to trains and buses, there is an extensive network of ferry boats. To get a view of the city from the water, we ventured onto a commuter ferry and spent close to two hours on the water, going almost to the ocean. In reality, we could have done with half that time, it did drag a bit in the end.
On to the Gold Coast
We left Brisbane and picked up our rental car to drive to the Gold Coast. As it was a Saturday, the drive was slow. Once we arrived at our apartment, we were greeted by yet another warm welcome from the host, Gary, the complex manager. He also told us he could take us up Q1 tower, the largest building in the area. As we went up the elevator, which climbed 68 stories in 20 seconds, we were impressed by the speed and efficiency. Gary walked us around the observation deck, pointing out things that we may want to do over the next few days. Since the view was so good, we decided to linger a bit and enjoy an adult beverage.
Skipping the Beach for the Woods
Our first full day in the Gold Coast was to be high UV and high temperature. We decided that baking on the sand was not the smartest thing to do so we headed for the hills. Gary had provided a number of places to go around the Tambourine Mountain area and we enjoyed exploring them. The Curtis Falls track, along with Witches Falls Circuit provided both wonderful walks as well as refreshing swimming holes. There were a number of people using the swimming areas and I managed to climb a set of rocks to jump into the pool. It was awesome. Being up the mountain, the temperatures were a bit cooler and the breeze helped.
In the evening, we wandered around the town and had a great dinner on the barbecue at our lodging. There is something about outdoor cooking that just relaxes us. Facing our next day, we decided to go back to Witches Falls as it was so nice. We were hoping it would not be as busy as it was Monday and we were rewarded. First of all, we were able to find parking at the falls, vs walking down 300 meters from the overpark as we did the day before. The fewer cars meant fewer people and it was great just lounging in the sun, cooling off in the water and repeating.
On to Melbourne
We left the Gold Coast, its stunning beaches and warm temperatures and headed south for Melbourne. As Canadians, when we think of heading south, it often means the warmer weather of Mexico. As Australia is south of the equator, going south makes things cooler.
Our flight to Melbourn was fine and, after arriving at our hotel, we went out to explore the city. It has a first-rate food scene and we were keen to try it out. Our first evening we tried a gourmet pizza place that made an amazing burrata salad. The cheese was fresh and so good.
Walking Tour and Boat Tour
On our second day, we took a walking tour but it somehow missed the mark and we bailed about half way through. We created our own tour from an app we use called GPSMYCITY. If you have never tried this app when travelling, I would recommend you take a look at it before your next trip. Then, later that afternoon, we took a boat ride up and down the river with some friends.
About ten years ago, we took a river cruise in Cambodia and Vietnam along the Mekong River. On that cruise, we met a couple from Melbourne who were about our age. Meg and Bing have kept in touch since then and we had planned to meet up with them. Bing suggested the boat tour and it seemed like a great idea. Meeting up with them, just prior to the boat ride, we carried on talking as if the river cruise of ten years ago had ended yesterday.
Melbourne from the river is beautiful and when we return, we will look to stay outside of the downtown or CBD. As the boat ride ended, we said farewell to Tim and Bing, until the weekend, and started wandering down the walkway. We were not on our own for too long as ten-minutes later we bumped into our friends Sue and Jerry. Imagine people from home, 10,000km away, in the same town of 5,000,000 people, on the same street. Swapping notes on what to see, we said ciao to them until tomorrow.
Wine Tour – Yarra Valley
Before we left Canada, we arranged a wine tour of the Yarra Valley. Some of our options included spending a few nights in the area so we could visit a number of wineries or day tours. In the end, a day tour made the most sense and fortunately for us, we could meet up with Sue and Jerry to do the tour. On our small tour of only 11 people, we toured three wineries, met the owners of each, sampled chocolates at a factory and had a great lunch. Not worrying about my wine consumption was relaxing and I took full advantage of sampling many varieties.
Having toured wineries in Canada, the US, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and now Australia, I can honestly say there are not many wineries that I have not liked. All of the wineries we visited were delightful. The wines were of good quality, of course the best are usually not sampled due to costs. At the end of our tour, we had the good fortune to be allowed to sample the estate’s premium wine. Wow. What a difference between a $20 bottle vs a $65 bottle. We almost had to revive our friend Jerry as he said he thought he had died and gone to heaven!
The Street Food Scene – Hardware Lane
When we returned to Melbourne, we headed out to sample some street food. Hardware Street, a foodie’s paradise, answered the call. The decision was where to eat. For such a haute cuisine area, the prices were very reasonable and we enjoyed our time there.
Thanks for reading,
Travel while you can. Your money will return. Your time won’t.
Cam and Meg
Cairns – Our Australia adventure starts
Flying from Tokyo to Cairns seemed the easiest and quickest way to cover that much distance. Since we wanted to see a lot of Australia, we decided to start at one end of the country and work our way to the other. Cairns, being the closest to Tokyo was a natural starting point.
Unfortunately, the only direct flight was an overnighter – :(
We elected to do this, despite the hardships on the body, as it would save over six hours of transfers at other airports in Australia.
Clearing Australian Customs
Once we arrived, at 4:30 AM (3:30 AM to our bodies), there was customs, immigration and bio-security. The Australian government wants to ensure foreign substances are not introduced into their country. When we cleared all the formalities, we hailed a taxi and went to our hotel/apartment. Our unit, a one-bedroom apartment in a complex with a swimming pool, was across from the police station and it seemed a bit sketchy. There were homeless people and litter in many places. Arriving at 6:30AM, we went straight to bed.
At lunch time, we started exploring by going to the local grocery store for lunch fix’ns. In addition to being very hot, +33C, there was the extreme strength of the sun to worry about. Fortunately, above the sidewalks, they build a number of overhangs that block the sun. We dodged in and out of them, as did many locals, being sun smart just makes sense. The rest of our day was spent quietly, getting ready for our Barrier Reef tour the next day.
The Great Barrier Reef
Before leaving Canada, we had booked a Great Barrier Reef tour on a sail boat. The idea of sailing, vs. engines was appealing to us. Checking in at the boat, we noticed it was small but perfect for what we hoped to do. The Captain took us out, under power for two hours to a small reef area by Green Island. There we donned our Lycra ‘stinger suits’ in case any jelly fish were about. No jellies had been seen but the suit also doubled up as a sun block. Being fully dressed in a tight black suit made us all look like divers. It also showed every bump, but hey, we were all in the same boat (or suit)! The ship provided masks, fins et al and once anchored, we were in the water.
My underwater camera was put to the test as I took photos of almost everything. Unfortunately, most of them were off centre and ended up being deleted. The onboard dive master provided a great narrative about the reef and how it is not dying, but regenerating. There were a lot of fish about as well as coral, however the colours were not what we had hoped for. Once we had been in the water for an hour, despite the +32 air and warm water, we were both starting to get cold, so back to the boat.
Green Island
When we had been out of the water for 15 minutes, lying in the sun in our black suits, we were ready for the water again. This time we headed off on our own, but in close proximity to the boat. When the snorkeling was over, a full lunch was ready, then it was off to Green Island for a walk around. Originally, we looked at spending a night on Green Island. The hour we spent as part of this tour was more than enough. We managed to walk around the entire island, see turtles as well as birds. Back on the boat, we headed back to Cairns, both sails up, but also under full power due to low winds.
Returning to Cairns
On our return, we had a glass of crisp, cold Australian white wine, with cheese and crackers, while sitting on a sailboat, on the Great Barrier Reef. Light breezes blowing to keep us cool. How could it get much better? Doing it with your best friend made it even more enchanting. Yes, the tour was very enjoyable, primarily due to the size of the vessel. The maximum guest number is 25. On our tour, there were only 17 people, so there was a lot of room to spread out.
Once ashore, we headed to our apartment and had dinner, with prosecco, always a nice addition to dinner! When shopping for wine, the staff told us how high taxes were on alcohol. That was for spirits and beer but not so much for local wine. The prosecco we bought was $5 Aussie dollars. Before I purchased it, I did a quick check on my wine app and it received decent ratings. Of course, the most important rating was our opinion and it passed! $5 for a full bottle of decent prosecco…I think I could live in Cairns!
Exploring the Country Side
The next day, we rented a car for a day, with the plan to head to the Daintree Rain Forest. That didn’t quite work out. When picking up the car, the staff employee told us we were welcome to go there but it was 2 ½ hours each way to the park and then some driving around. She recommended a “waterfall” route, that was about four hours of driving, but very scenic, including some ‘swimming holes’. Given the temperature, +32C, we chose the latter.
The route was very scenic and reminded us of driving in Hawaii or Caribbean islands. We made a number of photo stops in the morning before stopping for lunch in a small classic Queensland outpost town.
Finding Water Holes to Swim in
Then we found our first waterfall/swimming hole. It was all you could ask for. A 100’ waterfall, cascading straight down, into a beautiful lagoon. Given the topography, you could walk behind the waterfall and listen to the water crashing down. It was very refreshing and what we liked the most, in addition to how beautiful it was, was the non-overcrowding.
We had seen similar places in Bali, but you were jammed in with 1,000’s of others. Here, there were maybe 40 people. At times tour buses came, but they only made a whistle stop for photos, no swimming. I counted four people in the water when we arrived. I would go back here in a heartbeat.
Returning to Cairns, we organized ourselves for our flight the next day and relaxed, looking at our photos from the day. Renting a car gave us so much freedom and Meg is an amazing navigator. Of course, these days, Google maps will get you to where you are going. No more trying to navigate with a 1” paper map of a city that has two roads on it. The information screen in our rental car was bigger than many maps we used back in the day. Having a great data package also helps.
Thanks for reading,
We travel not to go anywhere, but to go. We travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move. – Robert Louis Stevenson
Cam and Meg
Disneyland Tokyo – October 2025
We hope to always be young at heart!
We visited DisneySea Tokyo and had a blast. It was our third time to this park. Even though we are not able to understand many of the characters as they speak Japanese, the magic is the same.
The park opens at 9AM and they say to get there early. We chose to arrive at 9AM and there were hoards in front of us, but as we entered, there were hoards behind us. Everyone was, for the most part, polite except one person on the subway.
As we left the subway to head to Disney, a short man started aggressively pushing Meg and trying to get in front of her. I was behind her and oblivious to this at first. Once I noticed him shoving to get in front, I put my arm between him and Meg. He turned toward me and, as the Friendly Giant would say “look up, way up”. Then, for some reason only he will know, he tried to push in front of me. Another one of his not-so-good ideas. I pushed my arm out and he disappeared behind us. Meg thanked me for that. There are idiots everywhere.
Soaring Fantastic Flight – We’ve Seen Almost All of the Sights!
Once inside the park, we headed toward Soaring Fantastic Flight. As we arrived, it was a 150-minute wait. So we decided to pay the premium and get fast access for ¥2,000 each. The ride, in which you strapped into a chair that “flies”, took us over many of the world’s most famous landmarks. Taj Mahal, Sydney Opera house, the plains of the Serengeti, Mad King Ludwig’s Castle in Barvaria, Canadian glaciers and polar bears, The Great Wall of China, Tokyo and ended by landing at Disney. Along the way there were wind gusts and smells. It was really well done and lasted about five minutes.
From there, we headed over to Rapunzel’s castle. We saw her in the top of the castle, singing but she was not letting down her hair! Again, we chose to fork out for a quick access but this ride left us underwhelmed. Then we waited, like common folk, for 100-minutes to ride the Peter Pan ride. This was by far the best Disney ride either of us has ever been on.
Peter Pan – a Classic in 3-D
You board a “boat” and, wearing 3-D glasses, are immersed in the novel, Peter Pan. Peter fights Hook in a dueling sword battle (spoiler alert Peter wins). Tinker Bell spreads pixie dust you can almost feel. The Lost boys are “found” and in the end, all the children return home to London where Nana is waiting for them. You get to see 3-D London at the end of the Industrial Revolution, Never Land with its mountains and crystal-clear water. Of course, in the end Hook is chased by the croc! We liked this so much, we lined up again for 70-minutes later in the day.
Breaking for a light snack, we were back at it, heading to the Tower or Terror. Poor Harrison Hightower III, disappeared in this New York building after discovering a scared relic from some jungle. In the pre-ride, there is Harrison talking with the relic by his side. Lightning strikes and Harrison changes, shrinks and then disappears. The relic smiles and with a bang it too disappears. To make it entertaining, there was spectacular lighting and sound.
Of course, the idea was for us to find Harrison, so we followed his footsteps and got into the elevator where he was last seen. Strapped in, we were whisked to the top, but not without some blackouts, huge drops and shakes. At the top, there was an open window where we could see outside Tokyo before we plunged again into darkness. Alas, we did not find Harrison, but we had some good laughs.
The Quiet Rides Were very Noltsalgic
With many long lines, we started to aim for shorter lines. Sinbad’s adventure was a cross between “It’s a Small World” and Pirates of the Caribbean, but with an Arabian twist. Aquatopia had us in open air saucers that travelled around a water park. Captain Nemo’s 20,000 Leagues under the Sea was a take on the 1954 movie. In our submarine we saw numerous deep-sea creatures. Of note, this ride was shut down in 1994 in the US so this may be the only place to see it.
It was nearing the end of our day and as we headed out, Meg noticed a sign on the Raging Spirits roller coaster. The line was estimated to be 90-minutes, but there was a single rider lane. In this lane, you basically wait until they have one empty seat and then you go. You don’t ride with your party, but with strangers. We decided to try it and it took 22-minutes to get us both through. For the record, this was Cam’s first 360-degree loop roller coaster. It was short but a blast.
We left upbeat and happy. While the Indiana Jones ride was closed for maintenance, there was scaffolding everywhere, it was still a good day. The closure of the Indy ride obviously meant there were more people not in that line and in the other lines. Disney does a good job of handling lines and staff are always smiling. One thing we noticed from our last visits is the costumes. We were in the very small minority of people not wearing Disney hats, ears or full out costumes.
We Are Planning Our Next Trip to Disney!
On our next visit, one thing we will do differently is to buy our tickets closer to the day. Of course you need to watch they don’t sell out, but that will ensure we know what rides are closed. Also, the weather plays a big factor and if you can go when it is lightly raining, the lines are a lot shorter. Being from the west coast of British Columbia, rain is a fact of life and we know we will not melt.
Thanks for reading. Have you ever been to Disney, either as a child, an adult or a parent with kids in tow? Feel free to share any Disney tips you may have.
A Quote From Disney…It Rings True in Every Sense
“The things that make me different are the things that make me.” – Piglet from Winnie the Pooh
Cam and Meg
Our Trip is Interrupted!
Read on to see how we handled it.
Day 15 – Hakodate, Japan
We arrived alongside at 7AM and it looked as if we were a long way from downtown. Shuttles had been arranged and were first come, first serve until 8AM, after which time you would need a ticket. Let’s face it, most people on vacation want to sleep in. However….at 7:15AM the Captain came on the loudspeaker and dropped a bombshell.
Super cyclone Halong, off the coast of Japan, was tracking towards Tokyo. Its projected path would be right along the ship’s route to get to Yokohama. The Ship’s Officers, in consultation with Royal Caribbean’s (RCL) head office, made the decision to extend the cruise by two days. This would let the storm pass and make it safer for the ship. There is a full write up at Cruise Hive
https://www.cruisehive.com/typhoon-delays-royal-caribbean-ships-return-for-two-days/188231
Arriving in Yokohama on Saturday vs Thursday
These two sea days would bring the ship into Yokohama on Saturday, October 11th, vs the planned arrival of Thursday October 9th. RCL would cover some change fees for flights and offered to extend beverage packages for a price (no freebies here!). Unfortunately, we had tickets for Expo 2025 in Osaka on Friday October 10th. The tickets are not changeable. Our travel from Yokohama to Osaka for the 9th and additional tickets for Osaka to Kagoshima on Kyushu Island on the 11th were also non-refundable.
We considered what to do and decided to leave the ship in Hakodate. We made a hotel reservation for one night in Hakodate, booked Shinkansen tickets to Yokohama for the next day and found a hotel for one night in Yokohama. Had it not been for Expo, we likely would have opted to stay on the ship. There were many people who had flights home the day we were scheduled to arrive as well as other plans. In all, around 500 people, out of 3,900, departed early.
Of course, most passengers stayed on including 100’s who were doing a back-to-back cruises ending in Singapore. That next cruise will now be two days shorter as the next cruise will obviously not start until this cruise arrives. It must be a huge logistical challenge for the ship. We had noted they were running low on fresh fruit and veggies as the cruise carried on. Portions were getting smaller every day – with some strange substitutions for ingredients they’d run out of.
Making our Escape from the Ship
Leaving the ship was easy, although time consuming. Our hotel, the Toyku-Stay Hakodate, had an onsen and was well located. The bed was comfortable and although the room was small, it was functional. We wandered around town for a few hours in the afternoon once all the cruise ship passengers had left and it was very peaceful. Dinner was a quiet meal followed by the onsen which was spectacular.
It was on the 18th floor and there was an open-air portion, providing a sweeping view of the ocean complete with a full moon shining down. It was a great way to relax before heading to bed.
Day 1 of Interruption or Day one of our land based tour?
Once we got up and updated our families on the changes, we headed over to the train station to catch the train to Yokohama. The first part was on a local train and then a transfer to Shin-Hakodate, where the Shinkansen (bullet train) left from. Being Japan, we expected all the trains to be on time, but one was about five minutes late – shocking. It also meant we needed to move quickly, not run but not dawdle at the next station, which was Omiya, to catch our third of four trains.
Checking into the Hyatt
We arrived at our hotel at 4:30PM, it had been a seven hour day, but it did not seem as long as flying would have been. Our hotel tonight was the Hyatt in Yokohama, there was a shortage of hotel rooms in Yokohama as up to 4,000 cruise passengers for the next cruise needed extra rooms on short notice! We were very glad to come to this brand tonight, a large room with very comfortable beds.
The hotel is only 200 metres from the water, so a sunset stroll helped us shake off the time spent sitting on the train. The sky was a lovely colour, there were very few clouds and the water was calm. Unless I had seen a weather map, I would not have believed there was a typhoon out there.
Having Local Knowledge is Helpful
There is no way we would have tried to pull this off if we had not been to Japan before. Understanding the trains, the culture et al was the key to us having the confidence to leave our cruise ship on our own and make this work. The bulk of the credit for making it work is my bride of almost 38 years. She pulled pretty much everything together and did a great job. I had a key role too, it all went on my credit card!
Thanks for reading, feel free to share any trip interruption you may have had. We’d love to hear about what happened and how you got around it.
Remember, attitude is the difference between adventure and ordeal!
Cam and Meg
July – a great summer month
Most people tend to focus on ‘events’ that are highlights to them. In reality, there is something that happens between the weddings, funerals, feature vacations, concerts and other ‘cool’ things. It is called ‘the rest of your life’.
This July we’ve done things that, while not spectacular on their own, are still amazing. Each event showcases just how special Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia and Canada are.
The Yukon!
We spent a week up north, exploring the wilds of Canada. Big spaces and big places. There’s a full write up on our trip in a previous post.
Oak Bay Farmers Market
A lot of people will gravitate towards a farmers’ market. We are squarely in that group. During the summer months, the City of Oak Bay shuts down Oak Bay Ave for about four blocks on the second Wednesday of each month. A farmers’ market is held, but it is really a ‘local vendors’ market. Many of those selling are the same merchants at other local markets, but there are some who are unique to this one.
The usual selection of offerings is available. Bakery goods, fresh veggies, arts and crafts as well as food and drinks. A number of restaurants set up ‘meals to go’ as well as small samples of their specialties. There are also food trucks which, for some reason unknown to me, have huge lines of people waiting to get their ‘not so fast-food’ – fast-food fix. Then there are drinks.
Along with some coffee and tea merchants, there are multiple distilleries, cideries, breweries and liquor stores offering samples of adult drinks. On our first visit to the market, about half way through, we both cut ourselves off due to the number of samples we had. Our next visit we were much more strategic.
We were glad to sample the breweries wares. All were local and, despite both of us being so passionate about craft beer, we were left underwhelmed by most of the selections. That’s not to say they were not good; they were just not to our likings. In the end, the tried-and-true winner was Spinnakers, one of Canada’s oldest craft breweries. I’ve been going there since 1983 and the ESB, which is an original from the day it opened, is still my favourite.
Baseball
The boys of summer and the crack of the bat. Victoria has an “A” level ball team, the Harbour Cats. We decided to take in an evening game on a sunny night. The play, while obviously not at the major league level, was a good diversion from everyday life. One added bonus of the game we went to, the Snowbirds were doing a mini show over Victoria and we could see them as they flew by. Watching their precision flying, with the wings as close as 2 meters to each other, never gets old. The ball game was a bit of a downer, the ’Cats lost 13 – 4, although we saw a couple of home runs, a double play and some diving catches.
Owls in the park
The park close to our house has many old trees. In the park, in spring and early summer, there are families of owls. We’ve seen two parents and this year, there were three owlets. On most nights we headed over to the park, with many other people to watch the owlets. As they quickly grew, from fluff balls to little owls, they gained confidence. However there was learning and supervision taking place.
One evening, a Coopers Hawk swooped in and took a run at an owlet. In the wild, it’s every bird for themselves. The owlet took off and out of nowhere an adult owl dove down towards the Coopers Hawk. The hawk immediately broke off the attack and took off. The parents, whom we had not seen, were obviously watching.
As the owlets grew, they were also learning to hunt. One night, we saw an owlet dive down and attack a pine cone. He missed on his swoop down and landed on the ground about one foot away from the pine cone. Being “cool”, he hopped on over to the pine cone and jumped on it. He was so cute as he looked proudly at the non moving pine cone he had caught.
The Lieutenant Governors House
Government House is the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia and the ceremonial home of all British Columbians. The Lieutenant Governor, or ‘LG’ for short, is the King’s representative in British Columbia. They are appointed by the Government of the day, normally for a five-year term. I met the last LG, Janet Austin, when she attended HMCS MALAHAT for my change of Command.
We took a tour of Government House this summer. It is an impressive building, steeped in history. There are many pictures of those who have stayed here. Queen Elizabeth and other members of the Royal Family have visited and stayed.
There is a lot of art, with an emphasis on Indigenous artwork. The stained-glass window, as you head up to the second floor is amazing.
Concerts on the lawn
Courtesy of the LG. Every summer, at Government House, they host a few free concerts on the lawn. There is a permanent bandstand there and two groups will play. The night we went, The Ravens opened up for the Sutcliffs. The Ravens were a folk-y type group who had one song in particular that resonated with me. I have not been able to find the lyrics online, however the theme mentioned our heroes. The hero’s they referenced were Canadian heroes. In particular they noted
‘we found our heroes on the Plains of Abraham,
marching in as we freed the Netherlands
and in the deserts of Afghanistan”
They then mentioned the ‘Patricia’s’, which referenced Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry or the PPCLI. That is the Regiment our youngest serves in. To me, it was a moving song.
The Arts
When we relocated to Victoria, one of reasons was to take advantage of the arts. There are so many small theater companies in town, it is hard to keep track. In July we saw two plays.
The first was by the Victoria Shakespeare company. Each summer they do one of the Bard’s plays at an open-air venue. This year it was on the lawn of Craigdarroch Castle and the play was Romeo and Juliett. I can’t say I am all that keen on tweaking his plays. They’ve survived for centuries. The number of quotes Western society uses in everyday language that come from him is likely only second to the Bible. So why mess with something that works so well?
This summer’s version featured an almost all female cast, even Romeo was a female. She was by far the best actor among the Troope. While we were not enamoured with the Director’s version, it was only a 15-minute walk from our home. Spoiler alert – they both die at the end of the play.
A new take on Jane Austen
The second play we saw was Yes and Yesteryear. This was not actually a play but an improv on Jane Austin. As improv goes, no one knows what will happen when they start and every performance is different.
This play was held at Carr house, the home that Emily Carr grew up in. It is located in James Bay, a district in Victoria, about a 10-minute drive from our home. On the front lawn of Carr house, were about 50 chairs. We were treated to a cucumber sandwich, naturally the crusts were cut off. A glass of refreshing lemonade was provided to wash it down. The Troope was hilarious. They were dressed in period costume from Ms. Austin’s day. Prim and proper were their manners. Societal class was important.
To kick it off, the Front of House asked the audience for a letter, any letter. “F” was tossed out. Then two words were sought out which started with “F” that would have been used in Jane Austin’s day. Fidelity and Flirtatious were the words. The Troope then worked out a Fidelity club to avoid being Flirtatious. At times, some of the actors “set-up” others, much to the delight of the audience. We were howling at times.
Observatory
The Dominion Observatory is located in Saanich, the community next to Victoria and about 25 minutes from our home. Every so often they open the observatory up to the public and you can see what the big telescope sees. There are also members of the Victoria Astronomical Society there with their own personal telescopes pointed at the moon, Mars and other celestial objects.
To provide even more insight to the cosmos, there is a mini planetarium and the volunteers put on shows about the heavens. We headed up there one evening to see great city views (the observatory is obviously up high) and learn about the stars. As it was early July, we were limited in what we could see as sunset was almost 9:30 PM. We hope to go back in the fall or winter when the nights are longer.
Painting
Some rooms in our home, well, all the rooms actually, need to be painted. We had the outside done last year and it was time for the inside. Focusing on the kitchen and bathroom, two coats of primer and two coats of paint turned both rooms into bright and airy.
Yoga in the park
The ocean is your studio! The City of Oak Bay puts on free yoga in the park weekly during the summer. The event is packed, likely 250+ people, all on mats following a fairly easy hatha themed yoga class. Willows beach park overlooks Cadboro Bay and you can see all sorts of marine activity. Just remember to get there a bit early and place your mat out of the sun, or wear sunscreen.
British Columbia is blessed with so much nature and beauty. Vancouver Island is one of the gems in BC. It’s been a few years since we were camping, but we decided it was time to get back to nature.
Camping
A few days before we headed out, we assembled the various things we needed to take to be successful campers. We headed out to Englishman River Falls Provincial Park. We had camped here once before, in 1993 with a one-year-old in our old tent trailer.
The drive took a lot longer than we thought it would. Leaving at 11:00, with a short lunch stop at the top of the Malahat drive and a quick dash into Costco, we arrived at 3PM. It took 45 minutes to set up our campground. Pitching the tent, making the beds and squaring things off. After a quick break to re-group, we explored the area, scouting out hikes for the next few days.
During our time at Englishman River Falls, we hiked both the upper and lower falls at Englishman River. We headed over to the Errington Market on Saturday morning for the weekly farmer’s market. The baked goods that were being offered were no match to our will power. Or maybe that was ‘won’t’ power 😉 I caved in and bought some s’mores cookies. They were awesome. I did show enough will power to only eat one and save one for desert that night. Meg bought a delicious scone.
More markets
Venturing into Coombs, we spent some time at the Goats on the Roof market. Getting some of the fresh veggies for the next few days as well as some artesian cheeses to go with the breads we had.
On another day we headed to Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park and walked around the trails there. The campground at this park seemed much more inviting than Englishman River Falls. The services were the same, but the feel was a lot nicer.
Camping turns into Glamping!
After three days camping, we headed out for our reward. Breaking camp, we headed to Parksville where we checked into an ocean front resort for a day. We really had not slept well during the previous three nights. There was a lot of noise from other campers as well as cold evenings. The resort was welcomed for a warm night, clean showers and comfortable bed.
Walking the low tide beach at Parksville is always a treat. On our way back to the resort, we managed to find some ripe blackberries and filled a small container. They made an outstanding breakfast treat!
We headed over to Rathtrevor Provincial Park for our next three nights of camping. This campground was more in line with what we expected from a Provincial Park. It also helped that the weather was warmer. We learned from our last time setting up camp and were able to be fully set up in under 40 minutes. It was a short walk to the beach and, over the next three days, we spent a lot of time at the beach.
Desert at the beach
One special treat we found was maple cream liquor. Meg noticed it at the liquor store and we asked about it. The staff told us it was very good. They described it as a Canadian version of the famous Irish cream liquor that so many people know. Sipping on this at the beach, at sunset, left us wondering what else could make life better?
During our time at the beach, there were sunrises, sunsets and simply sitting in a chair watching the tide come in or go out. It is a great place to read a book (or type your blog!).
July came to an end with us spending our last night camping at Rathtrevor Provincial Park. Some great meals, and being with nature our some of our happy places.
And, the rest of our lives…
All of the above were what we feel were our highlights from July. We haven’t mentioned our day-to-day living. Regular walks along the Victoria breakwater. Multiple gym classes. Trip planning – a lot of time is going into planning for the fall adventure. House hunting: we’ve been to more than 30 open houses. Our Realtor has shown us another 10 or so. Pouring over listing is time consuming.
July has been a good month.
August is shaping up to be another good month. While there are no big trips planned yet, there will be day trips, bike adventures, paddle boarding and other activities to keep us amused, young and engaged.
Thanks for reading, feel free to share any things you did in July to make your time special. We’d love to hear about what you did and get some ideas for future activities.
Cam and Meg