Breakfast is delicious. We are joined by two other couples.
Then up to find the cannery - owned by Eagle Eye Wilderness tours . Which is located in the front of their yard. Actually a shed where the fish is weighed, then the decision to smoke or not smoke the fish. Not smoked is the verdict. The fish will arrive in about one month at John & Kary's house.
Today we head north via Victoria. 1st stop is the harbor area to see the wooden boats. Every Labor Day weekend Victoria's Harbor is jam packed with over 200 wooden boats in categories ranging from Steam Launches to Schooners. It's a beautiful site to see. Those staying in the Empress Hotel's waterfront rooms have a view to envy. We pick out our favorite boats, then a short walk to the Royal British Columbia Museum.
This is one of the top museums in Canada. A special Tibet exhibit was our first stop. Impressive to say the least. Then a stop at the musk ox, and the opportunity to feel the weight of a small section of Musk Ox tusk, before our walk thru Vancouver's coastal areas. This area has always been my favorite of the Museum. The displays are so life like that if you angle you camera just right, when your friends look at the photos, they do believe you were in the wilds. My bear catching the salmon shot has recieved so many ooohs and wows.
The museum is huge, so allot for at least 2 -3 hours. In the Modern History section, the stern of George Vancouver's ship the HMS discovery is replicated. There are gold mining exhibits and a huge area on Native Culture complete with totem poles. We always say we can spend the day here, but never fit it in our time schedule.
Outside the Museum are more totems. The Parliment Building is also worth a look-see but we didn't have the time this trip. I was dissapointed in the Empress Hotel. Seems not as elegant, and more touristy with little mass-market shops. the other dissapointment was the change of accents. Three years ago, you would swear you were in England with the cockney accent. Now, it's hard to find. I mistook an English traveler from Birmingham for a local, when I asked her which section of Victoria she lived in.
On to the visitor's center on the harbor, which has one of the largest tourist information centers on the island. You can purchase whale watching tours from the center.
Next on our list is the petroglyphs. Petroglyph Provencial Park is located about 2 miles north of Nanaimo, on the right side driving north. This little park is hard to find. We pulled off the road beside the path and discovered BERRIES! Huge blackberry bushes full of mouth watering delicious blackberries. No signs posted, so we pick a hand full and start the uphill path.
A directional sign tells you how to reach the petroglyphs. The park is not well marked, so we missed some in route, but we did find some. I'm a rock lover, so any petroglyph is a highlite in my day.
Picked more berries and continued north to Chemainus. This town is famous for it's murals. Over 30 of them painted on buildings and walls. Originally started with mural artists from Canada and around the world coming in to paint a building, and keeps expanding. It was a little drizzly, but we got quite a few shots of the murals before heading for the grandstand, where a quartet was playing.. Hung out for a while, then went to the Chemainus museum, which is a very small but intersting museum. Little bit of history, little bit of murals.
The rain is coming down harder now, so we decide to leave Chemainus and head to our B&B in Quallicum. We take the scenic route 19A up the coast from Parksville and stop at some waterfront "mini-villages' to browse. Eagle Landing is located on the water. We picked this B&B for the serenity and the fact that it is located in a wooded area on the Straight of Georgia. There is nothing around it. The house is custom built cedar with cathedrial ceilings. The view is wonderful. Gary and I have the large room room with large sliding doors opening out to the water view. Kary and John are in a nice room across the hall.
Jim, the owner says his wife Ann will be arriving at the Comox airport in an hour, so feel free to use the facilites. We ask about food and he suggests Fish Tales Cafe, which is just down the road. Now living in the country I know the words "just down the road" can mean 2 minutes to 1 hour. This turns out to be about 10 minutes of drive time. The cafe is nothing like we imagined. It's an old white washed tudor building.
You do a stroll thru a "mini-garden" before you enter the restaurant. There are tables set up for outdoor dining, but too much of a chill in the air for us. Inside we get a nice seat at a table for four and gasp as we see the menu. The variety is delightful. Not only halibut and salmon and prawns but steaks, chicken, pasta and burgers also. Kary and I order the Mandarin Torpedo Prawns, Gary and John and doing the Halibut fish and chips. The portions are huge, the food is delicious. We are thanking Jim for the suggestion.
We're back at the house before Jim and Ann. A cruiseship is coming up the passage, and we use the mounted telescope to view it. The living room is so warm and inviting we decide to hang out a little. Jim and Ann come back and soon we have glasses of wine or beer in our hands. The conversation is good. We learn they were not born on the island, but moved here for retirement. I ask Gary if we want to retire here NOW. I could get used to this lifestyle in a heartbeat. Too soon, and maybe a little drowsy from the 2nd glass of wine, we hit the bed.
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