Last dinner and return to civilization

We had thought about going back into Tofino for our last night but got back so late that we decided to dine again at the Pointe. I started with grilled Octopus, while Alan had local oysters (which he pronounced the best he'd ever had), before moving on to pork and lamb, respectively.

After a last breakfast -- Alan had Dungenous crab "benny" -- we headed back through the pass to Nainamo and a different ferry, this one landing just north of the border at Twassennan. Back on land, a 20 minute drive took us to the border crossing.....where we waited in line an hour and a half. I think we left the border at 7:30pm. Ugh. (I did manage to score more than 100,000 points in Bejeweled, which took almost the whole time.) And we had 100 miles to go in heavy traffic. Turned on the sports radio and Alan hit the gas pedal hard but it wasn't until about 9:40pm that we were in our hotel room at the W. More room service and a glass of wine restored us to semi-human condition. But not enough to make the 5am wakeup call palatable.

Back to Atlanta, where LB apparently dumped 4 cups of bulgar on the kitchen floor. Reality bites. :-)

Full pix at flickr.

Sunday: from bears to rainforests

Sunday dawned early -- we had to be there at 6:45am -- and it was hard to crawl out of bed into the misty, cool morning. But we rallied onwards to Ocean Outfitters where they outfitted us in stylish orange jumpsuits, before sending us down to the dock to board the Zodiac with our guide, Peter. We were with two German girls and a couple from Australia (one thing I'll say about our time in Tofino is that we met people from everywhere). It was a cold, misty morning and traveling at a brisk clip in the Zodiac did not warm things up--even Alan admitted to cold ears. We saw harbor seals and bald eagles, but no bears for awhile until we happened upon what Peter termed a "good bear," as he entertained us by methodically overturning rocks in search of small fish and eels. In this part of the world, bald eagles are as seemingly common as pigeons (well, maybe not that common) and it's not unusual to see three and four gliding through the sky -- very cool. We got to visit a nest that has been in use for 18 years (they can grow to 2,000 lbs) with chicks in place.


Back in Tofino, we brunched at the Spotted Bear before going over to the best bookstore yet, the Mermaid. It's only when you go into a bookshop that has been stocked by a person, rather than a corporation, that you appreciate how bland and vanilla the Barnes and Nobles of the world are. This shop, while small, had a wealth of really good books across a range of topics--truly a pleasure to peruse and Alan bought The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed.

Back at the Wick, we indulged in an afternoon nap (I carved out a spot on our deck and, covered with a Hudson Bay blanket, enjoyed a snooze in the sun) and then headed out for more adventures. We first went up Radar Hill for the views and then turned into Schooner Cove. The walk down to the beach, almost all on raised wooden platforms and stairs, took us over two ridges of mature rainforest. Giant cypress and Sitka spruce trees towered in the air or lay in various stages of rot on the ground, having opened up windows of sunlight at their fall that were eagerly exploited by sala and other shrubs and trees. Ferns covered the ravine walls and the air was moist and pure. To qualify as a rain forest, an area needs to receive five feet of rain a year -- this part of BC gets ten. We got lucky with our weather -- mostly sunny and no rain.


After Schooner Cove, it was getting on about 6pm but we decided to head down to check out Ucluelet to see what it looked like. Seemed less tourist-oriented than Tofino although the number of B&Bs and new construction may change that. In fact, should anyone doubt about the reach of the global construction boom, you need look no further than this remote strip of Vancouver Island -- there are resorts promised everywhere and new (empty) retail space, as well. It's a bit sad, actually, because the area's charm is its funky friendliness. Corporations need not apply.

Dinner at the Pointe at Wickaninnish

Alan had made reservations for our anniversary dinner at the Wick's main dining room, the Pointe, and after some debate, we decided to try to chef's tasting menu. Here's some pictures of the courses (forgot to do the chicken one -- oops). It was an interesting meal but not one I think we'd do again. The food quality and preparation were excellent -- we just weren't sure about some of the flavor combinations. I did love the strawberries with the malted milkshake and they paired very well with the fortified wine.

I'll say a word about B.C. wines -- they are delicious. We had champagne, pinot gris, pinot noir, riesling, and dessert wines and they all were lovely. Apparently, the cool, moist climate is highly suitable for grape growing and the industry is developing rapidly. On our last night, we met Ike, the wine manager, and he had lots of interesting tales to tell about wineries and tours. Definitely something to think about if you're visiting the area.

Wickaninnish Inn

Alan had happened upon the Wickaninnish watching a travel program on great places to watch storms, featuring this part of Vancouver Island, between Ucluelet and Tofino. The Wick was a lovely, lovely resort and our room had a balcony overlooking the Pacific, as well as a fireplace, and what we agreed was the Best Bathtub Ever (complete with an ocean view). Too tired to even go outside, we once again had room service -- Alan a huge Dungenous crab and me a nice piece of salmon, sitting in front of our fireplace, listening to the ocean waves. While Alan picked through his crab, I read one the books provided in the room about a garden planted by "Cougar Annie," a long-time resident of Boat Basin, BC who had planted an extensive garden in the wilds of Hesquiat Harbor. Annie was a local legend, living through four husbands, eight children, and 70 years living in rural B.C.; she received her nickname for having shot and killed more than 70 cougars (one strategy was to use her goats as bait).

Up the next morning, we had breakfast in the gorgeous dining room with 180 degree views of the ocean. Breakfast was sumptuous -- Alan having yogurt and fruit, me oatmeal and fruit (could be called healthy except the portions were so huge!) -- and then we headed off for the complimentary nature walk. Jessie, our guide, took us through the rainforest trail on the property, identifying local plants and trees, and then onto the beach to look at the tide pools, which were filled with anemone and other small creatures. Jessie said she had grown up "petting" anemone and showed us how it was done.

In our room, there was a comments book filled out by previous tenants of room 215 and one of them had mentioned riding bikes into Tofino for lunch, which sounded just fine to us, so we signed the waiver forms (they seem to be everywhere these days -- I do wonder if they accomplish much) and hit the road for the 5km ride into town. We don't bike much, and these were the pedal brake kind of bikes, so they took a bit of getting used to but we made it. In town, ran into Margaret and Roger, visitors from Oxford, UK, who had been on the nature walk. Coincidentally, we all ended up lunching at the Sea Shanty, which promised seafood with a native flair. Not sure if curry was popular with the First Nation tribes, but the shrimp curry wrap was tasty nonetheless.

After lunch, we wandered through town, stopping into galleries and then one excellent bookstore, where I found a copy of Cougar Annie's Garden. We also signed up for a bear watching trip the following morning, committed to arising at 7am for the promise of seeing bears foraging at low tide. (Jessie had assured us that bear watching would be warmer than whale watching.)

Late afternoon found us wandering the beach in front of the Wick, enjoying in particular the vivid purple, orange, and pink starfish revealed by the low tide.

Anniversary 8

Alan had been planning a trip to celebrate our eighth wedding anniversary for some time -- it was to be a surprise and all I knew was that we had plane tickets to Seattle. A couple of days before the trip, he provided the additional information that I should pack hiking boots, a fleece, rain gear, and my passport. Hmmm....

Thursday morning we boarded the plane in Atlanta and after a seemingly interminable 5 hour flight landed in Seattle. Picked up a sweet blue Prius and we headed north to our first destination -- a night in Vancouver at the Fairmont Waterfront with beautiful views of the mountains and sound. On the way, we stopped for a snack in Fairhaven, a nice little town south of Bellingham that seems to be enjoying a resurgence from its nineteenth-century heyday. Obviously a college town -- the conversation between waitstaff overheard at the Mexican restaurant involved Ezra Pound and jazz :-) -- Fairhaven also had two really good bookstores. Unbelievably, I pulled myself away relatively quickly and we headed north, only to hit horrible traffic in Vancouver. I guess it was Thursday at 6:30pm but it was pretty bad. Finally, we arrived at the Fairmont where after a quick walk, we settled in for a bowl of soup and then bed.

Up early the next morning for a beautiful view of the sea planes leaving for various destinations and cruise ships loading up their passengers – the majority of hotel guests were departing for or returning from Alaska. This is a very urban area of Vancouver, with tall skyscrapers and a decidedly Asian style. We didn't have time to explore further, however, because more distant destinations awaited -- Vancouver Island here we come!

We had a 1:30pm ferry reservation out of Horseshoe Bay so had time for a brief stroll around Stanley Park, arguably the greatest urban park, where Alan was almost beaned on the head by a gull dropping what appeared to be the largest clam ever. He (the gull, not Alan) was being chased by other birds and he dropped his ample meal to the pavement just in front of us where it landed with a resounding SPLAT! No fears, the gull picked it up and when last seen was attempting to evade his pursuers, clam in beak.

The ferry was pretty cool and afforded beautiful views of the surrounding area from the sun deck on what was a lovely, clear day. After two hours, we landed in Nainamo, only to be met with -- more traffic! About an hour of bumper to bumper nonsense as we attempted to head north and then west. Finally, as we headed to the interior, the traffic died down and we found ourselves heading through passes of two ranges of mountains. The trees were hemlock, cedar, and some deciduous -- lots of which had been logged about 25 years ago. The road followed the path of a river whose name I forget but we scrabbled down to take a look and it definitely looked "fishy."

Finally, finally, after two days of travel, at about 7pm on Friday, we pulled up to our destination, the Wickaninnish Inn.