Vancouver Island, Wizard Lake, Hockey & RIP Bella..
Time for another update!
Going all the way back to August 11th when my family & I caught a plane out to Comox, BC on Vancouver Island. We drove through Cathedral Grove (amazing!!) to get to Port Alberni which is about right in the center of the island. The house we rented was even more amazing in person then it was in the photos. The view was spectacular and although it was in town, it was so private and right on the edge of a park area with a big swimming hole and rapids. We all got our own rooms and somehow I ended up with the pink/purple room with cats painted on the wall haha. Does that suit me or what?
Anyways, the week was amazing. We explored a lot of the island going to Tofino, Long Beach, Qualicum Beach, Parksville, French Creek, Coombs and more!
Parksville was my favorite area of the island though. It has a beautiful beach that stretches out for miles when the tide goes down. So you can walk along looking in all the “tidal pools” left behind. They’d be full of crabs, sand dollars, and small fish! And because the water was so shallow, it was super warm! Warmer then the Pacific in Mexico and California! We checked out the sand castle building contest going on in Parksville, which was crazy.
Parksville Beach
My favorite sand castle
We visited the market in Coombs that has goats on the roof. Seriously, whoever though to put goats on a roof is a marketing genius. Not only that, but they are hilarious to watch up there!
We swam in Sproat Lake which has got to be one of the most beautiful lakes I’ve ever swam in. It’s in the valley of the mountains and it’s super blue green. My uncle took us tubing in his boat, and some areas of the lake were as deep as 410 feet!
My cousin Carly & I
Water bomber planes on the lake
One of the evenings about 10 of us tubed down The Stamp River. It was so strange having the water so warm. A couple of us didn’t even have tubes, they went down on noodles haha. We started tubing around 7:30 that night and didn’t get out of the water until around 9. Along the way we went through some scary rapids that carried us into the Somass River. My brother fly fished out of his tubed catching a bunch of fish along the way. And the water was super clear so you could watch all the cray fish down below. We also saw a super cute raccoon on the bank at one of the points. So much fun!
We spent lots of time with family, as all my Aunts & Uncles met up with us there. We had a huge seafood feast just off the bay in the Alberni inlet. It was just a really nice, relaxing vacation. Coming back to Edmonton was kind of sad. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family & friends here. But it would be so awesome if I could pack them all up and move to the island. It’s so peaceful there! Everyone’s so friendly, and life is so much slower, which is something I could get used to. None of this go-go-go stuff. My dad was pretty serious about moving when we got back and opening up a shop on the island. But in the end looks like he’s stuck here for atleast 3 more years as we signed a new lease at work. I feel bad for him though, the island is MADE for my dad. Fishing, camping, exploring galore! And way more affordable then here. Can you believe even gas was cheaper on the island??
The weekend after we got back, Brad & I headed out to Farmageddon at Matts. I was in California for it last year so this was my first time. But it was SO much fun! They set up a huge projector screen in the trees on his farm/acreage and we watched zombie movies all night. There were also a couple contests including a 3 legged race. The idea was to see how you’d survive “wounded” with zombies chasing you. So we each had to be tied up to a partner for the race while two guys as “Zombies” behind us chased us with whips. For real. Well, turns out, Fallon and I are SCREWED if zombies ever attack. We didn’t even make it past the start line when Eldon & his partner pushed two guys next to us and them into us and also tripping Nicole & Brad. There was a 6 or 7 person pile up right off the bat. I honestly couldn’t stop laughing to get up and go again haha. But it also kind of worked to our advantage as the zombies jumped right over us and went after everyone else haha. That was definitely the best part of the night. We also all went to check out the old farm house on Matts property. It was built in the late 1890’s and is seriously the creepiest house I’ve been in! I’m not sure when it was last lived in, but it has no electricity and isn’t safe enough to hold more then 3 or 4 people in it at a time. So we creeped through it in the dark and looked at some of the old things in it including a travel guide book on Vancouver Island that was printed in the early 1900’s. It was super cool!
Nicks zombie survival kit
Since then, I’ve been busy getting ready for winter hockey. To make a long story short, I ended up leaving one team for another last minute and pretty much put the whole other team together in 2 days. Team name, jerseys, colors, logo, numbers, players…etc It was pretty crazy, but we did it!! So our season starts in less then 2 weeks and I can not wait to play again. We have a couple practices coming up including one that’ll be right in WEM on September 7th. That should be a lot of fun. My womens hockey will be starting up right away too. On the 16th we’re holding try outs for our team since I think about 3 or 4 spots are available. It’ll be fun to be there and have a say on who we pick whereas last year I was the one trying out!
This past long weekend Casey, Laura, Brad & I managed to find a couple camping spots available at Wizard Lake. It was kind of a fluke that we got them, since they had been booked up for weeks. But 5 minutes before I called to check someone had cancelled two side by side spots. And they turned out to be some of the best spots in the entire campground. They were totally private but still really close to everything including the lake. It was awesome to get away and just relax. I bought a new book “The Tin Box” which I finished in two days (damn good book). We did lots of napping, relaxing, eating sunflower seeds, walking around, playing basketball…etc There was a cool concession by the beach that Laura & I had dinner at one night while the guys made a trip back to town for hockey & supplies. And we couldn’t have asked for better weather, except for Friday night which is poured and thunder stormed like crazy. Laura & Casey would end up sleeping in his cars trunk that night due to a “river” flowing through their tent. But the rest of the weekend was beautiful! Laura & I would set out the air mattress in the middle of the site and just sun tan and read. Soooooooooooo relaxing. I miss it already!
Sooooo, what’s coming up? Well, in 26 days I will be turning 24. Not too sure what to think about that! I think I’m just happy it’s not the big 25 yet. So I’m busy trying to think of something super cool we can do for it, but likely I’ll end up just meeting everyone at a bar or restaurant around town, which is always fun too. On the 22nd we’re throwing a huge surprise birthday party for my dad. He’s turning 50 this month, poor guy haha. But we’ve invited tons of people, and I think he’s going to have an awesome time! The 15th is Kayla & Chases combined birthday party which I’m totally looking forward to. Not only for them of course, but because Audra is renting one of those big blow up castle thingers that you can jump in. And apparently 3 adults can fit in there as well. I’m thinking a couple drinks later that night, and we could have a really good thing going. Maybe I should just rent a couple of those for my birthday haha.
Onto sader news, my fish Bella passed away this long weekend. It sounds sooo funny because she’s a fish and all, but I’ve had her forever. And she was just such an awesome fish, that I actually got attached to her. I just keep telling myself that she’s up in “Fishy Heaven” where she can swim properly again lol. Seriously though, best fish ever!
RIP Bella : Nov 2005 - Sept 2007
That's my update for now :P Man these stupid things are a lot of work!
xoxo
Michelle