Sarah's visit
So here I sit, waiting to leave for my holiday, trying to busy myself so the excitement doesn't eat me up. What better to do than update my journal (which I have been neglecting) and tell you the tales of my best friend's visit a week ago. Best get that out of the way so that I can tell you all about Australia next.
A couple weeks ago, my best friend Sarah arrived during her reading week to come visit me at my new home. She has never been out West before, and I was really excited to show her around to all my favorite places.
I picked her up in Victoria on the Saturday, and the very next morning we hopped in the car and headed over to Tofino.
Of course, we made the obligatory stop in Cathedral Grove to see the ancient trees. I had only just been there with Nikki two weeks prior, but it still amazes me every time. Always something new.
Sarah was blown away.
We had fun dallying in the Spanish moss.
It was a pretty crummy day, so unfortunately the drive around Sproat Lake and through Sutton Pass was clouded in, so Sarah didn't get a good look at eh mountains, but on the way back we lucked out and had a phenomenal sun-set drive home.
We arrived in Tofino about 2:00ish and we went shopping at the local Co-Op for munchies and booze. I had rented us this great beach house on Chesterman Beach, and so after buying the makings for dinner, we headed to our cabin.
I have stayed at the cabin before, and it is one of my favorite get-aways.
The view from the deck is mind blowing, and the sun always sets with intensity on the beach.
I suggest that everyone make a trip out to Tofino at some point in their lives. So peaceful.
We tucked in for the night with a bottle of wine each and a plethora of board games. First, it was Monopoly, which I lost horribly.
Then, dominos.
And finally, Jenga. By this point, we were a bit in the sauce, which made the game even more challenging.
We played the best two out of three. Sarah lost.
The next day when we awoke, it was a beautiful sunny day, so we walked the beach a bit. There had been a huge storm the week before, and the whole shoreline had changed dramatically. Amazing to see what the power of wind and water can accomplish.
This massive stump blew up on the beach. Crazy.
Chesterman beach is a major surfing beach (hence my choice to stay there). We watched this guy who was kite sailing. Really neat to watch.
We went into town and checked out some stores and bought some nik-nacs. I was getting hungry and suggested that we go to this neat restaurant that Nikki and I had been to when we were there together called, The Schooner. We sat down and ordered some appies and we both ordered their fish and chips, which are amazing.
We weer just nicely getting into out meal after that picture was taken, when the waitress came up to us and said "Umm, we have a little problem. We have some roofers working outside and they've set the building on fire. You are gonna have to evacuate". We grabbed our shit and scurried through the smokey restaurant and stood outside and watched the drama unfold. It was kinda funny, but we were both so hungry and the meal was so great, that we felt cheated. We should have packed out food into a napkin before doing the mad dash and continued to gnaw on it in the car. Oh well.
So, after that fiasco, we decided that we stil wanted to have a nice dining experience, so we drove over the The Wickaninnish Resort and made some reservations for that evening.
We went back to out cabin and got into another game of Monopoly, but not any old Monopoply.... CANADAopoly!! So much fun! I just had to buy it! All the little pieces are Canadian cliches, like the CN Tower, and a beaver and a Canada goose! The Chance Cards tell you to give players Loonies and Toonies even! I must have been so stoked and into it, because I ended up slaughtering Sarah that time.
After the game we went back to The Wick and had a great dinner of crab and creme brulee (my god, the best I have ever tasted!)
When our meals arrived, I immediately thought of Beetlejuice.
Six foot, Seven foot, Eight foot, BUNCH!
The next day I had booked us a trip out to the Tofino Hot Springs. You have to take and hour and a half boat ride to the entrance to the Springs. We had a beautiful day, and an even more beautiful boat captain named John. (I liked to call him Captain Jack Sparrow though).
There is a 2KM hike into the hot springs once you arrive in at the docks. What beautiful walk. Sarah and I stopped many times along the way to explore the trees and whatnot.
The springs themselves are like magic! You walk over a little hump and then all of a sudden everything is surrounded by this fog. Really quite neat.
The view from the springs.
Sarah and I opened a bottle of wine and climbed on down into the pools. They were so hot, I have to work my way up the the upper pools because they burnt my skin.
I got to hang out with some nudies.
They were staying at this really neat B&B called the Innchanter. It is a boat, and sits moored at the dock to the hotsprings and provides accommodations to those who want to experience them at their own discretion, as opposed to going with the herds on the charter tours.
I've actually booked my mom and I in for Mother's Day as a surprise so we can check it out. It looks phenomenal.
http://www.innchanter.com/main.htm
On the way back we got to see some sea lions, who barked and burped at us. I love them. They are just so gross!
We also lucked out and came across a small pod of transient Orca. They took some time to find, but once we found them, we got quite the show! Sarah was so excited because she had never seen a whale in the wild before.
When our ship came to shore, we scrambled to the car and made our way back over to my home. I had to make a pit-stop on the way back to take a picture with these lions that sit at the end of a driveway on Sproat Lake. The funniest thing ever to see these hugh monsters in such a remote area.
The rest of the week I had to work, but we still managed to do a few more fun things like go to the Spa...
and eat a lot of food.
And just to top it all off, on her second-last night we went out with our friend Angus, who we both knew from home, and all managed to get so pissed drunk that were were puking all the next day. Brilliant fun!
We were supposed to spend her last night in Victoria, but we were both so sick that I couldn't do the drive (as you probably read about in one of my latest posts).
I was sad to see her go, but she has promised me that she will be back sooner, rather than later... but I also had Australia to look forward to, so I wasn't as upset as I could have been.
So, who's coming to visit next, huh??
A couple weeks ago, my best friend Sarah arrived during her reading week to come visit me at my new home. She has never been out West before, and I was really excited to show her around to all my favorite places.
I picked her up in Victoria on the Saturday, and the very next morning we hopped in the car and headed over to Tofino.
Of course, we made the obligatory stop in Cathedral Grove to see the ancient trees. I had only just been there with Nikki two weeks prior, but it still amazes me every time. Always something new.
Sarah was blown away.
We had fun dallying in the Spanish moss.
It was a pretty crummy day, so unfortunately the drive around Sproat Lake and through Sutton Pass was clouded in, so Sarah didn't get a good look at eh mountains, but on the way back we lucked out and had a phenomenal sun-set drive home.
We arrived in Tofino about 2:00ish and we went shopping at the local Co-Op for munchies and booze. I had rented us this great beach house on Chesterman Beach, and so after buying the makings for dinner, we headed to our cabin.
I have stayed at the cabin before, and it is one of my favorite get-aways.
The view from the deck is mind blowing, and the sun always sets with intensity on the beach.
I suggest that everyone make a trip out to Tofino at some point in their lives. So peaceful.
We tucked in for the night with a bottle of wine each and a plethora of board games. First, it was Monopoly, which I lost horribly.
Then, dominos.
And finally, Jenga. By this point, we were a bit in the sauce, which made the game even more challenging.
We played the best two out of three. Sarah lost.
The next day when we awoke, it was a beautiful sunny day, so we walked the beach a bit. There had been a huge storm the week before, and the whole shoreline had changed dramatically. Amazing to see what the power of wind and water can accomplish.
This massive stump blew up on the beach. Crazy.
Chesterman beach is a major surfing beach (hence my choice to stay there). We watched this guy who was kite sailing. Really neat to watch.
We went into town and checked out some stores and bought some nik-nacs. I was getting hungry and suggested that we go to this neat restaurant that Nikki and I had been to when we were there together called, The Schooner. We sat down and ordered some appies and we both ordered their fish and chips, which are amazing.
We weer just nicely getting into out meal after that picture was taken, when the waitress came up to us and said "Umm, we have a little problem. We have some roofers working outside and they've set the building on fire. You are gonna have to evacuate". We grabbed our shit and scurried through the smokey restaurant and stood outside and watched the drama unfold. It was kinda funny, but we were both so hungry and the meal was so great, that we felt cheated. We should have packed out food into a napkin before doing the mad dash and continued to gnaw on it in the car. Oh well.
So, after that fiasco, we decided that we stil wanted to have a nice dining experience, so we drove over the The Wickaninnish Resort and made some reservations for that evening.
We went back to out cabin and got into another game of Monopoly, but not any old Monopoply.... CANADAopoly!! So much fun! I just had to buy it! All the little pieces are Canadian cliches, like the CN Tower, and a beaver and a Canada goose! The Chance Cards tell you to give players Loonies and Toonies even! I must have been so stoked and into it, because I ended up slaughtering Sarah that time.
After the game we went back to The Wick and had a great dinner of crab and creme brulee (my god, the best I have ever tasted!)
When our meals arrived, I immediately thought of Beetlejuice.
Six foot, Seven foot, Eight foot, BUNCH!
The next day I had booked us a trip out to the Tofino Hot Springs. You have to take and hour and a half boat ride to the entrance to the Springs. We had a beautiful day, and an even more beautiful boat captain named John. (I liked to call him Captain Jack Sparrow though).
There is a 2KM hike into the hot springs once you arrive in at the docks. What beautiful walk. Sarah and I stopped many times along the way to explore the trees and whatnot.
The springs themselves are like magic! You walk over a little hump and then all of a sudden everything is surrounded by this fog. Really quite neat.
The view from the springs.
Sarah and I opened a bottle of wine and climbed on down into the pools. They were so hot, I have to work my way up the the upper pools because they burnt my skin.
I got to hang out with some nudies.
They were staying at this really neat B&B called the Innchanter. It is a boat, and sits moored at the dock to the hotsprings and provides accommodations to those who want to experience them at their own discretion, as opposed to going with the herds on the charter tours.
I've actually booked my mom and I in for Mother's Day as a surprise so we can check it out. It looks phenomenal.
http://www.innchanter.com/main.htm
On the way back we got to see some sea lions, who barked and burped at us. I love them. They are just so gross!
We also lucked out and came across a small pod of transient Orca. They took some time to find, but once we found them, we got quite the show! Sarah was so excited because she had never seen a whale in the wild before.
When our ship came to shore, we scrambled to the car and made our way back over to my home. I had to make a pit-stop on the way back to take a picture with these lions that sit at the end of a driveway on Sproat Lake. The funniest thing ever to see these hugh monsters in such a remote area.
The rest of the week I had to work, but we still managed to do a few more fun things like go to the Spa...
and eat a lot of food.
And just to top it all off, on her second-last night we went out with our friend Angus, who we both knew from home, and all managed to get so pissed drunk that were were puking all the next day. Brilliant fun!
We were supposed to spend her last night in Victoria, but we were both so sick that I couldn't do the drive (as you probably read about in one of my latest posts).
I was sad to see her go, but she has promised me that she will be back sooner, rather than later... but I also had Australia to look forward to, so I wasn't as upset as I could have been.
So, who's coming to visit next, huh??