Vancouver to Chemainus: Once Again, But More Planned
May long weekend was sneaking up on us. It’s been a while since we’d seen our friends on the island and we thought it would be nice to visit again. Last year we had a rushed bike ride to Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal. We figured we could have a much more relaxing experience if we’d actually plan to bike there and take enough time. Biking along Beach Ave., Vancouver We now knew Neil was capable of biking the entire route – 72kms, with some hills. We made one stop at Ambleside Park before connecting to Marine Drive and the narrow, windy way to the ferry terminal. Quick stop at Ambleside…
- British Columbia (and nearby), Carfree, Cycling & Cycle Touring, Trip Reports, Trips with Kids, Vancouver Island
Vancouver to Chemainus: The Boy Who Biked 72km in a Day
Neil woke up, and exclaimed, “I want to ride the whole way to Chemainus”. We tried to convince him that maybe it would be best to catch the bus part of the way, as we had planned, but he would have none of that. Finally, we decided it would be easier to go along and see what happened. The problem was that we had timed everything based on Maya and the kids catching the bus, so we had to hurry. On the Burrard Bridge We skipped breakfast (?!) and headed straight out, with Kai biking on his own till the Burrard Bridge. There I finally managed to convince him to…
- Camping, Cycling & Cycle Touring, Kayaking and Canoeing, Trip Reports, Trips with Kids, Vancouver Island
Alice Lake Loop: The Bear Spray Explosion
This was one of those trips where things did not go exactly as planned… It started with total sleep deprivation and being overly occupied mostly with work prior to the trip. So only a day after we left Vancouver and already on the drive to Port McNeill we realized that Kai’s bike seat was not with us in the car. It was a major problem, because Kai is not yet old enough or mature enough to sit on the cargo bike without one. So instead of carrying on with the drive to Port McNeill and starting our ride on the Alice Lake Loop, we found ourselves on a logging road maze by Campbell River looking…
Hiking the Juan de Fuca Trail with Two Kids in Tow (Video)
Hiking the Juan de Fuca trail with our two kids was mostly type two fun. Meaning that hiking the trail didn’t really feel fun, or at least some sections of it. In fact at times it felt more like a survival trip, but in retrospect it was a lot of fun. It was a tough journey for us and the kids – especially for our five year old who hiked it all by himself, but we all came out of it stronger and proud of what we achieved. We all tend to appreciate or want certain things when we don’t have them any more, or can’t have them for a…
Discovery Islands: It’s a Wild World (Video)
This summer we’ve done a lot of local trips around our province of British Columbia, Canada. At the end of summer we set off on an eleven day biking trip. It was a loop starting in Comox on Vancouver Island, and on to Quadra and Cortes Islands (AKA the Discovery Islands) and down the Sunshine Coast from Lund to Powell River and back on the ferry to Comox. This trip was a natural continuation of a bike trip we did three years ago further south. If there is one thing this year has taught us, it is that it’s a crazy world. But it’s also wild and beautiful and there…
- Cycling & Cycle Touring, Gulf Islands and Sunshine Coast, Trip Reports, Trips with Kids, Vancouver Island
Discovery Islands Loop: Minimum Planning For the Win
Trust that things will work out, and they will. I’m an insatiable optimist, and that’s really my belief, but Maya and I sometimes disagree on this… Surely, COVID changes things? or does it? Could we still head out on an 11 day cycling trip with our two kids, without knowing where we would stay every night? Would Warm Showers hosts agree to host us, despite these difficult times…? I really believe that not booking accommodation in advance, and in general staying flexible and not planning too much, opens up our trips to new opportunities that present themselves. As you’ll see, this is exactly how it played out. Our trip started…
Juan de Fuca Trail: The Mystical Trail
My backpack was VERY heavy. So heavy that lifting it required an orchestrated series of moves, which ended with an impossible to suppress grunt. So heavy that I chose not to weigh it so I wouldn’t know how heavy it was. Such is life for a family of four on a five (or six) day hiking trip along the Juan de Fuca Trail. Luckily our first day was short, and ended at the appropriately named Mystic Beach. Our mystical campsite, right on the beach, had wide views (of course), and a swing hanging from a precariously positioned down-sloping log, a waterfall going straight into the ocean, only accessible at low…
Newcastle Island: Same Same But Different
I never thought we’d be the type of people who do things annually, but lately it seems to be happening more frequently. For the past three years we’ve gone to Big White around Easter time (trip 1, 2 & 3), and as of last year we’ve started going to Newcastle Island in June with a bunch of other families. I like the old saying that you can never swim in the same river twice as the water is always changing. So even though it was a trip to the same destination, at the same time of year, and with mostly the same friends some things were still quite different (and…
Cowichan Lake & River: New Water Adventures
Our original plan was to head over to Vancouver Island on the BC Day long weekend. We were easily convinced though that it may not be a good idea due to both being crowded on the ferries and on the Island due to a large music festival. I was also exhausted after four back to back sessions of Kids on Wheels and three weekend trips in a row, so staying in town seemed reasonable. It was actually a great decision – the beaches were empty and our local farmers market was not so busy, I guess most people were out of town. So we decided to take three days off…
Newcastle Island: All Ages and Weather Camping Trip
Our friend Pascale sent out an email back in January about a families’ camping weekend on Newcastle Island at the end of June. Since most times we are not sure what we’ll be doing on the next weekend, let alone a weekend in five months, it was extreme advance planning for us. My dad was planning a visit to Vancouver for the same time, so I figured we could already commit to it. I wasn’t sure how he would react to the camping idea (he lives in NY and has a pretty urban lifestyle) but he was actually excited about it (or at least tried to be). As the trip…
