Porpoise Bay: A Rainy Weekend on the Sunshine Coast
At the beginning of June it was time for the annual camping trip to Porpoise Bay from Kai’s outdoor preschool. Although at first there was a lot of enthusiasm around this trip among the families, closer to the weekend many started to drop out. The reason of course – the rain! I am still not sure what’s the reason for the name “The Sunshine Coast” but on that weekend the name definitely didn’t make sense. Not so sunny on “The Sunshine Coast” We left on Friday afternoon after school, rushing to the ferry terminal. It was one of those rare times that there was a glitch with our Modo booking, and the car we reserved…
Whistler: Seventh Heaven Skiing
The last time we skied Whistler was probably around ten years ago. In those days we still didn’t have kids and going up there for the day was a realistic option. Also, the price, or the price that we managed to get, was much more reasonable than Whistler prices these days. With our two kids, heading to Whistler for less than three days seems unreasonable. So for many years we just blocked Whistler from our skiing vocabulary, although it is by far the closest, most accessible ski resort for us aside from the North Shore mountains. Up, Up, Up We enjoy taking our skiing vacations somewhat late in the season…
New York: Dinosaurs, Trains, and Harry Potter
Over spring break back in March Neil had two very different weeks. On the first week he attended a nature camp in Pacific Spirit Park. It was a very wet week to be outdoors all day, including biking there and back but he still had a great time. On the second week we flew to New York. New York, New York! It’s been over three years since I had last been to New York, but Neil kept asking me to take him. He still remembers that I took Kai when he was only two months old and he stayed home with Gili. Ever since then we talked about one day…
Portugal: Far and Away to Faro
It was Monday morning and Gili and I were biking in the first of several atmospheric rivers to hit British Columbia. The rain was coming down hard and we were soaked. But we had to keep going, we had to make it on time to get our COVID test… We hadn’t been overseas for almost two years and we were dreaming of a long bike trip in a far away sunny place. After much consideration we chose Portugal as our destination. At the time, the high vaccination rates in the country played a role in our decision. Also, we had heard really great things about biking in Portugal, the weather…
Joffre Lakes: Glaciers and Lakes Up Close
British Columbia is mostly covered with beautiful mountains and lakes. But still, there are few places nearby that have easy access to the mountains, with a well maintained trail and rewarding views. Joffre Lakes is a rare example, and as a result it tends to be extremely busy. This year BC Parks introduced a day pass system for this trail. Without getting into the question of whether it’s good or bad, it does limit the number of people. Not that the trail was empty or anything. Even in early October there were still lots of people out, but since we haven’t been there since I was pregnant with Neil seven years ago…
- 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…
Birkenhead Lake: The Winds of Change
During the summer Canada was slowly opening up, for the first time since COVID started. We hadn’t seen our family in over two years, so it was about time to change that. Gili’s dad came on a very last minute visit, and the boys were very excited to have their grandpa around. Usually we don’t plan car camping trips, but we did book this one to Birkenhead Lake as we thought it would be a good destination to explore with our canoe. We also heard it was beautiful there and quite remote, and although we were both sure we’ve been there before we couldn’t quite picture it. So it was definitely time to…
Callaghan Lake: The Broken Sandal
I was looking for neat places to go with our canoe. We decided on Callaghan Lake, intending to camp at the supposedly nice camping spot on the opposite end of the lake. I even recruited a friend and his two kids. However, when we arrived to Callaghan Lake, and looked at the park map, we discovered that camping at the other end isn’t allowed. It turned out I had looked at some blog posts and a guidebook, but hadn’t thought to check the park website… We were also warned about it being grizzly territory. Luckily there is a free campground right where we were going to put in, and there…
Porpoise Bay: Car Camping by Bike
This camping trip was organized months in advance. Well, two months, to be exact, so that everyone would be able to book a campsite at the ever popular Porpoise Bay Campground near Sechelt, on the Sunshine Coast. The families who were part of this trip are all from the outdoor preschool Kai was going to start in September. Since we’re good friends with a few of them we were invited as well. We liked the idea of spending a few days by the beach with friendly campers. After thinking about it we realized that biking to the campground shouldn’t be too complicated, and would make the trip more interesting. It also…
Stave Lake: An Adventurous Canoe Trip
Gili wanted an adventure. For me the week prior to the trip was exciting enough. Heat Dome. A school closure before the last day of school because of the extreme heat. A toddler whose idea of a heat wave was to hug me as much as possible. I guess he was feeling overwhelmed, and it was his way of dealing with it, but it definitely made things hotter. But a long weekend was coming and we needed to look for something to do. Our apartment was boiling, so staying in the city was less than desirable, but also there was no way we’d be doing a hot drive to an even hotter places. So…
