Western Wanders - Chemainus

With the wake of Barbara behind us it was time for Lisa and Christos to explore Vancouver island, something Barbara had always encouraged us to do. So we hopped in our rental car and headed off to Chemainus on the east coast for the next two nights. 

Along the way we stopped off at the Raptor Center in Duncan for an hour and a half of wonderful and informative fun visiting various birds in their aviaries and watching flight demonstrations for four birds of prey, the Bald Eagle, the Harris Hawk, the Peregrine Falcon and the (absolutely adorable miniature) Screech Owl pictured here.

Our diversion complete it was back on the road, with a pit stop for lunch subs, to arrive at the Eagle Cove B&B in the late afternoon.  

Our B&B was run by a lovely couple who kept a very clean and tidy, as well as comfortable, establishment within their home just meters from a park on the water. 

Dinner was at the local craft beer restaurant where a simple but hearty meal was served with several tasters of Vancouver Island craft beers. After dinner on the walk back to the B&B we spotted several wild bunnies and encouraged them to be careful given our knowledge of the local birds of prey! We then spent some quiet time down on the waterfront looking out over a calm bay from the comfort of a park bench. What a lovely view to have from one's home!

The next day, after four days of glorious sun and heat, the weather returned to the norm for the Island. After a hearty breakfast we drove up top Nanaimo to check the town out. The weather was a bit inclement and managed to cut our trip short but we did visit the local museum (complete with new addition on First Nations relations) as well as a photo op at "The Bastion" and the ibligatory Nanaimo Bar purchase.

Then it was back to the B&B for a quick refresh before heading back to north Nanaimo for dinner with a work colleague of Christos' at an amazing sushi place. Christos' colleague ordered everything and it was all fresh and delicious. Dinner included scallop sashimi (wonderful), amazing tuna and salmon sashimi, sunomono (totally new for us) with a soft shelled crab for dessert all accompanied by copious amounts of sake. Lisa sadly had to keep it relatively tight for the early drive back to our B&B (dinner started at 4:30pm as it was the only reservation available and went to 7:30pm). Back at the B&B it was time for a quick trip to the water's edge (with wine) before retiring for the evening. 

 

Western Wanders - Victoria

With the anniversary of the passing of Barbara upon us it was time for a visit out West to Vancouver Island. 

We arrived on a Friday afternoon in June apparently having brought the summer weather with us from Toronto! 

We checked in to the lovely Fairholme Manor for three nights, encountering the resident doe and fawn being fed apple scraps from the kitchen window. Sylvia, the owner, informed us that the fawn (named Fairholme) were living in a grove on the property and we encountered them several times during our stay. 

After dropping our luggage at Fairholme, we popped in on Gary to say hi before heading downtown for a stroll through the old city and a visit to our favourite streetfood vendor in Canada, the amazing Red Fish Blue Fish!

With it being the most lovely day of 2022 so far for Victoria, the line at Red Fish Blue Fish was longer than any we had seen before. We opted to wait the 45 minutes for service and it was well worth it; two lovely pieces of fresh fish deep battered and fried as well as chips and deep fried pickles! Now that is a lunch worth waiting for! 

A stroll back to Redfern was followed by dinner and drinks with Gary and fond remembrances of Barbara. After an evening of freely flowing wine it was time to head back to our B&B for a good night's rest in our cavernous lovely suite.

The next day started with an amazing breakfast at Fairholme and a stroll through the gardens next door before heading over to Gary's later in the afternoon for tea with the family. The lovely Hanna brought all sorts of goodies which were enjoyed by Martin, Gary, Lisa, Ingunn, Hanna and Christos. 

More remembrances of Barbara and family, as well as a look through some of her wardrobe for the ladies, ensued followed by a visit to the Marina Restaurant for dinner. Lisa and Christos opted for a stroll over while the rest of the party walked. Dinner was wonderful with fresh fish all around served with yummy accoutrements. 

Martin had to depart after dinner but the rest of the group was back at Gary's after dinner for more chit chat and catching up in the lovely back Sun room. Finally in the weeish hours it was time to head back to to Fairholme to collapse into bed for another sound sleep.

Sunday in Victoria involved some down time as well a buying a new pair of sandals for Christos (and saying goodbye to the ratty old ones!) and another lovely garden stroll through Governor's House before meeting up with Gary for a dinner of delicious burgers. Bedtime came earlier after several late nights!