Winter on Vancouver Island

 "They said it would be warm here.  What happened?"

Compared to the weather we left behind, it was warm.  But the weather definitely was the defining feature of this trip.  

Our family gathered together for the first time in a very long time.  It was a destination vacation. We were thinking of the finding warmest spot in Canada, and this was it.  We gathered from New Brunswick, Northwestern Ontario and Alberta.  What a wonderful time spent together as a family!  

Let's get this party started!




We stayed in a beautiful log home, Tugwell Cottage, booked through Airbnb.  It was perfect for us.  




Katherine, Steve (holding Shiloh) and Deanna got some quality sibling time. 




The cousins, Elliott and Nora, got acquainted and played so well together. 





Everyone enjoyed Shiloh time, hanging out with the newest member of the family.  

So apparently this isn't typical Sooke weather, but we enjoyed our excursions.  We went to the Sooke Potholes Regional Park for a hike.  It was a beautiful afternoon walking through the woods along the river.  We visited a few ocean beaches and got chased off by the wind and the waves.  Steve and Dave tried crabbing and brought one home to turn into a delicious crab dip.  

We enjoyed Christmas celebrations with lots of gifts, games, food and other shenanigans at the house.  

Once everyone had scattered again to hither and yon, Dave and I spent a few more days exploring the Island.  We may not have made the best decisions based on the weather, but we had an adventure.  Nothing was damaged except maybe our nerves!

Happy New Year from Victoria

The Butchart Gardens Christmas Light display was so beautiful.  With the snow on the lights and plants it looked absolutely magical.

We spent the night at Gibraltar Rock Ocean View Bed and Breakfast in Nanaimo.  We might not have thought it through, that a place with the words 'rock' and 'view' in the name might mean it would be on up a road with several switchbacks to the top of a mountain.  This proved to be a problem in the morning when the road was sheer ice.  We had to wait till the ice melted before carrying on our way.   That just gave us more time to enjoy the view!

After too many hours of driving through this....

.... we arrived at this.  It was amazing! We were at Pacific Rim National Park enjoying the roar of the waves, walking along the beach in the rain while others tried their luck with surfing.  

The view the next morning from the Tofino Motel Harbourview was the incongruity of palm trees and snow.  Again, the streets and sidewalks were very icy, limiting our exploration of the town.

We made it back to Victoria before another storm hit. 

 A foot of snow fell during our last night there, delaying our departure for several hours.  Like I said, it was all about the weather.  

After this introduction to Vancouver Island, we're not quite sure if this is where we want to snowbird or retire just yet.