Tom Hlavac

Several years ago some of my co-workers and I visited Gray Bay, a beautiful beach south of Sandspit on Moresby Island, Queen Charlotte Islands. This octopus was in a tidepool in some rocks, which was draining and soon would be dry as the water receded. We followed him? her? sliding from the tidepool to the each and into the sea - he or she moved almost at a walking pace over a uprising distance. One of the crew's dogs got a little too curious and almost recieved a snoutfull of ink and seawater. Grey Bay is an excellent campground choice for visitors to the Queen Charlotte Islands. In the summer it is comparable to Tofino's Long Beach, without a dangerous surf and no crowds. Services are available at Sandspit, including car rentals and fuel (check ... read more

In September of 2005, I was lucky in realizing one of my "must do" travel goals - visiting the Venice Naval Museum. This museum is one of the better deals at Venice, for a small admission you'll gain entrance to centuries of naval and maritime history. Three exhibits caught my attention: The first was the explosive boat, or "Motoscafo da turismo modificato", which was a wooden speedboat carrying a large explosive charge - over 500 pounds - whose operator would have ejected immediately as the speedboat was within self-steering range of a target ship. The operator would hope that his only chance of survival - a small wood float ejected with him) - would be nearby. He would climb out of the water and onto the float to avoid the shockwave of the explosion. The second ... read more