Blogs from Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, British Columbia, Canada, North America

Galiano Island Adventure Following my glutenous trip to Vegas it was time to get back to being one with nature and spend some of my holiday time with my man (and some other couples..) It started on a Saturday morning, where I was pretty ill, perhaps down to the dread of cycling. I had borrowed a bike, which was amazing, but perhaps more of a cruiser than an adventure taking mode of transport. We took the bus to horseshoe bay from downtown vancouver. The benefit of cycling is that you get first on the ferry and you don't have to book in advance. Ferrys to the island on a long weekend are booked up early. Once we got to Nanaimo, we had to cycle to another ferry terminal to get the ferry to Gabriola. I had ... read more

Adam's Blog: A rainy, misty drive to the ferry at Comox on Vancouver Is (yes made it in plenty of time) had us head back to the mainland at Powell River, pop'n 12,000. It was a big sawmilling and paper mill town once but they have closed down, it is now more of a sleepy fishing town or end point of the road on the west coast of Canada to visit the Gulf Islands. We drove about 5kms south of the main town to our next homex for the week....the entrance was almost mystical as the small laneway wound its way through huge fir trees, moss covered ground and ferns. The home was set on the waterfront looking across to Texada Is. the view was equally spectacular as Nanaimo. A lovely warm home, recently updated was ... read more

Exploring how retirement feels when truly relaxed, we floated around, anchoring in a new bay every 3 or 4 days. Watched birds, seals, the tide and incredible views, went rowing in our Rubber Ducky Dinghy so we could explore, wade/lie in warm water, hike, cut Tom's hair, picnic and other shore delights. Beautiful "Waxwing" built by friends many years ago came to anchor near us w/ new owners. The temps rose to 90* for 3 days! So we moved & anchored in a fine bay with a fine breeze. ... read more

Motoring north from the San Juan Islands, our old Willard Trawler "Loki" took us into the Canadian Gulf Islands. We decided to simply loaf and relax among those inviting islands. Clearing Customs in Bedwell Hbr, we lived the good life, rowing about & enjoying good pub food. Having an easy moorage, we stayed 2 nights before risking our hides going under a bridge with plenty of air overhead and barely enough water over the rocks. Whew! Off to other harbors ~ to replenish our galley, empty because of border restrictions of nothing fresh & only one bottle of wine. In Winter Cove on Saturna Isl, we hiked & peeped @ the Straits of Georgia - the Big Bugaboo when crossing, lay deceptively calm and inviting. After anchoring/staying in several lovely bays & lapping up the ... read more

Hallo all, this past weekend Karen, Alison and Lynore went on "retreat" to Dancing Light Cottage on Salt Spring Island. It was a chance to get away and re-connect with each other. Dad and Mom had many words of wisdom and advice before we went away and this is a pictoral testimony to show them that we followed all of that advice...... In true Melville sisters style, we composed a poem (this time a haiku) to summarize our time together: Gentle deer come by Knitting, wine, scrabble and cheese Sisters' time, peaceful Most quoteable quote for the weekend comes from Karen, "The thing is...... sometimes, I can be quite intelligent". How about those track pants, Karen? P.S. 2006 Pinot Blanc (Salt Spring Vineyards) pairs very nicely with a pepper chevre (Salt Spring Island Cheese), a port ... read more