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Published: August 13th 2013
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August 10, 2013 - Quadra Island to Sooke, Vancouver Island
10.58am finds us anxiously waiting to see whether there will be room on the 11 o’clock ferry back to Campbell River. We hadn’t anticipated the popularity of the ferry and as a result had rocked up at about 10.45 to find the parking lot full and a couple of cars in front of us waiting in line – the overflow line, the line that could get on or might not depending on how well parked those in the parking lot are. Although it isn’t imperative we get on this crossing it would mean an hour wait if we don’t and annoyingly we could have been here earlier. We’d packed the car by 10 but, knowing we weren’t going to make the 10 o’clock ferry, decided to have another cuppa and play Uno on the deck while enjoying a last lingering look at the view; instead of parking up and sitting in a car for an hour. It wasn’t a hard decision but we’re now wondering whether it was the right one.
As it is we do make it on the 11 o’clock (with about half a dozen or so
behind us also squeezing on). We got away with it this time but we’ll try to remember not to be so blasé next time!
We were, however, pleasantly surprised to find that no one asked us for money, meaning that the fare we paid on the way over wasn’t quite as pricey as we had initially thought!
After a quick stop for supplies in Campbell River, a late lunch at Boston Pizza, coffee and a whirlwind tour of the famous totem poles of the town of Duncan, we arrive in East Sooke and our rather nice cottage for the third week of our trip. A smaller but perfect little place called Madrona Cottage on Seagirt Road with lovely views out onto Sooke Harbour. We have access to a semi-private beach down several flights of steps and also a rather nice hot tub which we christen that very evening under the starry sky.
August 11, 2013 - First day - Sooke & Pacific Coast
It seems a little cruel but Sunday morning finds us tutoring the boys for an hour or so. On the plus side when September comes around and their friends return to school our
boys can continue with just the one or two hours a day for the six weeks of school they’ll miss. And frankly with no distraction from friends and 1:1 teaching the session tends to be more intense and as a result can only be sustained for a short period of time before each son totally looses concentration and turns off!
We’ve been concentrating mainly on the core subjects but have experimented with some West Coast native art. We collected flat(ish) pieces of the wonderful soft driftwood that washes up on the beaches and have painted the various symbols such as the salmon & the bear etc. I think the boys surprised themselves with how much they enjoyed it and how much better they turned out than any of us had anticipated!
But today we get out and about after a spot of math and go into Sooke to find food for lunch. We pop into Canada’s answer to Starbucks – Serious Coffee – for, well, coffee! Steve’s Americano is apparently very good although my latte is a little stronger than I would prefer. Might stick to Starbucks – no offence Canada.
We head up to French Beach
French Beach
Our cairns on the beach and find many others doing likewise. We don’t have to pay to park despite the fact that a woman from Park Watch sits surveying the car park and giving advice about the area should we need it. This non-profit organization was formed to address an ever-growing need for the protection of visitor’s vehicles throughout the region so during the peak tourist season Park Watch Patrollers watch over the cars! This is a better service than we would get if we were paying to park in a regular car park so we donate to the cause and go find the beach safe in the knowledge that our car is safe for the duration.
The weather is today chillier than we’ve been used to. It was actually raining this morning although the afternoon is dry and the sun wins over in the end. We stroll the length of the beach, finding many distractions along the way. A bald eagle circles the Douglas Firs, the pebbles are crying out to be stacked into cairns and the drift wood is asking to be assembled in some unique way. The beach is already “littered” with various man-made driftwood stacks, some quite ornate. Frankly I
Nature's artworkcould set up home in some of them! And the art of finding just the right size pebble and piling several on top of each other is as popular as ever around here. The beach resembles a massive canvas that each visitor has contributed something to, to form this giant 3D picture. We too take lots of pictures as the boys get creative with their own designs before leaving the beach for more would-be artists to add their contributions to.
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