August 5-20, 2007 -- We boarded the ferry from Port Angeles, Washington to Victoria, BC on Vancouver Island. Driving onto
the ferry wasn't nearly as difficult as we anticipated, and once aboard we were free to wander about the ferry. Port Angeles
vanished in the fog behind us and a few hours later the sun came out just as we approached Victoria. Once in Victoria we took
a quick look around and then headed up the island to the Qualicum Beach area where we spent several weeks.
Our sightseeing trips took us to some charming villages.
Cowhichan Bay is a tiny coastal community with lots of
houseboats and homes lining the docks. We wandered
among the houseboats, intrigued by people who live in floating
houses.
Further north we visited Deep Bay, a pretty marina set against
the backdrop of the island's mountains.
Qualicum Beach is a pretty place for strolling and bench sitting.
We turned slightly inland to visit the
town of Coombs, home of several
goats who live on a grass roof. We
watched them casually munching
away while tourists walked below
their roof overhang.
We also visited the World Parrot
Refuge in this area, but I was so
entranced with the birds (there
were about 20 sulphur crested
cockatoos in one open warehouse
sized enclosure) that I forgot to
take any photos.
Parksville Beach is one of the bigger beaches in this stretch of coast. It is a bustling and commercial town, but the beach
entrance has one of the nicest floral displays we found on the island. That's saying a lot, because Vancouver Island is loaded
with gorgeous flowers.
In the town of Comox we caught an afternoon of sheepdog
trials. The dogs were amazingly well trained and very fast.
Listening to the handler's whistles, these dogs would take
off at a sprint and then drop to the ground, maneuvering a
group of four sheep around a field and eventually
(hopefully) into a small pen.
One dog had a face-off with a particularly cantankerous sheep, but the dog eventually won the argument with a snap near the
sheep's nose and the sheep did as told. One contestant actually got all four sheep in the pen and closed the gate within the
time limit. It seemed like a miracle to me.
We chanced upon a wonderful campground near Comox: Kitty Coleman Beach Park. The rigs line up on one side of a small
road, backed up against the woods. Opposite the rigs, lined up along the rocky beach, is a row of picnic tables and fire rings.
From that vantage point you can watch the cruise ships headed for Alaska going by. At night we wandered from fire ring to fire
ring, chatting with all the other campers. It was a great communal feeling and we spent many happy evenings with new friends
while we were there.
From Comox and Campbell River we made our
way back down the coast to Sidney and Victoria
where we spent a wonderful few days before
leaving the island