Stuffed with Fish and Chips

We had a short drive today to Campbell River. We drove the old highway alongside the ocean and enjoyed going past many small towns, beach motels and through Courtney/Comox.

We caught the ferry at Campbell River to the island of Quadra. The first thing we noticed once we got to Quadra was the amount of vehicles waiting for the return ferry. HMMMM!  We realized that we didn't have as much time on the island as we wanted so we started driving, looking for all the great places we had been told about. All we ended up seeing was trees and country lanes (darn it) so after 45 minutes we were back in the looong return line just waiting. The first ferry came and went without us but we knew we were getting the next one in an hour so we had fish and chips at a take out place right beside the ferry waiting area. Great food!

Once back on the main land we headed to Elk Falls Provincial Park which was a great place to hike

Lots of old growth trees and quite a few nice trails

Back to Campbell River and we walked around town for a bit before going to check in at our motel for the night. We had tried to get an Air BnB but everything was full or way too expensive.

After chilling out for an hour we went to a Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence restaurant called Dick's for MORE fish and chips! We are SOOOO stuffed

Across the street from the chip shop was the main city wharf where numerous fishermen were trying their luck. We didn't see anyone catch anything but I did take the following photo

With Helmut and Ruth

A quick drive from Squamish to Horseshoe Bay and a short one hour wait and we were on our way to Nanaimo on the ferry.

It was a beautiful day which made for a nice passage across the straits

Once on the Island we drove up to Parksville for a visit to Rathtrevor beach followed by a check of the sand sculptures at the main beach at Parksville

After some driving around viewing the area we went to Helmut and Ruth's house where we spent the evening in great conversation

Sunday night in Squamish

We started our morning with a breakfast at an outdoor cafe called the "Rugged Bean". The prices were high but the food and atmosphere there were great. We were on the road by 9 AM

The first 20 kilometres driving from Lillooet were some of the best scenery we have ever driven through. Caro is not too happy on twisty roads with steep dropoffs but I though it was wonderful even though I had to pay close attention to driving and not the wonderful surroundings. We averaged only 60 km/hour in that part of the highway.

Our first stop was a road side pullout beside Duffey Lake (I think). Photo below

Next we stopped at Nairn Falls. We were extremely lucky to get there at 10 AM because we got a parking spot in an overflow area. Those arriving after us were out of luck. The place was incredible popular. We hiked about one hour here and then had lunch before carrying on

We got to Whistler right when the triathlon was on. We had a couple very long stops on the highway but it was great as the marathon was being run right beside us. Caro loved it!. As we got closer to Whistler we came to where the bicyclists were located.  We were able to finally get into Whistler village; parked with no problem and then went to the finish line to see a few athletes complete their triathlon (or half triathlon). We wandered around this part of town for a bit then were on the road to Squamish.

Our room is above an extremely popular pub and restaurant and while it is incredibly nice, I wish I had confirmed if it had air conditioning or not. "Not" is the correct response and it was about 34 degrees here today. We at least have two fans in the room and as I type this we are sitting beside an open window looking out towards the mountains. Beautiful!.

Before having supper we had time for ANOTHER hike. This time to a waterfalls nearby called Shannon Falls.

Lots of people there as well!

After a great supper at the pub where we are staying we walked a half block to the marina (photo below) followed by a walk down part of mainstreet

Caro says we hiked about 15 km. today.

Saturday night in Lillooet B.C.

We left the hustle and bustle of Kelowna at 11 AM but not before visiting Kasugai Japanese gardens near the waterfront. Beautiful gardens.

Today's drive was on gorgeous twisty turny roads through beautiful mountain valleys. Simply magnificent. Along the way a black bear scampered across the highway, giving us a quick glance before disappearing into the bush.

We arrived in Lillooet about 3 P.M. which is earlier than I anticipated leaving us plenty of time to visit the area. A visit to the local museum was first on our list and according to Trip Advisor it would be worth it, and it was!. We got great information from the museum people and after our look at the museum artifacts we carried on to see a closed suspension bridge spanning across the Fraser River. The suspension bridge has an Osprey nest on the top but the Osprey did not bless us with a view.Too bad. We don't think we have ever seen that type of bird.

Our next stop was a local winery which had "free" wine tasting and while the local "taste" server regaled us with her thoughts on how good each wine was we felt it didn't compare to House of Rose in Kelowna. Of course we felt obligated to buy something so we purchased a half size bottle of the best stuff they had; by that I mean the stuff that tasted somewhat similar to House of Rose. It happened to cost $22; UGGHHHHH. I should note that we could have bought a full sized bottle of their regular wine for $17 but HEY,WE ARE ON VACATION so why buy the cheap crap?

Next stop was the favourite local swimming hole, or in this case a lake; Seton Lake. It was marvelous with beautiful trees and grass beside a lake that had all the locals having fun. Caro had a swim in it and said it was very refreshing. Me,you ask?, well I spent the time under a large tree sitting at a picnic table. Very nice 90 minutes or so.

We came back to town for Chinese food and as I write this we are in our hotel room chilling out-it was 38 degrees today so we are enjoying air conditioned comfort.

The hotel is a "dive" compared to last nights executive suite! A basic room with a queen bed and a noisy air conditioner, but at $95/night you get what you pay for.

We have been informed that the Ironman competition is being held in Whistler tomorrow. Yikes;could be awful to get through town (and actually we want to walk around a bit). Our stop for the night is Squamish so we are not in any panic to get through Whistler.

July 27th

Executive Suite at Kelowna!

Vanessa scored us a free night at the Kanata Inn in Kelowna so here we are (and upgraded to an executive room at no charge as well-cool!!!)

Our drive from Kamloops was uneventful passing through a couple of beautiful valleys with scattered small hamlets.

It was a massive contrast to our leisurely drive once we hit Vernon and Kelowna. Yikes!! Major traffic and slow going. We found the tourist information center beside the lake in Kelowna and picked up a map of the city and surroundings and got the heck outta there!

Our main reason for coming here was because Caro wanted to pick cherries so that is what we did up in the orchards just east of the city

It didn't take long for Caro to get almost 5 pounds worth

We also went to our favourite winery here (House of Rose); bought a couple bottles of wine, and  later while driving around the area admiring the orchards and houses we picked a random place selling apricots in order for Caro to get some more fresh fruit. The following photo is taken from the driveway of the"apricot" house looking at at neighbours place.

We came back to Kelowna by about 4; checked in,went to the pool and hot tub and finished off our day by going across the street to Montana's.

Gas mileage does not appear to be as good as I noted yesterday (yesterday I was using the information on the on-board computer) but still fantastic

July 26th/2018 Kamloops

Our latest adventure has begun!

We left home this morning at 0820 and with Caro doing the first driving shift we headed down the yellowhead with Kamloops our nights stopping point.

A quick stop in Edson followed by a lunch break and gas up in Hinton and before we knew it we were in the mountains.

We stopped at Mt Robson and did a 1 hour hike on the Kinney Lake trail (4 kms total). We know there is a lot to see farther up the trail but we had time constraints today. Too bad!

A hazy,smoky day but now we are settled in at the Riverside Motel out on our balcony watching boats and wave runners having a blast on the river. Upgraded room as we are repeat customers!

The drive seemed quite long as there was construction and STUPID drivers but all's well that ends well.

We toured the downtown center of the city while looking for a place to eat.It is gorgeous! Worth the drive

33 degrees out right now.

The car got 51 miles per gallon.WOW!