local tourist::sooke potholes

The Sooke Potholes are these sweet little swimming holes on the Sooke River just outside of Victoria.  The area is part of a plan to create a green belt between Victoria and the coast and the campground sits on land that The Land Conservatory (and others) have been buying up.

When we arrived it was this big ordeal to get through the heavily monitored parking lot in the regional park (where the entire city of Victoria apparently hangs out on a hot summer’s day).  As campers we got to go to the front of the line and keep driving which got us honked at even though we were GIVEN PERMISSION from the folks monitoring everything.  It’s not like we just started running over the parking patrol.  Jerky honky people annoy me.

Anyway.

When we got to the campground, which is on the other side of the regional park, I  wasn’t that impressed.  All the sites looked ridiculous in their small size, and there was a set of rules as thick as the bible (including only having  4 people in a site so I guess we really should have put Anna to sleep on a picnic table on the site next us?  We ignored that rule.  That’s what you do when you’re a family of 5 in a lot of situations).

Once we got settled, though, it was really very pleasant.   Turns out I have a really terrible sense of space and the tent and vehicle DID fit on the site.  We got a wicked site free of dangerous cliffs or sharp, huge rocks.  We were brilliant in our decision making on this one, and showed up on a Saturday and stayed until Monday.  So Saturday we hung out at the campsite, chilled with rottens, checked out the beach that was just steps away, and thoroughly enjoyed it all.  Sunday the campsite cleared out, so we spent all day on a very quiet beach and didn’t have to deal with people.  People annoy me.  I’m happy to have nothing to do with them if they aren’t my chosen few.

Monday we packed up, then headed down to the regional park and spent the day on the river there.  It was totally awesome.  Warm and sunny, a beautiful river, fish jumping and another group joined the same beach we had chosen, but they brought guitars.  And they were good, so we had lovely guitar music while we froze our asses off in the incredibly cold, but lovely, river.  What more do you need?

chillin in the river

on the rocks

building, building, building

splashing, splashing, splashing

a rock of one's own

Well, a little less whining from the wee ones would always be welcome, but I’ve got mad skillz and can tune that out.

local tourist::rathtrevor beach

I live next to Parksville, which is known for its beaches.  One beach in particular, Rathtrevor Beach is World Famous. We don’t go there as frequently as you’d think considering a World! Famous! Beach! is basically at our backdoor because, well, it’s a provincial park and you have to pay for parking.   A whole three dollars.   HIGHWAY ROBBERY!

You’d be surprised how often you hear a local say they don’t go to Rathtrevor Beach because they have to pay that $3.   We’re so spoiled.

Besides, I have since found several other beaches that are all the awesome in the world, without the parking fees and tourists.  Secret beaches.  Beaches I’ve started to name after me and my family because no one else knows they exist, so I can do that.

Anyway.

tide pools are awesome for the kids

splash!

Rathtrevor is still pretty spectacular.  When the tide is low, the beach stretches for a hundred million miles.  No exaggeration.  On super low tides you can walk for a good half an hour before you hit the water.   There are tide pools and oyster beds, sand dollars, starfish, and numerous clams and snails.  We’ve seen big crabs, and itty-bitty hermit crabs.  Eagles are a guarantee, and I’ve seen numerous Herons.  The Brant geese stop at Rathtrevor Beach during their migration and there are days during the spring where there are piles of Brant geese feeding in the eelgrass beds.  That is quite the sight.

shoreline shrubbery

peaceful

There is a path through the Douglas fir forest that you can walk, sneaking out to different areas of the beach that are all different and unique, and if you’re adventurous, you can walk all the way to Parksville Beach.  I’ve never actually done that because I own a car, so uh, why?  It’s not just because I’m lazy, but also because I have wee ones that probably would walk that distance one way, but certainly wouldn’t walk back and I don’t want to carry three children back down the beach.  

One time I had to carry both Callum and Claire up from the water at low tide, back to the shore while they screamed.  That was fun.  The last time we were all there as a family, all three kids started to scream.  And the inflatable doughnut toys the kids swim with started to blow down the beach!  Callum lost his mind!  Then he picked up those toys and marched off the beach.  Steve followed; the kid marched on up to the parking lot and put those doughnut toys back in the truck where they would be safe from the evil wind.  Have I mentioned the evilness of wind in my son’s mind?  I should.  It’s some story.

Yikes, I’m easily sidetracked. 

I do find that the most beautiful time of day at Rathtrevor has always been early evening for me.  The wind is usually non-existent, the light fabulous, and the tourists have all gone for dinner.

beautiful sand

sand play!

Did I mention that there are miles upon miles of lovely soft sand at low tide?   The best sand castle sand on the island I suspect.

And for added adventure, there is also has some weird-ass fungus that can make you really sick lurking in the Douglas fir forest along the shore, and is especially harmful to dogs!  Not too many beaches can beat that!

the shoreline

local tourist::englishman river regional park

Having a snack

Another option is to come and visit and we can go for walk.

one of the hatchery channels that feeds into the river

We access the park from a path at the end of the road I live on that drops down into the river valley right next to a hatchery.  There are a pile of paths that criss-cross the park along the river and it is so peaceful and beautiful to walk down there.  My neighbour took us on a new route this time, and we found this perfect swim spot with soft sand and a nice little swimming hole officially known as The Reason Amber Is Never Moving.  One of these days, if the summer ever gets hot, I’m forcing Steve to carry a huge backpack of essentials (and Claire, no doubt) down to the river so we can spend the day sitting on this random, perfect river beach with the kids.  Heaven.

little hikers

part of the pond the beavers are creating

the river! and my little trooper who walked for 2.5 hours!

eating salmon berries. bears love these...

Of course, the random bear attack that happened this weekend not too far from here, and then seeing the stump a bear scratched the hell out of while on our walk does give me pause.  We should probably carry bear spray.

local tourist::morning star farms

Without a doubt, Morning Star Farms and Qualicum Cheeseworks is one of my favorite little spots here.  I love this place.  First of all it’s simply adorable.   They have these ridiculously cute signs everywhere with lame-ass puns and I eat that stuff up.  It’s cute!  And always makes me chuckle even though I’m at this farm a lot in the summer.  Secondly, it’s free.  Do you know how few things like this are free these days?  Very, very few.  In fact, most farms I know of where you can frolick with the animals aren’t free at all but rather charge a crazy entrance fee to hang out with your future meal.

There is also a picnic area beside the goats, and this not-at-all-suitable-for-toddlers-or-woman-wearing-unappropriate-footwear trail with gorgeous views of the mountains, and then there is a gift store that sells made-on-the-premises cheese, local bread and preserves, locally made wine (I LOVE THIS PLACE) , ice cream and an assortment of gifts that are farm related in a way (like John Deere tractor toys, cheese plates and other accessories and the like).

Basically if you come and visit me out here, we’ll go there.  Everyone who visits me is forced to go to the farm eventually.

Farmall

baby cow

petting the rabbits

tractor

walking the trail

froliking

We decided to walk the trail around the farm this trip right at the time Claire would typically be napping beacuse WE ARE STUPID.  The trail is the tractor road between the fields and the fields are fenced with an electric fence.  Did I mention taking three children around a road with electric fences on both sides is stupid?  Because it is. 

At one point Claire starts to turtle.  She’ll no longer walk, she wants to be carried but my Mom refuses to carry her because Claire’s a big girl, was wet and muddy from some sections of the trail and walking through a field, and you know, she’s HEAVY.  I’m nursing Anna so I couldn’t carry her on my back, and honestly, the kid can walk.  She’s holding her ground doing her two-year old dramatic gig and we walk away because in theory the child should start to follow us? Yes?

She doesn’t because she’s two, and instead just stands in the middle of the trail carrying on.  We get a fair distance away and are trying to encourage her to come along with us when she gives us this evil look, walks straight for the fence and hovers her hand above it.  Through this whole scene she is looking at us dead-on.  Daring us not to come back for her.  We understandably flip out and scream.  She touches the fence.  We lose our  minds.  She cries.

Of course we go running, the kid just clasped her hand on an electric fence.  She’s crying!  She could be really hurt!  My Mom gets to her first (me with the baby attached to my boob being not very swift on my feet), picks up Claire and touches the fence herself to gauge the shock. 

THE DAMN FENCE WAS OFF.

Claire 1 : Adults 0

local tourist::cathedral grove and cameron lake

I thought I’d start a little project.  I can’t travel anywhere right now what with the 3 kids who are 3 years and younger gig, plus the whole being stupid broke thing but I really, really, really miss going places.  Instead of feeling ridiculously sorry for myself and dying inside of jealousy of all those people going off to interesting and fabulous places or who are doing intersting and fabulous things, I thought I’d be a tourist in my own backyard. Being a tourist in your own town also happens to be considerably more environmentally friendly too.  So as an added bonus I get to be all high and mighty and I like that.  I like that a lot.

And I get to tell you all about it.  I’m lazy and this makes for damn easy blog posts.

Last week we were excellent travellers and ventured out to Cathedral Grove and Cameron Lake.  Cathedral Grove is an old growth forest of Douglas Fir trees that is accessible because, you know, the highway was built right through it.  It also has convenient walking trails because that is just what we do to a stand of crazy old, beautiful trees.  We hack through it and provide some lovely trails. It is also being logged to it’s bitter edges but that’s an entirely different post.  Seriously, why don’t people respect nature?  Why?

It really is an amazing place to be, there is just something calming about an old tree.

pretty leaves

treehuggers!

seriously big trees

After we checked out the big trees, we went just up the road to Cameron Lake and had lunch, napped, nursed (of course!) and built fairy houses.  We were basically the only people there so it was rather lovely.

fishing, I think

I'm almost positive he's fishing

If I wasn't nursing while walking around Cathedral Grove, I would have put her in a stump there. It's my maternal right, people.

Now start showing me your local, favorite places!!