Hornby Island - August 17th-19th
I took a 4-day weekend and Kyle and I drove the 4 hour trip up Island to camp out on Hornby at Grandma Washbrook's cottage with Steph, Ian, and Ian's family. To get to Hornby, you have to take a ferry from the mainland to Denman Island, drive alllll the way across Denman and then get on ANOTHER ferry over to Hornby. Holy hell, is it ever a long trip. But it was worth it. :)
Kyle and I goofing around while waiting for the ferry on Denman Island. It was only here that I could actually dig out my camera, so there aren't any pictures of the drive up. Don't worry, you're not missing much. Pretty much just highway. Hehe.
Okay, anytime you want to put us on the ferry, that would be great. Shellie's getting a little bored here.
I don't know where this sticker came from... But really, wouldn't your first instinct be to stick it to someone? Yeah, me too. And Kyle was so bored that he LET me stick that thing to his head.
Yes! Finally! Driving onto the ferry! We followed that black Yukon all the way from the mainland!
That's our destination! The ferry from Denman to Hornby is only about 15 minutes long.
On the Ferry... And there was much rejoicing.... yaaayyyy....
And a shot to prove we made it there!
Okay, in here should be a good day and a half worth of stuff... Hiking around the island, tide pools, beach pictures... But my camera decided it would be broken that day. And so, no shots. Sorry folks. Too bad, the beach was so amazing. White sand, almost blue ocean, people absolutely everywhere! When the tide went out, it left a good 20 feet of sand out in the sun, heating up. As the tide came back in over all that hot sand, the water was so nice and warm, it was perfect. We spent a lot of time on the beach. Next time we go, I promise I will have a new, working camera with me!
On Friday Todd and Dave took a sea plane up from Victoria to join us. On the way back, however, they came with us. Which meant a lot more stuff in our already full Corsica. Dave, Ian and Todd try to re-pack the whole car while Steph sits back and lets the boys worry about it. She is a smart, smart woman.
This is Grandma Washbrook's cottage. It's a brand new, cute little house - a large kitchen, living room/dining room with 2 bedrooms and full electricity. The only thing it didn't have was full plumbing (since the island runs on a well system, and they're only there during the summer, there's really no need for it). Some people slept in the cottage while the rest of us set up our tents on the property! It worked out famously - lots of room for everyone!
Still packing up that car...
Dave, Kyle and Ian think they're just about done...
On the front yard there was a tree inside of a tree.... Which I just thought was cool.
All packed up and ready to go! It was really great to be able to hang out with Stephanie and Ian. I haven't had much of a chance to get to know them so this was a perfect chance. I had such a good time. :)
Me in the backseat ready to roll...
Kyle sets out...
.... While Todd hangs out the window to made sure we won't bottom out on the way up the driveway. The car was SO PACKED it was ridiculous. I honestly don't know how we fit that much stuff into the car.
A little windblown, but happy.... Hey guys, would'ja mind closing your windows?
Todd in the rear-view mirror
Dave was in the back too, but this is pretty much all we could see of each other. Yeah, did I mention the car was completely full of gear?
Not the greatest picture since we were driving past it at the time, but this is a vineyard on Hornby. Ian's parents and Grandma Washbrook went there for a tour and said it was pretty good. It's definitely on my list for the next visit.
The only Pub on the Island
My hair after the 3 day camp-out. So pretty.
Best part of the trip - Todd got stuck in his seat belt and struggled to get out for about 5 minutes. I laughed until my sides hurt.
A final shot of Hornby Island as we wait for the ferry over to Denman. It's such a beautiful, unique place. Definitely go if you ever get the chance.
Ah yes, more waiting on Denman Island for yet another ferry. This one was late and we waited for over an hour.
The boys are saying "Michelle, will you PLEASE stop taking pictures and PLEASE get back into the car?!" They like it though. :) Hehe. We were starving and Todd had gotten some veggies from a hippie at the Hornby Market, so we munched on snow peas while waiting for the ferry.
:)
The trip over the Hornby was such a good visit. I definitely needed a break like that, and Kyle was happy to be able to spend time with his family while he was here, too.
Next up are pictures from Mount Douglas. Lesley, they will be up shortly. :P
On the day before he flew back to Toronto, Kyle and I decided to go up Mount Douglas to check out the view and have a picnic lunch. It was a gorgeous day - barely even a cloud in the sky - and a perfect thing to do on his last day in Victoria.
Kyle checks out the view from the top
Me on Mount Doug!
Kyle scouts out a good picnic spot... That *cough*drive*cough* up the mountain made me hungry!....... We'll hike next time when it's not 30 degrees out! Hehe.
Orangina loves me back.
Mmm, picnic!
There were so many hawks out that day, and since we were so high up on the mountain, it seemed like we were almost level with them. 5 of them flew around for ages. It was pretty cool.
Weird faces again? Acting silly for the camera... It's what we do.
:)
Mount Douglas is such an awesome place. This was only the second time I'd made my way up there, and Kyle had never been before. The view is breathtaking, and it really makes Victoria seem a lot smaller than it feels when you're stuck in the hustle and bustle of downtown. Being at the top of that mountain really puts things into perspective.
