What I did on my Summer Vacation
This is a little late, but better late than never...
Camping trip went really well. We had cool gear (nice tent, camping pads, sleeping bag, blankets, stove, lanterns,), but forgot pillows, of all things. We used our jackets as a substitute. Our first goal was to camp up near Eugene, OR, but Christian didn't anticipate so much mountain driving on the way up through Shasta (very nice) and lower Oregon, so we ended up camping at a state park about 2 hours south of Eugene. It was a little drizzly, but we got everything set up and had dinner as darkness really set in. The only bad thing was that there were no real showers/bathrooms, just latrines....pretty gross. My only request was that there be running water, but he hadn't booked anything in advance for the first night. It was okay though, the place was cheap ($17 for the night, so $8.50 per person!) .
We next stopped near Olympic National Park in WA in nearby Bogachiel State park, on the northwest area of WA. It was neat driving up 101 and seeing all the logging areas and when the trees were first planted, their first harvest, and the next harvest, which would go into the years 2040 and up. It appeared that they let the trees grow for 50 years or so before cutting them down. It was really raining off and on by this point. Christian saw a bear on the side of the road; i didn't see it, and we didn't turn around because it was such a flash since he was driving at 70 mph. We also passed by the town of Aberdeen, the home of Kurt Cobain - the welcome sign to Aberdeen reads "Come as you Are." Christian didn't realize it until he read the sign and confirmed the fact with his brother. The campsite was pretty cool, they had a covered pavilion with picnic tables so we didn't have to prepare meals in the rain. The next day, we got to explore the area a bit. We went to the beach, which required some hiking over humongous logs.
Koko did pretty well jumping from one log to the next, and the beach was cool because most of the sand is from broken down rocks, and there are lots of beached logs and rock formations and islands visible. We also went to the nearby town of Forks, a small village nearby, and then went to Olympic National Park, the part with the Hoh Rain forest. The rivers there are really beautiful - they get their water from the mountains in the park, so it's crystal clear and ice blue (and probably frigidly cold). The rainforest was really cool - a lot of the trees are super old, and they're covered in moss, which gives them a really interesting look. We did a small hike and saw a number of Roosevelt Elk foraging along part of the trail. Christian then tried to fish, but the rain was really preventing that from happening.
We then went up to Port Angeles, WA to catch the ferry to Victoria BC on Vancouver Island. We had a nice conversation with an old woman about dogs and then Christian and her talked politics. Once we were out of Washington, the weather immediately became beautiful. The weather in Victoria couldn't have been more perfect. We thought it would only take 2 hours to get to Tofino, but a local said 4, so we quickly drove by some sights and headed up the road, filled with traffic lights and mountainous roads. We then saw our next black bear, which was crossing the highway. It bumbled across and headed up the hill before we could get a good look/picture of it. It's pretty cool seeing all these bears in this kind of environment, contrasted with the numerous cars lined up at Yellowstone.
We got to Tofino around 7 PM, and our campsite was on the main path to the beach, which was really nice, and close to the bathrooms too. We had dinner and held off on making a campfire that night because the campsite was out of kindling. The next morning, we had one of our gourmet camping breakfasts (fresh hash browns and scrambled eggs) and went into the village of Tofino. The weather was, once again, very beautiful, I got some souvenirs (postcards and a hat for my dad, as it was father's day), and enjoyed the scenery, as the town is right on the water. They do lots of outdoorsy activities, such as kayaking to see bears, helicopter tours, whale watching tours, etc. Too much for our current budget, but it's something to note for next time :). We also visited the Tofino Botanical Gardens, which are pretty cool, very laid back, and hippie-ish. They even had a hippie bus. The children's garden was a lot of fun, they made a treehouse, lots of low-treed paths, and stepping stones. I bet they had a lot of fun making that. We were only able to see half of the place because of Christian's leg.
Later that afternoon we brought Koko to the beach, and even though we were worried how she would act around other dogs, she actually surprised us by playing with all the dogs that were around. It was cool seeing them run around and be playful. I'd never seen things like that with Happy because she was always so barky. One of the other dogs, Gypsy, we met as one of her owners was walking her down to the park. As we were talking to her, Gypsy would object to being on a leash by actually *biting* it. I've never seen that before! Anyway, it was a lot of fun watching the dogs play around. we decided to eat out for dinner at the restaurant overlooking the gardens, as Christian saw that it had been rated highly in many a magazine. We opted not to have any main course, as the prices were pretty high up there, but we did manage to have a full meal with their Clam Chowder soup, christian had their Artichoke puree soup, we had cornmeal-encrusted oysters that were HUGE, and some sesame chicken and tofu wrapper thing. And wine. Yum. That night we made a campfire (our first!) and made s'mores with DARK chocolate, now THAT's yummy.
The next day, we went headed out towards our next stop on the island, Ucleulet, which was only 20-30 minutes south of Tofino. Our campsite was "waterfront," and i thought it was gonna be near the beach, like Tofino. It was actually pseudo-water-front, depending when the tide came in, by the boat harbor. It was across the bay from the boats, especially this one big boat that also served as a hotel and had little mini-boats for guests to go fishing in the mornings. We heard some really drunk people from there from our site. Our first day there, a bunch of bald eagles were hanging out in the bay, some of them were chasing one that had a fish or something attached to its talons. We saw about 9 of them! it was very cool to see so many. After setting up camp, we drove around town looking for fishing information and went to Big Beach on the other side of the peninsula. It wasn't your typical beach that you'd imagine a California beach. The sand was made from mussel shells and basalt rocks, lots of basalt rocks lined the area, as well as a number of beached logs. It's just really cool seeing "Beach" next to a bunch of green trees. It would be cool to be there during the winter storms and watching nature's fury (from a safe cozy hotel room, of course). I'd also like to go whale watching. and kayaking to watch bears. :)
Christian desperately wanted to catch a fish, so we drove around Kennedy lake looking for a good place to cast. We got some good leads from the locals, but since it had been raining a lot, it was difficult to get to the exact spot they were talking about. We had to park on the side of the road by a bridge, then walked down a bit to an unlabeled trail that led to a really nice spot on Kennedy Lake Provincial Park. The trail was a little rough, lots of logs to go over, some mud, but it was worth it, to have this part of the lake all to ourselves (except for the bears and elk that may pass through - we saw some fresh elk prints in the sand.) On the way back, we saw a bear hanging out by the side of the road. We turned around and went by it a little slower to get a picture of it:
No luck at Kennedy lake at that casting point, so we went to another location by the lake through a logging road. It was really slow going, because it was pretty gravelous, but when we finally arrived at the bridge, it was a beautiful view of the lake and mountains. And we were pretty isolated again. Just us and a couple of woodpeckers. It was around this time that I started to forget what day of the week it was - the ultimate sign that you're on vacation :)
The next day, we packed up and did a quick hike up to the Anthracite Lighthouse, part of the Wild Pacific Trail. The views on that side of the peninsula were really breathtaking. Driving back to the Victoria area took forever, and we missed our reserved ferry by about 20 minutes. The next ferry, running at the next hour, wasn't full, so we hopped on that to the Vancouver area. On the way, Christian saw some really nice houses facing the waters - his dream houses. He also really liked the people we've encountered on our travels, very laid back, engaging people.
We stayed at the Vancouver RV park on the Northern portion of the city. It really was perfect, even though it wasn't in a park proper, because it was so close to downtown and had free showers! There were some other tent campers there too, amongst the plethora of RVs at the park. We got to Vancouver pretty late, but we were very hungry, and i was craving Chinese food really badly. We ate at Hon's Won Ton house of Noodles on Robson St, recommended by the Lonely Planet. Good and cheap. Robson street reminded us of Adam's Morgan/Georgetown, full of restaurants, bars and clothing stores, full of people, not so much parking. We then drove around downtown Vancouver, got some money exchanged, and accidentally ended up in the shady part of town, East Hastings Street. Full of druggies, dark, not-so-nice. Even saw a tweaker on the phone. Lots of hemiballismus and abnormal movements. I was getting a little freaked out, so I made christian go back to the RV park.
The next day, we finished our chinese leftovers and then went out for Dim Sum. YUM. I haven't had dim sum in forever! We went to Pink Pearl, and it's on Hastings street, a little more east than the area where we drove around yesterday. The scene was totally different during the day - no druggies, looked like a normal downtown street, with vendors and shoppers. Even saw a man sitting on the street rolling a joint. The restaurant was really good, and I finally got to have mango pudding for dessert. :) We did some "quirky Vancouver" things listed in Lonely Planet, a Classical Chinese Garden (very nice and intricate), and then drove around the Kitsilano area and the areas near the University of British Columbia. Very nice surroundings around the campus. Next to the water. Lots of beaches. (no waves though, those are on Vancouver Island).
Wreck Beach. That place is memorable. First off, you have to walk down at least 250 stairs down from the road (Christian called it the stairway from hell). As we started, the people that were coming up were huffing and puffing really loudly. Very out of breath. We paused. But kept going down. Our legs were shaking when we reached the bottom. Then, let's just say it's a very "laid back" beach. (i.e., lots of nudists). The weather was really nice, even a little hot (probably mid-upper 70s). it was a little overwhelming. everywhere i looked, there were naked bodies. But everyone was so chill about it. Christian and I (still clothed, mind you!) sat on a log and watched some skimboarders that were able to catch some air. Very neat. Climbing back up the stairs wasn't fun.
On the way back, we drove through Stanley Park, their big park, probably even bigger than Central Park in NYC. We didn't stay around though, because you had to pay for parking, but drove around the perimeter and took some pictures of the Vancouver skyline. We then took Koko to a nearby dog park, since we felt really bad about keeping her in the car all day. She had so much fun playing with other dogs, and we realized she's not an aggressive dog at all, just really playful. She would run around with a number of the dogs, but she wouldn't go in the water. It was really funny. An old man was playing fetch with his collie, and the collie would bark at him as if to say, "Throw the ball, damn it! I want to fetch it!" Koko really wore herself out running after other dogs. She also looked really happy at the end of it all.
I wish we had more time in Vancouver (all the places, really). And more money. But we'll save the rest for next time! We stopped in Eugene, OR on the way back home to visit Christian's brother's girlfriend, at a local rose garden. When we got back to CA it was scorching. It was definitely over 100 degrees out.
I'll write about the mental patients next.
Camping trip went really well. We had cool gear (nice tent, camping pads, sleeping bag, blankets, stove, lanterns,), but forgot pillows, of all things. We used our jackets as a substitute. Our first goal was to camp up near Eugene, OR, but Christian didn't anticipate so much mountain driving on the way up through Shasta (very nice) and lower Oregon, so we ended up camping at a state park about 2 hours south of Eugene. It was a little drizzly, but we got everything set up and had dinner as darkness really set in. The only bad thing was that there were no real showers/bathrooms, just latrines....pretty gross. My only request was that there be running water, but he hadn't booked anything in advance for the first night. It was okay though, the place was cheap ($17 for the night, so $8.50 per person!) .
We next stopped near Olympic National Park in WA in nearby Bogachiel State park, on the northwest area of WA. It was neat driving up 101 and seeing all the logging areas and when the trees were first planted, their first harvest, and the next harvest, which would go into the years 2040 and up. It appeared that they let the trees grow for 50 years or so before cutting them down. It was really raining off and on by this point. Christian saw a bear on the side of the road; i didn't see it, and we didn't turn around because it was such a flash since he was driving at 70 mph. We also passed by the town of Aberdeen, the home of Kurt Cobain - the welcome sign to Aberdeen reads "Come as you Are." Christian didn't realize it until he read the sign and confirmed the fact with his brother. The campsite was pretty cool, they had a covered pavilion with picnic tables so we didn't have to prepare meals in the rain. The next day, we got to explore the area a bit. We went to the beach, which required some hiking over humongous logs.
Koko did pretty well jumping from one log to the next, and the beach was cool because most of the sand is from broken down rocks, and there are lots of beached logs and rock formations and islands visible. We also went to the nearby town of Forks, a small village nearby, and then went to Olympic National Park, the part with the Hoh Rain forest. The rivers there are really beautiful - they get their water from the mountains in the park, so it's crystal clear and ice blue (and probably frigidly cold). The rainforest was really cool - a lot of the trees are super old, and they're covered in moss, which gives them a really interesting look. We did a small hike and saw a number of Roosevelt Elk foraging along part of the trail. Christian then tried to fish, but the rain was really preventing that from happening.
We then went up to Port Angeles, WA to catch the ferry to Victoria BC on Vancouver Island. We had a nice conversation with an old woman about dogs and then Christian and her talked politics. Once we were out of Washington, the weather immediately became beautiful. The weather in Victoria couldn't have been more perfect. We thought it would only take 2 hours to get to Tofino, but a local said 4, so we quickly drove by some sights and headed up the road, filled with traffic lights and mountainous roads. We then saw our next black bear, which was crossing the highway. It bumbled across and headed up the hill before we could get a good look/picture of it. It's pretty cool seeing all these bears in this kind of environment, contrasted with the numerous cars lined up at Yellowstone.
We got to Tofino around 7 PM, and our campsite was on the main path to the beach, which was really nice, and close to the bathrooms too. We had dinner and held off on making a campfire that night because the campsite was out of kindling. The next morning, we had one of our gourmet camping breakfasts (fresh hash browns and scrambled eggs) and went into the village of Tofino. The weather was, once again, very beautiful, I got some souvenirs (postcards and a hat for my dad, as it was father's day), and enjoyed the scenery, as the town is right on the water. They do lots of outdoorsy activities, such as kayaking to see bears, helicopter tours, whale watching tours, etc. Too much for our current budget, but it's something to note for next time :). We also visited the Tofino Botanical Gardens, which are pretty cool, very laid back, and hippie-ish. They even had a hippie bus. The children's garden was a lot of fun, they made a treehouse, lots of low-treed paths, and stepping stones. I bet they had a lot of fun making that. We were only able to see half of the place because of Christian's leg.
Later that afternoon we brought Koko to the beach, and even though we were worried how she would act around other dogs, she actually surprised us by playing with all the dogs that were around. It was cool seeing them run around and be playful. I'd never seen things like that with Happy because she was always so barky. One of the other dogs, Gypsy, we met as one of her owners was walking her down to the park. As we were talking to her, Gypsy would object to being on a leash by actually *biting* it. I've never seen that before! Anyway, it was a lot of fun watching the dogs play around. we decided to eat out for dinner at the restaurant overlooking the gardens, as Christian saw that it had been rated highly in many a magazine. We opted not to have any main course, as the prices were pretty high up there, but we did manage to have a full meal with their Clam Chowder soup, christian had their Artichoke puree soup, we had cornmeal-encrusted oysters that were HUGE, and some sesame chicken and tofu wrapper thing. And wine. Yum. That night we made a campfire (our first!) and made s'mores with DARK chocolate, now THAT's yummy.
The next day, we went headed out towards our next stop on the island, Ucleulet, which was only 20-30 minutes south of Tofino. Our campsite was "waterfront," and i thought it was gonna be near the beach, like Tofino. It was actually pseudo-water-front, depending when the tide came in, by the boat harbor. It was across the bay from the boats, especially this one big boat that also served as a hotel and had little mini-boats for guests to go fishing in the mornings. We heard some really drunk people from there from our site. Our first day there, a bunch of bald eagles were hanging out in the bay, some of them were chasing one that had a fish or something attached to its talons. We saw about 9 of them! it was very cool to see so many. After setting up camp, we drove around town looking for fishing information and went to Big Beach on the other side of the peninsula. It wasn't your typical beach that you'd imagine a California beach. The sand was made from mussel shells and basalt rocks, lots of basalt rocks lined the area, as well as a number of beached logs. It's just really cool seeing "Beach" next to a bunch of green trees. It would be cool to be there during the winter storms and watching nature's fury (from a safe cozy hotel room, of course). I'd also like to go whale watching. and kayaking to watch bears. :)
Christian desperately wanted to catch a fish, so we drove around Kennedy lake looking for a good place to cast. We got some good leads from the locals, but since it had been raining a lot, it was difficult to get to the exact spot they were talking about. We had to park on the side of the road by a bridge, then walked down a bit to an unlabeled trail that led to a really nice spot on Kennedy Lake Provincial Park. The trail was a little rough, lots of logs to go over, some mud, but it was worth it, to have this part of the lake all to ourselves (except for the bears and elk that may pass through - we saw some fresh elk prints in the sand.) On the way back, we saw a bear hanging out by the side of the road. We turned around and went by it a little slower to get a picture of it:
No luck at Kennedy lake at that casting point, so we went to another location by the lake through a logging road. It was really slow going, because it was pretty gravelous, but when we finally arrived at the bridge, it was a beautiful view of the lake and mountains. And we were pretty isolated again. Just us and a couple of woodpeckers. It was around this time that I started to forget what day of the week it was - the ultimate sign that you're on vacation :)
The next day, we packed up and did a quick hike up to the Anthracite Lighthouse, part of the Wild Pacific Trail. The views on that side of the peninsula were really breathtaking. Driving back to the Victoria area took forever, and we missed our reserved ferry by about 20 minutes. The next ferry, running at the next hour, wasn't full, so we hopped on that to the Vancouver area. On the way, Christian saw some really nice houses facing the waters - his dream houses. He also really liked the people we've encountered on our travels, very laid back, engaging people.
We stayed at the Vancouver RV park on the Northern portion of the city. It really was perfect, even though it wasn't in a park proper, because it was so close to downtown and had free showers! There were some other tent campers there too, amongst the plethora of RVs at the park. We got to Vancouver pretty late, but we were very hungry, and i was craving Chinese food really badly. We ate at Hon's Won Ton house of Noodles on Robson St, recommended by the Lonely Planet. Good and cheap. Robson street reminded us of Adam's Morgan/Georgetown, full of restaurants, bars and clothing stores, full of people, not so much parking. We then drove around downtown Vancouver, got some money exchanged, and accidentally ended up in the shady part of town, East Hastings Street. Full of druggies, dark, not-so-nice. Even saw a tweaker on the phone. Lots of hemiballismus and abnormal movements. I was getting a little freaked out, so I made christian go back to the RV park.
The next day, we finished our chinese leftovers and then went out for Dim Sum. YUM. I haven't had dim sum in forever! We went to Pink Pearl, and it's on Hastings street, a little more east than the area where we drove around yesterday. The scene was totally different during the day - no druggies, looked like a normal downtown street, with vendors and shoppers. Even saw a man sitting on the street rolling a joint. The restaurant was really good, and I finally got to have mango pudding for dessert. :) We did some "quirky Vancouver" things listed in Lonely Planet, a Classical Chinese Garden (very nice and intricate), and then drove around the Kitsilano area and the areas near the University of British Columbia. Very nice surroundings around the campus. Next to the water. Lots of beaches. (no waves though, those are on Vancouver Island).
Wreck Beach. That place is memorable. First off, you have to walk down at least 250 stairs down from the road (Christian called it the stairway from hell). As we started, the people that were coming up were huffing and puffing really loudly. Very out of breath. We paused. But kept going down. Our legs were shaking when we reached the bottom. Then, let's just say it's a very "laid back" beach. (i.e., lots of nudists). The weather was really nice, even a little hot (probably mid-upper 70s). it was a little overwhelming. everywhere i looked, there were naked bodies. But everyone was so chill about it. Christian and I (still clothed, mind you!) sat on a log and watched some skimboarders that were able to catch some air. Very neat. Climbing back up the stairs wasn't fun.
On the way back, we drove through Stanley Park, their big park, probably even bigger than Central Park in NYC. We didn't stay around though, because you had to pay for parking, but drove around the perimeter and took some pictures of the Vancouver skyline. We then took Koko to a nearby dog park, since we felt really bad about keeping her in the car all day. She had so much fun playing with other dogs, and we realized she's not an aggressive dog at all, just really playful. She would run around with a number of the dogs, but she wouldn't go in the water. It was really funny. An old man was playing fetch with his collie, and the collie would bark at him as if to say, "Throw the ball, damn it! I want to fetch it!" Koko really wore herself out running after other dogs. She also looked really happy at the end of it all.
I wish we had more time in Vancouver (all the places, really). And more money. But we'll save the rest for next time! We stopped in Eugene, OR on the way back home to visit Christian's brother's girlfriend, at a local rose garden. When we got back to CA it was scorching. It was definitely over 100 degrees out.
I'll write about the mental patients next.
1 Comments:
OK, the sign you're NOT on vacation is 'hemiballismus' in your blog... Hope you are enjoying your last summer ever, live it up!
Eric the busy and tired MS3 :)
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Eric, at 11:14 PM
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