Mount Washington

In winter, Mount Washington is a world-renowned ski and snowboard resort. It is set on a mile-high Pacific island mountain with 360 degree views, including a jaw-dropping panorama of the ocean below.


We drove from the south along the picturesque Oceanside Route
The journey took around an hour or so and when we arrived at the summit we were not disappointed.
The views were stunning, the weather just perfect and the excellent powder snow was deep and beautiful!


















The Nordic facilities are world-class with 55 kilometers of trails. We didn't get to snowshoe on this visit but we were able able to explore the Nordic terrain and are looking forward to a return visit and maybe take in a Snowshoe & Fondue evening!!

Spring in January?

The tail end of last week saw temperatures soar (to a balmy 14 degrees!), and the sun came out and stayed out. For 3 consecutive days we were blessed with clear blue skies. In the garden the snowdrops are up and the primroses flowering, there are buds on the trees and rhododendron bushes - we were lulled into a false sense of Spring!


By Sunday, we were back to howling winds, torrential rain and much, much cooler temperatures!
Still, it was nice while it lasted.

Victoria - 20th-24th December 2009

Victoria is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. It is the capital of British Columbia, Canada. It has a temperate climate, natural beauty, recreational sites and superior economic opportunities.

Greater Victoria has attracted people from all over Canada, the United States and other countries.

The region's strategic location as a gateway to the Pacific Rim, its closeness to U.S. markets, and its many sea and air links have made the area a hub for business development and economic investment.

Our neighbours said it would be a piece of home, as they regard it as very British.

We dropped the dog off at Kathy and Gord's nice and early and set off on a lovely sunny day along the Oceanside highway 19A. This route follows the coast on our left all the way to Victoria.

We went through a number of small towns, which were once miners' or loggers' settlements. We passed through Ladysmith, a heritage town, and Chemainus, famous for its wall murals. We stopped half way in Duncan a small logging town, to have a cup of coffee at Tim Horton's, a very popular chain of coffee outlets. We also succumbed to a donut.

The trip down took about 2 hours, and it was interesting to see the different scenery in this part of the island. The landscape had been cleared of trees and was utilised for grazing, cows and horses, and agriculture.

We found our way to Victoria very easily and to our hotel, the Inn at Laurel Point. We had a lovely view across the harbour, looking at the Parliament building and the famous Empress Hotel, which are the main focal points of the city.

On our first evening in Victoria we had a quick look about our local vicinity, just to stretch our legs, but as it was pouring with rain, and we got very wet, we had a meal in our hotel restaurant. This was expensive but absolutely delicious.

The next day, although cold, was clear and sunny. We initially headed for a diner, to get some breakfast which set us up to have a look along Government Street where all the big shops are located. We were magnetically drawn to Eddie Bauer, our fave store, and luckily for us, they were having a sale that day! Result.

When we had dragged ourselves out of there, we had a look in the many gift shops along this road, so many lovely souvenirs.

We had a look around the Fairmont Empress Hotel, just to warm up. They offer afternoon tea here, but we just watched the 'tourists' partaking in a little British custom


When we had thawed out we had a look at Chinatown where the first chinese immigrants
settled in this fur trading and gold rush town.


We enjoyed looking around the marina and watching the ferry boats come and go, from Seattle US, and Vancouver, Canada. There were a number of little ferry boats which took passengers from one side of the harbour to the other, they were all driven by Father Christmas!

We were told that the museum was worth a visit, but we didn't have enough time to spend in there.

We wentt into the parliament building which dominates the inner harbour area. The inside is very ornate, with stain glass windows, and spiral ceilings.

Victoria is made up of lots of districts which we did not get to see on this trip. We took a drive out to Butcharts' Gardens which is in the north of the city.

We followed the south east edge of the island with the ocean on our right. It was a beautiful sunny day, cold, but clear, and the water was sparkling. The houses that line this coast are magnificent. They are huge and very individual, all with electronic gates and huge gardens. This is in an area known as Oak Bay, and Cordova Bay. This is a seriously rich neighbourhood. We kept driving, in our big truck, which gave us a good view over many of the walls, to have a look at the nice houses.

We stopped at a few view points along the coast to look out at the view.

The Butchart Gardens, Victoria BC

During our trip to Victoria before Christmas we visited The Butchart Gardens, a national historic site of Canada and much recommended by friends and neighbours. Despite the fact that we visited mid-winter so there was not the array of colour one gets to admire in Spring and Summer, this place is open every day of the year and we were not disappointed. What the gardens may have lacked in colour was more than made up for by the Christmas themed gardens.

There were skaters on the rink, tens of thousands of coloured lights sparkled and lit up the night gardens, there were evergreen swags and wreaths, holly and winter berries were everywhere. There was also the music of Carolers and Festive Brass. Each day of the 12 days of Christmas were displayed cleverly, throughout the gardens and the afternoon and evening that we spent there was magical.

History - When Robert and Jennie Butchart came to live at Tod Inlet on Vancouver Island they named their home "Benvenuto" - Italian for "Welcome". Starting with sweet pea seeds and a rose bush, Jennie began a lifelong project to create a garden. With great vision, she transformed the barren limestone quarry. In 2004, during the 100th anniversary of the Gardens, still family owned, was designated a National Historic Site of Canada.

www.butchartgardens.com

BUTCHART COVE...................

Don't forget that if you click on the image you can get a larger picture!

Birds of Vancouver Island

We would not have described ourselves as "twitchers" but it would be fair to say that since we began travelling and because of the many new and different birds we have been lucky enough to encounter we do now find that we are interested in the different local birds and various species.

The common local birds here on Vancouver Island include the Canada Goose, of which there are lots especially grazing on wide open grassland (including football pitches) and we regularly see them flying past in the familiar "V" formation.

Our back garden here backs on to a golf course and a medium sized pond. There are a dozen or so Mallard who have made the pond their home. In addition, the garden birds we have seen here include the Northern Flicker, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-capped Chickadee, American Robins and the good old house sparrow.

Interestingly and unlike the European Robin, the American Robin is much bigger and roosts communally at night.








At the beach and in the sea we regularly see several types of gulls (yet to accurately identify them!), Black Turnstone, Black Oystercatchers, Plovers and Sandpipers.






Another wonderful sighting was of the Pileated Woodpecker - this bird has a chisel-like bill and a large crimson crest with white neck and facial markings.









The most impressive of our sightings have undoubtedly been the Bald Eagles (see previous entry).

1st January 2010

By choice NYE was another quiet affair - we shared a special dinner and at midnight we toasted the New Year.

Della surprised me with a lunch invitation to celebrate my 46th birthday and we went to The Bayside restaurant for a birthday brunch. Kathy and Gord joined us which was so nice.



We stayed for several hours grazing the buffet and admiring the views of the ocean (we had a super window seat!). It rained but there was no surprise there! The surprise was in the rainbow that appeared shortly afterwards and the seals that were frolicking at the water's edge.

Lovely.

Christmas 2009

Christmas came and went this year. It was a quiet and peaceful affair. We had a lazy breakfast of eggs benedict and bucks fizz and afterwards we took the dog for a lovely walk along the beach. We opened our gifts and yet again we were truly spoilt.
We planned on volunteering over the Christmas this year but, found that despite our best efforts no-one needed our help! Intially we were disappointed that we could not be of any help anywhere but then we decided that the fact that everywhere was sorted was a good thing - the community spirit here is remarkable and we should not have been surprised that the volunteering opportunities were all taken.
We received an invitation from friends who live a few doors away, they asked us to join them for Christmas dinner - their kindness overwhelmed us. Dinner was scheduled for 5.30pm as vegetarians we would not be eating the traditional turkey dinner and Della had already planned to prepare a luxurious nut roast which she cooked during the afternoon and then we set off for Kathy & Gord's armed with some very decent red wine, our nut roast and sprouts!!
We spent a lovely evening enjoying good food, fine wine and excellent company - a different but delightful Christmas.

Breakfast Canadian-style

Apero evenings, appetizers & get togethers, dinners in and suppers out......

The rainy and extremely wet weather has prevented us from doing too much hiking, golfing, sightseeing or exploring but still, we have enjoyed some marvellous afternoon and evening social functions. We have met so many kind and friendly people here and feel that some of these new acquaintances will remain friends for life.

We have been invited to several apero evenings where we have sampled some very good homemade wines - there have been so many different appetizers that we've lost count but especially tasty are the homemade antipasto and excellent variety of warm hors d'oeuvres.

We entertained here inviting some of our new friends over for an Italian evening which was a real success (even though we say so ourselves!). We were also invited to a neighbours' house for an evening of dominoes and pizza washed down with some great reds! The food and wine were fabulous - our first attempt at dominoes was not so good!

Continuing with the eating and drinking theme (one of our favourites!), we went to the local "pub" (www.shadyrest.ca)
where we had a simple supper of cod and chips - interestingly, the cod which comes from the Pacific was particular sweet and scrumptious! Yes, there was wine too! A carafe of pinot which hit the spot just perfectly!

Liquid sunshine!

The weather - always a topic for conversation. Back in the UK and France we know that winter has well and truly arrived with tons of snow and icy weather conditions - here in Canada we have had one, yep just one snowfall which lasted all evening, enough to build a snowman but which melted overnight and we've not even had a flurry since. Apparently this is the norm for the island as it is very sheltered here - mind you, what we don't get in snowfall we certainly get in rain downpours! November was especially wet and January is proving to be equally damp with high winds and buckets and buckets of liquid sunshine!

Not ones to grumble (well, not often!), we have made the most of the enforced "imprisonment" and we have used the indoor time to catch up with paperwork, letter writing (yes, we still do that!), organising our computer and photographs and trying out some new recipes. So, during the daytime we have occupied ourselves admirably - not forgetting our regular volunteer sessions at the local SPCA which have taken a manic turn since the arrival of eleven 7-8 week old puppies!!!!

See our sister blog www.petsittertails.blogspot.com for more on them.

North Island Wildlife Rescue Centre

We visited the Wildlife Recovery Centre to see what work they carried out and to see if they needed any volunteers at this time of year.

The centre began in 1984 when the founder, Robin Campbell discovered a Great Horned Owl entangled in a neighbour's fence, its wing was mangled and was in need of emergency care. Since then the centre has become well known, and when wildlife are in need of help, they are brought into the Centre.


Bird which died hitting a power line.


The aim is to cure and hopefully release back into the wild. Some birds or mammals are too injured to be released, so they stay at the centre.

If an animal is brought in that has had contact with humans, ie, hand reared or 'imprinted' by humans, they are not re-released back into the wild, they are used at the centre to educate the public on the wildlife in their area.

There is an Eagle Flight Cage where eagles who have been injured can build up their strength and practice their flying, before being released back into the wild.

There is an observation deck with one way glass. It is a good way to see these magnificent birds up close, without stressing them out. They are huge.

There is a Black Bear Rehabilitation unit where orphaned bears or injured bears are brought in. There is a cctv set up so that the bears have as little contact as possible with humans. If they become used to humans they will become 'nuisance bears' They must remain frightened of humans. The cages are designed so that the carers can come and go, servicing the cages

Festive bear cub Museum of Nature.

without being seen by the bears. Apparently most bears are born as twins so they try to keep two together so they are less stressed and learn from each other, before being released back into the wild.

There is a resident Black Bear called Knut who has lived at the centre for a long time, and he can be seen by the public. He was sleeping when we went as it was very cold.

We walked around the outside Public Viewing area where there were a number of captive birds of prey which cannot be released.

There is a release pond for birds to come and go from when they choose. It is a great place to children and adults alike, to learn about the wildlife in this part of the world and how to respect it. They are doing an excellent job.

We took a couple of volunteer forms away with us after chatting to the lady at the centre, so we will see if we can help in any way.

Click here to learn more about the centre
www.niwra.org