Contemporary Romance Author
There is nothing like a surprise waterfall after an intense hike to make a day perfect.
Bear Beach is the second beach on the Juan de Fuca trail—a multi-day coastal, wilderness trail that runs along the south coast of Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada, from China Beach near Jordan River to Botanical Beach near Port Renfrew.
But there is some unexpected romance that goes beyond the hike through an old growth forest and the stunning ocean views. The Beach has a waterfall that cascades down the side of the cliff face, making the hike all the more worth it.
Mystic Beach is one of my favourite places. It is a short hike to a stunning beach that features a waterfall and sea caves!
For the first camping trip of 2020, we headed to Mystic Beach to do some beach camping. We’d been feeling cooped up with all the COVID 19 measures, but the BC provincial parks had opened up, and we decided to go for an adventure.
Mount Doug Park is just a stone’s throw from my door. And after a short hike, it provides some of the most stunning views of the city of Victoria!
At the peak of Mount Doug, there is an amazing lookout, but there is a second “peak” in Mount Doug Park known as Little Mount Doug. It’s not quite as high, but it does feature the same kind of stunning views, if only on three sides—being blocked on the fourth by the summit proper.
And, unlike the main summit, which can be accessed by road (although the road has been closed for traffic due to COVID 19 and even during regular times is closed to to traffic until noon everyday), Little Mount Doug has to be completely done on foot—and the last bit is a scramble, which my children LOVE!
When the backyard pool doesn’t have enough room for relaxing without getting splashed, and I can’t leave the city, I can still find a little slice of paradise kayaking at Elk/Beaver Lake.
I’ve been itching to get out on the water, because that is my Zen place, and when I go too long without a water-based adventure, I can start to get a little twitchy. So today, I packed up my twins and our kayaks in our faithful red van and headed to Elk/Beaver Lake to do some kayaking.
The lake has a little bit of interesting history. It actually used to be two lakes (thus the unusual name), but in 1872 Elk Lake started to be used to supply the drinking water for Victoria and the lake was dammed, causing the water to rise enough that the two lakes became one.
A quick hike along the Great Trail (Trans Canada Trail) to the historic and incredible Kinsol Trestle.
When I looked outside this morning and saw that the sky was a little cloudy, I knew today was going to be a hiking day. However, it needed to be something on the easier side, because my legs still haven’t quite recovered from our backpacking adventure to Kwai Lake.
And for some reason, the more I thought about going hiking, the more I thought about the Kinsol Trestle. And so, my twins and I jumped in the car and headed to the Shawnigan Lake area for a hiking adventure.
A two-night backpacking trip to Kwai Lake—a little piece of paradise on Forbidden Plateau in Strathcona Park.
This adventure was a bit spontaneous. My husband sent me a link to an article about Kwai Lake, and the pictures were so stunning that I knew we needed to go there. One week later we (my husband, 9-year-old twins, and I) were on our way to Kwai Lake through some of the most stunning scenery I have ever had the privilege of hiking through.
A quick hike around a stunning lake in the Cowichan Valley, and then a quick dip in the serene waters of Spectacle Lake.
Looking for a new romantic location to send my lovers to, and needing to get some exercise for an upcoming multi-day backpacking trip to Cape Scott (stay tuned in August!), I headed to Spectacle Lake for a hike and a swim.
Even though Spectacle Lake is only about a thirty minute drive from my house, I had never been before; however, a very trustworthy source told me that it was serene and lovely—perfect for romantic assignations.
A mountain biking adventure on the Cowichan Valley Trail on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada.
After a bit of a mess up with our initial plan (read the Sooke Hills Trail post for details), my family (husband and nine-year-old twins) found ourselves at the access point to the Cowichan Valley Trail near the McGee Creek Trestle, deciding whether we should go north towards the iconic Kinsol Trestle or south towards Victoria.
A mountain biking adventure in the Sooke Wilderness Park, in Victoria, BC, Canada
Today’s adventure was a bit of cross country mountain biking as a family. We started out on the Sooke Hills Wilderness trail, but at about 2 kms in, we came to a portion where the trail was closed due to a landslide, so we headed back to the van and came up with a different route—which I will detail in a separate post.
Today’s adventure was tubing the Cowichan River. The perfect mix of peace and exhilaration in the same adventure.
One of the amazing things about living on Vancouver Island for a water-loving girl like me, is the plethora of options. We’ve got ocean, we’ve got lakes, we’ve got rivers, creeks, and streams. AND we have the Cowichan River, which is PERFECT for a day spent lazing around on a tube.
