Sunny Side Down

Just last month I bore witness to a pretty impressive sunset happening over Parksville, a small town on Vancouver Island, known for its resorts.

If you look closely, you can just make out some of those resorts/condominium complexes across the water. But look at those trees silhouetted against the mountains glowing in the magnificence of the setting sun!

Here we see the peaks of the condos mimicking the mountain peaks.

Do you think that was intentional on the part of the architect?  

A lone figure enjoys a walk along the beach as the sun goes down,

casting a magical glow.

The day goes out in a blaze of glory...

as night time quietly creeps in,

signifying the end of a wonderful day. 

Loafing About

When last you saw me, I was heading off to the hippy bakery,
the Common Loaf, in Tofino.

Appropriately, there is a happy hippy dude
working behind the counter in the hippy bakery. 
Actually, I think he should be classified as a neo-hippy.

He is wearing a large beret that looks like

someone's knitting got away from them. 

He's speaking to someone on his cell phone.

Hippies did not have cell phones, back when hippies were hippies,

they simply dug each others' vibes.

Here is a small dude being given some sort of moral lesson by his mother.

I can hear him thinking, "Give me the cake; just pass me the cake, Mom!

I'll agree to anything you say, just hand over the cake!

Please!!!"

While we're munching on our non-wheat, lactose-free, eggless, sprouted bean, no nuts, granola muffins, let's take one last lingering look at Tofino,

Pacific Terminus for the Trans-Canada Highway,

as aptly demonstrated by the Nooch, à la Vanna White.

It's time to leave this particular tsunami zone and boogey on down the road.

See ya round the next bend.

Peace!

Too Fine In Tofino

The drying wet suit seen on the post below this one was hanging out at this beach in Tofino, about a half hour's drive from Ucluelet.

Can anybody spot the little bird in this picture?

Let's zoom in on that rock out there:  seems the wind is whipping up quite a cloud of sea spray.  The clouds, the light, the weather can change quickly, blowing in off the Pacific Ocean.  Earlier in the day it had been dark with clouds and pouring rain, blustering with high winds, and even hailing.

But now the sun is out and it feels good to stretch our legs.  Let's turn around and walk in the opposite direction down the beach.  I mean, in the opposite direction together, not in the opposite direction from each other! The beaches in this area are very popular with surfers.  Can anybody spot the surfers in this picture?

(you have to squint and look really hard, and use your imagination)

So much beach, so little time.

Let's just sit here on a log and admire the view awhile, shall we?

Or we could even lie down on the sand and chill, like this mermaid. 

Don't lie too close to her, though--she has a whip!

(unless you like that sort of thing)

All this fresh air and exercise has given me an appetite.  Maybe we should just gather some sea veggies for a nice salad and have a picnic on the beach. 

On second thought...I'll go look for that bakery in Tofino that my good buddy Anonymous was telling me about a few blog comments ago.

Back soon!

Clueless in Ucluelet

The last time you saw me, I was biking off to Vancouver Island to take tea in Victoria.  You know what they say about the best laid plans...

My sister decided to kidnap me and take me "up island" from Victoria to the tsunami hazard zone.  From what I've been reading in the Vancouver papers lately, it would seem that pretty much all of the island's west coast is a tsunami-waiting-to-happen zone, but this particular area has posted signs.

Something else that I wasn't expecting was...(wait for it!...)

Snow!!! (I hear you easterners laughing up your sleeves!)

I have to admit, though, that being whisked away on an impromptu camping trip proved to be not that much of a hardship.

My sister likes comfort.  I feel very comfortable with my sister.

I also have to confess that there had been a lot of rain en route...a lot of rain...rain that only the west coast knows how to whip up.  But when we arrived at our lodgings, the weather had calmed and we enjoyed the view of the little harbour beside the resort campground.

Appropriately, the fishing boat seen here is named "Pacific Banker."  I read in the paper recently that this area is home to BC's priciest hotel and resort  stays.  What I don't get is why investors continue to build luxury condos and complexes in a known tsunami zone.

Do the rich and super rich believe that they're immune to disaster?  Or does the risk make the venture all the more exciting? 

Here's one structure at least that's not likely to be swept out to sea when (and it is a matter of "when," not "if") that one/two punch of earthquake/tsunami hits.  Some experts say a major earthquake, even larger than the recent one in Japan, occurs every 400 to 500 years in this area and that the last one was in 1700.  Other forecasts put it anytime between now and 250 years from now, while still  other guesstimations say the inevitable is long overdue. 

But the sea views are quite spectacular, and the natural beauty of the place awe-inspiring, so it is perhaps understandable why people are willing to take their chances to live or vacation here. 

Reflecting on the beauty.

Moody sky, tumultuous ocean, unexpected colours highlighted by rain.

I'll wave goodbye to you for now, but I'll be back soon to continue our little trip "up island."