Wordless Wednesday

Road Trip

"Fuck it! Get out of bed, and let's go anyways!"

We had planned the day before to finally do the drive from Victoria to Port Renfrew, Lake Cowichan, Duncan and back home to Malahat. We were going to get up early, and have a nice relaxing day trip. Of course, when the alarm went off that morning, we woke to the sound of hard rain echoing off the camper roof, groaned, and went back to sleep. Eventually Zach got up, and I lay awake in bed, trying to decide if I should just stay there until the next day, or get up and try and be productive.

As the first line up there alludes, we got the fuck up and went anyways. After a little thought, we agreed that if we were in Saskatchewan, we would never let cold weather get in the way of a day of fun, so rain pissing down on us shouldn't hold us back either. Zach had also checked the forecast for the west side of the island, and it looked clearer there than it did closer to Victoria.

We had first learned of this drive from Uncle Bruce, on his first visit to our campground. We read a bit about it afterwards, and Zach mapped out the directions, and we planned to do it before we left the island. (To see the route and learn more about what I'm talking about, check out http://www.travelbritishcolumbia.com/tours/Pacific_Marine_Circle_Tour.aspx )

We went for a couple long walks along the way, first stopping at Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, and then at Botany Bay ( near Botanical Beach). We drove through Jordan River and Port Renfrew and checked out the sights, but didn't get a chance to do anything there, as the phone lines were down all last week, and most businesses were closed because of that. We liked the atmosphere on that part of the island. Quiet and laid back and simple.

After our excursion to Botany Bay, we started heading to Lake Cowichan. Thank goodness for our truck, because old Mabel the Ford Focus wouldn't have been happy on that trip. For the most part the roads are paved, but it is a relatively unused road, and from what we could tell, was mostly used by logging trucks, and probably campers and hikers in the summertime. Although we drove past a few homes, and a lot of clear cut areas, there were very few signs of life....and a lot more snow than we have seen this whole winter.

When we got to Lake Cowichan, we decided to get out and have a walk around. We bought some coffee's and wandered down the main drag, and down to the lake and museum. Cowichan was quiet and quaint, and reminded me of the kind of town that has its population double in size as soon as summer arrives. I also got the distinct impression that the young locals were well aware of how much cooler they were than any outsiders....reminded me of how I acted growing up at Madge Lake.

Once we hit the Trans Canada again, after getting to Duncan, we knew our little adventure was over. Driving on the main highway just doesn't give you the same carefree feeling as a back road. We had one last stop in Mill Bay, where we took the dogs for one last walk down to the now-defunct marina, and ordered our favorite Mill Bay pizza to take home.

Thank you, Zach, for getting me the fuck out of bed, and for reminding me not to let weather get me down. I can't think of anything better than spending a day driving around with you and the dogs, and I can't wait to see where we go next.

Wordless Wednesday - Botany Beach