By this Author: beachbuddies

How about a little glamping on Pender Island?

We’ve never been to Pender and it didn’t disappoint. Relaxing, spending time together, exploring and discovering what’s at the end of the winding road. Pender is divided into North and South Pender but it’s not as big as it appears on the local map. We quickly travelled around the island.

The first day we discovered a dog friendly cafe for lunch and beach close by to splash in. The seafood chowder was delicious.

We were camping in an airstream trailer at Woods on Pender. Jordan has his own accommodation in what they call a bunkie. He definitely had the comfiest bed and it was a perfect set up for our family. I enjoyed the hot tub and it was lovely to sit around the campfire in the evening. No smokey clothes because it was a gas campfire. We were glamping you know!

I think our highlight was seeing whales at Thieves Bay. With a little patience and a bit of luck you can see whales from the shore. If the tour boats are in the area, you know it may be your lucky day. The first day, we watched a humpback whale or “humpy” surface three times and then a flash of tail as he dove under the water. That was very exciting!

On our last day, we decided to spend an hour hoping to get lucky again. This time we saw a pod of three orcas travelling right in front of us. Front row seat to the best show on the island.

As luck would have it, we watched two more humpbacks from the ferry back to Victoria. It was as if they were waving to the ferry, pectoral fin slapping a number of times and then the fluke raised high before diving down. How lucky was that?

The big things like spending time together as a family, talking and laughing as you head west for vacation. The little things add up to make it an adventure to remember. A little thing....the rain stopped every time we stopped. The smell in the forest in Jasper. A little thing....Pippa splashing in Lake Annette. A Iittle thing....hiking with my boys.

Bear’s Paw bakery is sold out of bears’ paws so we settled for a monster cookie. Turns out to be the most delicious cookie...another little thing.

A little thing & a BIG THING....Jordan coming with us. I’m very grateful for that.

A few more little things...
Aqua blue mountain water
Trickling water off the mountain
Light traffic
Meadow flowers glistening with raindrops
Sitting by the river together
Jordan giggling in the back seat because Pippa is cuddling him.
Mama black bear and her cub
3 golden retriever puppies
and a labradoodle

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Pippa would say she loves all the sticks that her hoomans will throw over and over again into the ocean. She would also say that swimming is not her thing, not yet anyway but fetching those floating sticks is very fun. Pippa would say she loves being with her family wherever that would be and smelling so many new things. She is learning to not bark at the sea gulls and the buoys floating in the water. They are not dangerous things she needs to protect her family from. Pippa loves cuddling up at the end of the day. Tired and happy.

Dave would say he loves the air roasted coffee he can get each morning by walking through the park close to our air bnb. He was not very happy when the sea gulls crapped all over his car. Dave would say he’d rather be walking the beach than going to the market. He loves to read his book in peace and eat halibut & chips. Dave would say he loves having Jordan along for our trip. I agree.

Jordan would say anywhere we go with Pippa is his favourite thing. Walking the beaches, the parks and throwing sticks for her is lots of fun. He would say the fresh B.C. blueberries in his cereal are delicious and that he also likes the fish. Jordan would say that cuddling a tired puppy at the end of the day is a perfect thing to do.

I would say this trip with Pippa takes some planning but the joy she brings us cannot be measured. We have experienced Victoria in a new and fun way. I love that Jordan joined us this year for our trip to the Island. I would say that I love walking anywhere I can and walking along the ocean might be my favourite place of all. We’ve walked in some truly incredible places in this world but a walk along the ocean with the sun making the water sparkle, is as perfect as you can get.

Since Pippa is the cutest member of our family, most of the photos will have her in it. That’s just how it will be for our travel blog this year. Our family loves dipping our toes in the ocean and we have travelled to Vancouver Island many times on the ferry. How fun was it today doing these things with Pippa for the first time.

While the boys were discovering the colourful frogs at the Vancouver Aquarium, Pippa and I were walking around Stanley Park and having fun of our own. I can’t remember the first time I saw the ocean but it was fantastic watching Pippa in the waves for the first time. We had a quick visit with Auntie Diane and then it was time to catch the ferry to Victoria.

Luck would have it that we got onto the upper deck of the ferry so we could walk around the deck enjoying the breeze from the ocean.

1. No matter where you go, hop out of the car with joy.
2. Be happy. Be excited. Be ready for the next adventure.

3. Enjoy the time you spend with your family.
4. Walking together as a family might be better than hot dogs or cheese.

5. Stay in the car when you see a bear. Don’t be a dumb hooman!

6. You can always choose to be happy.
7. Take time to walk in a stream. It’s only water and you can always wash your paws/feet.

8. Breathe deeply....there is so much to smell. It’s wonderful.

9. The best snack is fresh BC blueberries in the car. Why eat kibble when they will give you fresh fruit, hot dogs and cheese?