Sun, Snow, and the Surf...in Ucluelet, B.C.

I wanted to capture our 2009 Spring Break (the moments still very much with me) and I didn't seal it here on my family blog because it was a bit overwhelming. Our computer got a virus and I lost all of the pictures except 10 or so from this vivid, lovely time we spent together in Ucluelet on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. I decided to write it down in Camille's journal and now I realized I need to have it as well. I am planting it here, too.


March 29th-April 4th 2009

We drove to Tsawwassen (through the border to Canada) then we caught a ferry to Nanaimo. From here we drove to Ucluelet, where we stayed in a cabin. We traveled for about 8 hours on Sunday and headed out Monday to the Wild Pacific Trail. We walked in a dowpour seeking shelter under mossy boughs (Gabe riding on Dad's shoulders with glistening hoods under mossy bough picture). It is a rainforest, hence the rain. We bundled up but we were drenched. On the point was a lighthouse. Towards the end of the trail Gabe was lacking far behind (picture of him coming a complete stand still refusing to move) but we bribed him with chocolate we didn't have to get him to the end. He rode Brett's shoulders most of the way so don't feel too bad for him. We enjoyed the beauty of the green and the sea.


On Tuesday, we went to Big Beach. This was the first beach we flew the kite. Dad is a crazy kite flyer. We loved this place because the eagles were in abundance. There were eleven plus in the huge evergreen trees right over our heads. They kept landing one after another. We listened to their calls and can now indentify an eagle's call. We have a few videos of Camille and Gabe imitating them. They could defintely fly right up there and chat. We rested ourselves below on the beached driftwood in the streaming sun. (Picture of us laying in between the wood with hot sun on our faces). So lovely.

It snowed Wednesday, so we ventured out closely. We walked to Little Beach which was little and close the cabin.

It was sunny again on Thursday so we headed to Wickaninnish Beach which was gorgeous and incredibly windy. The wind blew the waves into the beach and back into the sea. We flew the kite again and Dad almost took our heads off when it bombed down ferociously. We walked the beach to the other end near the Interpretive Center singing Langhorne Slim's "Diamonds and Gold." We explored the rocks and found massive amounts of shells and sea glass. We made a stepping stone using the sea glass. We had so much fun here.

In the late afternoon we went to Florencia Beach where Camille walked barefoot. We used to play a game called "I love you more than..." Camille would say the funniest things. We had many dialogues of this nature back and forth. An example. I said "I love you more than rocks (which I love to see, climb, feel, but mostly collect from the places we visit. I wish we had a yard full of rocks) and you said "I love you more than cold seawater." I wasn't sure she understood how to play the game until this trip. Although we had sun, we also had snow. The cold didn't stop us from exploring the beaches. Camille was in pants rolled up knee high (after she already got them wet and sandy) in the freezing saltwater at Florencia Beach. She loved to go in the pools that formed around the rocks, loved to squish her toes in the sand. I remember it so vividly. As far as loving me more than the seawater which was bitter...Well, she loved that water.

I remember the bulbous sea kelp that you and Dad were flinging onto the beach. The picture of Dad bearing a caveman face whipping it onto the sand like he was tough was spared from destruction. Our last day, Friday we went to Schooner's Cove. We walked through a rainforest trail to get to the beach. There were islands and purple and orange seastars in massses clinging to rock after rock. They and the sun were so bright today. As I look back, trying to write the scenes in the pictures we lost, my mind is lit with sheer brightness. Dad, Camille, and Gabe walked down to Long Beach. I went to fetch the car and meet them. This is the beach where the surfers hang out; surfers donning wetsuits and riding waves when just two days before it was snowing. I read in Seattle magazine that this area is compared to surfing in Hawaii (minus the snow). We basked on more driftwood while Camille and Gabe played in the sand.

Perfect.