Explore // Pacific Rim National Park (Day 4)

Our fourth day started out very foggy and misty. We got up early to catch our chartered boat out to Meares Island, which is where a natural hotsprings is located in an ancient Rainforest.

Everything looked so tranquil and calm, it was a quiet morning, a good-for-the-soul kind of morning...

Jacob found the beautifully misted home of Mrs. Spider.

The wooden planks on the hike out to Hot Springs Cove were all carved with the names of different ocean vessels.

We hiked about 30 minutes through the Rainforest before we got to Hot Springs Cove. We saw some beautiful trees, flora, and fauna along the way.

And then...the Hot Springs! All Natural and in the rocks! It was perfect!

Hot Springs Cove was worth the 2 and a half hour journey!

On the way back to Tofino in our boat, we saw some gray whales playing around in the water.

Also, some very big Sea Lions. These guys weigh around 2000 lbs!

Ah, and at last, we enjoyed our last evening by the campfire. We had a wonderful adventure and vacation. Our last night after we went to bed, it started raining again - and rained all day while we drove home. Someone was looking out for us, eh?

Explore // Pacific Rim National Park (Day 3)

Our third day, we spent almost the entire day doing the various hikes in the National Park. All of the hikes were relatively short and had wooden boardwalks as the trail. We started out in the bog.

The bog was kind of like a miniature forest (where trees as old as 300 years are sometimes no taller than 3 feet). With all the twisted trees, it would be a great setting for a scary movie, or a really haunted and spooky forest at Halloween time.

Here are some pretty little plants. Not sure what they're called...but we liked how they look like dainty little stars.

One of the beach hikes and exploring the rocks.

A quiet moment of reflection in the Rainforest.

After a long and wonderful day of hiking, we decided to shed our hiking boots (for flip-flops, of course!) and indulge in an evening away from the campfire for dinner. We drove up to a beautiful viewpoint before heading to dinner.

The viewpoint is called "Radar Hill." I guess during one of the World Wars, there was a radar on top of the hill. But we didn't see it. What we did see was an amazing sunset!

We ate at a place called "SOBO" which is short for "Sophisticated Bohemian". Gotta love it!

Instead of "no shirts, no shoes, no service", this is the kind of sign you find in Tofino. I told Jacob that I might be small enough to pass for a 12 year old so to keep an eye on me so I wasn't someone else's dinner!

Dinner was SOOOO good! Of course we had the freshest seafood. I have to admit, after sitting in such a great atmosphere and eating so well, going home to our tent and sleeping bags didn't sound as good as it had the previous night. SOBO was awesome! We recommend it if you're ever in Tofino!

Explore // Pacific Rim National Park (Day 2)

Our second day, we headed to the village of Ucluelet and began an all-day sea kayaking adventure! We have really fallen in love with kayaking! It is amazing to be so silent and serene on the water with nature all around (no noisy engines and minimal people involved). It was a sunny and beautiful morning when we met up with our group.

We helped load up the van and trailer, and then drove about 45 minutes to the spot where we put our kayaks in and began to paddle. We paddled for about 7 hours that day, all around Barclay Sound and among the many small islands in the Sound.

We had a double kayak. There was us, our guide (Silka, from White Rock, B.C.), Rachel (school teacher from Vancouver, B.C.), and John and Annah (from Portland, OR). We were a small group, in awe of our surroundings. As we paddled throughout the day, we saw several Bald Eagles (now off the extinction list!), seals, starfish, and various waterbirds (some that swim under the water!) We stopped on an island where we were the only people there! We ate a little lunch and then paddled until it was time to head back to town. What a day! Below is a little view from the beach on our little island that was our lunch spot. Can you say perfect?

Explore // Pacific Rim National Park (Day 1)

For our "family vacation" this summer, we packed up and headed north to Pacific Rim National Park, which is located on Vancouver Island in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It took a day to get there, and it rained the whole way and well into the night as we set up our campsite and tent. But Mother Nature was watching over us and for the next four days of activities we had brilliant and beautiful weather!

Our first day we spent most of the hiking various parts of the Wild Pacific Trail. We found a cool old lighthouse and even saw Orcas swimming near the shoreline! One family tried so hard to get a glimpse, we saw them almost get washed into the ocean! (We were glad we didn't have to make a rescue attempt!)

This part of the island lives up to it's name with a "wild" coast. It is interesting to see the contrast where the sea's stormy side cuts jagged rocks, as well some of the smooth and golden beaches - almost more like California beaches, but with everyone donning wetsuits because of the chilly water. We actually camped mostly with people who came to surf the area around Long Beach - many from B.C., but a lot from Alberta and other parts of the world as well.

We loved the combination of being by the ocean as well as among the trees - and the anticipation of looking for wildlife all around this beautiful part of the world. We met wonderful people from places near and far - always one of the favorite parts of travel!

Here, Jacob basked in the sun in a meadow by a beautiful inlet on one of our hikes. We found some black sand and left our "mark"...

It was a great first day...