Tag: Vancouver Island

Whale Watching on a Semi-Anniversary

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Travel

Breaching Whale

December is a hectic time of year. In addition to all the Christmas rush there is my birthday and our anniversary. Last December 27 was crazy with family and travel, so we decided to celebrate our anniversary six months later. Little did we know that June 27 would be crazy with family and travel, too, but we decided to go ahead with our plans for a special day.

Neither of us had ever been on a whale watching trip, so we decided that would be our big adventure for the day. This being a week before a major holiday, it was tricky finding reservations. Fortunately, Island Adventures in Anacortes had space, so we booked our trip.

It turns out that this is the same company that I used for my kayaking tour last August when I was here. They followed the same procedures, too. We checked in at their main store, then reported over to the marina where we would board.

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The Wilds of Vancouver Island

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Travel

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

We had kind of overdone it the day before. We were exhausted, and on top of that we hadn’t gotten much sleep because it was hot and most of these BC hotels have no AC. So, it was a late start to the day with a leisurely breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

We figured we had until 4:00 before we had to line up for the return ferry to Anacortes. That gave us several hours to explore. Eventually, we decided to head up along the coast to see if we could get to where we could see the Pacific Ocean, and not just the Puget Sound. Our target was Port Renfrew, which was barely where one might see the ocean, and about at the limit of our range for the day.

We headed northwest(ish), outside of Victoria, and toward the town of Sooke. From Sooke we took Highway 14 toware the coast.

Our first stop was French Beach, a BC Provencial Park along the coast. The sun was shining, but it was still very cool and foggy off of the coast. The ranger said that a couple of pods of whales lived nearby, so we grabbed binoculars and sat for a bit.

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Anacortes Ferry, Butchart Garden, and Victoria

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Travel

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Laura and I got up early this morning. We had reservations for the ferry from Anacortes to Sydney, BC, and knew we had to get there early to board. We drove off of the island while the sun tried to break through the ubiquitous fog.

The Ferry

The ferry wasn’t very crowded this time. Only the lower car deck had vehicles, and the seating area was largely empty. We took our usual positions at the front of the boat, despite the chilly, damp wind.

Pretty soon, though, it got too foggy, and they even closed off the outer decks for safety. Visibility was nil, and the ship slowed and blew its horn regularly.

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