Day: June 17, 2008

The rest of the trip in BC is currently a blur as I had not written down anything about it.  In fact, I can’t even remember what we did on the Wednesday!  On Thursday, we took a trip out to Jordan River which was…lacking.  There was nothing there!  I think the point of it was to hopefully see some surfing going on.

We did end up at the Castle for the last few days.  The Castle was a nice old pub built 100 years ago and Uncle Brent knew the owner Kenny very well.  The most exciting part about this place was the price of beer…a round of four drinks came out to around $11.  We were all impressed with the price and the beer (Labatt Winchester which we had never heard of.)

Here’s another beer related story…out here in Sooke (if not all of BC), you pay more for your beer in the store if it’s cold!  I thought it was odd when the woman at the register asked me if my beer was cold or warm.

On the last night, Uncle Brent, Troy and I ended up at the Castle in the early afternoon and after a few pints, Dad came in with us as well and before you knew it, we were playing darts and asked the women to join us for some Chinese food.  We were all having a grand time and even Nanny got up to try her hand at darts.  I was not used to Troy’s camera so the pictures of the event are a little blurry.  The Chinese food was excellent as well.  We headed home where we gave a concert for all and Dad outfitted us with some chef’s hats that they got from their cruise.

Uncle Brent and Aunt Ree showed us some great hospitality while we were there and I had a grand old time hanging out with the family.  It’s not often that we get together but when we do, it’s smiles all around.  I really enjoyed going to Vancouver Island for the week and can see myself returning but I think I would like to check out some camping sites along the way as I don’t know if running over to Chemainus would be exciting again.  I would definitely like to return to Victoria and spend a few days there as there was a lot more to do there.

I don’t know if it’s the fresh air or the time change but it caught up to me by this point.  I think I’ve already needed to have a nap in the afternoon each day and when we woke up around 6:30 to head through Vancouver Island, I was dead tired and slept most of the way.

We headed up North into Duncan where we stopped at a farm that the Mustard Seed Food Bank had purchased.  It is used for multiple reasons; to store all food being shipped for use in Vancouver Island, to grow food on the farm, and to be a form of rehabilitation center where patrons stay a minimum of a year in a house on the property and work on the farm while receiving the aid they need.  I was very impressed with the operation.  They don’t have a large operation as of yet but it will turn into something that is self-sustaining which I personally feel is amazing.

We then headed up further North to Chemainus which is a small town which have painted murals all over the place to attract tourists.  It was neat to walk through the town but that’s that.  Nothing mindblowingly exciting about the place to report on.

He headed back into Duncan where we stopped into a Chiwakan Native area where they had a bunch of totem poles.  We started off in the area going to watch a film but something went wrong with the projector so a man came in and said he would give us a tour around the area until it was fixed.  This was excellent as there usually aren’t guided tours.  He was very insightful and gaves us good stories about the history of the Chiwakan Natives and the stories their totem poles represented.  My favourite story (which has inspired a song) is of an old woman who would hunt down children who were out after dark and then would either eat them or burn them.  Then in a Hansel and Gretel inspired turn of events, the children manage to burn her.  I thought it was an interesting story from their culture.

We got back home and it was a relaxed affair with us munching on some shrimp and hot peperoni, swapping stories and watching Honey Wrestling and the Real Catfight with Troy and Dad.  I also chatted with Troy for quite a few hours into the night along with a nice bottle of Crown Royal that Dad had picked up for us while on his Alaskan cruise.