Thursday morning the kids got some reading time with Grandma
Henry enjoyed eating pancakes for breakfast
His brothers gave him lots of help
Nixon is so good with Henry
Thursday was also an open day and we decided to try and do something close to home. We went to Cowichan Bay
According to Wikipedia, Cowichan Bay is is a bay and community located on the east coast of southern Vancouver Island near Duncan, in British Columbia. The mouth of the Cowichan River is near Cowichan Bay. Mount Tzouhalem and its hiking trails and ecological reserve stands to the north. The bay is known for its fishing and scenic value. The area's main industries are fishing and tourism.
I would describe it as a cool and small little town on the ocean.
The main attraction was the Maritime Center and Cowichan Wooden Boat Society
It was basically like a museum with all sorts of displays, many of historic wooden boats, and interactive boating games
The kids also got to make their own little wooden boats there, which was a lot of fun
It was also a little noisy
Batman needs a boat
The kids were really excited to play with them
Cute kids in a lineup (each of them wearing the dog tag they got from Fort Rod Hill the day before)
They have sails on their boats and they are ready to go
That boat is just the perfect size for the three of them
The marina there was pretty cool. It was a big difference from the marina's we are used to seeing with expensive speed boats and other luxury boats
My favorite people
H is for happy Henry
After the museum and the marina it was time to have some lunch. We found this little picnic area next to a small beach area.
It didn't take long for the kids to get their boats in the water
The boats kept the kids entertained for a long time. Then they found crabs.
After holding a tarantula Kim felt brave enough to hold a crab
We had some rock skipping lessons
Kim, Henry, and I spent a long time sitting on a blanket watching the big kids play. It was so nice and relaxing
Henry even provided some percussion
We got some ice cream after that (and paid more than we paid in Victoria!)
Photo bombed!
And when we see these types of cut outs for photos we can't resist
After Cowichan Bay we came back to the house and had some down time
Each family took an evening to make a meal for everyone. Kevin and Amanda chose to make pizza with the pizza oven at the cabin and this was their night.
Mason couldn't wait so he had to have a snack while we were getting it all ready
Everyone prepared their own pizzas
Kevin manned the oven
The resulting pizza was fantastic!
This is the pizza I made
It was delicious! I think Kevin should buy an oven, pull it around Calgary behind his truck, and he could make a lot of dough!
After dinner we all played a game called Pin the Mustache on Grandpa
I think everyone had a good time
We said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa the next morning when they left to go home
We got ready to do some beach-hopping
We drove to the west side of the island and the roads were super windy so I got to try out the motion sickness glasses. Truthfully, we all needed a pair
We made it and the first beach we went to was French Beach
There was a really cool mist there because it was still relatively early
The kids loved the sand. It was really fine and when it was wet it almost felt like kinetic sand
Cliche name and date in the sand picture 😉
French Beach was all about the sand
Look how strong that boy is
Henry was so chill up on these rocks
That is a big crab shell
We left French Beach after a while to go to China Beach (our main destination)
Amanda had a scavenger hunt prepared for the kids, which made the hike into the beach lots of fun for them
The big trees in this forest were really cool
Henry was a good hiker
The kids decided they needed to move this big log. It was fun seeing them work together and using a branch as a lever
Lyza with her name in the sand
I think if they were stranded on an island they might do OK...
These beaches on the west part of the island had nice strong waves
We started off on the left side of this picture and slowly worked our way to the rocky part on the right side of the picture
That's where we found all of the crabs!
This was the first time we found hermit crabs and there were lots of them
Lyza also found this little fish
It didn't take long for everyone to start hunting for crabs
Henry isn't old enough for crabbing
I was picking up crabs that a few days earlier I would have been too scared to go after
This one Joanne is holding is pinching her finger nail
We also found these mussels
The kids were developing quite the collection
Lyza found two more little fishy things
Another name and date in the sand picture for good measure
Partners in crime
We eventually had to pack up and leave
Thanks Wes for helping with the stroller
Saw some parasailing on the way home
There was a beautiful double rainbow that evening
The next morning it was off to the ferry
Luckily the spot we were parked and waiting to get on was close to a playground
Snacks on deck
Henry playing in the ship
Well, the border on the way home was an even bigger disaster than on the way there. Two-and-a-half hours waiting in line!
We got a little stir crazy
After that it was smooth sailing. The kids were really good travelers that day. Henry sleeping with his hands on his knees is super cute
Our last stop was a really nice park in Moses Lake
Mason was insistent that I take his picture on this turtle
For the future Daniel and Kim Keyes family: Vancouver Island was beautiful. However, the border crossings are absolutely ridiculous and even though the total delay caused was 4.5 hours for a total trip that was over a week, I am not sure I would do it all over again.
Maybe it is just too soon to think about. The island was sure beautiful though.
Take care
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