Category: Vancouver Island

There are some special places that you only find when relatives invite you.  Nanoose Bay is on Vancouver Island as you head from Nanaimo toward Parksville.  To get there, you exit Highway 19 at NW Bay Road, which you follow until you get to Rocking Horse Place. The horses are real. Vancouver` Island has a thing about placing very English Pubs in off beat locations.  The Black Goose Inn in Parksville (blackgooseinn.com) is another. At the Rocking Horse Pub, we enjoyed the outdoor space, which was covered on a hot day and was peaceful as the road was far away. […]

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We had an invite to dinner at the Kingfisher Resort and Spa, near Courtenay BC.  I am very happy we accepted! If you are driving northbound on the 19A version of the Island Highway, the entrance comes up pretty fast. It’s just before the tiny town of Royston, which is 5 km from Courtenay. The dining room, with the rather intense name “Ocean7 Restaurant | AQUA Bistro & Wine Bar,” is pretty snazzy. I took the opportunity to enjoy bison, which was quite good. Lots too choose from the bar.  And great service. The server handled our mixed bag of […]

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In Coombs BC, which is about 9 km from Parksville, there’s a shopping area that is identifiable by its plaza with large stone sculptures of animals and Buddhas. The Coombs Emporium is a collection of strange things. A snack bar with ice cream makes no sense when contrasted against Buddhas and bosomy women wooden sculptures. There’s also a collection of intense biker style T-shirts. But I can’t imagine any bikers wearing them. Maybe a cartoon biker? Wooden giraffes (and more bosoms) are also strangely popular. The wooden willies that double as bottle openers were kind of top-of-the-heap-odd.  No photos.  I’m […]

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The Errington Farmers’ Market is held every Saturday from 10 AM to 1 PM.  It is about a 10-minute drive from downtown Parksville.  Errington is a spot in the woods away from the main Island Highway.  The market itself was a quiet affair due to the pandemic.  If you are wanting really fresh produce, and you are at the beginning of your self-catering trip, this would be a good place to start. The fair is held in a playing field, next to a walking trail.  I imagine parking is interesting at busier times, so keep your wits about you. There […]

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It you are planning on dining out in Parksville-Qualicum during a pandemic with its accompanying labour shortage, plan early.  We had a couple of failed attempts at Lefty’s in both Parksville and Qualicum Beach.  In Qualicum Beach we found Giovanni’s Ristorante and Lounge and lucked out with a table for our party of six.  They were working hard in hot temperatures and the demand of being one of the few sit-down restaurants open that hot Thursday nights.  At lot of these places close at 7 PM.  For example, in Coombs, we dined at Cuckoo’s and managed to arrive for 4:30 […]

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When on vacation, I often like to look in on different shops and galleries because for a change I’m shopping for fun, not necessity. One place worth popping into is Robert Held Art Glass. It’s in Parksville on the main 19A highway and is near Rathtrevor Beach and the local bowling alley, Sunset Lanes. There are demos of the art of glass blowing and, as the images show, his capturing of flowers in glass is evocative of impressionism. It’s definitely a spot to go for unique gifts for friends and family. He was working in the back on the day […]

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Vancouver Island University (VIU) has this site called Deep Bay Marine Field Station. It’s located in Bowser, BC, which is about 30 minutes down the road from Qualicum Beach. My family had been curious about it for years and had some bad luck. In 2014 we tried to visit the Field Station and last year (2020) we rebutted by COVID-19, but this year we struck it rich. Between 10 AM and 4 PM they were open. VIU has a research station where they are working on selective breeding of oysters and, more recently, scallops. It’s an industry initiative because they […]

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We were sad to see in Coombs this summer that Coombstock the Hippie Store was liquidating. The lady working that day made it quite clear that she was unsure what the owner had planned, although online distribution seemed to be in the works. As of writing, there was no dedicated website. Coombstock’s sale, however, inspired my son and daughter to buy cool sunglasses, tank tops, balloon pants, hippie hoodie – overall an Indian Subcontinent meets the hippie movement with some odes to Hawaiian shirts. As you can tell from the sign below, the owner was fairly clear about mask-wearing given […]

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For those of you looking for a staircase leading to a Hemp store in Coombs, you now have a new antiques store. Coombs Antique Attic and Collectibles has a variety of memorabilia and a decent selection of Depression glass. My daughter found a selection of old LPs which she took advantage of. The fact someone so young has a turntable is fascinating. My mother was an avid antique collector and I’m always curious to see if instances of her collection show up. If you are looking to decorate a basement hideaway and want it to be retro, they did also […]

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In the last year, a store called Dutch Imports moved and renamed itself to the Dutch Store. I was originally in a kind of industrial mall off Highway 4 and is in Coombs proper and able to enjoy more foot traffic. It’s where the general store used to be. When I entered the place I could hardly believe that we were in that site. Last year the building was pretty rough and now the interior had clearly been completely re-done. The process took from January 2020 to May. Anyone with Dutch heritage, this is a must visit. My family’s interest […]

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