Recently it’s been getting much hotter in Vancouver therefore marking the beginning of… Swimsuit Season! So I looked at what I had in the bathing suit variety and well, nothing fit. So my mother and I did some research online to figure out what stores would have suits to fit my human shaped body. Now, I’m no toothpick but I really wanted a two piece with space in the middle that could make me look and feel good. We looked up places such as H&M, Old Navy, Walmart, Gap and places that carry Billabong swimwear. The things we saw on […]

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I was going out for dinner in Vancouver with a group of friends and nobody was very picky as to where we were going to eat. One friend (we are all 14-15) suggested we go Hi-Nippon, a sushi place on West 4th Avenue and Vine. I figured well, we have no better ideas and I’m getting hungry so sure. We enter the venue and are immediately shown our seating options. We could either sit at a regular table or we can sit in one of the take-your-shoes-off-and-get-into-what-feels-like-a-mini-apartment tables. We are a party of five and the Japanese tables look like […]

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There is a small shopping area in Vancouver‘s Kitsilano neighbourhood that you may not know about. It runs one block on West 1st Ave between Burrard and Cypress. There are restaurants, spas, clothing stores, a wine shop and tucked in one spot on the north side is Koko Monk. If you are a true chocolate freak, you must try this place. It’s tiny, but you can sit and have a hot chocolate, but the artistic unique flavoured chocolates are something to try and behold. There are unusual flavours including lavender and watermelon that are so carefully blended in, you are […]

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I’ve been to a number of places for steak in Vancouver, but this is where I always return. I think the primary reason Neil fully understands steak is that he never fully bought onto the fat-makes-you-fat routine. Back in the 80s or so when the de fatting of all food was really in full swing, I noticed that steaks at home and out generally started tasting bland. Guess what, the fat helps give it flavour. Anyway, the restaurant is stylish without emptying your pocketbook. It’s best to be on Neil Wyle’s mailing list because that’s how we found out about […]

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Our second Salt Spring Island beach walk on our trip (see Jack Foster Trail) was at the south east part of the Island. To find the access point to this trail, from Ganges, take Fulford-Ganges Road, turn left on Cusheon Lake Road, right on Stewart Road, left on Beaver Point Road, left onto Bullman Road and then right onto Meyer Road. There’s a cul-de-sac at Meyer Road where you can park. The trail soon becomes this mossy magical location. In March the moss was so profound and wet and green that it felt like a scene from The Shire in […]

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At the north end of Salt Spring Island, there’s a place to visit called Sunset Farm, which is on Sunset Drive, conveniently. Basically it’s a hobby farm with sheep, ducks, chickens, goats, two ponies and very cute black lambs (just don’t tell my kids what happens to most of them). One thing we learned was that it’s a lot easier to raise sheep on Salt Spring Island because there are no foxes, coyotes or wolves. In the Fraser Valley, predation by coyotes is an issue. Interestingly if you are raising chicken, you don’t want to be too close to the […]

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On Salt Spring Island, in the middle of a parking lot, connected to an old house, with a large tree growing in the middle, is a cafe more suited to hobbits than normal humans. Salt Spring dining has a distinct tendency to be gluten free, vegetarian, and/or local — they are quite proud of their grass fed beef and lamb. Tree House Cafe does breakfast and lunch, so you need to be there before 3 PM to enjoy it. We took in lunch and the vegetarians very much enjoyed the veggie burgers. You can always tell when a place understands […]

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On Salt Spring Island, at the intersection of North End Road, Southey Point Road and Sunset Drive there’s an access point to Jack Foster Trail. We were lucky that the trail access was walking distance along a country road were we had a chance to feed grass to a couple of horses in a pasture. It’s a wooded trail, bound by moss-covered decaying snake fences that lead to the ocean. Technically this is an easy trail, which means you can easily use running shoes (preferably ones you don’t mind being covered in mud), but be aware that there are a […]

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During our trip to Salt Spring Island, we investigated Fernwood Cafe on 325 Fernwood Road, which is in the north end of the island. It’s a small cafe and like many rural businesses they share space with a massage therapist outfit. I mean, what else is more West Coast? The cafe is small, but has high ceilings and is very bright with a view of the water across the street. It was a bright sunny day when we were there and the birds were singing in the tree. The food is all home cooked. There was a 20 minute wait […]

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In my opinion, calling this peak a “mount” is an insult to the peak. One of they key unexpected surprises is how twisty, up-and-down and basically mountainous Salt Spring Island is. By the time we were settled in our B&B, we had figured this out through driving and were listening closely when our hostess suggested that the Mount Maxwell view was stunning. However, she cautioned, the road was challenging for regular vehicles, but figured a regular sedan would do the trick. Taking Cranberry Rd from Ganges, you simply follow the signs. You will be going up and up. When the […]

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