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 […]

Read more

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 […]

Read more

Located in Canada Place, if you are fond of Van Gogh’s work, you may well find it interesting. It runs until September 7, 2021. The presentation uses a copyrighted technique called Image Totale. We purchased tickets in advance. There was good signage and at 11:30 AM we were behind too other small groups. The COVID-19 protocols were in place and masks were required. The staff were all masked. The set up was that if you needed the bathroom, do it first. The first things you see are large screens that are suspended from the ceiling. Light shining around the screens […]

Read more

The PNE Winter Lights display in 2020 was an unexpected surprise for us as a friend suddenly had tickets she could not use. I had originally not considered this as an option because of the huge popularity and the idling of cars. (I really don’t like drive through anything.) However, it was after Christmas and my family bubble was happy to spend some time seeing some Christmas lights. Do we headed out to the Vancouver PNE grounds and drove through. As you can tell from the photos, the lights were wonderful. It was odd when I realized we were driving […]

Read more

Honestly, I didn’t think I’d be writing a travel article on this last day of Autumn 2020. In downtown Vancouver, where the day time population of office workers dramatically dropped, there was a need to keep the lights on – in more meanings that one! Fleurs de Villes Noël Vancouver ran from December 4-13 with very inventive arrangement of not just flowers, but all types of plant life. My wife and I walked about and enjoyed the route, which covered parts of the streets of Robson, Burrard, Alberni and Hornby. Given that so much else was shuttered (e.g. Stanley Park […]

Read more

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 […]

Read more

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 […]

Read more

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 […]

Read more

Coombs BC is a funky corner of the earth with the Country Market Goats-on-the-Roof and random stores along the highway. It’s not where you’d expect a fine dining Italian restaurant. But here you are in the middle of the market area, across from a big ice cream parlour, and snug next to a Mexican casual outdoor patio. Little Italy. The restaurant is good during a pandemic because they have a lot of patio seating and always have. It’s a little piece of heaven hidden from the world. There were five us in our bubble and we enjoyed a late lunch. […]

Read more

When you are driving around on holiday, it’s sometime rewarding to decide to follow a sign. We have been on the road to Deep Bay Marine Field Stationin the hopes to be able to walk the grounds. This did not work as the gate was closed. They had decided to not be open to the public due to the pandemic. Other places like Milner Gardens had followed suit, sadly. On the way back to Parksville, we say a sign for Big Qualicum Fish Hatchery. The kids of course seem to get nervous whenever Dad says, “Hey let’s check this out.” […]

Read more