After our search for Notch Hill didn’t work out, I wanted to treat the family to a nice ocean view. I had seen on one of the maps a tiny park right in Fairwinds Community called Brickyard Community Park, which was maintained by Regional District of Nanaimo. This sounded a little more promising that the Fairwinds’ private trails. We drove down to the water past the Fairwinds Golf Course. The area and architecture spoke to me saying, “rich white dudes wearing bad golf shorts.” Had the housing come with price tags, it would have said, “if you have to ask, […]

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In the Parksville–Qualicum Beach Discovery Guide that you can pick up around the area – but definitely at the tourist info office on Highway 19A on the way into Parksville — there’s a mention of Notch Hill. It is short and reads, “A short hike to the top of the Notch Hill will reward you with view of Mount Arrowsmith, Nanoose Harbour and south to Nanaimo. This area contains a rare Garry Oak meadow and Arbutus forest ecosystem. The lookout is a great spot for a picnic lunch in nature.” This appealed to use because, with the pandemic, many places […]

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When on vacation, sometimes you get a moment to read. When shopping in places, I love looking for small bookstores. Occasionally you find a good book. Coombs BC is about 9 km from Parksville. In Coombs there’s a bookstore called Cozy Corner Books that’s got a lot of stuff but over time it’s gotten more disorganized over time. The owner knows tons but I literally tripped over a pile of books and was trapped for a couple of minutes. It’s always fun to look around but ton find anything is tough. Meanwhile in Parksville, at Fireside Books, the place is […]

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Many years ago, we bought a book called 109 Walks. It’s one of those books you pull off the shelve every now and then to be ambitious when you are a city slug in a pandemic wanting to feel less locked in. The walking team picked Four Lakes Trail at Alice Lake Provincial Park. They set out from Vancouver and took the Upper Levels Highway (99) and drove about 12 km past Squamish to Alice Lake Road. At the Park it turned out the parking closer to the HQ was full, but there were lots right near Alice Lake itself […]

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One of the more popular easy trails with stunning views is Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver. When I asked Google Maps for a driving route, it suggested taking the Upper Levels Highway, which is a horrible route for a tourist. If you are coming from Vancouver stay on Marine Drive and head west. This will take you through the Ambleside and Dundarave sections of West Van, but then lead you to twisty roads with wonderful views. Be careful because the locals like to take these fast. It’s a left turn onto Beacon Lane where you can head down to the […]

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Coombs BC is about 10 km west of Parksville. Every summer for 106 years, there has been the Coombs Fair, which is a flat out good old-fashioned agricultural fair. We for once were in the area when it was being held and decided to join in the fun. There is a dominance of 4-H clubs, which is a group of folks running youth programs in various disciplines. In Coombs’ case, it was animals, arts and small engines. It was interesting seeing young people wrangle rather large cattle with a calm that I wouldn’t have with an animal many times my […]

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Heading to a gun range is not a normal tourist event in Canada, but you can do it in Langley BC. My goal was to conduct research for some fiction writing I’m doing. The Range is on 201 Street, Langley, not far from Highway 1. It’s important to note that if you just want to fire guns at their range, you either need a completed Canadian Firearms Safety Course or at least one other person in your group. I brought a friend with me. Prior to this trip, the only firearm I had fired was a 22-calibre rifle at a […]

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Englishman River Falls Provincial Park is located in Errington BC, which is about 6 km from Parksville. It’s my kind of hike (more of a walk, really) because it’s short (3 km) is easy and the scenery is spectacular. There are two falls (upper and lower) that have wonderful views. The lower falls ends in a pool in which thick-blooded individuals were splashing about. The water comes from a mountain and I expect it would be a tad chilly. The park is fairly busy, given there’s a campground attached and is easy access to day trippers as well. But you […]

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Milner Gardens in Qualicum Beach was a visit a long time coming. We visit the Oceanside area of Vancouver Island once or twice a year and, every time we tried to sneak in a visit to Milner Gardens, we’ve been thwarted by scheduling issues. Vancouver Island University came into possession of the 79 acres of seaside walk and botanical gardens in 1996. Make sure to read the History page of the website because the original patrons are super British connected and the gardens have hosted Queen Elizabeth and some of her offspring over the years. For us, we had a […]

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There’s a really long walk you can take from Vancouver‘s Canada Place, which will take your around Stanley Park. It’s an easy walk, in that it’s flat and well kept. But it’s long. It’s also much longer if you are a nincompoop. Never change your orthotics into newer shoes before embarking; it will feel like you just put the orthotics in for the first time. However, let’s not focus on the pain; let’s focus on the scenery. When you start from Canada Place it’s a more industrial place. Seaplanes, ships, cafés and so forth. The good news is that there […]

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