cpmvfsgu day 5: victoria to salt spring island
I am having the surreal experience of looking through photographs of the wildfire devastation in Washington State, Oregon, and California, and seeing the names of towns where much of my…
Vancouver Island
cpmvfsgu day 4: victoria
I slept more last night than I have since the hives started, and this morning felt halfway human for the first time in months. I took Cookie and Kai for…
cpmvfsgu day 3
We had another good breakfast at Popsey’s, then hit the road to Victoria. Campbell River is halfway between Port Hardy, the northernmost town on the Island, and Victoria, at the…
consolation-prize mini-vacation featuring special guest urticaria: day 1 and 2
This is the time when wmtc turns into a travel journal, which I write almost entirely for myself, for a record of my travels. First of all, we were supposed…
in which i reflect on the joys of summer in north vancouver island, especially during the pandemic
In 2015, Allan and I moved into an apartment, for the first time since leaving New York City in late 2005. We had rented a series of houses for 10…
Lucky Lager: the Island’s working-class beer thrives despite craft craze
Originally published by beermebc.com Lucky Lager: the Island’s working-class beer thrives despite craft craze – Beer Me British Columbia by Larry Pynn Guest contributor Larry Pynn is a longtime Vancouver…
picket lines, pupdates, and the 51st parallel: 10 things on my mind
It’s been a while. 1. Mom went home. My mom went home two weeks ago, after spending seven weeks here. I was sad to see her go! We had a…
island day trip with mom: grant bay and winter harbour
As we enter the last week of my mother’s extended visit, we took one last day trip, out to Grant Bay, on the west coast. As I’ve mentioned, there are…
island day trip with mom: whale watching cruise from telegraph cove
The pictures tell the story this time — all Allan’s. It was an amazing experience, far better than I expected. We also learned a lot about whales. It was such…
island day trip with mom: alert bay
This week’s day trip was fascinating, meaningful, and so much fun. We went to Alert Bay, toured the U’mista Cultural Centre (us for the second time, my mom for the…
weekend trip with mom: a few days in the comox valley
I thought it would be fun for my mom to see a different part of Vancouver Island. I didn’t want her going home thinking the whole island is a sparsely…
island day trip with mom: sointula
This week’s day trip with my Mom was the town of Sointula. One of my libraries is located in Sointula, so I’ve been there a couple of times, but had…
extended mom visit
My mother is visiting from Oregon. That visiting from Oregon part still looks weird to me, since for my entire life — and her entire life until a few years…
backyard baby bear
This adorable little dude was not actually in our backyard, but close enough! He or she was just over the back fence of our next-door neighbour’s yard. He was crying…
spectacular photos of bald eagles in port hardy
Check out these incredible photographs of bald eagles at Storey’s Beach in Port Hardy, created by my friend sM. The story is here. I wish sM would post more photos!…
in which we become homeowners?!
We are buying a house! The list of things we said we’d never do is really beginning to pile up! An SUV, a third dog, and now this. All our…
the north island report: alert bay, eagles, and our first ontario visitors (photos to follow)
When we moved to Port Hardy, I was sure that none of our Ontario friends would ever visit. It’s so far away, and not an easy place to travel to.…
Albertans, in their ‘bitumen bubble,’ may have missed the significance of West Coast Green goings on
We Albertans have been living in a bit if a bubble – a bitumen bubble. As a consequence, we may not all have noticed what’s been happening on Canada’s West…
the north island report: what is going on with the price of gas?
I normally don’t complain about prices, and I dislike when other people with privilege do so. But for every rule, there’s at least one exception, and this is it. What…
first bear sighting of the season
We see bald eagles every day here, and we’ve seen lots of elk — but they never stick around for a photo. This little guy was munching away, and let…