From Nanaimo to Telegraph Cove

Looking south over the Rockies

We made it! Greetings from the little resort town of Telegraph Cove, on Northern Vancouver Island.

Our travel day yesterday felt long, but given everything I've read lately about travel woes, I count us lucky that the worst thing we encountered were 30 minute flight delays and a full lounge. The flight was a little bumpy, but the clear air afforded us incredible views of the Rockies, so we all got a taste of next week's adventures.  

No complaints. We flew Ottawa-Vancouver-Nanaimo yesterday, then hopped in our rental car and headed slightly north as far as Courtenay, where we stayed at the Comox Valley Inn.

Operating on about two hours of sleep (helloooooo travel anxiety after 2.5 years of staying home), I may not have had my finest moment in Vancouver airport when hanger got the best of me, but this was swiftly rectified with a giant baguette sandwich. When in doubt, add more carbs.

The motel we stayed at was not especially fancy, but the location was convenient and the kids enjoyed the pool, and I cannot say enough positive things about the Seh-Mi restaurant adjacent to the hotel where we pretty much ate our body weight in sushi and sashimi. NOM. 

A feast at Seh-Mi

Today, our goal was to head north to Telegraph Cove, and stop anywhere that looked interesting along the way.  

Our first pit stop was a rest stop along Oyster Bay. The kids loved checking out the tidal pools (including a short little dash as the tide quickly came in) and they found some really cool shells. It marked their first time coming up close and personal with Pacific Ocean (yes, I know technically it's the Strait of Georgia) and they loved running around and see what they could see.

Just outside Campbell River, we made a pit stop at Elk Falls Provincial Park. It was our first introduction to old growth cedar and it was spectacular. 

We spent a couple of hours hiking around the falls and marveling at the giant cedar trees, and the kids had an absolute blast running and jumping on the suspension bridge. 

One awesome thing about BC Provincial Parks is that day use is free, which is a nice change from Ontario Parks.  Even though it was a warm and sunny Sunday, there was tons of parking and the trail and suspension bridge never felt truly busy (and there were bathrooms! so nice!). 

We wandered about 5k with about 150m of elevation, going up and down and around the river. A good warm-up wander to some of the really big hikes planned later in the trip.

We had lunch in Campbell River, then continued north to Telegraph Cove, where we are looking forward to an overnight kayak camping adventure with North Island Kayak tomorrow (I AM SO EXCITED). The drive was beautiful, with loads of mountain and forest scenery.

I wasn't sure what to expect with Telegraph Cove, but it's a super cute little resort village (i.e., it used to probably be a village, but now every little building is part of the resort, including a few cafes and restaurants). We're staying in a dockside suite, which are built over the water and overlook the little harbour.

We've had a great start to the trip so far. I confess I found the travel day to be a LOT (OMG so many people.....covid has made me even more of an introvert than I already was), but the girls have continued to show such a sense of adventure and are getting along better than I would have expected, considering all the forced togetherness we have foisted upon them.

Brad and I are also busily sampling as many craft BC beers and wines as we can find.

Not sure if we will be able to update tomorrow, but Brad is on deck for the next blog entry (typed on a handy bluetooth keyboard I picked up in advance of the trip), so he'll be typing the next entry from our camp, somewhere in the Johnstone Strait.