I’ve made some incredible memories vacationing with my sister over the past few years. She never fails to find new (and somewhat obscure) destinations, and this year was no exception. With a few months off from teaching in Hong Kong for the summer, she headed stateside, with plans to bop between the US and Canada for a month. Together, we’d meet in Seattle for a short jaunt to Mount Rainier, then make our way over to Victoria, BC as a gateway to our main destination, Tofino.
The trip was intended to give us a good dose of what we don’t get often: fresh air, cool temps, water, pines – the things people who don’t live in the desert or the jungle may take for granted. 🙂
First stop, Rainier…
What we didn’t expect from Mount Rainier: much of the park is still snow-covered in June. The areas near the base of the mountains (we entered near Longmire) were snow-free, but they also don’t offer the stunning views that the Paradise area does at its higher elevation. While we spent the first day driving the winding roads near the entrance of the park and stopping off at dozens of lookouts along the way, we made the 45-minute drive to Paradise on day two, expecting to spend the full day tackling the many trails up at the top. Little did we know there was one open trail, and being able to finish even that would be a challenge in gym shoes as it was half snow-packed. I had pictured wildflowers and green grass (guess those are reserved for July/August), and instead we got a much different (yet still pretty!) scene:
Something else that surprised us: we stayed just outside the park in Ashford, and my what a tiny town that is. Charming, and we loved our stay, but it was slim pickins’ in the food department and we ended up raiding the general store for most of our meals. The cabin where we stayed was adorable and private, accessible by a gravel drive that led up into the woods. (Next time we’d opt for the larger cabins with full kitchens and hot tubs!)
Two nights in Rainier given the snowy conditions was plenty – we were ready to start our adventure in Canada. There are a few different ways to get to Victoria from Seattle – accessing a ferry from Port Angeles, hopping on the Clipper from Seattle, or flying. We opted for the latter (though next time I’d take the Clipper) and wound up in Victoria with just enough time to explore the city and grab some real (not general store-sourced) food. The city is larger than we expected (maybe that’s because we were coming from Ashford?) and it has some gorgeous architecture (aka the Parliament building below), international flare (hello Irish pubs and Chinatown), tchotchke shopping, (this was my personal fav), and beautiful coastal views. It also has the famed Butchart Gardens but dear sister didn’t want to take the long bus ride or pay the $35 to get in, so that was a no go.
PS – Victoria is a haven for rose-lovers.
Fishermans’ Wharf was a whimsical little stop off close to our B&B. While pretty touristy, we were surprised to see there were some beautiful private little homes at the end of each of those piers!
If anyone loves a good coastal walk, it’s me. The one we stumbled upon through Holland Point Park ended up being one of my favorite things we did in Victoria. (Yes, I’m a nerd like that.)
Again, two nights in Victoria were just enough for us, and we were eager for the main event: Tofino. There’s no quick way to get to this small town midway up the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island – we had to rent a car and make the five-hour drive there from Victoria. While I admittedly put up a stink about the drive prior to the trip, it wound up being a highlight, with tons of different stop-offs along the way to break up the journey. We visited the Damali winery and lavender farm (highly recommend, though there are many a winery to choose from along the way), got fresh meat and cheese from an artisanal deli, walked through the immense Douglas firs at Cathedral Grove (felt like walking into a Christmas candle), stopped off at the Old Country Market in Coombs to see the goats on the roof (and ended up buying everything from hats to fresh raspberries), and pulled over to as many lookouts as we could because the views were that breathtaking.
By the time we got to our Airbnb right in the middle of town, we were in love. From the beauty of the island to the vibe of the town to the quality of our accommodation, this part of the trip far exceeded expectations. View from our private balcony:
We quickly hit the town (i.e. walked across the street) for drinks and food at Shelter. All of the food we had in Tofino was excellent – super fresh and flavorful seafood wins me over every time. After diner we took one of our bottles of lavender-infused wine from Damali and headed to one of the beaches just outside town for sunset. Note: the sun sets in this part of the world late – close to 10 pm – so you can really maximize your days. (Or be like us and occasionally fall asleep with the sun still up.)
The next morning, we suited up (literally) for the event we’d been most excited for – bear watching. Along with about 10 other passengers, we loaded up in our Zodiac (us subtly pushing our way to the front… the Niedospial way) and set out on the calm waters of the Clayoqout Sound.
We did our tour with Adventure Tofino Wildlife Tours and they were awesome. Not enough good things to say about this company. Before getting to the main attraction, we stopped to see a resting bald eagle and a big group of seals. (Urm, think they noticed us?!)
After that, we spotted him: our first bear. We ended up seeing a total of 5, including a female and her two cubs, but this guy was our favorite. We sat with him for about 20 minutes as he lifted rocks along the shoreline looking for food, yet he barely seemed to notice us until the end.
Seeing bears in their natural habitat was pretty exhilarating, but I’ll tell ya, I couldn’t get enough of the views! Even if we hadn’t seen a single creature on our tour, I would’ve been happy just cruising along taking in the scenery. The Zodiacs are surprisingly comfortable and our ghost-buster suits did wonders for keeping us warm. (It’s chilly out there in the mornings!)
After our tour the sun came out and we decided to get a mini hike in. Destination of choice: the lookout along Cox Bay Beach. We found this one off Pinterest (of course) but I don’t think its very well known… there isn’t even a trailhead. We made a guess as to where to start, and went with it. After questioning our route about a million times and narrowly avoiding a snake, we made it to the top. (I make this sound like quite the trek but in reality it probably only takes 10-15 minutes one way.) Worth the confusion:
The next morning found us back in our red jumpsuits for tour #2 with Adventure Tofino: whale-watching. I’ll admit I was a little less excited for this one given that you rarely get to see much of the whale, but I changed my mind as we got going. Rather than sticking to the calm waters of the sound, we ventured further out into open waters and (again, being in the front), riding those choppy waves was pretty thrilling. We also got to see a ton of wildlife, including sea otters, sea lions, seals, puffins, and of course, about 5 whales.
(Look closely in the kelp – see the four sea otters?!)
The big one was a complete ass.
Not the most amazing photo as to be expected, but look how close we got! We accidentally came up on this guy and he surfaced to let us know he was there… at which point we had to slowly back the boat up.
Both the bear and the whale tours were incredible, and I wouldn’t be able to choose between them – I’d recommend doing the pair to anyone.
Didn’t get our only non-selfie together until our last night. Go figure.
After our time was (sadly) up in Tofino, we drove to Nanaimo, where we hopped a ferry to Vancouver. I wish I had more to share about that seemingly amazing city, but after downing an absolutely delish $14 sushi meal (yep, for two) and attempting to get dessert at Granville Island, it started to pour and we took it as a sign to rest our tired bones before going our respective ways.
Another amazing trip with Rachie in the books 🙂