A Look at a Pretty Place : Salt Spring Island

As mentioned in my previous posts about our trip out west last week, our next stop was one of Canada's coastal islands, called Salt Spring Island.

With a population of 10,000 people, I have read that this island has always been inhabited by those seeking an alternative lifestyle, filling it with artistic and independent people. Since it is an island with inherent limited employment opportunities, most people are self-employed or retired.

The vibe on this island is very laid back. To me it has a very relaxed 'beach-town' feeling, much like what I experienced spending quite a few summer holidays at Sauble Beach, located north of Toronto, on Lake Huron. But differing from Sauble where the lake water was glorious to swim in, I don't think anyone swims at any of the beaches that surround this island. That's because it would involve dunking your body into the numbingly cold waters of the Pacific ocean, which this far north really never gets warm enough for comfortable swimming.

That said, there are plenty of ways to spend your time on Salt Spring Island. There are many gorgeous hiking trails with spectacular views, and a cute little main town called Ganges to visit. These photos were all taken in Ganges, where we went pretty well every day while we were on the island.

We drank delicious coffee, ate in some great restaurants, visited interesting shops, hung out in a small but beautiful park, and checked out the boats at the marina. We also went to the outdoor market on Saturday, which was so amazing and chock-full of photo ops, that it will get its own post.

All Aboard : Riding a Ferry Boat on Canada’s West Coast

c="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/skeena-queen-ferry-victoria.jpg" alt="skeena-queen-ferry-victoria" width="640" height="425" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17793">Hi :) I would first like to welcome new readers (and of course my beloved regular visitors) and say that this is a continuation of my story about a trip to Canada's west coast, that we took last week.After spending a day and night in the city of Victoria (seen here) we took a bus out of the city and over to the docks where we would be boarding a ferry and going to the place that we would be spending the next several nights. Our destination was called Salt Spring Island.I can easily count the number of times that I've been on a ferry like this so, unlike the majority of people there who probably take this ride regularly therefore choose to stay in their cars, I was looking forward to the novelty of the ride itself. As foot-traffic we got on the boat first and we decided to head up to the outdoor deck.Cars and freight trucks then completely filled this area below.

Travelling to the West Coast : First Stop – Victoria, British Columbia

It took us 12 hours, door-to-door, to get to Victoria, which is the most western major city in Canada, and as Nick pointed out, it involved riding on 2 buses, 2 trains and 2 planes.

After arriving at our hotel we freshened up a bit and then went out for a walk around. I have been there once before but that was in the wintertime and although it wasn't cold then (their weather is much more mild than is Toronto weather) it was dark and rainy. On this visit it wasn't all warm and crystal skies but at least we didn't need an umbrella. West Coast weather tends to be very wet and we heard that we were lucky and arrived just as it had gotten nicer out. In fact, having checked the weather forecast for the week before leaving we were expecting rain all week long and were happy to not have seen a drop the entire time we were there.

Anyway, we set out from the hotel in search of refreshment, which we found in the form of a 'beer tower', which was a container of ale brewed specifically for the establishment, called Yates Street Tap House, which had a spout so we could serve ourselves right at our own table. We sat out in a nice glass enclosure on the street so we could people watch to our hearts' desires.

A Toy Store(y)

Thrift Store Finds

c="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/loulous-thrifting-finds.jpg" alt="loulous-thrifting-finds" width="640" height="427" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17708">Seems that Nick and I have a new little routine going on and I like it. It goes like this ... he drops me off at a great thrift store (Value Village), goes off and does some shopping/errand running of his own, and then comes back to get me at a predetermined time. Last time we did this, I had an hour to shop. This time I stretched it to an hour and 15 minutes.So here is what I got, spending a total of $19 (about $22 after tax). That is 12 pounds (14 with tax) for my UK friends.