Vancouver Island again

After all of the excitement on our day trip to the west side of the island, and seeing places like Tofino and Ucluelet, we felt like we had really covered a lot of ground in the area.

We were hoping to see sea lions though, and Gary from our tour told us we should go to Fanny Bay to see them.  We followed his directions and we saw hundreds!

On our last day on the Island, we also stopped at the nice local spot called Lefties.  It is called that because all three of the owners are left handed.  This was another great place where locals go and the food is unique.  I had a bowl of carrot and ginger soup.  I know that sounds odd but I am craving some right now.

After taking the ferry back to the Tsawwassen area to get off of the island, we stopped at a great local pub right out of casting.  The Rose and Crown Pub was the perfect spot for us to have a nice filling lunch and watch some of the Olympics.  Here I had an amazing po' boy and a massive bowl of French onion soup.  Hockey jerseys were on the wall, and the staff was super friendly.

Plus, I had one of those perfect moments at this bar.  I was happy to be in Canada.  I was happy to be in a unique place like the Rose and Crown with a lot of heart.  And, they were playing some of my favorite songs and artists over their speakers.  I heard the Eagles, The Grateful Dead, Dylan (Tangled Up in Blue!), The Pretenders....  It was just a perfect experience.

I think I have made it very clear that we loved spending time on Vancouver Island in Canada.  Even though I was unfamiliar with all that it had to offer before going, I am so glad that we went.  AND I know we will be back. 

This is the kind of area that will get put on our "sure we've been there, but we want to get back often" list.

The sad thing about it though, is that Vancouver Island is a pretty good distance from us.  There would be no way to do a quick 4 day weekend trip there the way we would go to Gatlinburg or St. Louis.  It takes a couple of flights AND a ferry ride to get there (and a lot of hours).

A few last thoughts on this trip.

Canadians don't use pennies!  Seriously, they have stopped using them.  I confused the heck out of a sales person when I asked for some change and asked for some pennies.

They have one and two dollar coins.  Add their quarters to the mix, and things get a bit confusing.

Canadians (at least the ones we met on Vancouver Island) are freakishly friendly!  Seriously, there were several times we would ask a question, like, "where is the nearest place to eat?" and we would be involved in a nice half an hour discussion about anything and everything.

Also, we encountered several that were just generally pleasant and helpful.  I mentioned before that I went to a few post offices.  I had great conversations with several postal workers about collecting stamps, postage rates, and things to do in the area.

One more thing that I loved about the people in this neck of the woods.....  NO ONE brought up a certain chicken chain when we mentioned that we were from Kentucky!  A friend recently went to another country, and EVERYONE brought up Kentucky Fried Chicken when they mentioned our state.  On Vancouver Island, I was a bit surprised at how many people associated Daniel Boone with Kentucky (I think that says a lot about the nature loving/exploring spirit of the area).  In fact, I would say that of the 5 or 6 people we talked to about Kentucky, Mr. Boone was the first thing they brought up!  Bourbon and horses were second.

Thanks Vacouver Island!  We will see ya again soon!