Bed |
Fireplace |
Deb and I went on a lazy weekend of doing not very much in Sechelt. We stayed at a bed and breakfast, A Place by the Sea.
Our plans to catch the 5:30pm ferry from Horseshoe Bay were foiled, and we had to settle for the 7:25pm sailing. By the time we arrived at our destination, it was fairly late but the owners welcomed us warmly, gave us a tour of the premises, and invited us into their home to perouse the DVD library should we wish to just chill. We decided to play with the hot tub instead.
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Bed |
Fireplace |
Unlike many B&Bs, the rooms in this one had separate entrances so we didn't have to intrude on the family when coming and going. The door even had a fancy electronic combination lock so there were no keys to carry around. Breakfast was served in the room, brought down by Nancy the proprietress on a tray, and required multiple delivery trips. Fresh fruit was cut and arranged on the plates to form flowers and a rising sun. After we ate, the dishes were retrieved, and we wandered down to the dock to have a look around in the daytime.
Breakfast table |
Pretty |
Breakfast |
View from the living room |
Dock |
Neighbouring dock |
Hoot |
Crab trap |
The B&B |
Foot of the ramp to the dock |
Deer tracks |
A place by the sea |
We headed into town to have a look around. The main drag ran parallel to the highway, and ended at a mall. On the other side of the highway was a park with a seaside walk. There were benches there, and some of the plaques bore strange messages.
Sit down for a two arm hugger |
Enjoy the view |
Man in motion |
Circles |
Minature house |
Bird house tree |
After an afternoon bite, we drove northwards towards Skookumchuk Narrows. It was a scenic drive, and one of the stops we made was at Dan Bosch Regional Park where I had stopped with Katie and Dusit on our bike trip. The water level of Ruby Lake was significantly higher than the last time I was there.
Beach |
Floating dock |
We hadn't particularly planned the trip, so I don't think we got to the narrows at an especially spectacular moment. But there were plenty of turbulent waters and whirlpools spinning downstream. It took almost an hour to hike to the narrows from the parking, and we had a 7pm dinner reservation back in Sechelt, so we only watched the eddies and currents for a while before trekking back.
Native art |
View of ... |
... the narrows |
Dinner was at the Blue Heron Inn. We got some escargot and fried brie, and I had grilled seafood consisting of salmon, halibut, and very large prawns. It was quite good, and the quantities were very generous. After dinner was served, service to our table was taken over by Leigh, the daughter of the owners. She was very nice and friendly, and seemed to enjoy our company a lot. When we were finished, she insisted that we get a drink on her, so we let her bring us some tea. It was a very pleasant dining experience.
The weather was a bit unsettled the day before, but we woke up to clear skies. Breakfast this time included some sort of an Isreali dish that was not unlike pancakes. It was very tasty. Again, the the plates were decorated with fresh fruit.
Breakfast |
Isreali pancake things |
View in nice weather |
We packed up and checked out after breakfast. Before we left, they invited us in to see some pictures on their computer. On our way back, we meandered along the coast, stopping here and there. There was a pier at Roberts Creek, atop the end of which a pyramidal monolith stood. It appeared that the surface of the wooden sculpture was intended for graffiti and art, and it was decorated with layers of painted works.
Beach between Sechelt and Roberts Creek |
Vandalism is bad. But when does vandalism become art? |
Art, graffiti, view |
Looking west |
Arriving in Gibsons quite early in the day, we decided to poke around a bit. First, we discovered a sizeable hill in the southern corner of town, so of course we drove to the top. The area was very similar to the hills above Oak Bay in Victoria. A steep road descended the other side to Arrowhead Park where there was a small beach enclosed by tall cliffs.
Property with beach access |
Back in town, we wandered around a bit and grabbed a bite at a bakery.
Gramma's pub |
Bus |
View from ... |
... the public dock |
Coast guard auxillary |
Fishy office |
With a couple of hours until the 4:30 ferry, we drove north. The highway ended at Port Mellon at what looked like an unmanned toll booth. Although there were no barriers to prevent our progress, we decide to turn around at that point. I suspect that it is the entrance to the mill. Instead, we turned back and took a random road down towards the water.
Witherby Beach Road became a gravel road, and we parked the car above a steep hill where the road was soft dirt, walking the rest of the way down. Oddly enough, there was a stretch of road that was (not recently) paved further down. I'm not sure why there would be unpaved sections that led to more pavement. Several driveways branched off the end of the road, but none of them seemed public so we didn't make it to the water. Research after we got back seemed to indicate that there is public land there.
Log booms |
Inactive construction machinery |
Loggy view |
Tidy rows of trees planted in the rocks |
Amateur civil engineering |
Tim Horton's construction material |
Ferry lineup |