Island Vacation

Our big trip this summer was camping for a week on an island. The weather was perfect, and the scenery was beautiful. We hiked the kids all over, including to the top of the mountain where you have a 360 degree view of the archipelago, including Victoria and Vancouver. You can also see mainland Washington and Mounts Ranier and Baker. The whole reason we went was to give Miss M a chance to see orcas in the wild, and we saw some on a whale watching charter.

We tried mountain biking, but the only suitable trail on the map was not suitable at all. After walking our bikes for a quarter mile up steep hills with sheer drop offs, we decided it wasn't going to get any better and turned around. We went back and hiked it, and in the whole 1.5 mile trail, there was maybe .5 mile suitable for riding. I guess they marked all the good mountain bike trails as "no bikes allowed," but marked the other ones OK for bikes because no one in their right mind would ride them!

We met people from all over where we camped. We met a couple from New York who come there every summer, and we became friends with a family from Israel.

I thought the scenery was beautiful, but I didn't find it absolutely amazing as some did...probably because I am from a similar area and we have beautiful forests and cool volcanoes around us every day. There were black-taildeer everywhere, some tame enough for Miss M to feed and pet. We saw foxgloves on our hike that were taller than my husband. They were in bloom all over. We saw seals, bald eagles, and cormorants. We even saw a whale on our ferry ride.

It was as close to perfect as a week camping can be. It is a place well worth the trip!