Tofino

Well, Let's start with the last photo I took while we were on vacation in Tofino.

Standing on the porch of our cabin looking out over the ocean, and the sliver moon. There is nothing quite like falling asleep to the sound of the waves rolling on the beach.

And now, the first photo of the vacation...

That's right Mom and Dad - we're going on an adventure! Our anniversary and my birthday both roll around in May. It's about the time that the sun starts popping it's head out in the North West, and Ruth and I start feeling the need to stretch our wintered bones. We honeymooned in Tofino and haven't been back since. This year we decided to return.

But this time we brought my Mom and Dad. :)

My parents know us well, and they caught on to the vibe of the trip pretty quickly. It started as most of our little excursions do; looking for the best coffee, trying the island food, and exploring the local shops.

On our way to the west coast of Vancouver Island, we stopped to take in a few local stops, like some small falls, and the old growth forests. Beautiful trails and scenery.

After some incredibly winding roads that I'd almost forgot (never drive to Tofino in the dark), we arrived at the beach :)

We love Tofino. Not much else we can say about it. I found going back this time, that I felt a deep sense of peace. I really didn't want to leave when we did, and I felt very peaceful while we were there. It really is a special place. When the tide went out, me and Ruth and Dad headed down to the beach to look for sea life!

This has to be one of my favorite photos of me and my Dad so far. Me; trying to hold in the excitement of holding cool creepy crawlies. Dad; not afraid to show excitement at all. The expression on my face; I am a serious scientist. The expression on Dad's face; I am a tourist!

We kept turning over more rocks and finding larger crabs. Ruth knew all about beach combing but it was new to me.

We also decided to take a day trip out on a boat to possibly see some wildlife, but mostly to enjoy the views, and share a meal out in the Broken Islands near Ucluelet. It was a great day.

Apparently Dad saw something astonishing!

We were in between seasons for the whales. The grey whales were headed out of the inlet and humpbacks hadn't quite arrived yet. So they told us not to expect to see anything. What we saw instead was a humpback whale breaching closer to the boat then most people ever get to see. I don't photograph whales, I don't really ever believe I'll get a shot, but one of the other tourists on the boat was a fellow shutter bug and managed to get this shot of me watching the whale just as it leapt into the air. Good reflexes!

And then later in the week, Mom went to the spa while Ruth and I went kayaking. Dad hung around on the beach and then we all went out for dinner, and watched the sun set on the surfers.

We also went on some hikes around our cabin. Such a peaceful place to be.

And when the sun went down we chilled out in our beautiful little cabin, the same style of cabin we stayed in on our honeymoon. It was great.

But after several days, it was time to head home. I spent one last evening on the beach photographing the waves before heading back to the ferry.

On the way back home we hooked up with big sis Joanne and had another great meal. It was a lot of really good meals, good scenery, and good company. We got to relax but we got to have fun too. I personally can't wait to go back. Next time we're doing storm season! :)