Last Thursday, Mother and I drove up to Port Angeles (again) and took the MV Coho of the Black Ball Line to Victoria (again) and began a short excursion that included Salt Spring Island (again) and Courtenay/Comox (again) and the Saanich peninsula (again). It’s something we enjoy, places that are beautiful, laid-back, filled with kind people and wonderful friends.
And I needed it. I need a little space to just relax and enjoy, to be myself and not have to worry about “everything” for a while.
It worked. Here in a nutshell is the trip we took, that encompasses shopping at Mouat’s in Ganges on Salt Spring Island, taking ferries between islands and peninsulas, walking in gardens, vistas off mountains (no pictures of that one, sorry) and amazing indigenous arts. If you have a chance to stop in Duncan, B.C. and take the tour of their totem poles (most of which were carved by native carvers just for this purpose!), do. It is full of insights into the history and life of the Cowichan and other local tribes.
Apple tree, floral borders, mixed plantings, all give interest and movement to the garden at the Filberg in Comox, B.C.Masses of impatiens in the borders at the Filberg gardens.Looking down the long pergola, covered with old (and productive) grapes. The broken-tile floor of the kitchen in the Filberg house in Comox, B.C. It shows an economical and whimsical way to introduce movement and color (and the slight variations in depth make the floor more comfortable for standing).The occasional tile has a bit of pattern, to add even more interest. Filberg kitchen.The sign at the new and lovely Salt Spring Island public library; and Mother, for scale. The definitive text on breeding Great Danes, by Jill Evans, now living on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia.. Found on the shelves at the SSI public library. Upside down on purpose!The visitor center at Cumberland, south of Courtenay and Comox on Vancouver Island. Notice the replica canoe in the artificial pond, which provides some cooling and natural humidity to the center. The center is LEED certified with radiant floors, some natural ventilation through a crawl space under the museum section, and natural light. I won’t have the crawl-space cooling (and with the shade our home receives probably won’t miss it), but my house is going to be SO comfortable!Dinner guests in Courtenay…Mother, holding a copy of Hetty Clew’s book, “The Only Teller” at the SSI public library. Hetty used to live on the island, and was a strong supporter of both the library and the arts. We miss her.Interesting four-color Italianate house in Victoria. LOVE the use of blue for accent against the caramel-chocolate-cream base!Mother in front of the beautifully restored “painted lady” across from the James Bay Inn on Government Street in Victoria. The sun was bright!Coming home – the United States seen through a rising fog that enveloped us and kept us in suspense about 20 minute out from Victoria until just after we passed the breakwater at Port Angeles.
There will be more pictures, but right now I need to sleep… seems every time I sit down to write, I get distracted by “real life!”
