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The Famous Buchart botanical gardens in Victoria were not high on the list of favorite places but the flowers did make for some great photo's......

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The next day we  found a great hiking spot in the local Sooke park that ran along the coast and offered some great views of the sea and rain forest.

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Wow, this water is COLD!!!!

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After 3 days of hiking and biking adventures in Sooke, we headed North up the East coast towards Campbell River where we  planned to  stay the next 2 nights. Campbell River is about half way up the east coast and 2 hours south of Port McNeill where we had our big sea kayaking trip planned. We cruised into town that afternoon and found the Bachmair hotel which had a great view of the Ocean and the cruise boats that continually passed by. We had reservations for 2 nights.
The hotel was a little fancy for our taste but we decided to stay and enjoy it.

So, we headed for Strathcona Provincial Park the next morning, about a 1/2 hour drive inland from Campbell river in search of a moderately challenging hike ( Carol 's knees were keeping her from going all out in the hiking dept.). We found a hike that turned out to be fairly challenging that passed through original growth forest with huge furs 200 plus feet tall. The elevation gain on the hike was about 3000 ft and as we struggled up the last few hundred feet to the lake Carol reminded me that I picked this hike and it may be the last one I ever pick!

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We made it to the lake (barely), and cooled off quickly.......Wow, it's fffff Freez'in in here.

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Next day we were off to Port McNeill, up near the nortrhern tip of Vancouver Island, to do some Kayaking. We met Andrew, our guide and operator owner of Kingfisher Kayaking, at the main hotel in town the evening before leaving. Andrew set us up with all of our stuff sacks and sent us off packing for 3 days of paddling with the Orca's in Johnston straits. We set off early the next morning for telegraph cove where we loaded up the Kayaks and dodged the raindrops. It was not the kind of weather we had ordered but someone told me once there is no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing and equipment!

After persevering the cold and rain for about 4 hours, we pulled up to a popular beach site that we ended up sharing with 2 other Kayaking expeditions for the remaining 2 days. All of us were happy to stretch out the old legs and we wasted no time getting  into some warm, dry cloths, setting up  camp and getting a fire cranking!

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After getting a nice hot  fire going, Andrew cooked up some awesome Halibut and vegtables for dinner.
 

We woke to a light rain but the clouds quickly parted and treated us to a day of much needed warmth and sunshine. No sooner had we jumped in the Kayaks did we notice a school of Orcas coming right toward us! The whales like to cruise right along the beach and they did just that as we watched in delight as they came right down the beach toward our Kayaks. I have told this story many times and most listeners ask me wasn't it scary having these Killer whales coming right toward you? Well, maybe we were naive, but at the time we couldn't have been more excited! The one mammal that we had dreamed of seeing on this trip was not only in sight but heading right toward our Kayaks!

Hey, that whale is comming right for our Kayak!!!!!!!
 

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One of the Whales passed between our kayaks and the beach. Another gave us quite the thrill and swam directly at us and then dove under our Kayak. The Whales had more than cooperated with us and we couldn't have been happier!

Later that day Andrew pulled out the fishing pole and he and Joey caught us dinner
 
 

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Back at camp later that afternoon, the Orcas paid us another visit and gave me a great photo op.

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There was also lots of time to enjoy the warmth of a campfire and soak up the beauty of the Johnston straits

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Three days passed quickly and before we knew it we were packing up and heading back to Port McNeill.

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How much STUFF you can fit into 2 Kayaks!
How long does it take to pack that much stuff into 2 kayaks?

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Ahhhhhhhhh, Andrew survived another trip without killing any of the clients.

We headed back to Port McNeill where we were staying with Dyana & Keith Lorenz, owners of the Whales tail B&B in Port McNeill. Keith was not working at the time and offered to take the four of us out fishing on his boat the next day. The girls declined but Joey and I jumped at the offer. Keith is a native of Port McNeill and knew all of the  great fishing spots. Joey was ready with his fishing pole and I with my camera.

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Not only did Joey enjoy the biggest catch of his life, a twenty something inch Chinook Salmon, but I got some great shots of an Orca that came by to visit! Joey also caught a Coho salmon but they are an endangered speices and so we had to throw him back!
 

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The view of the straits from Keith and Dyana's house was fabulous.

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Back in the car that afternoon ( we left the fish with Keith, and headed for the city of Vancouver by way of the Nanaimo to Vancouver ferry.

 

We had 3 days left and decided to spend the next 2 exploring the city of Vancouver. We were pleasantly surprised  with this Canadien west coast metropolis. This is a large city with a small town feel. Our first day in town Carol talked us into a hike up Grouse mountain which was more challenging than I had expected. I made the  mistake of doing a 5 mile run around Stanley park and then eating a fairly substantial breakfast before heading to the Grouse Grind trail head. I quickly learned why this hike is called the Grouse Grind. They even have T shirts that say " I survived the Grind". If I recall, the hike was short in distance but made up for it in vertical elevation gain. The hike was about 1.8 miles in distance BUT the elevation gain is a whooping 2800 ft ( wow, that's about a 30 deg pitch)! I bonked less than 1/2 way up but did struggle to the top in around 2 hours, about a 1/2 hour behind Carol. Joey and Rachel are mountian goats and were up in just over an hour.

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In Vancouver there is a sushi place on every corner and we found an all you can eat place that Andrew had recommended in downtown Vancouver. Joey was in heaven and the rest of us were also enjoying the endless supply of treats! Of course we could not pass up a visit and purchase at the cupcake emporium next door.

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After 2 days checking out mainland Canada we headed for Seattle where Carols old high school friend Genelle and family invited us to stay for the night. The girls had lots of catching up to do.
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We spent our last day in downtown Seattle, checking out Paul Allen's Experience Music Project (EMP) museum and the fish market.
EMP was great and we had a chance to perform as a family band for the first time, the Funky Monkeys. We are still getting requests for encores!

The fish market was next and full of great sights, sounds and smells. We picked up a CD from one of entertainers and thoroughly enjoyed the action at the famous Pikes fish market.
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We enjoyed our last supper at the Black Angus after 2 weeks of fun and adventures in the North West!