Adventure Dogs

Exploring Sonoma by Bike

2010-07-21T19:37:00.000-07:00

We set off from Sonoma square, intending to follow a route to Glen Ellen described on the Santa Rosa Bicycle Coalition website (http://www.srcc.com/10-RidesRouteSlips/10GR-SonomaValley.pdf). Sounded like a perfect, relaxing ride through wine country. However, after a couple miles, we found ourselves on the road that would compose the bulk of our ride—a busy and narrow thoroughfare with no bike lane and no shoulder (thumbs down!). At that point we retraced our steps and decided to go rogue and forge our own path. This unexpected route led to a lovely afternoon of exploring.

Pedaling into happiness:

Starting off at Sonoma square, head north past the mission. After a couple blocks, turn left onto the bike path. As you ride along, take in the views of the rolling golden hills, peppered with bright green trees. The path alternates between pockets of housing, large grassy meadows, and, at one point, offers prime outfield seating for a little league game. The path appears well used and well loved by locals.

The path ends after about a mile. At this point, turn right and follow a small road for a block before turning left onto Verano. This is the busiest traffic of the ride, but has a nice bike lane and is well used by everyone from cyclists with top-of-the-line bikes to families with parents walking, 8^th graders skateboarding, and smaller kids with training wheels.

After about a mile, you will come to busy Arnold Drive. If you go straight, Verano quickly becomes one rural neighborhood road among many. Meander along, tooling down whichever quiet country roads suit your fancy and checking out the nearby foothills and the tiny vineyard plots in many front yards. We were also curious about the number of houses with towers that appeared to be a cross between a grain silo and poet’s lair. Once you’ve exhausted your road options (and start to get a bit peckish), retrace your steps along Verano and the bike path until you are back to the bustling Sonoma square. We found that this was a nice time to stop for a picnic in the square and a bout of people watching.

Wineries:

After this break on the square, head back to the bike path and turn right this time. The trail splits several small vineyards in half during this short leg of the path. Birds of prey were flying so low to the ground that I was happy to have my bike helmet to protect me! Even after the trail ends, the roads are small and scenic—perfect for leisurely riding. They are a little pot-holed and bumpy, but this just makes it feel more adventurous, and seems to discourage too much traffic. We followed the signposts to two wineries (mostly flat with moderate hills to climb right before each winery). The first, Bartholomew Park, was noteworthy for its lovely location on the top of a hill with sweeping views and a network of hiking trails to explore. The winery is one of the oldest in the valley and includes an interesting museum that details some of the details of wine making (apparently, altitude, soil composition and other good stuff have a big impact on varying the taste of even the same varietals). The wine itself wasn’t very noteworthy though, leaving us craving a second stop to sip something new. A network of intense fencing separating the winery’s hiking trails from a pretty little monastery-like winery also piqued our interest. Were barbed wire and padlocks really necessary to block access across the cute little bridge connecting the properties?

Imagining Montague and Capulet Feuds, we retraced our path back through Bartholomew Park and to the first fork in the road where we veered left instead of riding back into town. After another pleasant ride, we made our way to Buena Vista Carneros for a lovely tasting. The pourer was welcoming and interesting and the wine itself was quite nice. Well worth the gradual climb to reach it, especially as we coasted most of the way back to the square, wind-blown and a little pink in the cheeks after a day of sunny meandering.

Bartholomew Park: http://www.bartpark.com/

Buena Vista Carneros: http://www.buenavistacarneros.com/

Pacific Rim Area: Vancouver Island

2010-06-17T22:36:00.000-07:00

I’ve been avoiding writing about this leg of our British Columbia trip for months now because it’s just too pretty. The only way to even partially capture the extent of its beauty is bound to sound cheesy and melodramatic, so I’ve been mustering my courage to suck it up and risk it. The area is just gorgeous. When I rounded the corner on highway 4 and saw the mountain lake situated right before the Pacific Ocean, a gasp actually escaped my mouth. The area has a rugged and craggy dignity, accentuated by the rocky coastline and choppy ocean and then covered by a soft shawl of evergreens and almost ever-present layer of gauzy fog.

Pacific Rim National Park Reserve of Canada-Long Beach Unit: http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/bc/pacificrim/index.aspx

This stretch of the National Park is situated between two fishing and surfing towns and is the most accessible stretch of the park for those without kayaks or other sea-faring vessels. The park is located on two sides of a highway—one can travel back and forth through it, but needs a permit to stop and park (available at the park visitor centers or vending machines in the main parking lots). Plenty of friendly park employees can help you identify great destinations in the visitor center at the intersection of hwy 4 and the Pacific Rim highway. A few highlights that K and I enjoyed:

- Long Beach: The namesake beach of this unit of the park is aptly named. It’s also the most crowded segment of the park, filled with picnickers, dogs, lifeguards and many surfers. Luckily, the long expanse leaves plenty of room for all these folks. I hear it’s also a great place for beginning surf lessons (for those who aren’t afraid of a little chill).

- Schooner Cove: My favorite part of the park is Schooner cove, located just south of the town of Tofino. The cove is accessed by a trail of wooden platforms that curve through old growth forests (with wild mushrooms the color of bright orange safety vests!). Stepping out of the trees, you encounter a wide ocean expanse, made particularly pretty by the small rocky and evergreen-speckled islands jutting out of the water. The key is to go at low tide. Then, the rocky island just in front of the cove becomes marooned on the land, with sand and deep tide pools wrapping around it. This allows ample opportunities to clamber over rocks and get up close and personal with starfish. It also exposes cracks in the rocky western side of the island that make for perfectly mossy, caves that fit a person or two. Slide in and find a perch beside a banana slug, then spy on all the tidepoolers just outside who have no idea your secret fort exists.

Camping:

Green Point Campground:

This small campground is situated smack dab in the middle of the park. Reservations disappear quickly, although we talked to some folks who had discovered that the campground reserve spaces for walk-ins, but doesn’t advertise them. http://www.pccamping.ca/parkscanada/en/

Surf Junction:

In addition to some typical RV hookup sites, this private campground has quiet a few lovely, large, and secluded spots circling a large pond. The campground is patrolled by packs of good natured and well-groomed teenage employees and visitors who surf by day and scope out dating prospects by night. (I’ve never seen so much makeup in a campground bathroom!) Employees also warn that the campground is patrolled by bears scoping out coolers and campfire meals, but we didn’t see any while we were there. The place didn’t even have bear-proof trashcans, so any veterans of Yosemite might question the place’s bear country bona fides. (http://www.surfjunction.com/—call the friendly staff and ask for a nice secluded site along the pond.)

Ucluelet and Tofino

Ucluelet (pronounced kind of like “You- Clue-Let”) is to the south of the long beach unit and Tofino is to its north. Both have surf shops, eateries and buoy art scattered throughout.

Tofino is rather delightful. The bay opens out to wooded islands to the north and there are slightly greater numbers of eateries and art galleries that you will find in Ucluelet. Just before you reach the town on hwy 4, there is a nice botanical garden with tasty food, a variety of community events and a hostel nestled among the plants. (http://www.tbgf.org/gardens/).

Tofino is also the jumping off point for a variety of Zodiac and other boat tours. The area north of Tofino is owned by First Nation’s tribes and is not accessible to outsiders by land. However, there are parks in the area open to the public by boat and companies are more than willing to take you there. We hummed and hawed about the cost of embarking on a Zodiac trip for a day of whale watching and soaking in natural hot springs. The trip was well worth the money—one of the highlights of our vacation. If you can brave the slight whiplash and are good at holding on, try to grab the very front seats for a 2-hour ride to the hot springs. These seats provided prime viewing for our boats grey and blue whale sightings that the sensation of flying through the air and then crashing into the waves was exhilarating (albeit wet!).

Upon debarking from your zodiac boat at the public park, a raised wooden path with the names of visitors’ vessels carved into its planks winds through the forest for about 30 minutes and delivers you to the hot springs. On what was described to us as one of the few warm and sunny summer days of the summer on this side of the island, these hot springs were pretty crowded with other tourists as well as locals from the surrounding First Nations towns. This led to a hot springs experience that was more jovial and community-oriented than relaxing, but charming in its own right. The soaking area is a series of pools between where the hot spring flows out of the ground and runs downhill to meet the cold, salty ocean waves. Each pool has a different mixture of hot and cold, salty and sulfuric, providing ample opportunities for you to select your favorite. Jumping from one to another reminded me of being a kid and jumping from hot tub to freezing cold pool.

(One company with zodiacs to the hot springs: http://www.remotepassages.com/hotsprings.html)

Ucluelet feels a bit more like an old fashion fishing town than Tofino, with fewer commercial draws for tourists and lots of quirky local character. It also boasts the Wild Pacific Trail—something separate from the Pacific Rim Park and funded by a local non-profit. The lighthouse loop of this trail is a great way to start your visit to the area—K and I wandered along it just before dusk, catching glimpses of the broken island segment of the Pacific Rim Park to our south and plenty of lovely banana slugs at our feet. http://www.longbeachmaps.com/wildtrail.html

Portland, OR (a guest contribution from fellow adventure dog Kelan)

2010-01-24T21:05:00.000-08:00

The first thing that you should know about Portland is that it is broken up into a grid with four quadrants: NW, NE, SE & SW. The river divides east and west, and Burnside street divides North and South.

OK so here's a list of awesomeness:

(1) Pambiche . It's a Cuban restaurant and it is the best food ever. I go there every time I'm in town-- super flavorful, great atmosphere, incredible desserts, etc. It's in the NE by itself, but it's worth the trek.

(2) Speaking of desserts, the best place in town, hands-down, is Papa Haydn's. It's super classy but, then again, in Portland, fleece is classy, so no worries about attire. There's two restaurants, but the good one is on NW 23rd St.

(3) Speaking of NW 23rd street, there are three fun neighborhoods to just walk around. The first is NW 23rd St, from Flanders to Quimby, and then back on 21st St. Just a neat neighborhood with fine eating, boutiques, trees, people, etc. And a really good breakfast joint (Stepping Stone Cafe) Good stuff. As a bonus, Matt Groening was from Oregon, and he named a bunch of the Simpsons characters after street names in this neighborhood (Flanders, Kearney, Lovejoy, Quimby, "Burns"-side, etc). It's just fun.

(4) If you're in the NW area, you should check out Pittock Mansion. It's an old-timey robber-baron-type mansion on the side of a hill, and now it's a museum. Only chumps pay to go inside; everyone else just goes for the incredible views of the city.

(5) Alternatively, you could go up to Washington Park, which is also on the same hill and has the same views (mostly). It's the site of the International Rose Test Gardens, which is where, presumably, they grow new rose varietals. Portland is known as the Rose City because of these. In spring these are gorgeous.

(6) If you're in Portland on the first Thursday of the month, head down to the "Pearl" district, the center of which is somewhere around NW Flanders at 10th. There's a bunch of open art galleries to meander through, wine bars and tons of hipsters. Portland has a really cool, or should I say "hip," art scene. This district used to be really seedy, and is the site of some cool heroin/abandoned building scenes from "My Own Private Idaho." Oh, and "Drugstore Cowboy" was filmed just west of there. The neighborhood is pretty swank now, though (a "pearl" in the oyster that is NW Portland).

(7) You gotta check out Powell's, the best bookstore ever. Some people would argue for the Strand, but Powell's has GOOD books, not just a lot of books. But then again, Powells also has a LOT of books. It's kind of incredible. New and used, vintage, childrens', accessories, you name it. It's definitely a stop on any good tour of Portland.

(8) A neat dinner spot is the Kennedy School . A while back the brothers McMenamins bought a bunch of cool old buildings/landmarks and saved them from demolition by turning them into amazing restaurants/bars/hotels/theaters. The Kennedy School is all of these, rolled into one. It used to be an old elementary school, and now there's a theater in the old auditorium; hotel rooms in the old classrooms, and a restaurant in the old cafeteria. Oh, and a cigar-and-whiskey bar in the old Detention room. The restaurant itself is good, but make sure you walk around, too.

(9) I said, above (# 3), that there are three good neighborhoods to just walk around. The first is NW 23rd, and the second is SE Hawthorne, from 33rd to 39th. Again, cool restaurants, bars, music shops, cafes, etc. As a bonus, there's a satellite Powell's in this neighborhood!

(10) The third good neighborhood to just walk around it SE Belmont, roughly from 33rd to 39th. The walk from Hawthorne to north Belmont is six blocks, through beautiful Portland residential streets. Classic Victorian houses, beautiful gardens and giant sunflowers painted in the intersections. Start at 33rd and Hawthorne, walk down Hawthorne to 38th, then walk up to Belmont then and back down to 33rd. Belmont is like Hawthorne but a little smaller and maybe weirder. Good for a walk, some coffee, and window shopping. These two streets are not as swank as 23rd -- it's more down-to-earth Pacific Northwest, with Tevas and polar fleece and hippies who would be considered total squares in San Francisco.

(11) There are two odd and intriguing cafes in Portland that look, from the outside, like old Victorian houses. One is the Pied Cow, at the corner of 33rd and Belmont. The other is Rimsky Korsakoffee, at SE 12th and Alder. (It helps to get the joke if you're into classical music.) Both are like going to tea at your crazy aunt's house, you know, the one who uses a meat cleaver to butter her crumpets. Rimsky's is much harder to find and is, thus, much more cool. Get dessert.

(12) I like walking around college campuses -- they usually have neat architecture, have good cafes and bookstores around, and are potential future employers. If you're into it, check out Reed College in SE, or Portland State, right in the middle of downtown.

(13) On a nice day it's hard to beat a walk along the waterfront. There used to be a big freeway down there, but they tore it down and made a nice tree-lined grassy green-space. I've always liked walking along the Steel Bridge and looking out at the water. The east side of the river has a nice new walkway, some of which is actually floating on the water.

Vancouver Island-East Central

2010-01-05T21:08:00.000-08:00

Horne Lake Caves

The caves offer ample opportunity to get dusty, dirty and damp. First, your car develops a fine layer of brown film as it bumps along dirt roads for about an hour. Then, you jump out of the car into a dusty parking lot and tromp along a dusty trail up to the caves themselves. The cave has the texture of damp pottery clay and the shape of a vase that has collapsed from too many turns on the pottery wheel. The only way to really explore it is by crawling along low paths, squeezing through tight spaces, and scampering up the natural hand-holds prevalent in the walls. This is when the layers of mud and dirt become something that Pigpen would be proud of.

Beside the excuse to get really messy, the caves also offer the chance to wear a hard hat with a headlamp. And while these hard hats are optional (you are required to have at least two flashlights, but they can take any form), they are certainly worth the nominal fee, if only because they free you up to squeeze through the small cave spaces with use of both hands and without having to worry about your noggin. We wacked our heads against cave walls so many times that we stopped noticing when it happened.

The caves themselves are a sad story of natural wonders going unpreserved. Back in the day, there weren’t any rules about keeping your hands to your self and leaving the stalactites and stalagmites to slowly lengthen. The result is that no stalactities or stalagmites are growing and the previous ones have all been snapped off. While this is undeniably sad, the silver lining is that you can crawl everywhere and touch all those walls that you’ve always ached to touch, but been too good and conscientious to mess with at other, healthy caves. So go wild! There is also the chance to pay for hours of guided tours which include both these damaged (and fun) caves as well as some protected caves that are closed to the grubby-handed, un-chaperoned public. I’m sure those caves are lovely, but we found that by the end of our long exploration of the caves that were open to the public we were plenty satisfied and ready for a shower.

http://www.hornelake.com/ (the drive to the caves also passes by lakes that would be great for kayaking!)

The towns of Oceanside:

Parksville and Qualicum together make up a large part of the Oceanside area. The weather and water temps in this area are said to be the balmiest on the island and the towns struck me as comfortable, family-friendly and slightly tacky. I have to admit that this was my least favorite stop on the trip. However, this could very well be because we “camped” in a patch of dirt that the RV park charitably reserved for campers. Our tent was about two feet from our neighbor’s car and about 10 feet from a large field of sewage leaching lines, leaving me non-plussed from the get-go. However, aside from my mood at this point of the trip, plus the over-abundance of tourist traps and chain stores over large parts of Parkville, we did have several fun adventures:

Rathtrevor state park: Located just south of Parksville, this park is edged by a long and deep beach with sweeping views of the British Columbia mainland. At low tide, the walk from the start of the beach to the water takes about 10 minutes. The walk was “tide-pooling” like I’d never experienced it before. Instead of divots in the sand and rocks that lead to mini-oceans with starfish and sea urchins, the beach is flat, vast, and free of large rocks. Instead, the whole expanse is peppered with tiny shells and pencil eraser-sized crabs! Walking barefoot along this route led to a lot of hopping, skipping and squinting at the path in front of me to keep from stepping on tiny, side-stepping crustaceans. Next time I would certainly wear flip flops! The park also had a number of campsites that looked worlds better than our home sweet home in the area (these sites filled up ahead of time, so make reservations!) http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/rathtrevor/

Qualicum: The town of Qualicum is divided into a beach area and a central/downtown area. Visiting both makes for a nice couple of hours. The beach area has great views of the mainland and nice tables for picnics. The downtown area is cute and walkable, with a decent amount of shops to pop into.

Little Qualicum Cheeseworks: This farm and working dairy just west of Qualicum is a fun stop. After taking the self-guided tour of the cheese operation and visiting the pigs, cows and goats (the goats have their own climbing maze!) you can wash your hands, get an ice cream and wander around the fields. The whole place is homey and family friendly. And the cheese and locally produced meat products are tasty and reasonably priced. http://www.cheeseworks.ca/

If I were to go back to this area, I would also explore more of the landscape outside of the towns. Little Qualicum Falls Regional Park, for one, looks like it’s worth a look. (website for the Oceanside area: http://www.vancouverisland.com/Regions/towns/?townID=4061)

Cowichan Valley-Vancouver Island:

2009-12-07T21:48:00.000-08:00

The Cowichan Valley is just north of Victoria on the eastern side of Vancouver Island. Its agricultural feel reminds me of a mix between Northern Marin/Sonoma, Sauvie Island outside of Portland, and Amherst/Hadley Massachusetts. Which is to say that the place feels familiar enough to remind me of other places I really like, but at the same time unique enough to prohibit a direct comparison with any one place.

Getting around: A quirky local in one of the area’s small towns urged us to avoid Hwy 1, which passes through the middle of the valley, and to instead take the curving byways of the region. We heard this advice about halfway through our stay, and started to follow it immediately thereafter. Since you’ve hear it now, you can avoid a couple days of dull drives along a highway lined with strip malls. Instead, a wonderful road that follows the coastline can take you from the town of Cowichan Bay, in the southern part of the valley, all the way up to Ladysmith at its northern end. We poked along this route one afternoon, seeing beautiful ocean views, wildflower-filled fields and small clusters of housing in various states of upkeep. We also took an inland road past vineyards, small farms selling homemade ice cream (where of course we stopped) and other worthwhile sightings that imbued the valley with both real and metaphorical flavor.

Camping:

If you are like me, most KOAs remind you of parking lots, Family Circus and Tang. The Victoria West KOA is a very different animal. There is still a store, pool, and kids’ playground, but the main focus of the place is the magnificent old growth trees throughout several acres of wooded campsites. Sadly, campfires are not allowed (but it’s probably a wise way of preserving those old growth trees). Despite its name, this campground is actually about 20 minutes away from Victoria, at the southern end of Cowichan Valley. http://www.koa.com/where/bc/52130/

The campground operated by the Town of Lake Cowichan oozes summer vacation. The lake is surrounded by smooth-topped mountains and edged by summer cabins of Vancouver Island residents. The campground is right beside the lake, has a beach, a canvas screen for projecting movies and a boat launch and dock area that the campers make good use of. It is filled with kids running in towels and flip flops, sounds of the water lapping against the shore as you sleep, and a little more obnoxiously, a group of drunken adults singing into the wee hours of the night. It also abuts a trail that meanders beside the lake among greenery oozing with water and lousy with frogs. We saw them constantly as we walked along the trail and when we got out of our tents in the morning. All these frogs gave us a little thrill because the frog is the spirit animal of the Cowichan community, so seeing so many of them during our stay made us feel like we were in on a local secret. Not far from the campground the trail leads you to a floating walkway, with ladders to facilitate cool evening swims in the lake, as long as you make sure to pay attention to the world around you because a golden retriever might jump in next to you or a group of 15 year olds might drag a makeshift ramp to the side of the walkway and launch their dirt bikes into the water in front of you as they scream and holler. Hypothetically speaking, of course. There are several loops of the campground, and many sites aren’t anything special. However, by blind luck, we ended up with the best site in the place. Try for site 12 when you make a reservation. Sites 13 or 11 aren’t bad either. The campground is about 30 minutes west of Duncan along a nice country highway, so it’s not a bad place to anchor your stay in the valley. http://www.town.lakecowichan.bc.ca/camping.shtml

The Town of Cowichan Bay is one of the first towns you will come to at the south of the valley. The main commercial drag is perched on the shoulder of a small road and overlooks a cove with commercial fishing piers and berths for recreational boats. The town is picturesque, but also quite touristy. If you are in the mood for some seaside trinket shops and good food stops, I would stop by for an hour or two. My favorite was the bakery with very tasty soft German pretzels and bins where you can buy about a dozen types of flour (spelt, barley, wheat…) by the pound. There is also a cheese shop and a local ice cream place that is something like a Vancouver Island version of Ben and Jerry’s. http://www.cowichanbay.com/

The Town of Duncan: Duncan faced financial hardship after its lumber industry declined, and so decided that it would reinvent itself by commissioning master totem pole artists to create totem poles for the community. The town still has its share of strip malls and some eyesores, but it also has over 80 carved poles in town with the majority concentrated in the downtown area. The town tourism board holds free 45-minute walking tours that start at the downtown railroad museum. This tour was a highlight of our trip and, with only one other tourist, was intimate and interesting. The totem poles are just beautiful and our tour guide did a wonderful job of telling the stories articulated on the poles, the histories of the artists, and pointing out the artistic techniques and individual artist’s signature styles as we meandered through town. He also seemed to know everyone in town, so walking with him felt like a ready-made pass to being a quasi-local.

The town also boasts a museum of local First Nations history, run by the local first nations tribe, but this was, unfortunately, quite disappointing. I’m hoping we went on a bad day. A tour book had praised the hands-on demonstrations that were peppered throughout the museum, but the day we went, the medium-sized garden that makes up the entirety of the museum did not have any demonstrations taking place, just a few totem poles that were not as impressive as others scattered throughout town. Oh, and the projector to play their video was broken. If you are in town, it may be worth stopping by to see if there are any events planned for the day, but if you stop by on a day where nothing is scheduled, it may be best to continue on. http://www.quwutsun.ca/

Last but not least, Duncan has the worlds largest hockey stick tethered to a building along Hwy One. It’s big.

(For more on the town, see www.duncancc.bc.ca)

The Town of Chemainus- Like Duncan with its totem poles, Chemainus chose to differentiate itself with its collection of town murals. This town, situated right along the water, is a picturesque place for a picnic lunch and a stroll through downtown. http://www.chemainus.com/

Cowichan River Provincial Park: This park is about halfway between Duncan and Lake Cowichan. There is a big sign directing you where to turn off the main drag, but from there things get a little more tricky. Just expect to make a few wrong turns and it will all be good. Once we did finally find the park, we also found several gaggles of teenagers with inner tubes and a class full of beginning kayakers about to put in and test out the rapids. But as soon as we got past the trailhead, if felt like our own secret spot. We didn’t see anyone for hours as we walked along the Skutz Falls trail. Although its name is misleading (the falls can not actually be reached—or even seen—from the trail), the elevation changes in this 2-3 hour walk edges the river and leads you through at least 4 different types of forest. We walked through deep green mossy patches and rose to higher elevations where the landscape turned more rugged and dry. You can also pop out of the forested area along the way to stop and sun on the rocks and watch those inner tubers and beginning kayakers ask they glide (or collide) by. The trail is a loop, so after crossing a bridge over the river, the trail back is flat and quick, which is usually what I’m in the mood for when I know I’m headed home. As an added plus, the trail passes through a picnic area with an old-fashioned water pump which is fun to play with—although I wouldn’t really recommend the high-sodium content water that your efforts finally produce. http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/cowichan_rv/

Merrydale Cidery: This picturesque spot is the lone cidery among many wineries in the valley. Like in the U.K, people in British Columbia seem to appreciate hard cider more than we typically do in the U.S. “Growers” brand hard cider was as ubiquitous on the island as Budweiser. Merrydale Cider is several cuts above this in quality. Stop by to wander among lovely apple orchards and take the self-guided tour of all the steps in the cider-making process, including the beautiful distillery they are about to start using for apple brandy. And of course, as you would expect from a winery, this cidery also includes yummy cider tastings after your tour. http://www.merridalecider.com/

British Columbia -- General

2009-12-07T21:24:00.000-08:00

I admit that the slight culture shock of traveling to Canada took me by surprise. Each day there were small but striking reminders that the transition from Washington State to B.C. is more significant than the transition between rural Massachusetts and San Francisco. Throughout our time there, we experienced frequent reminders of this transition through little quirks of accent, terminology, mannerism and manners. It always struck me how frequently locals picked us out as U.S. travelers, especially because most travelers on the island are from other parts of Canada, so it wouldn’t be the default to assume our U.S. origins.

Ferries: We traveled from Washington State to the southern part of the island, but you can also take a ferry from Vancouver (which ironically, is not on Vancouver Island) to the city of Nanaimo—about halfway up the island on the eastern side. The ferry rides that transport you to Vancouver Island are as much a part of the vacation as anything else. On our trip to the island, we took the Washington State Ferry from Anacortes, WA, snaking through the San Juan Islands and stopping at two of its ports before ultimately arriving at a small town on the southeastern tip of Vancouver Island. The ride takes a while, but it’s relaxing to play a game of cards at one of the inside tables situated beside large windows, and slightly thrilling to stand outside at the bow of the boat and feel wind rushing at your face. Reservations are usually a good idea, although it’s probably ok to just get there a couple hours early without one. Regardless of whether or not you have a reservation, the ferry operators require you to get there early, so prepare yourself for a long dull period of waiting in a parking lot. I personally like to spend that time with the car windows rolled down, reading, drinking a latte, or pretending to be asleep so I can eavesdrop on everyone else killing time in the vehicles mere inches away. Either way, try to stop for food as you wind your way through the town of Anacortes, because the pricey parking lot snack bar is your only option once you get there.

When headed back to the states, we mixed it up and took a ferry from Victoria to Port Townsend, Washington that is operated by a private company. While this trip is about half the length of the Anacortes route, I much preferred the latter. The ride was much prettier, and the private ferry company charges a high reservation fee that does not ultimately go toward the price of ferry passage. Most importantly, the ride home through this less protected, open-water route was significantly choppier, even though the weather was calm. Picture the boat rolling back and forth, drinks in Styrofoam cups running up one side and then the other, and games of solitaire turning into scrambled piles of sliding cards. Also picture some rather disconcerted passengers all around us nervously joking about the cruel tricks that the captain must be playing on us. While I’m sure that the captain was a perfectly nice person with no cruel sense of humor whatsoever and that we were all quite safe, I’d just rather take the long route and be able to finish my game of solitaire in peace.

Getting more information: Visit http://www.vancouverisland.com/ before your trip and stop at the “VIC” visitor centers situated throughout the island. In our experience, the VIC employees were friendly and very knowledgeable—even under heavy grilling by a very concerned 11-year old loaded down with maps, notes and guidebooks. The VICs also give out free, helpful, maps.

Eating and Drinking: The agricultural nature of the area makes for all kinds of great local eating. For example, one of our camp-out meals involved fresh blueberries and produce; locally made jerky, bread, and cheese; and some island-brewed beer. Stop at fish shops, farm stands and even the grocery stores that proudly label produce as “BC made.” The grocery stores are also fun because all the labels are in both French and English. One of our favorites was the cheese puff brand whose French subtitle roughly translates to “bops that know the flavor of cheese.” There were also such noteworthy items as Cadbury chocolate and “Kraft Dinner” (instead of Kraft Mac & Cheese) reminiscent of the Barenaked Ladies song featuring the dish. Pick up beer, wine or spirits at special liquor stores and be prepared for sticker shock. Everything is about 1.5 times as expensive as in the states, regardless of whether it’s local or imported. A six-pack of relatively decent microbrew goes for about 14 dollars U.S! If you are like us and find a coffee shop in every town you visit, you’ll notice menu items that are uncommon on the U.S. side of the border. In place of americanos you will find “northern americanos” and in addition to chai lattes, you’ll find “London fogs”—lattes made with Earl Grey tea.

Northern Napa

2009-11-14T17:54:00.000-08:00

Date of Trip: Nov 11th, 2009

The Petrified Forest: is definitely not a state park: the signs directing you along a winding Napa road are in “cartoon wood” font for goodness sakes. However, the kitsch factor is not quite on the scale of the largest ball of yarn or a replica of Babe the blue ox. Kelan and I spent about 20 minutes meandering through a few acres of manzanita and valley oaks to see amazing petrified redwood trees. These babies were felled by a volcanic eruption about 3 million years ago and promptly covered by volcanic ash. Cell by cell, the structure of the tree was replaced by silica, leaving the trees perfectly intact. It was pretty surreal to see full redwoods that still have the same bark texture and the same rough tree rings, but are hard and rocky to the touch. While the experience made me wax Ken Burns, appreciating our national choice to build public parks, the fact that the place is privately owned does add some interesting social history to the whole thing. Apparently, a farmer found a chunk of petrified trunk sticking out of his land back in the late 1800’s and started the process of unearthing these series of full size trees cushioned within years of sediment. The story involves junior geologists constructing excavation sites, an encounter with Robert Lewis Stevenson, and mental imagines of families in the late 60’s stopping their woody station wagons to gawk at the trees, eat the ice cream for sale on the premises, and peruse the well-stocked gift shop. So in all, the experience was an interesting mix of geological wonder, appreciation for Americana, and a unsettled discomfort at the garden gnome and ceramic donkey nestled snugly beside a 3 million year old piece of tree rock. www.petrifiedforest.org/

Picnic Supplies: the Cal-Mart grocery store in downtown Calistoga has a nice array of picnic supplies including a good selection of cheese and bottles of Calistoga spring water (to make your whole outing authentic and thematic).

Vineyard with views: I haven’t been there myself, but have heard great things about the Aerial Tram Tour at Sterling Vineyards. The tram offers great views of the valley and includes several champagne tastings. www.sterlingvineyards.com

Calistoga Spa Hotsprings Resort: after 7pm, the fancy mineral hot spring pools are $10 a person, down from $25 for peak season, peak time of day www.calistogaspa.com/

Hiking and Camping: Bothe-Napa Valley State Park has a number of nicely wooded camp sites and is about half way between Calistoga and St. Helena. The park also has great, low-key hiking trails. Kelan and I took a walk there in mid-November. The trail followed a stream, with valley oak and clusters of Redwoods sharing the space around us. The landscape had great textures: the tree trunks, branches and the vines entangling them wound in all number of angles and patterns. Park website

St. Helena: The downtown area is beautiful. Just west of Main Street are picturesque houses and old church buildings. Main Street itself has perfectly upscale boutiques, stationary stores, and even a chocolate shop that had a intricate thanksgiving spread in the window made entirely out of chocolate (including the table itself). What I like to imagine was a gossip-filled town rivalry between the Odd Fellows and the Free Masons is immortalized in their two ornately designed buildings, showing off across from each other on Main Street. While all this was all perfectly lovely, there was something about the vibe of the town that put me off. I think the stores were just a little too ritzy, the shopkeepers a little too snobby, and I a little too out of my element for me to appreciate it all. That is, except for the original Taylor’s Refresher drive through hamburger stand on the southern outskirts of town. Loving the second store that is situated in the SF Ferry building as much as I do, it was fun to drive by the flagship.