Christmas 2013
Last year Aaron and I had our first Christmas together. It was a small and quick holiday season. We headed over to Vancouver Island and stayed on Quadra Island. We took a day trip to the west side of Vancouver Island and spent our Christmas Eve in Tofino at Long Beach, and we couldn't have asked for a better way to spend Christmas Eve. The day was beautiful, warm and sunny. Tofino is 270 km away from Campbell River with a drive time of 3 hours and 41 minutes. On Christmas Day we set up a Christmas Geocache and hid it just on the outskirts of Rebecca Spit. We are looking forward to adding to it this year.
Christmas 2014
This holiday Season has been very busy. We even recently added a new member to our little family, and as furry as she may be, she's still family. This year Aaron and I started the Christmas decorating early. Our Christmas Tree was up on December first. We then came to the realization that we didn't really have any Christmas decorations. Both Aaron and I like to make things so this was the perfect excuse to start creating our own collection for years to come!
Meet Our Christmas Kitty
Aaron and I have been wanting a pet for quite some time now and fortunately for us this holiday season our landlord agreed to allow us to have a cat despite their dislike of cats. Aaron and I were really hoping in the next few years we will be able to get a dog to bring with us on hikes, but this is rather challenging to do when living in the Lower Mainland. We adopted our kitty from the SPCA in Abbostford. We were concerned that the process would be difficult, but the whole adoption went smoothly. We adopted our kitty at the age of 2 months old and weighing in at a whopping 2 pounds! A pound per month I suppose. After bringing her home we couldn't be happier with her personality. She's very cuddly and social for a cat. She also will follow us around the house everywhere we go and she loves to attack any shadow she sees, which led to us cleverly naming her "Shadow." Although over the last few months, we've given her a few nicknames, the best one being "Trousers" due to her colouration. When she stands on her hind legs, it looks like she's wearing bright white pants.
 |
| Shadow, AKA Trousers. |
Travel Day-December Twenty Third
 |
| BC Ferry- Sourced from Google Images |
Aaron and I made our way to Horseshoe Bay around 7:00 am to catch our 8:30 am sailing to Departure Bay. The sailing was busy, but that's to be expected around the holidays. We fortunately got to ride on BC Ferries' newer Coastal Renaissance vessel. This particular ship is massive in size and 7 levels tall. On the 6th floor we found a cozy spot right at the stern (the back) of the boat where there were massive floor-to-ceiling windows providing its passengers with a remarkable view of the ocean landscape. The ferry had beautifully decorated Christmas trees on board too, adding to the coziness. Our voyage was a bit choppy with white caps surfacing and colliding with the wake, but the ride was uneventful until about half way through the journey where the captain announce there were a large pod of Pacific White Sided Dolphins off the port side (left side) jumping and playing in the wake.
 |
| Pacific White Sided dolphins- sourced from google images |
Instantly, large groups of passengers of all ages crowded the windows to witness this amazing display of nature. Aaron and I were so excited to watch the dolphins leap out of the choppy water. Though we have made many trips to Vancouver Island, we have never been fortunate enough to see any wildlife during our travels. We watched them follow the boat for about fifteen minutes, always staying about 100 yards trailing the ferry. Forty five minutes later we arrived in Departure Bay and headed North up the island to Campbell River.
Christmas Eve
This Christmas Eve, we started our day off with a delicious blueberry pancake breakfast and coffee. After breakfast and dealing with a minor social media kerfuffle, Aaron and I made our way to Drew Harbour just down the road for some quick beach combing.
After roaming around for a half hour, my parents joined us and we all walked all around Drew Harbour to the end of Rebecca Spit and back, a total of 10 kilometres. We passed by We Wai Kai campground and got to see the many cool waterfront camp sites where families have built elaborate and unique driftwood structures over the years. The Gretzky family may have even visited at one point. The walk was long, but peaceful. We retired back to the quattage for the rest of the afternoon/evening.
Many locals and visitors to the island will all come to enjoy the amazing community-provided meal. Aaron and I have now gone to this Christmas feast for the 2nd year in a row. The food is always amazing, but what is even more amazing is the generosity of all the individuals who donate, serve ,cook and coordinate this wonderful event. I haven't witnessed this kind of community since I was a child. There is something so incredibly moving to see so many individuals come together and create such a warm, giving environment during the holiday season.
When we got back after dinner, we had some pre-bed tea and then turned in for the night.
 |
| Playing around with the cameras. |
After roaming around for a half hour, my parents joined us and we all walked all around Drew Harbour to the end of Rebecca Spit and back, a total of 10 kilometres. We passed by We Wai Kai campground and got to see the many cool waterfront camp sites where families have built elaborate and unique driftwood structures over the years. The Gretzky family may have even visited at one point. The walk was long, but peaceful. We retired back to the quattage for the rest of the afternoon/evening.
 |
| Each beach front campsite had its very own personal driftwood deck. |
 |
| Maybe it was really them? Who knows! |
Christmas Day
 |
| A cool app that show's the angles of sunlight depending on the time of day. |
The alarm began to blast. Aaron and I struggled to open our drowsy eyes to roll out of bed. Sunrise was at 8:19 am this morning, which is much later then what we have been use to in the past. The air was cold and fringed. We made our way down to Drew Habour. The tide was high at 14 feet with no visible beach to walk on. The sun rose high behind a small ridge south of Drew Harbour, and much of the colour wasn't visible from where we stood. As the sun rose the colour began to reach and stretch towards us. The water was calm like glass. Aaron and I were amazed how much the the angle of the sunlight has changed since the last time we got up for sunrise in August. We snapped a few more shots and soaked up some early morning light. It was the perfect way to begin our Christmas Day.
After we finished opening all the gifts. Our family friends from Campbell River came across to Quadra for a quick visit and a Christmas day walk of Rebecca Spit. During our walk Aaron and I split from the group to head to our Christmas geocache we created last year. It didn't take us long to find. After we added to the geocache we made our way back to the group
Later into the evening we all went to Heriot Bay for their community Christmas feast. There is over 150 people that attend this dinner and it has been running for 4 years. This is a by donation dinner and gift exchange.
After we finished opening all the gifts. Our family friends from Campbell River came across to Quadra for a quick visit and a Christmas day walk of Rebecca Spit. During our walk Aaron and I split from the group to head to our Christmas geocache we created last year. It didn't take us long to find. After we added to the geocache we made our way back to the group Later into the evening we all went to Heriot Bay for their community Christmas feast. There is over 150 people that attend this dinner and it has been running for 4 years. This is a by donation dinner and gift exchange.
Many locals and visitors to the island will all come to enjoy the amazing community-provided meal. Aaron and I have now gone to this Christmas feast for the 2nd year in a row. The food is always amazing, but what is even more amazing is the generosity of all the individuals who donate, serve ,cook and coordinate this wonderful event. I haven't witnessed this kind of community since I was a child. There is something so incredibly moving to see so many individuals come together and create such a warm, giving environment during the holiday season.
When we got back after dinner, we had some pre-bed tea and then turned in for the night.
No comments:
Post a Comment