First Stop - Victoria, B.C.

The flight from Toronto to Victoria was great and on time. arriving at 1:30 p.m., Saturday, October 28th. We were greeted by 18C temperatures and sunshine.......lovely!

Darla took us to their new home on the edge of Victoria; a converted barn. It is small and so cute! The owner lives in the larger house and the first impression of the property is that of a Spanish hacienda. The driveway is lined with fruit trees and the property is surrounded by farmer's fields. Hard to believe we are almost in the city.

We relaxed for a bit then drove downtown to see the gallery where Darla's art is displayed. We met Joanne (the owner) and enjoyed looking at all the various artists work represented there. It was great to see Darla's newest work first hand and it is exciting that sales are going well.

Darla's husband Peter works with young offenders who are ordered, as part of their probation, to spend a month in the wilds of Vancouver Island. Peter has been out with a group of boys since early October. They are taught to fend for themselves and for the first 3 weeks this particular group was taken to Desolation Sound (near Campbell River) up-island, learning to paddle, cook, set up camp and live in the wild where there are all types of wild animals and perils. Many of these young men have never been out of the city and it can be very frightening for them. In the last week, the group returns to a camp outside Victoria where the boys must spend 48 hours camped solo in the woods. Peter and his associate John, are camped close enough to hear a call for help (each boy carries a whistle and horn) however far enough away to make it interesting. We were thrilled when Darla told us that we would be walking into the woods to find Peter and John and would be able to spend some time with Peter.

During the walk into the woods, I was able to spot one of the tents with a blazing fire outside.
I must admit that I wouldn't want to be out there at this stage of life, camped in the woods (there's actually bear out there!) alone for 48 hours alone, never mind when I was a teenager!

Once we found Peter and John at their campsite, Peter took us on a trek through the woods to the main camp for his company, Coastline. We ate dinner in the main bunkhouse and had a lovely visit for a couple of hours until he had to return to his campsite.

Today (Sunday), we went downtown for an excellent brunch at a funky restaurant, then went to Dallas Beach to watch the kite surfers and walk the dog. We had a somewhat biblical experience with the weather; a mix of sunshine, rain and hail....quite a change from yesterday. We were keeping an eye out for a swarm of locusts (for those of you who haven't read the bible....look it up!) however they didn't materialize.

Darla went off to do her yoga teacher-training and Bob and I took the truck and Cortes (the dog) home.

Almost directly opposite Darla and Peter's home is Mount Douglas. We decided to to take Cortes and climb the mountain. It was a great hike and we all came back tired and happy.....just in time for a well-deserved beer before we ventured downtown to pick up Darla for a sushi dinner.

24 hours into our trip and so far it's a blast!

Later!
Sharon