Day 21: Banana slugs and bear poop

This was our last full day in Tofino.  We certainly packed a lot of activity into it!

• Walk to the smallest grocery store ever.
• Kwisitis Visitor's Centre (Longbeach). 
• Short hike to a beach where we saw banana slugs and bear poop. 
• Beach walk back to the visitor's center.
• Sand candle making
• Chilling on the beach in the afternoon sun
• Beach fire
• The Mama's retire early to watch 'The 100 Foot Journey' in the big bed in the Gypsy Wagon - nice!

Bear poop!

More bear poop. 

The water rose out of the wet sand on the jiggly journey from the beach to our campsite. 

Marianne melts up old candles . . . .

Treasures to decorate our candles with. 

Pouring wax through cheesecloth into our sand molds. 

Escaping on the beach. 

Day 20: Plane crash site and Gary's Kitchen

This day began with a morning coffee beach walk with my sister.

The boys are getting up later with each passing day.  They are ready to do things around 11 am after scrounging around for their breakfast.

A hiking adventure is on the agenda today.  Park at the Radar hill lot, go back to the highway, walk south 15 telephone poles and enter the forest along a little path.  You will hike to a very creepy abandoned house full of graffiti, walk through it, keep hiking until you stumble upon the crash plane. No problem!

Amazingly, those instructions worked like a charm.  After about a 50 minute hike we arrived at the wreck of a Canso plane that crashed shortly after take-off on February 12, 1945.  There were 12 people on board who apparently all survived.  Read more here.

Alexandre is a fan of American Chinese food.  Well, what do you know, Joe? There is such an establishment right here in Tofino.  Google gave us Gary's Kitchen.  It has been a topic of much delight and anticipation this past week.  Well, tonight's the night!

With trowels and buckets in hand, the boys went down to the beach in the late setting sun to capture hermit crabs and all manner of creatures exposed in the rocks an seaweed at low tide.

Another beach fire - we are spoiled.

An indication that this is indeed the 15th telephone pole. 

Creepy is right!

Some kind of crawly critter on the end of a trowel 

Day 19: Restored Roots and Fish Wishes

The power of technology has saved the day.  There is a hair salon 800 meters from our site with an opening at 11 am TODAY!

This is very exciting as my hair has taken a dramatic turn for the worse since, a few months ago, my amazing stylist decided to move to . . . . .Bahrain :).

While I soaked up the salon feeling, Calvin took the boys into Tofino to fish from the wharf.  Well, their fish wish came true with Jordan and Calvin bringing in two good sized perch.  Lunch is served.

Our afternoon was spent at Chesterman Beach:  surfing, boogy-boarding, hermit crabs, goose-necked barnacles.

Micha sends us pictures of the front of the house as he is home installing new windows in the boys' rooms.  It looks wonderful!

We end the day with a fire on the beach and perfect sunsets.

A new do.

Lunch is served!  A hour ago it was swimming. 

Alex finds a hermit crab. 

Gooseneck barnacle exposed at low tide 

Jordan finds another hermit crab. 

Getting ready for a beach fire.