Canada Advenure Part 2 - Campbell River August 3-6

Arlene, who we were headed up to Campbell River, British Columbia to visit with, recommended that we stop along the route and experience the Canadian Open Sand Sculpting Competition taking place in Parksville.  The artists have 30 hours, 10 yards of sand and water and nothing more.  The theme this year was "Heros and Villains."  Supernatural, shown below,  was my favorite based on the intricacy and details.

But, you need to see a few of the others to get a feel for this amazing competition !

Now its off to Campbell River.  Reg and Arlene shared their local pub with us.  It was a beautiful evening and great fun to catch up with our friends.

We couldn't waste a minute so after dinner we went for a ride to experience some of the local talent - no not crazy Mark.  In this competition they have a chunk of wood and they create these with a chain saw!!

 

Once again, so many amazing pieces to see!

 

 

We booked a fabulous room at Painters Lodge in Campbell River with a balcony overlooking Discovery Passage.

 

 

One evening a Holland America Cruise Liner pass on its way to the Pacific Ocean.  This is the same path we made when we cruised to Alaska to celebrate my Dad's 80th birthday!

We had a great time playing golf with Reg and Arlene at one of their local courses, Storey Creek.

We celebrated our golf victories at a perfect stop, Salmon Point.  The view was spectacular, with a perfect pairing of appetizers, drinks and friends.  Then it was off to Reg and Arlene's for one fabulous dinner and visit with our dear friends.

 

 

Arlene convinced us that we could not visit their special part of the world without going on a whale watching trip.  Here we are, in some not so stylish attire, to keep us warm and dry before we boarded the zodiac for 6 hours on the water

 

 

Didn't get too many great shots of the whales.  They don't breed here so they don't do the playful breeching but we saw lots of blow sprays.  They stay down for 5 to 10 minutes before they have to come up for air.

 

We enjoyed the sea lions basking in the sunshine

 

We even got to see a bear along the shoreline.

 

But the highlight of the trip were the dolphins.  There was a very large school of them and they love to play with the zodiacs.  They would jump clear out of the water.

And, they would chase the zodiac like these two!

 

 

It was a cold day with rain throughout the day so by the end of the cruise I was bundled up in a hat (aka toque for my Canadian friends), goggles and gloves!!

 

The next morning we loaded the car and headed back to the USA with wonderful memories of our ten day visit to experience the beauty and majesty of Victoria Island!!