You would think that a person’s first official day of vacation would be spent sleeping in. I thought so too, and I was actually planning on it, until the Golf Pro woke me up early on our first morning in Parksville, saying he had made coffee, and was about to go jump in the hot tub. Not wanting to be left out of the fun (and coffee….hello!) I dragged myself out of bed, pulled on my bathing suit under my pj’s, and made my way down stairs.It was a beautiful day, the sun was out, and there was no snow. How could we stay indoors?

The forecast didn’t call for immediate rain, so we decided to take  our first road trip of our vacation to Tofino, which is on the west coast of the Island, about a 2 ½ hour drive from Parksville. Unfortunately, we did not take into account the limited hours of daylight (it would be dark by 5 pm) and we took our time getting there. There were a few stops along the way to check things out. We realized on the way there that with us taking our sweet time getting there, we’d only be able to stay for ½ an hour, and turn around and come back.
The highway to Tofino is amazing. I’d love to take a motorcylce through there. The road is tight and windy, with a lot of amazing scenery. We were there the week after Halloween, and on the island, people take their jack-o-lanterns and put them on the side of the highways. There were 100’s of them…all the way to Port Alberni. It was the coolest thing I’d ever seen. They were on the road, in trees, wherever a jack-o-lantern could sit. I actually wondered to myself if someone came everyday and lit them up. Then I realized that would be a huge fire hazard, considering the area.

It was really good that we were there in the off-season, as there were very few cars on the road. There were actually signs up telling motorhomes and slow moving vehicles to pull into rest stops so that traffic could pass, as it is a single lane highway. I bet tourist season makes driving this highway a nightmare. We pretty much had it all to ourselves, and it was really a great drive.

By the time we got to Port Alberni, it was pouring rain, again. What can you expect, being on the coast in rainy season? Thankfully we brought lots of extra dry clothes and hats and umbrellas. We weren’t going to let a little rain stop us! We eventually came to a fork in the road.

Go left to get to Uclulet; go right to get to Tofino.

We knew we wouldn’t be able to get to Tofino on time to have enough daylight to drive home by. So, we turned left and headed into Uclulet. We were hoping to be able to easily find access to the beach; but we had no luck. So, off we sped out of town, back towards Tofino. I wasn’t really interested in being in the town of Tofino itself. Our goal was to get to a beach, and have access to the wide open ocean.

We found this at Long Beach, which is in Pacific Rim National Park. We parked, put on all of our rain gear, grabbed umbrellas, and headed down to the roaring waves. On the way, there was a sign on the highway indicating the wave hazard…kinda like the forest fire signs you see in Jasper and Banff, letting you know the risk of forest fires. Today, the sign indicated the waves were “extreme”. Sweet!

The rain was really coming down, and the wind was so strong, it made the rain come in sideways.

We did a little bit of beachcombing..picking up some sea shells, collecting a jar of sand, and taking photos. We even found a dead stingray washed up on a log.

 It was absolutely disgusting, but I was a bit surprised to find that rays make their way this far up north. Even though it was gross, I had to take a picture.

It was after all, my first sting ray veiwing!

If you ever get the chance, go to Tofino, or anywhere along the drive, to stop at a beach, and get to the open water! Even if it’s pouring rain, and windy as hell, it really is amazing to be at the edge of such a huge body of open water. I mean, just on the other side of that water is Japan! I grew up on the prairies, but I have always been amazed by the ocean, and I feel at home by the water.

We spent maybe a total of 20 minutes at the beach before we decided to get back to the car, and change into some dry clothes. We had just enough daylight to get back to Parksville if we didn’t make any stops. We really did not want to drive the highway at night, in the rain. It’s way too back and forth, with lots of blind corners.

We would have to stop every now and then so the Golf Pro could have a smoke break, as there is a strict no-smoking rule in my car. I’d always get out with him to stretch my legs, and enjoy the scenery.

There was one special stop on the trip back home. The Golf Pro had finished his smoke, and we were admiring the river that ran alongside the highway. He started talking about what a great vacation we were having so far and how romantic this day was. He told me he would love me forever, and then as he proceeded to get down on one knee, he pulled a little white box out of his jacket pocket, opened it, and inside was the most beautiful diamond ring I have ever seen. I really cannot remember how the rest of the conversation went, but he asked me to marry him, I blubbered something incoherent, which made him ask “ so is that a yes?”. I replied with an “of course!”. I cried, we hugged, and it continued to rain cats and dogs around us. People driving by us must have thought we were crazy, but I doubt they realize we had just gotten engaged!!!!!

The rest of the drive was spent with me crying (with happiness of course!), and me grilling him about how many people knew beforehand that he was planning to propose to me. It turns out that a lot of people knew!

Once we got back to the house, we decided to go have a nice celebratory dinner. We got dressed up, and went to Heron’s restaurant, which can be found in the Quality Resort in Parksville. It was dark, but from our window seat, we could tell the tide was wayyy out, and the famous sandy beach was exposed. Too bad it was too dark to see anything. We both ordered the 3 course dinner which was around $25.00, as it was the only meal that doesn’t include any seafood. Yes, it’s true, neither of us are big fans of seafood. It was a really delicious meal, and the service was great.

Aren’t we a cute couple??