Island Vacation! Miracle Beach, BC

Last month I took a week off and headed to Vancouver Island to kick back, camp, and catch up with old friends. I travelled around the Island a fair bit, staying near Campbell River at Miracle Beach for a couple nights, in Victoria for a few nights, and at the China Beach campsite in the Juan de Fuca provincial park for a night. I took about lots of photos and saw lots of stuff so I'll blog in a few installments, starting with Miracle Beach and Victoria!

My campsite at Miracle Beach. It rained buckets!

Estuary trail at Miracle Beach

Where the estuary trail is about to open up to the beach!

The beach at low tide

 Miracle Beach was crazy pretty. There's a giant sandy beach packed with sand dollars (most of them still alive) and a super lush trail alongside the estuary. I remember the crazy amount of slugs from when I was a kid vacationing on the Island. They used to freak me out, but being slightly more logical as an adult, I know now that I can outrun any one of them if need be. Here is a shaking and blurry video of one snacking on a leaf.

The park is pretty family oriented, so there were lots of kiddos (lots of laughing, playing, screaming, and crying). Being in a family-centric park somehow made me feel a little safer at night for my very first solo camping experience. Probably a misguided assumption, since I know from tv that serial killers are never who you expect them to be. But all you could hear after 10pm was crackling fires, and I slept like only a carefree grown-up on vacation can.

Just How I Roll

Got this super-cute tea set at the Salvation Army yesterday! I really don't ever use tea cups . . . or creamers, but I might have to start so that I can justify clogging up my space with yet another beautiful (unnecessary) find.

In other news, I'm heading to Hornby Island tomorrow to spend some quality time with my old roomies, Luke and Laura. I haven't seen them in ages (two years?), so I'm pretty much shaking with excitement right now. 

All that's between me and them is one loooong day of travel--starting at 4am tomorrow! There will be lots of car driving and ferry-taking. And coffee-drinking. I'll maybe write all about it when I get back. If I don't fall asleep driving and die. 

Then! Then! I'm going to see my brother in Fort Langley. 

Wendel's Bookstore and Cafe in Fort Langley

Hopefully I'll catch his soccer game on Saturday, and then who knows what. He's very adventurous and social and all the things that I'm not, so we'll probably pack more excitement into two days than I would normally pack into 2 months. 

Sidenote: not 100% certain, but I think a bunch of the Vampire Diaries is filmed in Fort Langley. Worst. Show. Ever. I love it. 

Oh vacation anticipation, how I love you.