Remembering the good old days!

My friend Marilyn and I went to the Blue Frog Studio in White Rock tonight to see Maria Muldaur.  She was one of my favourite singers of the 70's and lots of memories came flooding back when she sang some of her old hits.  Remember 'Midnight at the Oasis"?

And her newer music is great too.  Bluesy, soulful and very New Orleans.  The band that played with her was good too.  The Blue Frog Studio is a wonderful venue.  Really small and personal with great acoustics.

Off to the Island

My friend Sandy and I plan to take a few days and head to Vancouver Island.  Last little bit of summer and a last get away before I buckle down and do some work.  I made a reservation on the ferry as it is a Friday and it is busy.  Glad we did as the ferry is busy.  Traffic was a nightmare getting to the terminal at Horseshoe Bay.  So much road construction.  Left myself over an hour but just barely made it.  Whew!

The weather is beautiful.  Sunny and warm.  We're so lucky.  The trip over is smooth.  We arrive in Nanaimo and drive north toward our destination of Campbell River.  We decide to take the road just past Parksville that leads to Port Alberni as there is a small town called Coombs with a very famous general store.  There are goats that graze on the roof which is one thing to see but also the variety of goods in the store is amazing.

Then we arrive in Campbell River and take the short ferry ride over to Quadra Island.  I guess this fellow was waiting for the ferry too!

Campbell River side before crossing over to Quadra Island.

Our accommodation on Quadra.

The lodge.

The Great Room or Meeting Place.  So peaceful.  So west coast.  Just smell the cedar.

A gorgeous view from every room.

"The girls"

Beautiful!

The small ferry coming to Quadra.

An artist taking in the view.

Out at Rebecca spit.

And yet another artist...this one using water colours.

April Point is another popular resort that we visited on Quadra.

Just beckoning to me...

April Point Resort as we take the boat over to Painter's Lodge.

The Spa at April Point.

Painter's Lodge on the Campbell River side.  We went here for a nice lunch.

As we head from Quadra down island toward Courtenay we stop to check out some carvings on the side of the road outside Campbell River.  Turns out they are from the 2015 chainsaw carving competition.  Really???  A chainsaw!

Wow! The detail.

Then we arrive at our next stop to be pampered.  The Kingfisher Resort and Spa.

Great views!  Great food.  Great massage!

As the evening winds down we prepare a little appetizer to have on our deck before going for dinner.

Cute little Heron.  Very creative.

Down the road on the Rotary Trail you can view some old shipwrecks.  Wonderful restful vacation.  Time to head back to catch the ferry back to Vancouver.  Going to miss the quiet!