So, um…I hate to break it to you…but I’m probably never coming back home. Vancouver Island has stolen every last bit of my heart. The most beautiful part of this entire country. HANDS DOWN.
I don’t even feel like I’m in Canada anymore. It’s such a different vibe out here. And I love it. So friggen much. I went for a walk this morning by myself along the water in Nanaimo and I literally was almost in tears because of how beautiful it was. And peaceful. And wonderful. I honestly don’t think I could ever be unhappy if I lived here. I was smiling at everyone. Crying happy tears. I was a crazy happy crying lady and I loved every second of it. I just can’t describe how insanely in love I am with this place. I get really sad every time I think about leaving it. I want to stay here forever.
We sailed into Nanaimo on the ferry late Sunday night. Seeing as it was pretty dark, I didn’t actually get to see much of it at first glance, but we had most of Monday off (as we had a late show) so B and I went exploring and I immediately fell in love. With all the little boutiques, independent coffee shops, cafés and restaurants as well as the beautiful waterfront, boardwalk, marina, cherry blossoms…the list goes on and on. It’s like another world out here. If it wasn’t for all the rain, it would be perfect. Maybe too perfect, haha.
Seeing as we only had just under 24 hours in the lower mainland, a bunch of us opted to take the ferry back to Vancouver and stay there for a couple days (as we’ve had most of this week off). B and I headed in early Tuesday morning and then spent the majority of the day shopping and exploring. That evening, I met up with some old girlfriends from Grant MacEwan and we had a really lovely dinner together and got all caught up on each other’s lives. It was really nice – I missed them so much!!
Wednesday, B and I decided to go on a real adventure, so we hopped the Sea Bus to North Vancouver and after some shopping at the Lonsdale Quay Market (SO much fresh fish and produce!!), we headed up to Grouse Mountain to do some hiking. There’s this amazing suspension bridge up there and tons of sweet trails, treehouses, and even a suspended cliff walk! It was an amazing day, and we were lucky enough to catch the 7 o’clock ferry back to the island and because the sky had cleared up (it rained for most of our time there) we got the most amazing sunset. It was so beautiful. And once again, I was so happy and thankful to be on this crazy adventure.
Thursday was a bit of an insane day…all of us went to this ranch just outside Nanaimo to go horseback riding for the afternoon. I wasn’t really too worried as I’ve been riding before, however they gave me this horse that made me a little nervous as she was really unpredictable and difficult to control and she ended up going insane and bucking me right off while we were in the practicing area. Thankfully, I managed to fall on the softest part of my butt (not to mention I fell in really soft muddy ground) so I didn’t seriously hurt myself but it was a major shock to my body. They ended up giving me a different horse who was much easier to ride and the woman leading us took the crazy horse who, once again, went nuts near the end of the ride and she had to walk her back to the ranch – she couldn’t even ride her either. It was a little scary and kind of soured the experience for me but I’m pretty sure everyone else had a good time. I wasn’t up for much that evening though…B and I went out for some really amazing Thai food and then I had a super hot bath and went to sleep.
This morning, I got up pretty early and headed down to the water to go for a walk. I wanted to run but my entire body is really sore from trekking around Vancouver with a huge backpack as well as my riding accident yesterday so I grabbed a coffee and opted for a nice leisurely stroll instead. And yeah…as I said before, I was more blissfully happy than I’ve ever been in my entire life. I love Vancouver Island. So much.
We checked out of our hotel in Nanaimo late this morning and headed to Chemainus for the night. However, the drive was only about a half an hour, so we’ve had most of the day off here in Chemainus too. Once again, it’s an adorable seaside town and because the weather was so nice today – B and I spent the day exploring and shopping. We had lunch on the patio of the most adorable little café, went down to the beach to take pictures, stopped in at a little bakery…pretty much a perfect day. We also stocked up on local beer and wine and are planning on enjoying it this evening.
…I just can’t believe that this is my life right now. This whole week has been like, some insanely unbelievable vacation. And I’m technically working! It’s so crazy. This has been, by far, my favorite part of the tour and I’m really not looking forward to it ending in just over a week…but all good things have to end, don’t they?
It just means I’ll have to move out here one day…right?
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