so... Tofino

I've put off writing up the Tofino vacation for at least a few days now.  First, I wanted to get over the bad cold (I mostly have).  Second, there was and is Christmas stuff to be done.  Third, that was a lot of money to end up sick on vacation.  I'm happy that Conrad and Van had such a nice time, but it's still a bitter pill to swallow that I had to cancel plans and not even get out onto the beach.

Sigh.

And the trip started out promisingly.  I was in good spirits and felt pretty fine as we left the hotel

and headed to the Canada Line.  I was fine at the YVR South Terminal, and boarding our little plane. 

And I was fine as we took off - look at that cutie there across from me! 

The views as we headed toward then crossed over and went up along Vancouver Island

toward Tofino-Long Beach Airport were terrific. 

But it was on the flight that something ticked over.  I could feel it almost, a congestion, a snuffliness.  I brushed it off.

We got to the hotel, the Wickanninish Inn, and checked in.  The staff were very well-prepared for us, very helpful.  The outside decor, the lobby, the library upstairs - all were so nicely appointed. 

Our room was down at the end of the one building, and we were blown away with the views from the bedroom. 

And oh, I was relishing the idea of being cozy in that other window, reading. 

There was a small bottle of port for us, which we poured and toasted our holiday with. 

Sunset came on, a riot of pink through the trees. 

It was all so lovely.  We unpacked, then we got ourselves to the lobby to await our ride to dinner.

Our Friday dinner was set to be our only dinner outside of the hotel.  I'd picked Wolf in the Fog for us based on what I had seen of its menu only.  It had a very casual brewpub kind of feel to the place, but the menu was notches above that, with the drinks looking especially good.  More impressively, it was a great deal - they had a three-course menu with nice options for a ridiculously good price, and they had wine pairings at a reasonable cost, too.  So we started out with cocktails - the Cedar Sour for me -

and then moved through the courses.  Mackerel toast for me to start with. 

I liked it, but I thought it might have been served either warmer or colder.  Then came snapper with kimchi. 

Also tasty, but I thought that the kimchi side of things might have been less dominant - I like the stuff, but between it and the gochujang, it was pretty intense for a piece of fish.  The wine pairings were great, though.  Dessert was the most successful course - an elderflower panna cotta. 

Lovely.

We made it back to the hotel without problem, unwound, got to bed at an earlyish time.  Van commented a few times that I seemed to be coming down with something, but I mostly waved that off.

Saturday was grey to start with.  I wasn't feeling my best - I spent the night with indigestion even though the courses hadn't been huge and the wine hadn't been too much, I swear.  I decided against any coffee or breakfast.  We got Van going, and the three of us were shuttled off to another resort and marina

to go out on a boat on a small whale-watching expedition.  And that was pretty cool to do.  It was very calm on the inlet. 

We did see a gray whale,

spending some time watching it as it would surface for multiple breaths, then go back down for a few minutes.  We also spotted a bald eagle

on our way to see rafts (as they are known) of sea otters. 

They were a delight to watch, and so many of them!  We veered by a disused salmon farm to see the sea lions there, and then back to the marina.  It was a fun time,

I soldiered through, but I was not well.  Almost all of my fingers were numb with cold, and I was near shivering.  Conrad and Van opted to head into Tofino and explore the town, but I came back to the hotel to get a decaf latte and a mild cheese scone, pour myself a very deep and hot bath, and soak until the numbness was gone from my fingers.

I grabbed the HBC blanket from the closet and went to that lovely reading nook and took something of a nap.  Eventually I pulled out the sofa bed and went to sleep there.  Conrad and Van came back, some cold medications in hand, and did what they could to take care of me.  I stayed in that sofa bed for most of the next 48 hours.

They cancelled my spa treatment and the dinner in the hotel dining room but managed to take time to walk the beach and do their own spa treatments and have a couple of meals in the hotel bar.  They enjoyed the hotel as much as they could.  Which is good!  Someone should have!

On the Monday, early afternoon, we headed back to the little airport, boarded our plane,

and made it to our hotel in Vancouver.  It was lovely to get an upgrade to a penthouse suite

- very kind of them - but I let the other two join our friends for dinner while I soaked and read and stayed in.

On the Tuesday afternoon we flew home.  And I was in my own bed at last for a few more days at home dealing with one of the worst colds I have had in recent memory.

So that was Tofino.  May the next trip (for NYE) be far far better! 

set for the season!

It was a nice Saturday.  Me, back in the kitchen.  Some friends over for dinner and put to work on the tree.  A torta rustica served up. 

Some drinks and conversation and Christmas music.  And all of that leading to today:  a condo cleaned up after a busy day yesterday, a tree in the living room,

holiday cheer decorating the inside and outside of the condo.

I love this time of year so darn much! 

it's beginning to... oh, you know the rest!

Twenty days until Christmas.  Fewer than three weeks.  I have so many cards left to write, wrapping to get done.  Tomorrow we'll put up and decorate the tree.  Yep, it's that time of year.  And so last night we got started on some of the holiday cheer. 

The arrival of a lovely handmade ornament from a dear friend in Australia

spurred me to get Conrad and get things out of storage.

We're taking a somewhat maximalist approach this year, pulling out all kinds of things from the boxes and putting them on display. 

Part of that is to remind ourselves of what it is that we have in the first place!  And maybe after the holidays some of these things will find new homes.  We shall see.

But hooray for the holiday season.  And yes, I am playing Christmas music as I write this.... 

back at Zarak

Conrad had to miss Chris and Allister's wedding this past summer, so we decided we would celebrate it again with a meal together when we were in town last week.  The timing was fortuitous:  Chris had a birthday just days ahead, and Van had had his birthday just days before.  Add in Marie, and we had the makings of a good dinner out.

Zarak has become my new ViJ's when I come to Vancouver - a place that I like to go to because the food and drink are good, they're interesting, they excite me.  I mean, the menu

hasn't changed substantively in the few times I've been there now, not really, and yet, I can't wait to go back.  Any excuse.  So go back we did.  Hooray!

Cocktails were up first.  This past summer it was Marie having the smoked negroni, but that night it was Chris. 

Quite a show!  I went with the clarified mango martini,

something I was a little dubious on until the waiter persuaded me, but which proved to be not as sweet as feared.  I liked it a lot, in fact, and if it wasn't for Conrad wanting a bottle of wine, I would have stuck with it.

And then on to food.  I didn't photograph it all.  We also didn't do what we did last time with the "feed me" option on the menu, good as that was.  We kept it under control and enjoyed several dishes.  Mantu - beef-filled dumplings - were up first,

then came our US Thanksgiving nod:  buttermilk fried chicken. 

I wish we had had more of that one.  Among the other things were the Uzbeki palaw

and the beef cheek. 

It was all excellent.

Dessert was essentially one of everything with an extra trifle-like dessert thrown in along with candles. 

We each tasted the others but mostly stuck to our own, so it was the deconstructed baklava for me. 

A terrific choice.

But the night was good because we had a great group of six of us enjoying food and conversation together. 

And that is why I want to go back again - to enjoy a group of us enjoying such tasty food and each other's company.  In 2026 I will for sure! 

time spent in Vancouver

Easing back into the blogging here...

A week ago we flew up to Vancouver.  A week already.  US Thanksgiving, and the travel was easy.  I thought it curious that our flight was full, but LAX was fairly quiet, and my gosh but the international arrivals at YVR

was all the more so.  A breeze through that!  If only the weather were prettier.  Ah well.  Late fall in Vancouver, right?  I don't mind it at all.  It feels a little more like real Vancouver.

We headed into downtown, to our hotel, but our room was not yet ready.  Leaving our luggage at the hotel, we ventured first to the club

for a bit of lunch, then wandered around mostly in Gastown, a part of Vancouver that - curiously enough - Van had never been to.  We poked in a few shops, not many, and took a few photos,

and eventually made it back to the hotel for check-in.  We had a little time before catching a bus

to get to dinner that night, the subject of a different blog entry to come.

On the Friday morning I was up before the others and out the door on a little walk of my own, capturing some shots down near the convention center and around Coal Harbour before returning to the hotel to pick up Conrad for more of a walk.  A clear morning, a real contrast with the day before, but not at all warm, oh no.  But it promised to be a nice day for flying!  Here, then, are some shots:

It's always lovely to get a bit of time in Vancouver, and I always come away thinking that I should be living there.  One day?  Maybe not.  But I'll look forward to the next visit! 

quick check-in

Well, howdy!

All plans for blogging and more in recent days kind of flew out the window on Saturday at lunch time when, after a good long soak, I took my sick self to bed for the rest of my time in Tofino.  We got last night, and I'm still on the recovery trail.  A cold or the flu - not COVID, happily.  This one really knocked me around, I tell you.

So, a quick check-in, and more to come when I'm feeling back to normal!