And sorry to be. Ken & I went all out this year to travel outside of Manitoba, but stay in Canada. I had come across a b&b while surfing the net a couple of years ago, and since then have been wanting to go there.
This is no ordinary b&b. Instead of one room, it's a whole apartment - 700 square feet! Living/dining, full bathroom and very large bedroom with a king size bed. We opted out of the daily breakfast since I never know how long Ken will sleep in while on vacation. Besides, it's vacation, right? We like to take it easy, sit around, read, explore and have no schedule to it all. We're always so busy at home that it's nice to kick back.
It took a bit of travel to get there: from our place in rural Manitoba to the Winnipeg airport, fly to Vancouver, pick up a rental car, make our way through downtown Vancouver (I missed a turn at the airport) to the ferry terminal at Horseshoe Bay. After a 40 minute ferry ride, we arrived at Langdale terminal on the British Columbia Sunshine Coast. It was a 30 minute drive to Sechelt where we picked up a few groceries, then another few minutes to Coracle Cove (I managed to miss another turn), but we made it!
Although we knew ahead of time there was a very steep driveway to navigate, I really hoped the brakes were good as I made my way down. The following picture really doesn't show the steep angle. I think I should have got right down on my belly to show the true angle. I confessed to our host the next morning that I had nightmares that night about driving back up.
However, it was all worth it to have our own private suite on the waterfront.
Right outside the patio doors was a charming covered patio which came in handy for the couple of times it rained. We could sit out there having morning coffee. Our host thoughtfully provided a pair of binoculars to use.
It was great for bird watching, particularly the Spotted Towhees and Rufous Hummingbirds that came to the hanging bird feeders. I tried many times to capture the birds on camera, but was never quick enough.
The view from the deck was wonderful:
There was ample seating provided on the hot tub deck and further down, a floating dock with chairs. With all this peace and quiet, why go anywhere?
I wish we had the growing season they have in B.C. I love to garden, and it was a joy to see the beautifully landscaped grounds here.
The flowering shrubs were out of this world.
Mid week we took a walk along the Sechelt Sea Wall which was great exercise. When we turned toward the road, we happened upon a little flower garden hidden by the trail. While there were some lovely flowers in it, I was most impressed with the Himalayan Blue Poppies. I tried growing them once, but obviously Manitoba doesn't have the right climate while B.C. does.
Sadly, all good things must come to an end ......