Sunshine, Motorcycles, & Sculptures ??Spring is here??!

    Weekend 3 morning class grads.

Motorcycle season teaching season is well underway, we have had 3 weekend courses so far this year and I have taught two and a refresher session as well.  It feels like winter is finally starting to retreat and spring is starting to take hold.  Mother Nature has been more than  a little confused as of late, she has been throwing rapidly cycling weather changes at us.  The old saying about Victoria is "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it'll be different."  It is true! 

My poor students were experiencing torrential rain, freezing cold winds and frosty parkinglot conditions, all of this makes for a very challenging learn to ride experience, particularly if they haven't figured out layering and waterproofing. This weekend was no exception with frenetic weather. Saturday it was so cold I had multiple layers on, and at one point I looked like a Gangster Smurf with my blue hoody pulled up over my ballcap to keep the wind at bay. I will say that motorcycle instructors are an intrepid breed, we are out on the lot teaching when most would be snuggled up in their cozy homes sipping coffee on an early Saturday or Sunday morning and not traipsing around the lot hollering "Head and eyes up, look where you want to go." The next day it completely different, it was warm  and brilliantly sunny, and I was trying to figure out what that yellow blob was in the sky.  At one point I was standing there basking in the sun's warmth. I know this is going to sound weird, but I actually kind of like when the weather is being difficult, because it helps students understand what they are facing in the real world of riding, and it is not all sunny zen-like days of twisty nirvana. 

At the end there were 9 smiling new riders who all passed their MST on the first try, they're now onto further adventures with traffic classes and road tests.  I'm pretty happy, I feel the same joy at teaching as when I've been out on a great ride, it's a kick seeing them go from wobbly tentative riders to riders gaining confidence and competence. To  reward myself I took the long way home and enjoyed the sights and smells and being in the moment.

     Beach Art Sculptures at Esquimalt Lagoon

I  buzzed by the beach, it was the perfect day to stop and soak up the sun. I've been missing the feel of the sun on my face for about 7 months, it has been grey and dark since October.  There is a magical thing happening at the beach at Esquimalt Lagoon, a beach art sculptor Paul Lewis has been creating these beautiful artworks of local and migratory birds. Esquimalt Lagoon is a bird sanctuary and is teeming with birds; seagulls, herons, trumpeter swans, and Canadian geese as well as sightings of resident eagles.  To understand the scale of most of these beautiful sculptures they are almost as big as my bike. 

Every couple of days a new sculpture seems to pop up, there is one in progress with another nest being built.  I will have to run back there during the weekend to see what it is. 

I was particularly enchanted with the crow, in her nest guarding her cache of eggs.

           Canada Goose

I loved the rendering of the Canadian Geese, their eyes where sparkling in the sun and it was so life-like. Did you know that Canadian Geese are monogamous and mate for life?  Apparently in the bird world they are stick to it kind of birds and if a mate passes they sometimes do find another mate.

It was  such a bonny sunny clear day, you could see the Olympics in the distance when looking out over the Straight of Juan de Fuca towards Port Angeles.  I am hoping the season has changed and that we will continue with this beautiful sunny weather, I had almost forgotten what the sun looked like.

 

Pop back in a few more days there are more sculptures to see!

Anniversary getaway! 28 years & counting

We are stopped at the Ellis River look-out on Highway 4. Take note of the fence in the background it is covered in locks.

My hubby and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary with a bike trip to Tofino last weekend.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect, the road was clear and traffic was light!  The twisties were FABULOUS!!!!  We ride a lot together, but have never ridden to our favourite island destination and it was our first moto overnighter, which always leads to a packing dilemma when you are a packrat who always brings too much.  I worry that part of it to death, because Island weather is so unpredictable particularly up Tofino way, it truly is the Wet Coast. In any event I got it all sorted and packed into 1 bag in my side case, and I did cull out some stuff.  Hubby actually ended up bringing more stuff than me and was surprised at how light I was travelling.  Yay me!

 

The day dawned sunny and hot!  We were off on our adventure riding the beautiful narrow and twisty Highway 4.  This road is an adventure during peak summer travel time, lots of motorhomes, campers, trucks and trailers, and quite a lot of the drivers are not prepared at how twisty and narrow the road is and a lot of folks end up crossing the centre line when taking the corners, so you have to keep this in mind when travelling through there. 

There is a small fence ad people have taken to attaching locks and memorabilia to the fence.  I stood an read some of the messages, most a very touching commemorating an event, milestone or the life of a person.  We decided to add our own memento.

We added a lock with our initials and anniversary date, we did this together.  I have the keys for the lock as my keepsake. It was quite a touching moment.  Happy 28th anniversary honey! My life has never been boring and always full of adventure. 

This spot is so picturesque!  You can walk down and dangle your feet in the water if your inclined, but watch out for the drop off and swift current. It can also be a bit hairy trying to get back on the road or pulling into this place.   More adventures await us!

Our next stop was the Visitor Centre to snap a few pics.

Tofino is a funky little hamlet which is a fishing town, and have a vibrant art community and one that attracts free spirits. Most who follow my blog will have seen pictures from our previous vacations there. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped at Long Beach for a quick amble on the beach. Long Beach pulls surfers to it like a magnet. 

We stayed at a lovely beachside resort Ocean Village.  They have the most charming A-frame cabins that are fully stocked and have gorgeous views.

It was time to settle in and have some snacks and then beach walk time! 

We went to Picnic Charcuterie for lovely meat and cheese.

Then it was off to our favourite eatery Red Can Gourmet, it is run by a former chef who was up at Whistler and has a few Michelin stars.  The carrot cake is the BEST I've ever eaten. They have  marvelous entrees and seafood chowder that is served with their heavenly baguette.  Tofino is a foodie paradise.

On Saturday we opted to have freshly made Gelato from Chocolate Tofino for dinner!  I had my favourite white chocolate raspberry.  To die for! We seem to do a lot of eating when we are in Tofino! It all gets balanced by the amount of exercise we do, we usually shun the car and walk everywhere and go kayaking or other adventurous activities.  We tried paddle boarding for the first time, and I left the camera at the room, I could foresee it being at the bottom of the ocean.  It turns out my balance on a paddle board isn't as stellar as it is on the bike.  I stood up 4 times and promptly fell 4 times, so decided to do it kneeling instead which worked well for me anyway.

After a full day of fun there were beautiful sunsets to watch while sitting on the beach with our favourite bevvies. 

I never get tired of this place. Its amazing how fast the time flew and we were soon packing up the bikes and getting ready for the 4 hour ride back home.  It was wickedly hot while we were on our trip and I think when we were going inland towards Port Alberni it must have been around 35 degrees Celsius, which doesn't sound like a lot, but it was a little toasty in all the gear. 

It was a great adventure and I think we will be doing a few more come vacation time!  I am getting used to the idea of travelling with less, I am going to look for some keen sandals that will replace my need for sneakers and flip flops, one less thing to carry.   As the sticker says "I survived Hwy 4" it can be a very interesting road to ride and can be a bit crazy at times.

Funky little hamlet of Esquimalt - Lantern Festival

I live in an eclectic little bedroom community on Vancouver Island. Esquimalt is a tight knit little community with a small town vibe. I affectionately call it E-town, you've seen snippets of it when I go walking along the West Song walkway, we are just minutes away from the ocean.

Every year towards the end of summer the community is invited to make funky lanterns to celebrate summer and bring community members together. There are artists, musicians, dancers, and funky bands, and of course a Scottish piper. 

Whoo Whoo! The wise old owl. There are lanterns in the style of fish, flowers, houses, cakes, boats, everything! No motorcycles though, maybe I will have to try and create one.

A very creative jellyfish, it's made out of dryer pipe and bubble wrap. 

Jellyfish from the inside, notice the little fish in the tentacles. 

The most incredible lantern is the HMCS Oriole. The gentleman who created this artful lantern is one of Esquimalt's finer artists. The picture does not do it justice! It is spectacular.

Star lanterns

Beautiful displays at the entrance.

A beautiful elephant.

Just a little snippet of fun and festivities at the Esquimalt Lanternn festival.

Let them eat cake!

The celestial heavens.

Summer moto rambling on Vancouver Island

We have been having the most incredible summer.  We've had long hot stretches of dry hot sunny weather.  Although ithasn't  been good for our forests as we've had lots of wild fires and at times it's almost been too hot to ride.  I know right! I bet you can't believe I said that - I said almost.  Friday I hopped on my bike ready for adventure and coaxed my hubby out for the day. We started the day off riding a technical twisty country road, steep in some places, very narrow, blind curves and steep hills.  It was fabulous and I was wishing I had my GoPro.  We met up with my friend Deb and the 3 of us were off to ride the Cowichan Valley and find a fabulous lunch somewhere.  

Deb has a brand new bike a 2014 Honda CTX700T and has been logging miles on it.  Friday was about 33C temp wise.  We were off on our adventure.  We rode through the beautiful Cowichan Valley with its lush farmland and beautiful sweeping vineyards, down to the onceanside and back into the countryside. 

We stopped at Maple Bay marina for lunch and it was delicious, so delicious I didnt take pictures.  There is a thriving floathome community with beautiful homes.  I found myself reminiscing and thinking about a lifestyle change again, longing for my time on the water.  It would be very attractive, but for the fact it was missing garage space, bikes don't do well near the ocean, pitting, corrosion, just to list a few after effects.

After a lovely lunch it was time to saddle up and explore a little more.  We continued down the twisties until the end which led us to another marina, Genoa Bay.  They have a smaller floathome community with only 12 homes and one was for sale and had an open house, I couldn't resist and we chatted with the owner and I seriously considered plonking down cash to recaputure a life I once lived.  But sometimes you can't rewind time. 

I love these whale sculptures, you see them around the island quite a bit, each is different and unique.

The hub waiting patiently for me to get saddled up. 

This is spectacular and represents the West Coast lifestyle. 

It was time to make our way home and wend our way back through the valley towards home.  It was a long weekend here and we were mindful of the traffic volume building and wanted to get home before it became too crazy. 

The weekend has been amazing, it culminated in me teaching the remainder of the my novice motorcycle students.  They all passed with flying colours and it was the icing on the cake.