B.C. - Gibsons to Sechelt, Sunshine Coast

 

We are staying in an apartment, in a house in a residential neighbourhood of Sechelt.

From the front window and the porch we can see the ocean.

Today we woke at 4am,(7am Ontario time) but were able to get back to sleep, Coffee, breakfast and we decided to take the path, opposite the house, that looked like it was heading down to the sea.

It was a steep, muddy trail down hill but worth it

to see some of the houses with huge tree pillars

and make our way down to the stony beach with massive tree drift wood.

Still grey, as you can tell, but about 12 degrees and not raining at this point.

Rick took pictures of me

while I took pictures of stones

and  barnacles

and logs

and scenery

and a dead crab!

We walked most  of the way back up the steep trail and the last bit through the residential neighbourhood, marveling at the plants that will grow here. Rhododendrons!

Google couldn't identify it.

Google says this is a kind of Dogwood.

Yesterday we ate a lot of "travel day" junk. Breakfast today was oatmeal and banana for Rick and yogurt, banana and granola for me. Lunch was cheese and lettuce sandwiches and then we headed out to double back on yesterdays drive. Mike had recommended that we go down into Gibsons so we drove back to take a look.

Gibsons is famous for being the location of the Beachcombers TV series.

 The Beachcombers is a Canadian comedy drama television series that ran on CBC Television from October 1, 1972, to December 12, 1990. With over 350 episodes, it is one of the longest-running dramatic series ever made for Canadian English-language television. from Wikipedia

We didn't go in, though the baked goods coming out looked great. Huge line up!

.

Gibsons has a large working harbour with tugs, fishing boats, sail boats...

and some great views.

We walked the docks

and the piers.

Then along the waterfront where we saw a Harbour Seal and this

Merganser.

Sea Gull eating a Starfish.

Lots of cafes, restaurants and shops

but we didn't partake.

Back in the car we were hugging the coast, driving north.

We stopped in at Roberts Creek Beach

About the Mandala

History: The tradition began in 1997 when local artists Robert Marion and others painted over negative graffiti in the beach parking lot. [1, 2, 3]
Design & Community: Every July, hundreds of volunteers and visitors help paint the 15-meter pavement mosaic, filling in roughly 600 individual sections with a brand-new theme each year robertscreek.com 


 




We walked out, now in rain and strong wind



on to the pier that had once hosted steamships from Vancouver.



A quick stop for wine (at he BC Liquor store, cheaper than the independent) and dish soap (from Dollerama)



and, at home, we were greeted by sun.



The perfect excuse for drinks on the porch.

B.C. - Hamilton to Sechelt, Sunshine Coast

Up at 4am and waiting for the flight at 6am at Hamilton Airport.

 

I got a window seat so was able to get some photos of the Rockies as we flew over. I was surprised to see snow still. 

We had left sunny and dry and arrived to grey. Negotiating Vancouver Airport, picking up the rental car and driving north all went smoothly.

When we got to Horseshoe Bay we discovered that the next ferry to Langdale, at 12:30, was full. This is the only way to get to the Sunshine Coast. So we waited in line for the next one - 2:30. 

Once we had paid and moved down to the boarding area we could leave the car and go and explore Horseshoe Bay Village.

It was great to get out and walk (5 hours sitting on the plane and 1hr in the car) and we walked around the bay.

We talked to these guys who were going to work. Being ferried out to a Liquid Natural Gas facility being built.

 The Woodfibre LNG Project will be the world’s first net zero LNG export facility, being constructed on the historical site of Swiy̓át, a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) village, in Nexwnéwu7ts Átlḵ’a7tsem (Howe Sound). The Project includes the construction of a liquefaction train, a floating LNG storage and offloading unit, an air-cooling system, and marine docking facilities for LNG carriers. Woodfibre LNG will produce approximately 2.1 million tonnes of LNG per year during operations. from woodfibrelng.com

We heard a big splash and noticed a group of 5 Harbour Seals lazing on a dock. A sixth one had just dived in the water.

 Individual harbor seals possess a unique pattern of spots, either dark on a light background or light on a dark. They vary in colour from brownish black to tan or grey; underparts are generally lighter. The body and flippers are short, heads are rounded. Nostrils appear distinctively V-shaped. As with other true seals, there is no pinna (ear flap). An ear canal may be visible behind the eye. Including the head and flippers, they may reach an adult length of 1.85 m (6.1 ft) and a weight of 55 to 168 kg (120 to 370 lb).^[3] Females are generally smaller than males. from Wikipedia.

There were 3 adults,

 

of varying colours

and 2 fluffier looking pups.

A little further along there was one, resting on some rocks,

who primped

and posed for us

as if paid by the local tourist board.

They do really have faces like puppies and bodies like slugs.

While we had been wandering there had been ferries in and out from Nanaimo and Bowen Island.

We headed back to the car and were literally

the last car to get on. Phew!

Getting greyer

and drizzily

but still beautiful views

from the boat.

The trip had taken longer than we anticipated so we didn't pop into Gibsons, as we had planned, but headed north for a quick grocery shop and then to the AirBnB, in Sechelt,  that will be our base for the next few days.