(+7 insets!) (you can see the edgelit clouds better in full size!) :)

Trip Talk: Up the Coast from Nanaimo to Parksville!

After our too-short stay at our Nanaimo-based campground, we pulled up stakes and made the 40-minute drive to our next destination, Surfside RV Resort in Parksville. We were really happy to arrive at our next campsite so soon and since it was such an easy drive, we were able to go out and explore after getting our RV set up!

Goats on the Roof and Country Store
We decided that a drive around the area would be fun so we set off to go see a very popular country store with an unusual claim to fame. The store was set back on a hillside and had a grass-covered roof. On that roof were a group of goats! People come from near and far to see the goats up there, and we wanted to see as well!

As it turned out, the blatant tourist trap of it all really turned us off, though we should have known better to begin with. The goats are actually kept on the roof. People milling around taking pictures of them made us feel like we were part of a crowd of mindless sight-seers and though I took my own shots, I felt a bit duped by the experience. The store was definitely overpriced but it was actually worth seeing. Vast selections of anything you could think of, mostly in the gourmet-food sector, it was really neat to see so many interesting varieties they had to offer. In fact, we ended up going home with a lovely marbled Porter cheddar cheese that wasn't expensive and turned out to be delicious and beautiful too! (If you'd like to see the sort of cheese we got, here's an article which shows pictures of "alcohol-marbled cheeses" )

Wandering around outside the store, we found an enormous area filled with statuary for sale. They were fun to look at and I took some pictures, one of which you'll see as an inset. We also went around behind the store and saw a really cool old log cabin which I'm sharing a picture of too.

Ultimately though, we were very underwhelmed with our experience at this tourist trap and just as well because it was time to head back for dinner. What a surprise we had in store…Mother Nature was about to make up for that bland experience!

A Sunset to Remember
After we'd had a lovely dinner, Steve and I decided to take a walk along the park's beautifully manicured path that went along the coastline. There was plenty of time to watch the sun go down and as the moments ticked by, the views got prettier and prettier. Adding to the drama, there were folks out on the bay enjoying themselves in kayaks and paddleboards. Steve and I enjoyed the challenge of trying to get pictures of them fully-silhouetted in the beam of sunshine in the water. It was such a lovely evening and we got piles of pictures! In fact, I was at a loss of how to properly share the images I got because there were so many that turned out very nicely. So, my solution is to present four sets of pictures so I can give a proper show that isn't too repetitive, I hope! :)

Today's Pictures
Today's main picture is a favorite for its light and wonderful mood. It really gives a feeling of what it was like to be out there that evening…the experience was amazing and so breathtaking! The insets show my best silhouetted person in the sunbeam, followed by a friendly fellow paddling into the sunbeam, droplets of water edge-lit in the glowing light. Finally, a silhouetted view of a paddleboarder looking back to see her friends in kayaks nearby. What a lovely way to experience that wonderful evening. A glorious occasion which we will never forget.

Pam, have you ever played the "people in the sunbeam" game like we did? It's a grand bit of fun, especially because they were always paddling around, we were on the move, and everything was always changing up. I haven't tried it on a beach but it would be the same thing to sit in the sand and capture people silhouetted against the waves with the sun beaming past them…fun stuff. I hope you are having a nice day! :) *BIG HUGS* from southern Oregon!

Explored on 2/06/20; highest placement #4.