We got home late from the ball game fireworks last night but staggered up extra early this morning for a big road trip. We headed up to Parksville to check out the sand sculpture competition and spend the day at the beach.
It's a lovely drive up island, even if the traffic was intense. We made pit stops in Cowichan Bay to visit the bakery and check out the pier, Ladysmith to visit the bakery and check out their lovely historic main street, Nanaimo to visit their pier and realize we weren't at all hungry after all the bakeries we visited, and then finally made it to Parksville just after 2PM.
The sand sculptures were pretty decent, but unlike the sandcastle festival in Nova Scotia that we attended when the kids were little, these are mixed with something to make them more permanent. They'll be standing all summer. And since they are well back from the beach, the tour through the sculptures was a baking hot experience. Still, fun stuff in small doses.
And then, finally, the beach. We walked over, gazed out and realized the tide was fully out and the water was half a mile further away. So we walked and walked, across nice sand and through small water channels and finally cooled off in the ocean. Cindy and Robyn went out further and further, finding water deep enough for a proper swim. I waded around a bit and then sat down to read a magazine. I'm glad I stayed behind because after 15 minutes or so I noticed the water was nearly on me. The tide was coming back in and since the beach is so shallow, it comes back in quickly.
So I grabbed all the bags and hiked back to slightly higher ground, then stood in the current and checked out the sea life. Lots and lots of tiny crabs scurrying in the warm shallows and avoiding the cooler inrushing water. Then I watched my sandy island get swallowed up by the incoming tides. I waited until the last minute to gather everything up and head inland a bit more. And then again, and again. It was huge fun.
On the drive up, Cindy discovered that Parksville has a Tuesday night market, so we stayed for that. It was excellent. A little heavy on the jewellery and soaps, but some artisans we haven't seen before and outstanding food trucks. I had the best wood fired pizza since Saskatchewan and we split the best mini donuts of our lives before climbing back into the car and driving home.
It was a long, tiring, delightful day. I loved every bit of it. So much so that, as we walked by the pickleball courts, I even said I might try pickleball one day. I hope Cindy didn't hear me.
A Persian silk tree in bloom
Best pizza I've had on the island!