Have a very...

Norwegian Bliss

One big boat... one colossal cruise ship...

It was two years ago that I featured the cruise ship the Norwegian Bliss. At the time it was the largest cruise ship to ever pull into Victoria.

Cruise ships are unlikely to return to Victoria this year. Local and federal governments are not allowing cruise ships into Canada until at least October.

Not that it matters since cruise ships are likely not going to see the numbers of passengers that they need to stay operating for a long, long time.

In the meantime, the Norwegian Bliss is on the East Coast hoping to re-start operations to American ports in the fall.

Happy Birthday to Us

Gloomy skies

2020 seems like a dark time right now...

Canada Day celebrations this year are non-existent with the cancellation of every event thanks to the ongoing COVID crisis. Let's hope that next year will see sunnier days.

Cancelled

The sun sets on an empty beach...

What is this you ask?

This is what this year's Sand Castle competition in Oceanside will look like this year. Along with a myriad of events and celebrations across Vancouver Island, BC, Canada... the world really... it has been cancelled out of concerns over COVID-19.

Here's a look at some past events...

Don't call me Shirley

Another one bites the dust...

On the way to surf at Jordan River, you will pass through the blink-and-you'll-miss-it community of Shirley. Most surfers and west coast campers know it for the coffee and deserts served at the Shirley Delicious Cafe.

On a recent surf expedition, I saw that the cafe was closed. Like every other cafe, bakery and restaurant in the province, the COVID crisis had forced it to shutter its doors.

Shirley loves you and wants to keep you safe...

On the other side of the highway, was this sign urging visitors from the urban core to #stayhome. A recent sunny weekend saw the highway and western beaches jammed with city folk looking to escape the urban lockdown.

Following the example of Tofino and the Gulf Islands, these communities promptly shut down the campgrounds and beaches in an effort to control the crowds. Too much road traffic and too many people threatened to strain the response time of any emergency services, and overwhelm local emergency facilities.

Galiano getaway

The sign that greets visitors to the Galiano Inn...

Every February, my wife and I do a mid-winter spa getaway to a local resort. It's a chance to beat the mid-winter blues, and also celebrate the combination of our anniversary, her birthday and Valentine's Day.

This year, we stayed at the Galiano Inn on nearby Galiano Island. Galiano is one of the southern Gulf Islands off the east coast of southern Vancouver Island.

We'll be looking at more of Galiano and the Inn in posts to come...

The Galiano Inn lit by the rising sun...

Regal

Casting a royal look...

One of the sand sculptures from last summer's sand sculpting competition in Parksville BC.

Biblical

Receding flood waters flow in and out
of the popular Russell Farms Market

Vancouver Island set a record for rainfall during the month of January, particularly during the last weekend. At time it came down in sheets that continued for hours.

The result was that some roadside businesses -- such as the one pictured above -- suffered catastrophic flooding. This roadside produce stand is expected to be closed for months as a result.

Further up island, debris and downed trees were swept down swollen and surging rivers and out to sea. As tides rolled in, they simply redistributed all that flotsam on to nearby beaches.

A carpet of root balls, down trees and debris...

Gong hei fat choy!

A traditional dragon dance put on by our hosts...

My wife and I recently celebrated the Chinese New Year thanks to one of her co-workers who purchased a restaurant table at a charity event.

It was attended by many high-profile locals in business and politics. One politician -- who shall remain nameless -- proudly congratulated the attendees for their good will and charity in not giving in to the racism that was rearing its head in other parts of the country, thanks to the current corornavirus situation.

The irony that the statement itself was a sort of subtle virtue-signalling racism of its own was lost on this politician.

A gingerbread house depicting our local Chinatown...

This year is the Year of the Rat. I was born in The Year of the Dog, while my wife was born in The Year of the Monkey. Apparently, that makes us strongly sexually attractive to each other.

Just sayin'... 😜

Suds

A faceful of froth...

I recently spent a few days in the Long Beach area of Vancouver Island to do some paddle surfing.

One of the facts of surfing is that you encounter suds on the way out and on the way in.

Riding down the wave line...

Les Vitamines

Making physical funny look easy...

My wife and I make a point to get to each summer's busker festival in Victoria whenever we can. Les Vitamines is probably our favourite act... combining acrobatics and comedy, they have appeared here frequently.

The smaller of the talented pair is Cbastien. He's the clown to his partner's straight man. The past few times we have seen them, Cbastien has appeared with a new partner than when we first saw them.

This year is the first year that I have noticed grey in his hair. It reminded me of just how long we have been coming to see these guys.

F(l)ail

Idyllic start to our paddle run...

A few weeks ago, my paddle partner and I did a river run on our inflatable SUPs. It was probably the last run of our second season.

It started off gently. The river levels were way down, the flow was slow... in fact, we grounded a few times causing us to 'Superman', i.e. get tossed forward off the front of the board.

Things took a different turn at the end though when we went through a Class-3 chute. The churning froth tossed me off my platform and into the drink. The powerful water tore my waist leash off. I carried on downstream, flailing in the water while my board wound up caught up on rock.

Aside the adrenaline rush, I was otherwise fine and unscathed. It took some fancy manoeuvres and good luck to get my board unstuck.

My grounded paddleboard...

Faces

Zardoz the great and powerful...

A couple of art installations from an Otherworld event on Vancouver Island several years ago.

When gods blow kisses...

Otherworld is Vancouver Island's Official Regional Burning Man Event. It supports and draws its inspiration from the official Burning Man Festival that happens every year in the Nevada desert.

This year the Burning Man festival is facing difficulties. Originally a small, low-key event when it started in 1990, it has grown to the point of 80000 people gathering in the desert for a week of partying and celebration of creativity.

As a result, it is now on the radar of the Bureau of Land Management down in the States who are looking at the impact it has on the local environment with a mind to making changes. There was even talk that Burning Man might not happen at all but that fear seems to have subsided.

Meanwhile the local event is doing very well for itself, growing year and year. This year is will be held at a very upscale venue near Cowichan Lake on Vancouver Island.

Movies under the stars

The old school advertisements for the concession stand...

During our road trip last summer, we made a special detour to visit the Starlight Drive-In in Enderby, BC.

I've spoken before of my fond memories of going to our local drive-in as a kid. Today, drive-ins have all but disappeared across North America so I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass.

We arrived early. It was raining so to keep the rain off our windshield and ruining the experience I improvised with a tarp and a couple of paddles.

You do what you gotta do...

Pipe Mountain Coaster

Thunderbirds are go!

The Pipe Mountain Coaster at Revelstoke, BC is described on their website as an "exhilarating ride...4 km of twists and turns across ski runs, between glades and through a tunnel while traveling up to 42km/hour."

We camped in the area during our summer 2018 road trip for the express purpose of trying it out.

We ended up doing it three times. The first time we went down, the goof in front of us kept his brakes on for the entire ride. He was completely oblivious to the backed up riders behind him who wanted to do it the way it should be done... fast!

The staff at the bottom acknowledged our frustration and disappointment and gave us a another free ride.

Super Snow Moon

Like-a big pizza pie...

While we were up at the Kingfisher Resort in Campbell River, we were treated to the sight of the super snow moon.

From a CNN article:

Why is it called the snow moon?

Each month, the full moon carries a different name signifying what is most associated with that time. This is because centuries ago, lunar months were associated with the changing seasons rather than the solar year. 

Native Americans and Europeans gave February the "snow moon" title because it was the month associated with heavy snowfall, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac. 

The supermoon will occur during this full moon because it will be closest in its orbit to Earth.

The moon looking deceptively large is known as a "Moon illusion," which occurs when the moon is close to the horizon and objects such as buildings or trees are in front of it for scale, which tricks our brains into thinking the moon is closer to the objects than it really is.

Cosmic

Composite photo showing the lunar eclipse...

Earlier this week we witnessed a rare event in Victoria... a trifecta of cosmic conditions came together to create a super blood wolf moon total lunar eclipse.

A supermoon occurs when the moon is at its closet point to earth so that it appears larger than it normally does.

A wolf moon refers to the first full moon of the year.

A blood moon occurs during a lunar eclipse when the sun's light, coming from the far side of the earth, passes through our atmosphere and takes on a reddish hue as it indirectly bathes the moon.

In Victoria, conditions were perfect... it was a cool but clear crisp night. The event lasted about fifty minutes and the moon looked eerie... almost like a giant Hollywood special effect from a sci-fi movie.

Cold Day at Sidney

Grey skies don't stop the crowds from coming...

A couple of weeks ago on New Years Day, I went up to nearby Sidney BC to watch the Polar Bear Swim. It takes place in the ocean... which IS pretty cold but not as much as you might think.

Ocean temperatures here typically range in the 5 to 6 degree C mark. You don't have to break through ice the way you do for Polar Bear Swims in the lakes and rivers of eastern Canada.

That still didn't stop the crowds in Sidney from squealing like little girls and running out of the water as fast as they could after their short sprint into the water.

Under the orange sky

A cruise ship docked at Victoria under a hazy sky...

With the onset of the rainy season, Victorians are already quickly putting the memory of last summer's hazy skies -- filled with the smoke of our second worst wildfire season on record -- behind them.

Sand sculpture

Highlights from the Parksville Sand Sculpture competition...

Parksville's Sand Sculpture event came to an end last month. The theme was Wild Things. We hadn't been to see it in a few years, but it didn't disappoint.