Sea Kayaking on Bowen Island, British Columbia
Summertime for Adam and me means maximizing our weekends and packing in as much as possible. Every Friday evening, we tend to leave Seattle after work and head off on an adventure, usually somewhere in Washington, Oregon, or Canada. The Pacific Northwest is one of the most magical parts of the world (in my very humble opinion), and we feel incredibly fortunate to call it home. There's just so much to see! Labor Day weekend, we chose Canada to be our 3-day getaway destination, and I'm so glad we did. Friday night, we rented a room on Airbnb that was just over the border in Abbotsford. We stayed with an eccentric woman and her giant Doberman in a neighborhood that smelled vaguely like cow manure. She had a foreign exchange student from China living with her who spoke little English, and I giggled when I realized we were both using Chinese green tea toothpaste (I'm still using up the tube I bought when I was in Chengdu!).
Saturday morning, Adam and I drove to Vancouver and took a ferry over to Bowen Island for a day of sea kayaking. We left our car back in Vancouver and walked on the Snug Cove-Horseshoe Bay ferry. Highly recommended! (Though get there early to look for a parking spot because the lots fill up fast.)
We booked a 3-hour rental in a double kayak from Bowen Island Sea Kayaking. It's an easy walk from the ferry terminal - impossible to miss! Everyone there is super friendly, and I was relieved to find out they let you rent dry bags for only a dollar. We have about five of those things, but of course, we forgot all of them at home. The guy working asked if I had a "loonie," but he could tell by the confused look on my face that I wasn't quite sure how to respond. I tried blending in as a Canadian but I failed. My cover was blown. A loonie is what Canadians call their one-dollar coin. Unfortunately, I didn't have any loonies, but he did take my US dollar! What a guy. And now I know...
Right when we got in our kayak and started paddling away from the dock, a seal popped its head up out of the water in front of us. I thought for sure we'd see more seals while we were out, but sadly we didn't. Kayaking was a ton of fun, and so relaxing under the summer sun.
After kayaking, we had strawberry rhubarb pie and an affogato from Lime and Moon Pie which is located on the cute little dock next door to where we rented the kayak.
They had pictures of celebrities eating their pie hanging in the shop, and I'm curious to know why Ben Stiller has been to Bowen Island. Maybe he filmed a movie in Canada? So random that he'd venture to that little island. I demand answers!
We ate at Tuscany Pizza that evening and ordered the tapenade, caramelized onion and pear pizza, and house-made mushroom ravioli. It was all wonderful!
After dinner, we took the ferry back to Vancouver and drove about an hour and a half to Squamish, which is where we spent the next two nights in Canada. It's one of our all-time favorite places. (More photos to come!)
We had such a nice day on Bowen Island. It's the perfect getaway and I highly recommend it if you're in the Vancouver area. As always, thanks for reading! xo