Last week was my first week of Holidays for 2015.  As I have mentioned many times before, for me, a “Holiday” means getting off my feet ( which I am constantly on at Work ) relaxing, and laying in the sun.  It means catching up on sleep, not having to set alarm clocks, and feeling rejuvenated. I love the feeling that I don’t have to feel obligated to “do” anything, except for kick back, and enjoy …

When your Passports are expired, and you are on a budget, your options are limited.  My Husband has always come along on “my kind” of vacations, so this time, when he suggested something different, I wasn’t going to refuse. He mentioned he wanted to go to Tofino on Vancouver Island to hike, take photographs, explore the beaches etc. I had never been there before, and I knew this would be a very different kind of vacation, but I still agreed. I will admit, I was a bit apprehensive.

We live on the Sunshine Coast of B.C., so we drove the half hour to the ferry, took the 40 – minute ferry ride to Horseshoe Bay, then an hour and 40 minute ferry ride from there to Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island.  From there, it was a 3 hour drive to Tofino.

Road Sign

It was a beautiful, warm and sunny day,  so we certainly enjoyed the ferry rides and the scenery.  It was great to sit on the upper deck of the ferry in the hot sun, anticipating the week ahead …

Scenery

Once we arrived in Tofino, we were anxious to find our Hotel, get checked in, and get our feet in the sand. I just had to get a picture of the sign welcoming us to our destination.

Welcome Sign

I had us booked in at the Tin Wis Hotel, right on Mackenzie Beach, which was very private, quiet, and sandy.  Most of the beaches where we live are quite rocky, so this was a welcome sight. 🙂  We could hardly wait to get out and explore.

We quickly unloaded the car, checked in, and went and found our room.  I had made sure that we got a King sized bed, Ocean view, and a fireplace when I booked it. I had heard the weather could be all over the map – from warm and sunny, to cool, rainy/windy/foggy … and could change fairly quickly.  I was going to learn just how true this could be.  Thankfully, I had packed everything from bathing suits and tank tops to full on raincoat and rubber boots, just in case. ( we were going to be hiking in a Rainforest, after all )

Our room was on the ground floor, so we could literally walk out the patio door, take about 10 steps, turn left, and be at the beach in about 20 seconds.  We had changed into lighter clothes after our road trip, and were happy to take a long stroll along the beach, and enjoy the warm sunshine.  It was an absolutely gorgeous beach – nice and private, and not crazy busy.

Archway

The archway to the beach had a carving welcoming guests to pass through and enjoy …

Carving

The next picture is of our building:

Our Building

This shot is of the main building:

Main Building

Looking through our patio door towards the beach:

Beach View

Since we had arrived mid-afternoon, we didn’t want to venture too far the first night, after our long drive. We had dinner in the Restaurant at the Hotel – the Beachfront Bistro.

Dining Room

After Dinner, we tried really hard to stay up to watch our first sunset there. I’d had only 3 hours of sleep the night before, we’d driven much of the day, and we were both very tired. It was, however, Summer Solstice, and we certainly didn’t want to miss that sunset.

I will post a few of those sunset pictures very soon …