Ucluelet

Our B&B totally felt like cabin in the woods, the decor was so comfy and anything you could want was right there. So we had a relaxing breakfast, packed up the car and went to say goodbye to our hosts. That was when we discovered that they were Southern Ontario natives and in fact, Bev had lived in a rural community, Donegal, close to one of Ann's relatives. We had a great chat and the longer we spoke, the most connections we found!

Under beautiful sunny skies, we headed off toward Ucluelet with plans to stop at a few fun places thanks to the info we got from Sandy.  There was a market with several boutique style buildings in Coombs. All of them had roofs with soil and grass (?thatched) and all were connected. There were a few goats that we saw munching happily as they wandered the roofs and ... likely watching the tourists who were watching them LOL. 

And there were lots of tourists from all over. I heard several languages while we checked things out! Besides the usual souvenirs, we noticed some interesting Mexican items - Ann bought a really cute wool poncho. While we sat out on their restaurant patio for tea / coffee and snacks, Ann connected with a fellow from Edmonton looking to buy a future retirement home, Salim - really interesting, funny and just plain fun!

We were on the road again for about 30 min. when we found Cathedral Grove in  McMillan Park. 

There were just two main trails, not very long, but truly awe inspiring!! The trees towered so high above us that we were getting neck spasms just looking up to try to see the top. These are old growth forests of cedar, hemlock and maple, but the Western Red Cedars are definitely the stars. The biggest one is higher than the tower of Pisa in France and over 800 years old!!  And there are lots of others that have to be close!  Even the maples are huge, and everywhere there is moss either covering trunks or draping down from limbs of trees. Again we met such nice people, including the park host Bud and later a couple from Germany who lived a few km's from Juergen and Sieglinde!

Back on the road, Ann patiently spent another few hours navigating roads that twisted, turned and seemed at times to run directly into the mountains we saw everywhere! 

By late afternoon, we arrived in Ucluelet and settled into our little apartment. Since we have a full kitchen, we put bits and pieces of food we had gathered the last few days and had a picnic supper. 

We'll spend some time tonight checking out tourist brochures we got from Sandy in Nanaimo, and then turn in early.

G'nite all!