100 Dollar Vacation

While it's great that some can afford to spend whole decades exploring the globe, 100 mile holidays are not a choice for most. Having spent most of my 'holidays' in B.C.'s various tourist traps, I've for some time longed to see Indonesia, Africa, Europe et al. Yet the doldrums of paying rent, tuition, and then student loan payments and childcare costs have kept me tethered. Now where do I obtain my eco-award for 17 years of adult life confined to 100 square miles by the exploitative economic system to which I am subject?

Sorry, but as with foodieism, this has such an obvious class orientation that I couldn't not comment.

Tourist in your own city

Some years ago, my meaningful other and I had the greatest vacation: We simply did what we never did in the usual daily grind: Followed that funny little sidestreet going where we had never known; looking all over that interesting house; going all the way out that road, even to where it ended in a single-lane gravel, barely driveable. And so on. We also went back to places we used to frequent, but had not seen in thirty years. An amazing number of 'little places' had not changed at all. This city is fabulous to go discovering in. There are so many nooks and crannies that have totally escaped being 'straightened out'. I hope there will always be plenty of such places. They make the city far greater than any new 'developments' could.

Well, maybe 150 nautical miles

Herself and I have been south to Ushuaia, west to Siem Reip, east to Capadokia and north to Terrace. This fall she tells me we are going to visit friends who keep a lighthouse on the B.C. coast. Gonna take a couple of kayaks and ride B.C. Ferries north from Pt. Hardly.
This here coast is "world class" and we have seen a small portion of it.
Riding a ferry in N.W. Scotland years ago we both noticed the wonderful scenery and figured out why it seemed so: It reminded us of B.C. coastal waters

Our favourite 161 kilometer holiday

This pass year my husband and I were exposed to sailing by friends and we were immediately hooked. We decided to purchase a small affordable sailboat and teach ourselves how to sail.
Our first sailing holiday we decided to sail up to Desolation Sound from Powell River, it was absolutely beautiful. We spent ten days exploring numerous secluded areas and communities that are only accessible by boat. The scenery was so spectacular, I felt so grateful that we had this opportunity to visit these areas and look forward to spending our next holidays exploring more places on the coast. Not only was this a scenic holiday it was also an inexpensive holiday (less than a $100) plus a bonus of sailing is knowing it has a low environmental impact .

Holy 100 Mile Batsmokes!

The Tyee has morphed into the Georgia Straight when our backs was turned! Purloined we are. Well you know, for my 100 Mile Slow Food Staycation Budget Diet Holiday I think I'll buy a Michael Jackson Life Diamond as a sort of charitable gift to the suffering needless. Or maybe I'll just really go nuts, save up for a couple of weeks, and go to the Keg for a mediocre steak before going back to the daily grind of trying to make ends meet in an ostentatious plutocracy. Ya. :)

I Ain't Telling

Then everyone would want to do it.

Air travel has now become a

Air travel has now become a major curse on humanity, wasting incredible amounts of fuel and the cause of some of the major pollutions on Earth, just to drag the asses of braindead people infected with the ongoing travel hysteria, so they can says they've been "there".

Then we hear:

"If I couldn't go HOME once a year, I would die!",

"We have to take the kids HOME in the summer months to teach them the sacred traditions...."

"Yeah, we went to the Louvre for a couple of hours, the we went to Burger King. Them Froggies sure know how to make good burgers"

"We had some great Schnitzels in Vienna, then we went to see some palace. Can't remember the name now, might have been Hitler's or Stalins. "

If 90% of the airliners would be grounded and scrapped tomorrow, it wouldn't be too soon.

The last time I flew was in 1968 and haven't missed a damn thing. Never again when they started searching people like criminals.

Ed Deak.

Laying on the beach...

less than a mile from home. And our beach rivals any beach I've seen anywhere. We are so lucky to live in this province and that is why it's so upsetting to see it being deliberately destroyed by those criminals in Victoria.

Escape one island for another

One of the many great things about living on the Coast is that you can live on one island and visit another within 100 miles. We live on Salt Spring, which is great from Sept. to June, but our population doubles with others coming to visit our island. We like to escape that, so this year we decided to explore more of Vancouver Island. A short 20 minute ferry away . . .

Super Natural BC

I've travelled most parts of the globe extensively. I've lived and worked abroad. And these experiences have put my home region of BC into a healthy perspective. I never get tired of touring the Pacific Northwest, never get tired of the scenery, the climate, the rain, the BEER, the food or the culture. It's all here, and the older I get, the more I appreciate what we have at our doorsteps.

I've already done one staycation to Okanagan wine country (before the fires!), and have a couple others planned this fall for the islands.

If there's one irony in this staycation movement, it's that we end up spending more, usually a lot more, locally, via rental cars, hotels, dining, than I would if I flew to the Third World and existed like a king on $5 per day.

Have you ever been sea billy......

Having visited many parts of the globe I find myself drawn to the ocean,our ocean,salmon,prawns,oysters,fog,storms......and being an animal lover still in mourning,I`m still visiting the 400 fathom hole where two of my dear departed pets had their sea burial(Many years too soon, Thanks to Melamine laced toxic pet food).......

Cheers-Eyes Wide Open,though sometimes a little watery

You guys crack me up

Everyone on this coast is riding the "terrain wreck" anyway - just a matter of how soon or long it takes.
Could involve some pollution as we struggle north and the volcanoes in Alaska fire away
I have a Jet boat, the M.V."R Billy" sitting in a purpose built shed here and the M.V. "Balder Dash" on a trailer in the yard. Some hopped up loggers burnt my best boat: F.V. "Link" on Floreze Island in the '80s.
Balder Dash took us through the Broughtons for a week or so and Link took us through the "Bull Run" (Smith Sound) just before the transmission tail shaft snapped off. Sent herself and the two kids (now in their late 30s) off home in the last "Goose" flying boat with the tail shaft for repair.
Some day the book "Upcoast BreakDown" will be available and I'm working on the fiddle tune.

R Billy

She also took us for a ride:
my uncle built a shed to build the boat. I laid some of the "stringers" on the frames when I was about 15. He died. From an estate of 1.2 Million I was awarded about $168 and if I wanted the jet boat I was welcome.
Cost about $900 to truck the beautiful disaster to the Island and another 6 grand to put it in the water but the launch made the local paper.
Guess what?
Jets do not perform well in salty rough seas full of plastic bags

Limited by BC Ferries

My wife and I are 60ish, and we choose too run a small business in Qualicum Beach, quite by accident, starting five years ago. Since then one of our kids has had two boys and we spend everything we can, which is not a lot, visiting them as often as we can. My wife, who is way more attached to them, then I am, travels more frequently then me, but I get there on occasion as well. The problem for us, "one" destination type people, is that we are limited in what we can do by the responsibilities we have with our business, and the cost associated with traveling to Vancouver. Mr. Campbell has not made it easy for Grandparents to visit their Grandchildren. We are grateful in the winter when there is a discount on the ferries, so we try to go a few times then. But with four and sometimes five employees, it is hard to get away, and not worry yourself sick about what might be happening. Running a business these days in BC is like walking on a tight rope, and we have only been established for five years. You know what they say is true, it is not what you know, but who you know, at least that is our experience. Finally, the other day, in a moment of suspended sanity, my wife and I drove down to Victoria. What a fantastic city, and worthy of a visit by all BCer's. The sad thing was that the streets seemed deserted, and the stores, well the stores are fantastic, bursting with merchandise, stimulating, it was a real encouraging experience. We learned a lot too. Although thinking about it, it would probably be good if there where a lot more customers.

Lary Waldman
Qualicum Beach

City Forests

Living in the Westend of Vancouver, especially this past weekend with critical mass, fireworks and parades taking place, can be overwhelming at times. A recent rash unloading of an unreasonable chunk of student loans has allowed me to take full advantage of the North Shore of Vancouver via mountain bike. After a long day, via bus, seabus or car, I can be at the bottom of Seymour, Fromme, or Cypress preparing to quicken my pulse for the next few hours.

The trails on the North Shore are arguably world renowned, but definitely not beginner friendly. Trail maps are easy to find at local stores, and riders are usually eager to give advice and directions. Although most riders are young men, its quite common to have a 60+ man rip by with bulging calves or little tykes equally putting my new skills to shame. Riding partners have been easy to come by through store group rides, rider forums and even female only clubs where fast friends are made.

To be within reach of the city, yet lost in the dense, silent forest is the most attractive feature that Vancouver has to offer. The North Shore also boasts opportunities to hike, trail run, ski or snowboard, kayak, canoe or simply build a little fort and spend the day swimming in the river away from the mass of critics.

If we all went on a staycation.

Spending your vacations closer to hoem might be more easily done if the government was not bent on selling every piece or foreshore land to private interests. The public is squeezed onto smaller beaches while the fences go up elsewhere. When will the government take back some of these leases that were suppose to be for 99 years or less. Or at least buy some of them back so the public has access.

Imagine if everyone stayed closer to home, how crowded every public summer recreation spot would be.

Perhaps more than 160 Kliks...........

....but I love poking around BC with my 50-60 MPG Honda Civic (sorry, but my "metricicity" is limited to distance). Livng on the Island, I especially love the scenery in the Chilcotin............

Skywalker

Have the laws actually changed?
As far as I know you have "Right of passage" above high tide. Anything below that is public (except for some unusual "water lots"). Maybe you are concerned about fresh water beaches?
People build fences sometimes where they have no legal right.

Sunday in Vancouver

My wife and I made pancakes with local,fresh,unsprayed blueberries and sat on our little patio until the sun got too intense. We put on wide-brimmed hats, and made our way by the #3 Main to Science World, where we caught the blue False Creek ferry, which took us past Millenium Water (the Olympic Village)--hard to believe it will be completed in time--and under the Cambie Bridge, which will be the western limit for boats during the Olympics. We alighted at the foot of Davie Street and walked into Yaletown. Feeling already a bit peckish, we stopped at La Boulangerie Parisien and ordered a heartier breakfast and iced coffees. We kept to the shaded side of streets (particularly appreciating the larger trees along Nelson) downtown to the Art Gallery, where we (finally!) saw the amazing Reece Terris sculpture in the rotunda--what a great use of that vertical dimension--and the Andreas Gursky photographs. We decided we'd leave the Rembrandts and Vermeers for a quieter day, as it was by then mid-afternoon and crowded. Walking in a zig-zag across the West End to Bute, and then south, past one of the final houses at Mole Hill to be renovated, we found shade on the hill between the Aquatic Centre and Sunset Beach, which was party central in the aftermath of the Pride Parade. While I people (and boat) watched, my wife sketched the scene on a pad she'd brought along. After an hour, we again took the blue ferry, an open-sided one we hadn't seen before, over to Granville Island. We bought blueberries to freeze, some cheese, some olives, and refilled a water bottle at a drinking fountain*, and walked along the winding sidewalk of the south shore of False Creek, past the Olympic Village's rebuilt and renatured shore. There is a lovely "bay" indented into the village with large stone blocks, and older leathery people were tanning themselves on the blocks; the water looked tempting but there were some things floating in the bay which probably came from the too-many yachts at anchor in the narrow inlet. We'd come full circle to Main Street.
It was only one day, but it felt like a vacation. This was the second "staycation" day we'd done recently. A couple of weeks ago we took a day trip to Bowen Island for the writer's festival and a walk around the lake.
Who needs to go anywhere beyond this wonderful metropolitan holidayland?

* Drinking Fountain footnote

Why is it the city of Vancouver wants us all to drink tap water and yet they have not mandated that all developers install drinking fountains in their buildings, and retrofit fountains into those already built? Try finding a drinking fountain in Langara College's new library, or anywhere near Canada Place, or on any downtown street, or around the Totem Poles, or along the north shore of False Creek. Instead, you'll find bottled water for sale in vending machines or stores. It is a wasteful disgrace and makes the entire project of converting us to go back to good old Vancouver drinking water a joke. Are you listening, Gregor?

unplug

The best zero carbon holidays we take are to unplug our phones, shut the office door and computer for however many days we want and let our mechanical secretary handle the affaires. Then its off to the local beach or hikes. No highway hassles, fresh garden veggies for our meals, and lots of easy reading. I highly recommend it. I wonder why more people don't do it?

mjscox

Maybe the City figures that if no public washrooms are available in these areas they should not make water too easy to find either, eh?

doggone

No they have not and yes I was referring to fresh water. Those that live near the coast are a minority.

Skywalker:

well, if you ever visit Decourcy Island (surrounded with salt water) you will see a lot of Private Property and Private road signs. Keep walking till you see a "Welcome" sign in the grass by the road. If there happen to be folks already there tell them I invited you
Ken

It's "Lying on the beach"

It's "Lying on the beach" not "laying" :) Now that we have that grammar point out of the way-

Lying on my friend's dock at Sproat Lake in Port Alberni! Great little town on the way to Tofino. It helps that she lives on the lake, of course, but really- a great place. Check it out!

100 miles when your in a tourist destination

Um I thought the purpose of travel was to do something about regional variation. So given that most of BC is a travel destination, priding oneself on vacationing here is um, "pretty gnarly eco-self-righteousness"

100 Mile Vacation

Where we live, we don't even "exist", as the rest of BC well knows, the province ends at Prince George -- beyond that is "desolate wasteland". We live in Dawson Creek, to to go ANYWHERE for a vacation requires some traveling just to get started. We like camping, just taking our tent trailer out, finding places like Forest Service Rec Sites, and one of our favourites is "Windy Point Lake", a small rec site in the Pine Pass. There are four sites there, on the far side of the small lake, right behind Windy Point Lodge on the Hart Highway, but access is about two miles past the Lodge, turn off the Highway and double back.

Another spot is only 11 kms from DC, just beyond the village of Pouce Coupe, in the "Pouce Park". If just to get away from it all for a few days is your desire, you can camp in among the trees at Pouce Park and pretend you're off in a wilderness somewhere, instead of 5 minutes away from the nearest grocery store.

coastal summer magic

Some of the many highlights of this magnificent long hot coastal summer; watching a young buck and his mate pick their way along the shoreline, as I was swimming in the still, cool waters of the inlet, framed by misty layers of mountains, walking in the forest behind my house accompanied by eagle and raven song, sharing a meal on the deck of my local pub as the seaplanes come in for a landing, taking a boat ride to picnic on a marine beach, entertaining my Vancouver friends who claim that even a 2 day vacation here on the wonderful Sunshine Coast feels like a week.

My staycation ...

involves cycling to Jericho Beach for a swim, going to various farmers' markets when they are open, hanging out in my tiny garden (shared with other tenants in my balcony-less apartment building) under the umbrella, sitting in front of the fan indoors and sewing, quilting, etc., inviting friends over for lemonade in said tiny garden, and generally enjoying the simple pleasures of fresh summer produce -- free blackberries included!
I don't have a car, but occasionally a friend will pick me up and drive me out to the Fraser Vally for some cycling. Yesterday we rode from Chilliwack to Harrison Hot Springs and back, a distance of 70 kms round trip. It was hot, but there's a nice man-made lagoon at Harrison now, so you don't have to take your chances in that icy lake. A burrito at a Mexican place in Harrison, and an ice-cream cone, made our outing a real treat.
The Lower Mainland is full of places to see. Just drive out the Lougheed Highway to Agassiz and check out all the little villages en route. STop at produce stands and enjoy the occasional cold drink. Very pleasant way to spend a day.

For Fii ...

So nice to find a fellow grammar-nazi! Of course it's "lying" on the beach. But who, besides thee and me, cares any more?