Vancouver Island, Day 4

Thursday was bitter sweet. It was the last full day we had on Vancouver Island, and while we had done mostly everything we wanted, it was sad to be going.

Heidi and I slept in quite late, finally catching up on all the sleep lose and time change. Alex got up at her normal time, snuck out of our room and straight to Danielle's. I'm not sure what they did, but i'm sure Alex got her to read at least a few books. It was great to wake up after sleeping in and find Alex fed and happily under the care of Pat and Danielle.

After lunch Pat took the girls and I to visit the lighthouse while Danielle got together with a good friend. I can't stress enough how much fun it was seeing the city from the eyes of a "native". I learned so much about the history of B.C. and Canada and all sorts of little places and fun things. When we made it to our destination, I didn't think I would actually get to see the lighthouse up close, because it was a mile or so walk to get there. Danielle's sweet mother, Pat, went and talked to some people at the office and got me an official ride down right to the steps!

It's an operating lighthouse so I didn't get to climb to the top, but the visitors center was really cool, and the view was unbeatable.

After the lighthouse the plan was to let Alex walk on the beach one last time, but she was asleep, and it was windy and cold, so I took my last stroll alone while Pat graciously guarded the kids in the car.

It was a beautiful beach, you can't tell from the picture, but these logs are HUGE.

I finally woke Alex up and we went to see the swans that lived across the road that was parallel to the beach in some sort of inlet. I'm not up to par on my water terms dealing with the ocean and it's relationship to the land. On the drive home we saw a guy feeding the swans right out of his hand. crazy.

We made it back to the house after a bit of construction caused traffic and switched out Pat for Danielle who graciously took us back to fisherman's warf one last time to feed the seals and get some more poutine.

On the way back to the car I noticed this van parked next to us. I made Alex stand next to it because I could have sworn it was an exact replica of the van driven by the libyan terrorists in Back To The Future.

I have since researched the topic and found my memory to be lacking. Thus making the picture a lot less meaningful and cool.

We then went to the souvenir street and picked up a few fun shirts and magnets. The kids were dying to get home we went back for dinner and then Danielle snuck out to visit the grocery store and stock up on our favorite canadian foods.

We returned home to find Alex enjoying her favorite activity, watching "Best of Friends" from the fox and the hound with her Uncle Al. It was precious.

The night ended the way it usually did, me crashing in bed, while Danielle stayed up to visit with more friends.

I don't know how she was able to juggle being a tour guide, mom, and social butterfly all on the same vacation.