#WestCoastBestCoast - Vancouver Island is a treasure!

I love where I live! Really, I do!
I know I've been reminiscing and writing a lot lately about my amazing international travels, but today I saw an amazing video that reminded me that I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world!

Whether you are surfing or watching storms in Tofino, soaking up some sun on the sandy beaches of Parksville or hiking along any one of thousands of excellent trails, Vancouver Island pretty much has it all.

Yes, this is a real photo from a real whale watching trip I went on with my cousin. Amazing experience!

I live in the city of Victoria, the capital city of the province of British Columbia, which is located on Vancouver Island, the most southwestern corner of Canada. See the map? Yep, way over there in the corner. We are actually right across the water from Port Angeles, Washington, US, and not too far from Seattle.

And yes, it truly IS and island. It's over 500 times the size of Manhattan, NY with only half of Manhattan's population! But we have trees, lots and lots of trees!

We have mountains, forests, waterfalls, adventure tourism, whale watching, beaches, rugged Pacific coastline and more.

Victoria is on the far bottom right of the island.

I've lived here since 1986 and it would be a very difficult decision to ever move away! I love the climate, quite mild and the summer usually don't get too hot. Winters are cool but barely any snow and no, we don't get as much rain as say, Vancouver or Seattle.

Here are a few of my favourite snapshots of places around where I live.


Here's the awesome video by a guy named Tyler Cave, another local Victorian, who spent the summer exploring the Island and all the amazingly beautiful scenery. So many times I thought, wow, I live there!

If anyone from my distant circle of friends ever wants to come visit, I'll be your tour guide...seriously.
Enjoy!

How a Whiskey Ad Made Me Cry

In June of last year I travelled to the UK on a dream trip. My days in Scotland, and most notable on the Isle of Skye, were some of my favourite places for scenery and rugged beauty.

I had many preconceived notions of which areas I would fall in love with. I was certainly surprised that Scotland won me over way more than England or Ireland (though I loved my days in those areas, too!).

When a Facebook friend shared a whiskey video advertisement, located in Scotland on the Isle of Skye and made by two film students, I was immediately drawn to watching it.

I watched, I got all teary...then I had to go back and watch again and I got all choked up all over again.

Wow! Just wow!

Music, beautiful scenery, poignant words, people's faces and relationships with one another can certainly have an impact on us in something so simple as a commercial.

Turn up the volume.
Pull up the video full screen.

Watch.
Listen.

Then watch again.

Kudos to Dorian Lebherz & Daniel Titz.

Did you see it?
Did you get it?

So good.



Side Note:

Many of the places in the video are places I walked or saw on my trip, Kilt Rock cliffs and the Old Man of Storr. 

They also crossed the Sligachan Bridge in the video and I walked across that bridge on my first full day on Skye! 

See photo comparisons below.

Willow the Westie (3-6 Months)

Just a quick update with some photos

and a bit of video of my Westie puppy, Willow.

She was 6 months old on February 15th and is growing and learning fast and well!

She can sit, shake both paws, roll over, lie down, step nicely into her harness, walks well and loves to play with anyone or any dog!

Her favourite things right now are: ice cubes, vanilla yoghurt, my Dad, and Buddy, the Upstairs Dog.

She still is working on: not jumping up, coming when called (works almost every time!), staying on command and she is almost totally house-trained...only one or two slip ups this last month.

I love her to bits and she is a great little friend to have around!!

Almost 3 months old...exploring a basket.

She loves lying in front of the fireplace, soaking up the heat.

Posing on my bed.

I asked her to Sit so I could snap a photo and she curled up between my feet!

Sweet sleepy puppy.

Being silly and jumping up while I was trying to take a photo.

Sooooo dirty and muddy after a great playtime on Dallas Road with her doggy friends.

All white and fluffy after her bath!!

Sitting all cute waiting to go outside - 6 months old.

And here is a bit of video I had from the past few months. She keeps me pretty busy that I always forget to take my camera along with me for some new photos or video clips.

Watch for one of her regular Dallas Road friends, Trigger!

Willow

Introducing.....Willow! My new little friend!!

Westie!!!

Yes, in 18 more sleeps I am bringing home a little Westie puppy! I cannot wait!!
I'm sure I will be taking lots of photos and video to share, but for now I am content to search youtube for cute Westie videos.

Here is the best video of two adorable Westies!!

Enjoy!!

Too Cute not to share....

Planet Earth

You may have already seen or known about the spectacular DVD series from BBC called "Planet Earth" but I'm spreading the news anyway. Planet Earth is a collection of the most breathtaking, awe-inspiring and amazing images and video I have ever seen!

I have only watched a few episodes so far, with titles such as "From Pole to Pole", "Mountains" or "Ice Worlds" but I have already seen wondrous places, views and creatures that I can honestly say I have never seen or known about before!!

If you can, borrow or buy this series and show it to anyone who will watch it. I think every child would be amazed at the awesome animals and their behaviours and learn a lot from evrey moment. I also think every person who believes that God is our Creator should watch this series. I was humbled and filled with emotion as I viewed the vastness of what our God has made. Every intricate detail was thought of, every balance, every nuance, every whisker and wing was lovingly laid out with a purpose.

Enough talking from me. Have a look at some beautiful and crazy images from the few episodes I have watched so far:

Have you ever seen Elephants swim like little kids with snorkels? I've seen some cool waterfalls but some shown in this series are so much more amazing and beautiful than I could have imagined!
After watching a lot of Shark Week videos, I found the footage from Planet Earth to astound me even more! What a shot!
The elusive Snow Leopard has rarely, if ever, been caught on film and the crew from PE brings this quiet predator right into our homes.
Flocks and flocks and flocks....you have to see it to believe it!


The caves that PE explores are like part of some weird and wonderful fantasy world!

These African buffalo herds look like flocks of birds, darting and swarming, avoiding or heading towards landmarks. Simply amazing!
This laughable guy is actually a male bird in the Amazon trying to entice the brown female in the foreground! I could not believe the crazy plumage and dance these little avians show off!
No, this isn't a scary stunt scene, it's crazy cliff jumpers diving into some of the biggest and longest caves on earth. (Don't worry, they have parachutes!)
Some of the film that PE manages to achieve is simply unthinkable! The tight spaces, the close proximity to wild animals....like this Giant Panda mother caring for her helpless tiny cub inside her den cave. How did they do it!
I also appreciate all the extras and bonus footage showcasing how they got a certain shot and the leaps and bounds they took with both technology and the methods used to attain such beautiful and stunning visions of our planet.

If you aren't impressed yet, well then, tough luck finding anything more wonderful than this video experience. Watch it, and you'll be amazed!

Sunday Afternoon Walk on the Beach

For those of you not on Facebook....


Some fun photos from your friends.... Enjoy!

Stormy Day - Video

This past weekend was quite stormy and I wanted to share the thrill of watching our West Coast weather with my friends from other places. I love walking along the ocean with the crazy wind lashing around me and the waves pounding and rolling into the shore.
The audio from this video clip is a little crazy since the wind was buffeting my camera, but in the middle you can hear the waves sucking back the small rocks all along the shore. The noise it makes is incredible, I love it!
You'll also get a glimpse of my dog, Sophie trotting along the shore.
Later on this week I'll post some spectacular new photos from this stormy day along with a few cool close ups of nature and insects...stay tuned!