Recycling while travelling

Jeff and I recycled on our honeymoon & on our one-year wedding anniversary. Recycling & precycling has become a habit that does not take vacations when we do! When traveling, we will
inquire about what can be recycled locally and then modify our purchases based on that information. Often, we are bringing recycling home from trips or we minimize this waste through'precycling'. (Pre-cycling is a way of reducing our waste and thinking about our impact on the environment before we purchase. You pre-think your purchase based on the materials used to make it, package it or transport it)

When we travel, we always bring: reusable bags, coffee cups, water bottles.

In our community, we are still lacking recycling services for items such as glass jars & batteries. We stock-pile these items and then every so often we take them to the nearest recycling facility. (100-300km's away)

The Photo: A 'recycled' sun-shade made by Jeff using driftwood and bamboo debris found of the beach. On this island, we did not try the 'shave-ice', as it was served in Styrofoam. (The locally-made ice-cream substituted well and was served in an edible cone!)

Summer!

Those of us that choose to live year-round on the West Coast of Vancouver Island have adapted to the normally wet climate by fully enjoying the sunshine & good weather when it is here. (And the sun is often not here in the winter months.) In our home, when the sun is shining we go in search of beach, hiking and surfing adventures. This year we have been blessed with sunny & warm weather for the past seven-weeks. We are not complaining about this unusual weather, we are just attempting to adjust! We have spent many hours tending to our gardens, creating new food-growing garden space and growing plants from seeds. In addition to our time & compost, we must bring in all the soil we require as our neighborhood is located on a rocky-seaside property. The pictures show the gardens as of this morning. One photo shows the garden before we covered three of the raised beds.

The Ucluelet Aquarium

The Ucluelet Aquarium
I love visiting the aquarium. Today I spent some time trying to find the Red octopus. I asked the interpreter for help, and we realized the reclusive
octopus had retreated into a shell, and pulled a rock into the shell opening to block the entrance. I have a season's family pass to the aquarium, and plan on being "a tourist in my own town" and visiting frequently.

Tide Pools at Florencia Bay

On a sunny April afternoon, my favorite 8 year-old & I went exploring the tide pools at Florencia Bay. The tide was low and the marine life was abundant.

Barkley Sound Boat trip - March 25/09

In March, I had the opportunity to go out whale watching with Aquamarine Adventures. The seas were not exactly calm but we did see some Grey Whales. (Rough seas = not great pictures of whales!) I did get some photos of the Sea Lions resting on this rock in the open ocean. I also like the picture of Amphitrite Lighthouse, taken from the "outside" of the ocean. I am usually on the land viewing the lighthouse & the ocean!

Skunk Cabbage - One of the first signs of Spring!

Skunk Cabbage!
I noticed this lovely yellow plant this evening at the beginning of the He-Tin-Kis trail. Its yellow colour really stands-out against the green vegetation. Skunk Cabbage has a distinctive 'skunky' smell & is an important food source for Coastal Black Bears.

It was a lovely evening walk along the He-Tin-Kis trail and then connecting to The Wild Pacific Trail. Spring has brought longer daylight hours perfect for after dinner walks in the neighborhood. I walk this trail almost daily yet it never fails to inspire me!

Twilight films on our lovely Long Beach