HAPPY CANADA DAY
We are Proud to be Adventuring in this Beautiful Country
We kept true to our theme this year by spending Canada Day travelling the hour and a bit over to Prince Rupert. Its a small touristy fishing town that's right on the ocean. Its a beautiful drive out there and its been a top 'to do' on Jeremy's lists of places to see. We didn't have much planned for Canada day, especially since it was a Tuesday, Veronica worked, Mom and Anthony both worked the next day and this was one of Linnea's only days off with her boyfriend. So it was just me and Jer to make our own plans. We decided to spend the day adventuring somewhere new.We stopped at a popular little spot in town called Copperside. There are three in town and they all do fresh baked goods and sandwiches. We picked up some lunch for the drive and headed out of town. Its literally one long windy road and then you just come upon Prince Rupert.
Map of Our Drive.
Its the kind of drive that you want to do in the summer on a bright sunny day which we were lucky enough to enjoy. The road is amazing, you drive along the Skeena River which leads out to the ocean. All of the snow capped mountains have trickling waterfalls that run off into the river which winds the entire way. I have been to Prince Rupert many times in the past but I was excited by how excited Jeremy was to go. He has never seen the Pacific Ocean before.
Here are some of the snap shots I was able to grab along the way!
Rupert straight ahead.
Windy turns and rocky cliffs.
Bright and sunny day.
The largest of many waterfalls.
Mountains of course all along the way.
Followed a logging Truck for a bit.
We did the classic tourist things when we got to Prince Rupert. Surprisingly there were quite a few shops open even though it was Canada Day. We browsed knickknacks and walked along the boardwalk. I'm always on the hunt for post cards and paper to send though snail mail, writing has made it back to my list of happy hobbies. It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in sight which is quite rare in the rainiest city in Canada!
Map of Rupert.
Totem Pole In Rupert.
Taking in the Sights.
Jer needed to see the boats...obviously.
Oh ya that's a lot of kelp.
And what is the first thing you want to do when visiting a new place? Eat! We decided since we were in a little fishing town we needed some fresh sea food. I normally go to this little place called Smileys but as we swung by there it was closed. We continued on moseying and found the dock entrance so decided to walk down and check out the boats. We looked back and there was this huge restaurant Breakers Pub staring back at us. It was a sign... literally.
Breakers Pub.
Enjoying a Beer and the View.
Ready for Food but really enjoying our Okanagan Special - OK Gold.
We shared some fat tasty shrimps, breaded cod and Calamari.
Breakers Pub was awesome. The food was outstanding. Freshest fish I can remember having. To top it all off the entire time we were enjoying the patio, the sun, the ocean and of course the food we watched a few seals swimming and playing right below us! Honestly we were a little too excited. We sat there forever just mesmerized by them. It was a family of three and they were lounging, kissing and swimming around. A few fishermen came in and unloaded their catch of the day, washed and cut their prizes on the dock while the seals waited patiently for scraps. It was the best afternoon we could have asked for.
Here are a few shots I took of the seals but unfortunately the iPhone camera is just not equipped for candid animal photography.
After we were all done enjoying the food and show we moved on to... desert! We are such foodies its embarrassing. Jeremy was craving ice-cream, our waitress suggested a little place in the local mall so we hightailed it over there with 10 minutes until close. There was a line of about 6 people and only a few minutes to spare the teenage counter girl did not want to service us but we watched the clock and forced our orders onto her with 3 minutes to spare. Tasty icecream on a hot day is worth being a little pushy over. And we tipped her.
On the way back we decided to stop and explore the waterfall that we had seen on the way there. It was a bit harder to spot but we finally did and pulled over. Jeremy was determined to get close but as we crossed the road and tried to walk past the rail road we realized you would need a machete to get any further.
We continued on our way after we could not find a pre-carved path to the waterfalls. We would have to leave that for another day and further research. We continued on our trek home. As we were driving out of the corner of my good eye on Jer's side (my good eye) I saw a bald eagle standing on the side of the road. At first we buzzed by and all I could say was... "what a good carving of a bald eagle!" as I said those words to Jer he looked back and saw a very real eagle hop into the brush. We u-turned and made our way back to the spot we had seen him. We could see him perched in the trees just out of reach, we waited patiently and finally he hopped down and waddled walking through the long grass to the side of the road. He was eating a dead beaver! We watched him for a long time. We watched his reaction to the continual cars buzzing by and watched as more eagles, crows and ravens showed up. At some point I realized that we could probably sit there all day watching this and that we would have many more opportunities for wildlife sightings in the future so we moved on. But man was he cool.
Our bald eagle friend eating happily.
And that's it! Best Day Ever!
We hope everyone had a kick ass Canada Day and are proud to be Canadian. I have had the opportunity to visit 5 of our provinces and hope to travel to the rest one day. I love this country and am so glad that I have gotten to experience so much of its beauty, people, wildlife and quirks.
Wish us luck in our future Adventures!
Love always from the West Coast,
S & J
