My final opinions: we were glad we went to Pacific Rim/Tofino. We really wanted to see that. But I'm not sure I would rush over there again. That side of the island is beautiful, but very rugged. It could have been the fact it rained most of the time we were there, but not a lot to keep little ones interested. You see one forest/beach, you've seen them all in their opinion. The campground was very clean and organized, but kind of stressful with kids because it was completely no-trace. You could not leave ANYTHING out when leaving your campsite. This led to us spending a lot of time getting after them for dropping food or any sort of mess. Not to mention that we had wolf, cougar and bear warnings posted all over so that kind of freaked Madi out.
Parksville, on the other, gets two thumbs up. The provincial campground at Rathtrevor Beach was so relaxed and family friendly. Our site was right beside the park, so the kids could play there whenever we were trying to cook or clean up, and it had showers. That was awesome, even if they were push button and only stayed on for 10 seconds at a time. Plus, the east side of the island just had a little more options for things to do.
Our site and the park right behind us. Perfect location!
All in all, we had a blast. It was a great way for us to end our two years on the coast, and we got to spend 6 fun days all together just relaxing before moving and splitting our family in two for 6 months. Dan really just wanted to enjoy the kids before he says good bye for the summer, and I think we accomplished that. We made the promise that we would try not to say no if at all possible while on this trip, and we managed right up til the skull and crossbones necklace in the ferry gift shop. That's where we had to draw the line. We had so much fun, and hopefully made some good memories for the kiddos to take away from their experience out here.
Leaving Nanaimo behind....
Now it's "Back to life, back to reality..."
I'm so glad you had a wonderful vacation. I was thinking about you all week and hoping everyone was having a fun time. Getting excited to see you all. Good luck with the packing. Love, Mom
ReplyDeleteIt looks and sounds like you guys had a great time! I miss camping. It's been a few years since we've been able to go. Hopefully when Tyler's a couple years older we'll be able to go more often. We are trying to come for July 1st, but it all depends on how far Trevor gets with work and the weather! Good luck with the move.
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