Fed and caffeinated, Deborah and I headed out to wander the waterfront near the hotel. Quite a nice area with shops and condos, including the aforementioned Starbucks. Deborah wanted to visit the Nanaimo Art Gallery, but it was closed for Canada Day. Instead, we headed out on the road to visit Lake Cowichan, which is a beautiful area mid-island. We stopped at a farmer's market for a lunch of veggie sandwiches and shrimp gumbo soup.
And, wouldn't you know, after the turn off towards the lake, we ran into another vineyard! So we stopped in for a bit. Vancouver Island has some very good white wines and berry wines (that's wine, not liqueur--big difference in the more subtle, dry flavor). Less so the red wines we favor, but we still had fun.
At the lake, we found a quiet, shaded hiking trail to wander on for a while, then visited a little historical museum. Our return trip took us past the farmer's market again, where we found sweet strawberries and English peas. Dinner back near the hotel was a delicious Indian cod curry. Our Naniamo hotel had a bathtub, which I took advantage of both nights.
- Current Location:Vancouver
- Current Mood:
hungry