Quadra Island week 4, July 27-August 1, 2025

 On Sunday I kayaked ten miles to some of my usual spots, the Breton Islands, Valdez road area and Open Bay.  Always something new and different to be seen even in the same areas.  And good exercise too.  I’ve been picking blackberries every morning now too, as they are just starting to come in.  Blackberries on morning cereal….yummy.  

Donna and I hiked to Nudzeki Lake on Monday.  It’s a tough uphill “slog” for the first 2/3rds of the hike followed by a hike through a beautiful “ancient forest” and ending at the lake.  We had done this trail as a shuttle hike with Nic and Anna way back in 2014, the year before Aria was born…I distinctly remember Nic swimming in the lake then.  We did it as an out and back, a 5 mile RT hike with 1300 feet of elevation gain.

Donna and I did a 7 mile RT kayak out to Herriot Island, Hyacinthe Bay, and seal rock.  The “Salty Growler” a Ranger tug R-29, that we actually looked at last summer (we were really tempted to buy it, even though it probably didn’t make a lot of sense but last summer we were in drunken sailor mode, looking at real estate too) was in Drew Harbor.  Same couple, it didn’t sell, they’re holding on to it for now and doing some more boating this summer.  Also, the young mom that sublet the house next to us for the past year while Sandy was in Thailand, moved out while we were out kayaking.  Sandy returns on Friday.

Hung out at our place, doing our local walk.  Sandi arrived, and she and her friend Alicia stopped by for a visit with an update on Sandi’s year in Thailand with trips to Cambodia and Vietnam, and an update on the sublease to Shelly and all the troubles associated with that.  It ended up being messy.  Shelly and another lady were over cleaning the place today as well.  Close in Humpbacks this morning too.

Hung out at our place on a blue sky warmish day (always cooler where we are at the water).  Donna did her laundry, and organized remaining food for our move on Saturday to Salt Spring Island.  I did the neighborhood morning 4 mile walk, and then after lunch rode the bike to Rebecca Spit and walked the loop.  No whales today.

Hung out at our place all day on our last full day on Quadra for the year.  Saw distant breaching humpbacks, caught the sunrise and visited with Adrienne, the owner, who came up from Comox.