Quadra Island week one July 6 - 13, 2025

 Ferry ride from Cortes to Quadra, then unloading and set up the house.  Arriving at “our home” on Quadra always takes our breath away.  We all really love it.  Anna, Nic and Aria arrived around 8:30 pm.  Unfortunately us old folks are falling apart….I have gotten another cold, just 6 weeks or so after my last nasty cold, and Donna has developed floaters in her eye.  Yuck!!   All today’s photos are from the ferry ride except the two that have Aria in them.

Beautiful first day on Quadra, mostly hung out at our place, Donna and Anna did some grocery shopping, Anna got some great deer on the beach and heron shots, Nic worked on expanding the kayak launch area on the rocky beach, and an evening paddle by Anna, Nic and Don.  I’m better bit not healthy and Donna’s decided her floaters are sadly part of getting older, so we didn’t go to Campbell River.  

A rainy and very windy day for most of the day.  So it was mostly hanging out inside, but the humpbacks made an appearance and it wasn’t raining right then and they were breaching.  Fairly distant but got a few mediocre shots at least.  Eagle posed on the rack during the humpback display as well.  Brad treated all of us to pizza at the Clove with ice cream for dessert at our place afterwards.

Another hang out day at our little slice of. Paradise here on Quadra Island.  Dolphins cruised by in the morning, eagles on the beach (there were four of them) eating a fish, Anna snagging some more great photos of wildlife including a kingfisher hanging out on “eagle rock:, tidepooling on our shore with lots of starfish, a fairy walk with Aria, Anna, Donna and Don on the Kay DuBois trail while Nic made a delicious ling cod dinner with a Thai curry and rice as a side, and finally an evening paddle for Nic and Anna, and Aria, Don and Donna playing the Sleeping Queens card game.

Morning humpback tail/fluke slapping in the distance, followed by a 12 mile RT paddle by Anna, Nic and Don out to the King Islands via the Bretons and Dunsterville Is.  Pasta with homemade marinara made by Nic last summer and the dinner prepared by Donna.  Donna and Aria - a play day.  

Amazing humpback breach activity that Anna captured (I will be making a separate post with her amazing photos from their time here) in the morning then an all afternoon adventure for Anna, Nic and Aria going out to the seals and tidepooling from the kayaks while Donna and I hung out at Rebecca Spit.  Anna kayaked all the way back to our place afterwards.  Donna made a delicious meal of Fajitas, and a few rounds of “Sleeping Queens” rapped up the evening.  

Market day on Quadra.  Donna and Nic went over at ten, Anna, Aria and I came over at 11, hung out for a while, tacos from the Yellow Rose food truck.  Nic tried out the paddle board , I tried out the bike on on our big 18 percent grade hill (it made it but I had to throttle it all the way and pedal hard too), rode to Brads.  Second Ling Cod dinner with orzo and salad…delicious.  And some distant humpbacks, and one solo humpback that cruised by in the morning.  

Whale cruised by in the morning.  Double Eagle on the rock as well.  Everyone but Nic (who worked on the kayak launch at “our place”) went to the Cape Mudge Lighthouse in search of Orcas (we missed them there by about a half an hour), and then a late afternoon hike down Haskins Farm trail to the beach…many fairy signs…the winds really picked up in the afternoon and evening (high wind warning).  Burgers for dinner rounded out the day.  Another great day in the neighborhood, and what a great neighborhood it is!

Some photos Anna took during our first week - people shots.