When I booked this trip, I never imagined how much of an impact it was going to make on our lives-the above pic is now hanging in our living room! My friend S had just gone to the Tigh-Na-Mara resort with her husband and raved about a fabulous spa dining experience and I found a deal for a weekend we had a little time off. We decided to bring the kids and have them experience ferry travel, spend time at the beach and end our trip in Victoria. When the weekend came, the forecast was for rain the whole time.
That didn’t stop us from heading down to the beach.We spent hours in the rain finding little crabs while the tide was out. The Bean even caught one in a coffee lid on his own. 
I forgot my rubber boots and had to wear flipflops in the freezing water…but it was so much fun! Inbetween downpours we stopped in at the nearby town of Coombs to see the famous “goats on the roof.” They weren’t on the roof that day-it must have been too rainy but we did find them eventually. And because my friend told me the spa dining was not too be missed, we tried out the on-sight babysitting and had a lovely babysitter and a spectacular dinner….in our bathrobes! Yes, the restaurant is “dine in robe” only! Anyways, this trip was fantastic and memorable and I can’t believe the guys were so little when we went.
PS to anyone with kids trying to re-create this journey, there is a McD’s in Parksville that opens early so if your kids are up and it’s pouring rain and you need somewhere to go so you don’t wrench your own hair and eyeballs out-they have a playplace:) Just so you know.
