Bigass Christmas Edition! Travel to Powell River and Back

Hello, my friends! We made it! Our semi-annual trip to Powell River on BC's Sunshine Coast was a success - we did not get trapped on the Island, nor did we get stuck in PR, hitting lucky pockets of non-windy weather. Oh, there was a power outage for 4 hours on Christmas Day, but that also resolved in our favour, so it's all good. 

Ready for lots of travel pictures of Canada's wild west coast? I've got plenty, so pour yourself a nice cup of something yummy and settle in.

L and I last visited Powell River (hereafter PR, as I'm a lazy typist) back here in August, and last came up for Christmas Day (not just a post-Xmas visit) two years ago here in December 2022 in the snow. We alternate whose family we spend the holiday with, and this year was L's family's turn. 

As Vlad the Jaguar does not have snow tires, we have to rent an SUV in winter. Many thanks to L, who does all the driving (I've never had a license). You are the best! 

I had a lot of feelings around Christmas this year - on our previous "on the day" trip, I'd cooked and brought all of the sides for Christmas dinner, as my mother-in-law was no longer able to cook the full dinner due to her dementia. That was the same situation this year...but this time it was a LOT on me...as was the ask for me to bring up everything for family breakfast (and likely cook a lot of it). TOO MUCH.

I contemplated, checked my mental health, stress levels and general anxiety - and I pulled the plug on breakfast. I did make all the sides - two kinds of stuffing, gravy, parmesan cheese mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and parsnips, and bought a bakery-made apple pie - but also gave my two years' "notice" on that. I hate cooking at the best of times, and I'm not doing the full dinner sides again. I'd spent a full day cooking and prepping (not to mention having to plan, make lists and buy all the ingredients), and dammit, I need my downtime too! 

Two years is a long way off, and I'm sure we'll figure something out for next time - and I was proud of myself for saying no. 

Back to clothes - this visit was not about me, nor was it about my outfits, and since I'd be mucking around in the kitchen, I didn't want to ruin anything I value.

It's also a case of "know your audience." I wasn't going to see anyone other than L, his mom, her boyfriend and his brother. 

Welcome to my house clothes! 

This cozy dress is great for this time of year. I'm wearing a t-shirt under it, which I slept in, and a pair of thick reversible leggings, plus fancy socks.

The folks on the ferry got a look at my flashy pink and black coat. 

"Wait just one second...are you leaving me?"

I coloured my hair earlier in the week - fresh purple for the new year! 

Poor Vizzini always knows when we're going away. 

"I hope this means Uncle Ross is coming over."

We are fortunate that our best friends Cat and Ross live in our neighbourhood, and were able to pop over on Christmas Eve, twice on Christmas Day, and early on Boxing Day to take care of our little guy. We reciprocate by taking care of their kitty Mabel when they travel. 

Ahoy, is that bad weather in our future?

Signs point to YES. 

• Coat - Sarmite Wearable Art, consignment; last seen here last week

This is all I took to PR. 

I layered sleeping t-shirts (mostly band merch) and flipped the reversible tights (consignment) to the non-leopard side for Xmas Day. My pack was practically empty.

Accoutrements: 

I wore the scarf doubled around my neck constantly. 

• Toque - thrifted
• Velour gloves - thrifted
• Silk scarf - Alexander McQueen, consignment
• Leather purse - Lodis, thrifted

I nearly lost one of the gloves on the ferry home when it fell off my lap - fortunately, it was sitting in a puddle outside the car!

The stuff: 

Practical boots in case of rain, snow or having to sleep in a ferry parking lot. These things are all possibilities. 

• Canvas boots - Doc Martens, consignment; last worn here (2nd outfit) in September with a maxi-bomber

Bold bling: 

I wore all of this every day - armoured up! 

• Studded cuff - vintage 1998
• Leather cuff - Guess, thrifted
• Silver/onyx ring - Tocara, vintage fair
• Silver/obsidian ring - consignment
• Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower
• Silver chain ring - Mexican, consignment
• Fingerprint earrings - Daisung Kim, MoMA, thrifted

I had to pick up my boy for some love, of course.

"I suppose Ross is my new owner."

Cats, so dramatic! We were only gone two nights! 

We lucked out with lovely driving conditions on Christmas Eve day. 

Headed out on the one road that takes us up-Island. 

I recently came across this awesome documentary here (all links 'cause I love, of course) about the building of the Malahat road back in 1912 - the doc has some amazing old footage and is just shy of 12 minutes. It gives you a good idea of why the Malahat is such a Big Deal for folks who live on Vancouver Island. 

It's still only 2 lanes (one in each direction) for most of it, and it's very curvy and treacherous - we're on the side of mountains here, with cliffs on one side, and a steep drop down to Finlayson Arm (an inlet of the ocean) on the other.

The official start of the Malahat Drive.

See? One lane each way, and we're zooming along. 

Mount Finlayson looms on our right, near Goldstream Park. 

Bye! 

Views of Finlayson Arm as we whiz by.

Only that concrete barrier protects us from rolling down the mountainside.

At the summit - the hazy bump in the middle between the tree and the totem is Mt. Finlayson. 

We never stop. "Stopping is for tourists!"

We're also concerned about getting to the ferry in time. Any kind of accident paralyzes traffic and could clog it up for hours. 

And we have a long way to go - our drive is almost exactly 200 kilometers, and takes us just under four hours. 

I am always on the lookout for interesting things while we drive. This truck is carrying...one log. 

I'm snapping with my camera as we zip down the road, so many of my pics are of my reflection (ha) or out of focus. 

I often photograph the same things over and over. 

Like Silver Bridge outside of Duncan. 

Or this dairy farm. 

Local milk! 

It started to get windy and rainy, but I caught a picture of my favourite highway sign ever. 

"No hitch hiking pickup is illegal." Well, I'm glad we've cleared that up! Carry on, hitch hikers! 

The three Cs - Courtenay, Comox and Campbell River. 

We're headed for Courtenay/Comox, which is kind of the same place - the ferry dock to PR on the mainland coast is in Comox. 

There's our vessel, the Salish Orca! 

With more wind and stormy weather predicted for Christmas Day, BC Ferries had already cancelled all ferry service between Vancouver Island and the mainland. That meant lots of folks could not get to Vancouver, Whistler...or Powell River on Christmas Day. 

But this is part of living on an island - even a big one like ours - you're at the mercy of the weather, and you can't do much about it, so may as well let that go. 

L and I settled into a corner on the ferry, where we both listened to music and read for the 1 hour, 15 minute voyage. 

My view of us pulling away from Vancouver Island. 

I don't wander around or go outside on the winter ferry - and it was dark by the time we arrived in PR. L and I checked into our hotel and then transported all the food to Louise's apartment's bigger fridge, then went looking for somewhere to have dinner (Louise and boyfriend Dave had dinner together). We ended up ordering pizza, as nothing else was open, and played a board game in our hotel room - we also opened our stockings/gifts early. 

As I'd put the kibosh on breakfast...L, me, L's brother Virgil, and mother-in-law Louise all went to Tim Horton's for breakfast on Christmas Day! It was the only place open.  

Family picture! L is checking the weather (more storming on the way), and Virg doesn't like his picture taken. At least Louise will smile! 

My Christmas breakfast. 

Egg whites and spinach bites and a bagel and cream cheese with a coffee. I love any breakfast I don't have to cook. 

As we were leaving, the power flickered off.

Me and Louise, ready for a day of festivities and hanging out. 

And then the power went out at her house! Virgil was cooking the turkey, so he headed home to see if he still had power (phew, he did), and L, Louise and I chilled out for four hours until it came back on around 4pm. Big kudos to the BC Hydro crew, working on Christmas! 

Louise and I did this 300-piece puzzle that we'd bought for her for Christmas. She was able to focus on this, but struggled with colours and placing pieces. I did it upside-down to handicap myself so she wouldn't feel bad, but honestly, this was the most lovely part of our visit for me. I will miss these quiet times spent with her - I'm grateful she still knows me (I've been part of the family for nearly 30 years).

L and Louise. 

I was swathed in a thick crocheted afghan. It was a very blustery day and very chilly without any power on.

My presents from Virgil were much appreciated! I love the sparkly black toque. 

And the big fluffy scarf is nice and snuggly! Rock on! 

After the power came back on, I wrangled all of my pre-cooked dishes, getting them all re-heated/warmed up to be ready at the same time when the turkey arrived. We had a lovely dinner - Dave came over, so five of us - then hung out and chatted for a few hours. 

L and I hung out in our hotel room for the rest of the evening, watching Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and eating chocolate.

We were up at 6am to make sure we caught the ferry back to the Island. Hooray, the wind had died down and it was a go! 

We had our traditional "Sunshine Breakfast" on the ferry, then settled into our corner again. 

Coming in to Comox, the sun is finally up.

Clear enough to see snow on the mountains. 

Approaching the dock.

The ferry's maw opens to disgorge all the cars. 

And we're off! The race to get home is on!

Snow-covered mountains. 

On the main highway - the cars here go up to 130 kmh (about 75-80 mph).

Foggy, lots of low-lying cloud. 

I was on the lookout for raptors and eagles in the trees - I'd seen over a dozen on the way up.

There's one! 

Coming into Nanaimo, a city mid-way up the Island.

We zoomed along this stretch (it has 2 lanes each way, very posh!). 

Two bald eagles way up high.

They are massive birds - the size of a really big cat or a medium-sized dog.

More rain! 

We listen to music on the way, singing out loud. 

The sun tried to break through.

It's that glowing ball in the upper left. 

COWS!

Much of the between-city areas are heavily rural. 

Lots of snow on the mountains.

We're about 2/3 of the way home. 

Another bridge. 

They're building a new one (on the right here). 

Back on the Malahat. A hazy silhouette of Mt. Finlayson ahead.

Nets line the raw mountains along the Malahat to keep boulders and rocks from falling on cars. 

Very foggy in this section. 

Lots of traffic too, with people heading up-Island or to Victoria for Boxing Day sales. 

Here's my presents - mostly from L.

A bunch of books, a Fluevog gift card (the other one is from my VPs, thank you! and I have one to pick up from the store from Mom), a Turnabout gift card, lots of chocolate (not all shown - much was eaten!), a pair of "Stop Talking" socks, and a pendant. 

Cat and Ross left us a present - a massive scratch ticket, and an exciting-looking book. 

We always leave them a ton of treats and drinks (they do the same for us), and we often swap little presents. Such good friends! 

This is the pendant that L bought me - I actually spotted it at the vintage fair I was at last month and texted him, "Want to give me this for Christmas?" 

He always struggles with gift shopping - I'm picky! But I'd seen this at this seller's table at a couple of fairs, and really liked it, although it was too expensive for me to buy for myself (I'm funny that way). It was $155.00, for my future reference. 

It's by Lalique! I know that name - in reference to glass art - from Antiques Roadshow. 

Their costume jewelry (which this is) is vermeil, electroplated gold over sterling silver. 

I found one on eBay that has its tags/bag/box, so grabbed a couple of their pictures for informational purposes. Mine didn't come with all this stuff, but it's identical otherwise.

One item of note is that this is called the Osmose Pendant, and that the waxed cord is original (it seems like "a choice" for a piece of good jewelry!). 

Also, that retail tag says $910.00! A quick look over at the Lalique site and their costume jewelry...yeah, that's about right. 

Tiny glass pendants are between $200-300 and fancier necklaces are $1700 and up. 

This is hugely blown up (the stamp is tiny) - but is consistent with more modern jewelry marks, and matches the hang-tag in the pics above. I would guess this is from the early to mid-00s, based on the SKU-format price-tag, plus the Maltese cross style and cord necklace. 

Can't read the teeny little stamp, but it's likely the silver mark. Regardless, I love it, and I'm excited to wear it! 

And now, L and I need a long nap to recover from the holidays. We have over a week of vacation still to go, and are eager to get our work decompress going and get together with our Chosen Family.

Ross sent us this pic from Christmas Day - Vizzini's made himself right at home, I see! 

"Okay, you stay here now."

Aw, I'm glad he had some cuddles! 

I hope you all had a drama-free holiday, that you didn't lose power, and that you weren't bogged down with obligations. Thanks so much for dropping in - I'll be back again in a few days to catch up on our next series of adventures! Stay chill, my friends!