Bigass Travel Weekend: Powell River - Family, Scenery and Some Shopping

Hello, dear friends! I'm back after an extended absence - those of you who've been with me for ages (seriously, appreciation!) will have clocked that it was time for our annual trek to Powell River to visit L's mom Louise for her birthday. Gold star for you! Correct! 

L and his brother had a goal to help Louise clean out her apartment of all her decades of accumulation. Her dementia is progressing and less clutter is easier on her, but while I was along for emotional support, but this was also my vacation time, so I indulged in a little boost to the local economy and had a wee shop while I was there. 

But first up, my packing. Although I'm a maximalist, my inclinations are much more minimalist when I plan for a 3-day trip, and I've gotten it down to an art. I opted not to bring a jacket and instead did this thick velour vintage hoodie, handy for a burst of cheery colour and a set of pockets. I've even got a hood if it rains. 

The nylon cargo skirt has an elasticated hem and wide waistband, with sporty corded/drawstring elements, plus those ginormous pockets. I wore both of these items all day, every day, as my outer layers. 

• Cotton hoodie - Juicy Couture, vintage 90s, thrifted; last worn here in March with jellyfish and Gaultier
• Nylon skirt - Love Tree, consignment; last worn here in June for Mom-Day at Elk Lake

I chose to wear three different graphic tops: a tee, a print and a mesh optic top. 

• Iron Maiden tee - 2019 tour merch, Portland, OR; not tracked
• Cotton tee - Marimekko, consignment; last worn here in April with copper and chartreuse
• Mesh nylon top - Mexx, vintage 90s, thrifted; last seen here in May for a Mom-Day at home, layered under Eames

I also wore the same shoes all day, every day (I wore these same ones last August in a completely different mix of outfits, here). I used to bring a fancy element and shoes, but have learned that PR is just not that dressy. Our evening family dinner is a very casual affair, and I already stand out like a peacock there. Plus I like the extra room in my backpack for carrying home my treasures found shopping. 

• Sneakers - L'intervalle, consignment; last worn here (3rd outfit, way down) in April for a shop

In addition, I picked out underwear, three pairs of socks and my wee sporty shorts.

And jewelry.

I wore the lightning bolt earrings on Friday, the blue glass earrings on Sat/Sun. 

• Leather cuff - Guess, thrifted
• Plastic cuff/ring - Italian, vintage 60s, vintage mall
• Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
• Balsa wood earrings - consignment, Sidney
• Glass earrings - local

I also wore a different Fluevog pin every day on my hoodie. 

All free! 

And carried my white purse - lots of pockets for camera, phone and even my paperback book, for ferry reading. 

This mix of things worked perfectly - I wouldn't have changed anything. 

• Purse - Roots 73, thrifted

Friday's outfit.

Spent sitting in a car, sitting on the ferry, lots of not moving around. 

Without the hoodie, although I didn't take it off for any of my days. 

I slept in my t-shirt. 

Lots of bright Colour as Armour! 

The little orange socks were annoying - they wanted to creep down to my toes. I'd had a feeling this would happen, so wore them on the day I walked the least. 

Rock on! 

Showing off the big slit in the skirt. 

Incognito and ready to go. 

This is how most people saw me. 

Ready to go, with my awesome guy, L. Thank you for doing all of the driving! (I don't have a license).

It's always fun to zoom off in our Jag convertible (its name is Vlad). More adventures!

However, after weeks of lovely weather, we are back to rain.

On a busy Friday in August, this could be the recipe for a road accident - slippery roads, tourists, angry drivers...

As always, our only route is the Malahat Drive, a twisty, narrow road carved into the side of cliffs. 

The clouds were low, and you can't even see the giant mountain right in front of us. Mt. Finlayson, where are you?

We're going 80kmh, pretty fast! 

I have absolute confidence in L's driving - it's the other vehicles I worry about. I do not like big trucks. 

We're nearing the top, elevations over 300 meters. 

We curated 8 albums for the road trip, so we're singing and chatting as we drive. 

That's the summit lookout (for tourists!). 

Nothing to see on this day! 

You can barely see Sidney and the Saanich Peninsula on the other side of Finlayson Arm. 

This is where we were last weekend - John Dean Park is down there. 

You know I love taking pictures of bridges.

It was all a blur of rain, trees and road for over 3 hours. Traffic was heavy - it took us 45 minutes to get through Courtenay and get to the ferry docks. 

We were glad to have a reservation! We picked up Subway in Courtenay and ate it in the car while we waited an hour for departure.

The ferry filled up - they had to leave people behind to wait for the next sailing in 3 hours. So busy! 

Me and L, sitting in a corner.

We listen to music and read for the 1 hour, 15 minute crossing to the mainland from Vancouver Island. 

I spied the Texada Island ferry in the distance. 

You can see that it's still stormy this far north. That's very choppy water. 

Our trip was bumpy and the ferry swayed from side to side. 

Bits of blue sky behind us. 

When I booked our hotel and ferry resos back in April, I tried for our favourite spa suite on the main drag, but it was full already, so we opted for the PR Town Centre Hotel, where we've stayed dozens of times. There aren't a lot of hotel options there, and we hadn't realized it was Blackberry Festival this weekend. We passed on that but saw the streets and crowds on the way from the ferry.

A very "Shining"-esque hallway! 

We popped over to Louise's place to have her open her birthday gifts from us. 

She loved her flower and butterfly socks, and snarfed down most of the bag of cookies we bought for her. 

L and I had a quick Noodle Box dinner, and then drove over to pal Kelly's house - he broke his ankle and isn't mobile, so it was a pleasure to hang out and chat and visit his cats, especially old Jonesy (named after the cat in "Alien" of course). 

I got to give Jonesy a tube of kitty treats, which he loved. Good to see you, Kel! 

We hung out in our hotel room in the evening, having stocked ourselves with snacks and drinks. Hotel TV is always wild - we watched "Hogan's Heroes"! 

On Saturday, we were up early to meet up with L's older brother Virgil for breakfast. My next outfit incarnation featured my Marimekko tee for a more classic look (I also slept in it that night). I wore sparkly "Flower Power" socks, good for the tons of walking I did that day. 

We discovered Vlad had found a girlfriend overnight. 

A very pretty rosy-pink Mustang. I think she likes you, Vlad.

We drove to Julie's Airport Cafe, where we had breakfast last year as well. 

It's hugely popular.

I can't figure out what the theme is...

Heh heh. 

The décor where we sat.

I enjoy looking at it all. 

Me, L and Virg. 

He's not much into photos - this is the only one I took of us. 

L dropped me off back at the hotel to head off and do his really-not-fun-and-very-stressful family stuff. 

Me? I walked to the main street - Marine - and helped myself to ripe blackberries along the way. Yum! 

Stores come and go, but I can always rely on Willow Rose Boutique. I had a poke around Madrona thrift as well, but nothing caught my eye. 

What a lovely view! The weather was mixed with sprinklings of rain, but the wind had eased up and I wasn't cold. 

After my shop - which I'll show you shortly - I walked back along Marine. 

Bustling downtown Powell River. You're always two blocks from wilderness. 

On my way back to the hotel after a full 4 hours of walking and shopping, I passed by the tourist centre and took a selfie with this bear.

Hello! 

Back in the hotel room, I took pictures of all my loot that I found. From Willow Rose Boutique - a consignment shop - I bought five items. 

This purse is NOT pink - it's neon orange, and didn't want to photograph properly in the room's lighting. Bright orange! 

A nice hanging element - a bronze key stamped "Fossil".

The hardware was good, and the bag was soft. It's also stamped on the front, above. 

All good branding inside, including a main metal YKK zipper.

Hard to see, but the content tag does verify that it's leather. This was marked down to $20.00. It also has an external slit pocket - perfect for my phone. Although I already have an orange purse (my nylon puffy woven one), it is only one pouch. I appreciate pockets in my bags too! 

I also spied these lavender pearl earrings. 

They were $15.00, and have stamps/marks on them, but they are too small even for my eagle eyes to read. 

I hung these pants in the room's hall closet - they are flowy, drapey velvet.

Wide legs, amazing print! 

Pockets on the front, belt loops and single pleat. 

There are two top buttons, and the zipper is heavy metal. 

The back has two pockets. 

They are real pockets, but I'm not going to open them, as they aren't very functional. I see a butterfly amidst the flowers on the lower right. 

Blurry, sorry, but you can see that they are by Anthropologie. 

They took all the tags off when I bought them, but these pants were New With Tags - there was a ton of NWT Anthro there, like someone ordered it all online and then never wore it. I paid $89.00 for these awesome pants - the original retail was over $269.00! 

When I shop consignment, I always look for neutrals that are good quality. 

I really liked this cream top - it has knit trim at the neck, hem and sleeves. 

Only one of the sleeves still is tacked down - I'll have to do a couple of quick stitches on the other sleeve once it's been washed. 

It has a couple of light spots on the front that came right out with a squirt of Folex. 

It's 100% Tencel-lyocell and made in the USA! 

Tencel is a brand name - their lyocell is a plant-based and environmentally far less harmful textile than many artificial ones. It's very soft and very strong too. 

I hadn't heard of the brand Bella Dahl, but made in the USA usually means that this is higher quality. Look at the stitching on that neckband, below.

They don't make this style anymore, but similar short-sleeved tops in this fabric are over $200.00. I paid $18.00 for this. 

The final thing I bought at Willow Rose was this taupe-y/olive maxi skirt. It was another pricey item, but I really fell in love with the fit and flow of it - it sits low on the waist and is very VERY swooshy. 

I like the low-slung belt-loops - I might thread a hip belt through them. 

It has pockets! If I was feeling any kind of waffling over it, that sealed it. 

I like the eyelets sprinkled here and there. 

It's fully lined and I was thrilled to see that it's 100% silk. Wow! 

Apparently, I should only iron (lightly!) or dry-clean it, but I'll be hand-washing it as needed. 

I knew that the $99.00 I paid was high, but Essentiel Antwerp is not a cheap brand. Their skirts start at $300! 

I have zero regrets...and I brought all the cash I'd saved from my closet sales with me as my spending budget. I was completely happy with this splurge - that's what that cash is for! 

I stopped in at local boutique The Knack, where I noticed they had a "secondhand" rack (I gathered that this is for items that were returned but were worn), and this called to me. 

Hee hee, another bustier! This is faux leather, all lined, and has a side zip. 

It's by Gentle Fawn, a Vancouver company, and was only $25.00. 

It's called the Anika and retailed for $68.00. I plan on wearing it over other tops! 

My last stop was a strip of true thrift stores, further out of town. Most of them were closed (on a Saturday in August, go figure), but I had a quick cruise through a furniture shop where I found a present for L. It's a CD rack, holds 50 CDs. 

"I'm going to get some big Spousal Karma for this," I said to the proprietor, as I handed over my cash. 

Only five bucks. 

As predicted, L was thrilled. 

We had a family dinner at local restaurant Snickers (a mix of Greek, with Indian and pizza), with Louise, her friend Dave, Virg and L and I. From there, L had a visit with his mom while I hung out in the hotel room - we watched more Hotel TV (the movie "Great Blue Sea") and then crashed.

We were up early (6am) to catch the first ferry home. Long sleeves and white socks for my final outfit. 

Pre-coffee face! I need coffee!

We sat in the ferry waiting lot for over an hour - it had some delays, but eventually made it over to the mainland.

It was packed again (thank goodness for reservations), and we spent the entire trip standing in line to get our Sunshine Breakfasts. By the time we finished eating, it was time to go back to Vlad, ready for the next leg of our trip. 

We drove into Courtenay. 

And turned off to visit my brother Dave and his fiancée Shelley. 

I admired the pears on their tree.

Yum! 

Me and Dave, my younger brother by 2 years and 3 months.

He made us fancy coffees (thank you!), and we hung out and chatted and laughed for a little over an hour. 

Me and Shelley.

So good to see you both! 

From there, we took the Old Island Highway down the east coast of Vancouver Island, all the way to Qualicum and Parksville, the area where my aunt and uncle live. 

This route is right at water level - the Oceanside Route proclaims the signs. 

We met up with Brent and Lois at Extreme Eatery - they got there early, so we were able to get our table almost as soon as we arrived. 

Aw, you kids just don't age! Thanks for meeting up with us! 

We had yummy burgers and I treated myself to onion rings (nom nom).

This was a lovely break and the sun even came out! 

I laughed at this sign in the washroom. 

Hee!

The rest of the trip down-Island was a blur of trees, music and decompressing from all the family stuff. Much as we love them, family is exhausting. Here are some of the odds and ends of things I thought were interesting along the way. 

Me and bridges! 

I can't resist them. 

Most of these are close to a century old now.

This fiberglass horse is always dressed up on the side of the highway, near Nanaimo. 

She's wearing a small firefighter's hat, some rope? and a neon vest, and yes, that is a Stihl chainsaw. Huh. 

There was a plethora of vintage cars that we passed (of course we did) in the final two hours. 

A Pontiac and a Ford with Shelby Cobra kit trimmings.

This is the same Pontiac as above. 

Cherry red! It's hard taking pictures when you're zipping along at 120kmh.

This truck was fun - it's got a tow assembly and a big chrome exhaust behind the cab. 

Very cool. 

I could only get the back of this beauty. 

It says "Midnight Special." 

The "Snobad" wagon. 

I love this era. 

This is it in our rear-view mirror. 

Isn't it gorgeous? 

And finally, this low-rider car.

Wow, what a parade of vehicles! 

Back to the Malahat. 

Passing the summit. 

I was really happy not to have pouring rain again. 

We really needed it for all the forest fires, though. I'm never complaining about rain! 

A cool piece of wall decoration as we crawled through town on the way home. 

I like this kind of street art!

We arrived home...to silence. This is our first time being away and not coming home to Vizzini, which was utterly sad. It felt weird not to have to do the key swap thing with Ross, and prepare for his visits, but most of all, not to be greeted by a fuzzy face needing cuddles when we walked in the door. Aw...

But our teenage seagulls are nearly grown, and were out on the neighbouring rooftop.

Did you miss us? 

"I barely know you."

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed our weekend jaunt! I took Monday off work (writing takes a long time!) so now I'm off to spend the waning hours with L.