Bigass Powell River Weekend Trip: Clothes, Scenery, Shopping and Family, Oh My!

Hello, my friends! Some of you may have guessed that L and I were headed up to Powell River for our summer trip to visit his mom and brother - this time we also caught up with friends and on the way home, stopped to see my brother Dave and his fiancée Shelley, PLUS plus a first-time (but not the last) visit with my dear Auntie Lois. Lots of people to handle, so of course, I had a day of shopping in PR to help recharge my social batteries, and I found lots of goodies in my hunt. 

This is a picture-heavy post, so settle in, grab a drink and enjoy! 

First up - my packing. I'm a minimalist packer, preferring to wear versions of the same outfit over and over.

This is my travel, walking around, shopping and visit-with-the-fam look. 

I slept in the t-shirts and just changed the underwear and socks each day. 

Since the drive up-Island is over 3 hours, followed by sitting on a ferry for over an hour, I need comfy clothes. 

Add a blazer as my outerwear and a pop of colour. Let's class it up a bit, shall we?

I like the contrast of the sporty with the business "profesh" look of the jacket. 

Only one purse. I carried my book, shopping bags, my phone and my wallet in it. 

The scarf was mostly not needed - we had cloudy but warm weather for the trip. 

Incognito.

We left on Thursday morning, and came home on Saturday. 

Two pairs of shoes.

The black shoes were for "good" - dinner out, seeing friends. 

• Studded PVC shoes - Asos, consignment; last worn here in May with white jeans
• Sneakers - L'intervalle, consignment; last seen here (2nd outfit) last weekend for brunch

The black shoes got a lot of love from the folks I encountered. I want Fluevog to make these out of leather - these are cheap vinyl ones. 

My tees.

I decided to keep the Eames chair one for myself - it's really nice quality cotton, very thick. 

• Eames chair tee - SPRZNY, thrifted; purchased here for $3.50
• Mother Mother tee - thrifted; first seen here on our Vancouver anniversary weekend
• Ice Cube concert tee - first worn here in April with lime green and purple boots

Once I'd decided on the sneakers with their bits of orange, I opted for this orange blazer. I wore it with the cuffs rolled most of the time, but did unroll when I was feeling chilled. 

This has been a fabulous Dots purchase. I counted - I've worn it 27 times since I bought it for $29.99 five years ago. Excellent cost-per-wear! 

• Blazer - InWear; last seen here in July over vintage Etro

This black cocoon dress made the trip - it didn't wrinkle and was fancy enough for dinner without looking odd in ultra-casual PR. 

I loved the big pockets - I considered wearing it over a tee, but went bare-armed. I would totally wear a thin long-sleeved top and funky tights with this too! 

• Dress - Ayrtight, thrifted; first seen here in July with copper bits

I love these skinny pants - I had loads of compliments on them. 

Just enough stretch and lots of pockets. 

• Pants - G-Star Raw, thrifted NWT; last worn here in May (3rd outfit) for Book Club

Accoutrements: 

A thin silk scarf, a sturdy belt, and a purse with multitudes of pockets. 

• Scarf - fake Louis (Lewis!) Vuitton, thrifted
• Belt - gift from Ruth
• Purse - Lodis, thrifted

Silver bling: 

I changed bracelets and rings around, and swapped earrings. I added my snake brooch at the last minute to the jacket's lapel.

• Silver S cuff - Mexican, consignment, Sidney
• Steel cuff - thrifted
• Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower
• Silver/onyx ring - Tocara, vintage fair
• Steel rings earrings - gift from Lise
• Silver long O earrings - consignment
• Necklace - thrifted; purchased here for $10.95
• Snake brooch (not shown) - thrifted

I was all armoured up! 

All the toiletries and my make-up fit into two small bags, and I crammed it all into a backpack. L carried his own backpack.

Vizzini, it's time for us to leave!

"You're both dead to me."

"Uncle" Ross took good care of him while we were gone. 

We last visited PR here back in February. A refresher if you don't know where I live - welcome to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada! I live in Victoria, on the southern tip of the island. Map here, and all links in this post 'cause I love, as always! 

Here we are in Vlad the Jaguar convertible as we worked out way through town to get to the Island Highway. 

As usual, I am a face full of teeth and L is rockin'. 

On the Malahat Drive, a treacherous cliff-edge winding road that gets us into some elevation as we head north.

Zooming along at 90 km/h. 

A view looking down towards Victoria (not visible).

We never stop - we're on a mission! 

A totem pole at the lookout. 

Yeah, bye, no time for you. 

The turnoff to another lookout. 

No, we're not stopping, I told you! 

A glimpse of the Saanich Peninsula across Finlayson Arm. 

Hi, Caro! I can almost see your house! 

Island highway with no cars.

A rare sight - it's usually packed, which is why we travel Thursday-Saturday. Summer weekends are stoopid-busy.

A wizard! 

I like taking pictures of odd things along the road, strange vehicles, etc. The wizard is a chainsaw sculpture. 

Silver Bridge, outside Duncan. 

We buzzed through the little city. 

Nothing to see there. 

A view of Mt. Prevost as we skirted the busy traffic. 

Another cool bridge. 

I think the deeper green one has been painted recently. 

Hey, L, there's a plane beside you. 

This is near Chemainus, I think. 

Cows sleeping in a field. 

Lazy bovines! 

Eee, I do not like seeing logging trucks. 

I'm glad this was on the other side of the road. Those are giant logs that want to crush you!

Coming into Qualicum.

Low clouds over the mountains, lots of traffic. 

Nearly there - Comox is our goal, to catch the ferry to Powell River on the mainland of BC.

We'll be there shortly. This full drive is over 3 hours - we stopped in Courtenay for A&W for lunch. 

And here we are at the ferry terminal. 

It's summertime, so the ferry was full - I was very glad I'd made reservations! 

Me and L. 

We both listened to music and read books (I read with my glasses off). 

We were right at the front of the ferry - first off!

A glimpse of PR as the barrier is lifted at the bow. 

Off we go! 

I'm always entertained by how odd it is that I live on an island, and have to take ferries to get anywhere. So exotic!

We checked into our hotel (the fabulous Bliss Spa & Suites, highly recommended, link here) and I changed my shoes for meeting up with friends for dinner and drinks. 

I left my lavender socks on - I'm so Klassy!

The view from our room.

The mountains shrouded in clouds are on Vancouver Island. 

L and I at Casa Del Sol, a fantastic Mexican place.

We met up with L's colleague Mark and his wife Stef. Lots of laughs, plus delicious tacos and blackberry margaritas. 

After a couple of hours, they headed home (kids) and we met up with pal Kelly at the local bowling alley...which is not actually in operation. 

But I adore the look of it. I would have played! So very "Big Lebowski."

We lingered as the sun went down, and as we were up on the side of a hill, we had a view of the final ferry coming in. 

A lovely sunset. 

I headed back to our room after a while and left L and Kel to hang out a while longer.

Another hideous sunset. 

On Friday morning, we were up early to meet up with L's family for breakfast. 

My Mother Mother voodoo doll t-shirt. 

L and I arrived at the café early - it's right near the rinky-dinky PR airport, which is only steps away from wilderness. Bears, cougars, the works - this is rural.

L also has his travel outfit formula down pat: t-shirts, a couple of button shirts for wearing open, and he packed this suede jacket that I thrifted a few months ago. This was perfect leather weather.

Another recommendation - Julie's Airport Café! Link here.

Best breakfast in PR, for sure! 

The décor is thematic. 

Lots of planes! 

It was quiet when we arrived (9:30am), but bustling with a table wait by the time we finished. 

I had the crabcake benny special and a side of fruit. 

L and his brother Virgil (camera-shy). 

L had perogies! 

Louise and her younger sister Lenora. Louise had a Mickey Mouse Pancake (totally on the menu).

Lenora flew home to Penticton later that day - so lovely to be able to see her! 

L drove me back to the hotel, and I went shopping while he, Virgil and Louise did their thing all day. 

I bought L a Taws t-shirt - it famously used to be Taws Gun & Cycle when he was a kid. I also picked up the "Flashdance" soundtrack CD and an album by Dream Warriors for a few bucks apiece for him. 

I wandered up and down Marine Avenue (the main street) and found all kinds of treasures. 

I can always use a new pair of wee shorts to keep my thighs secure under skirts. 

This was on sale at the Knack for $10.00, marked down from $29.00.

The brand is Active Basic. 

From there, I spent over an hour at Willow Rose Boutique (link here), where I found a few fun things. 

This "blazer" is actually a cape! 

Not actual sleeves! 

I noted that the pockets have not been opened yet (I will be ripping that thread out, stat). The scribble pattern is very appealing. 

I loathe the brand name, RolyPoly. At least it was designed in the US!

Their regular blazers sell for $120+ - I found this on the clearance rack at Willow Rose for $20.00.

This dress caught my eye.

It's a maxi, printed with butterfly wings, irises and snake bodies. 

I love the pink, purple, and red mix. 

The sleeves have a thumb-hole - okay, that's wild, you don't see that much!

It's by AFRM, a brand I've never heard of. 

This is actually called the "Shailene Dress" - they have it on their site in multiple prints (here) - and it sells for $88.00.

"Celebrate yourself" - I certainly will! I paid $39.00 for it.

I love that it comes with a full beige layer - the straps attach to the dress with those little bra-strap snap & thread loops. That's a mark of quality.

I gasped when I spotted this nylon jacket crammed in with the blazers on a rack. 

Three zippers down the front, a cropped bomber, pockets! 

Oh, sorry, it's bleached out by the light (I did my purchase photos in the room after shopping all day).

It's another Stella McCartney X Adidas jacket! There is also a rubber label on the lower back.

This is from 2012. 

It was $36.00, a staggeringly good price. I spotted one on Grailed for $130.00.

It's the Jasma jacket. I think that's the person who consigned it - thanks, Jasma! it's going to a good home!

Shout out to shop owner, Karen - I always love browsing in your shop! 

From there, I popped into Blue Sky Vintage, which is closing for good this week (so I'm not linking to them, no point). 

I liked these white/grey slip-on sneakers. 

Not a lick of wear on the soles! 

These will work for me. 

The brand is Ryka, and it says "Anatomical precise return." Not sure what that means...

These are a Walmart brand (shudder), but for $25.00 I'm not complaining - at least my money is going back to a local business. 

However, I was rather annoyed, as I'd amassed a pile of things to try on while I looked through EVERYTHING in the store...only to find that an employee had diligently put everything I'd picked out back on the racks. Jeez, I haven't tried anything on yet! 

I couldn't remember everything I'd pulled, and was trying not to be That Customer, but spotted this hot pink cotton blend sweater on a rack and grabbed it. That was all I bought from about 12 items I'd set aside - don't rush people trying things on! 

Anyway, the sweater. I love the extra-long ribbed cuffs and hem, which also has a split at the side. 

I wore it around the house right away - not sure if this will make it into my "real clothes" wardrobe. Baggy sweaters don't suit my frame as they look rather droopy.

It's by Gap, and is current stock - it's a girls' item, originally $126.00 marked down to $38.00 online (not linking).

For me? A mere $20.00, reduced from $32.00. I know I will wear this a lot! 

Verification.

That number would have been higher if you hadn't put all my try-ons away! (Okay, Sheila, let it go...).

Stef had told me about a new store on Marine the night before over tacos, that was curated vintage (i.e. someone's already found the cool stuff for you), so of course, I had to check it out. 

Check, get it? I forgot to take a picture of the label, but this is vintage Esprit. Note the rolled sleeves and big patched pockets and how the pattern is lined up/matched, even on the lapels. Quality! 

It's unlined, and there's Velcro evidence that it used to have shoulder pads. 

I like that the fabric is secured with binding tape to keep it laying nice while on. I liked the look without shoulder pads, but can always wear my camisole with built-ins if I want to indulge.

An old washing tag - this has seen some love. 

The CA number gives "Esprit de Corps" of Montreal - old school! 

It's a rayon/linen blend. 

It was $39.00, a solid price. It looks very modern on, and will go with a lot of my black and white prints. It looked great with my shopping 'fit.

As always, I go through EVERYTHING in stores, and quickly discovered their 3 for $15.00 scarves.

This is a long silk scarf with hand-rolled edges. 

I like the "coffee bean" print/tie-dye pattern. 

The colour is a café-au-lait with cream and dark brown. You can see the nice hand-rolled and stitched edges there. Impeccable work.

This is a 1970s cravat. 

So fun - I might let L wear it. 

I loved the "stone" pattern of this 18" square silk scarf.

It's a match to my Marimekko "cow" dress! 

I know Vera scarves - about them here at the Vintage Fashion Guild.

The ladybug logo disappeared completely after 1976, so this is prior to then, likely late 60s or early 70s.

I was drawn to these pieces - so much shiny gold! 

The earrings look like gold skulls from a distance, and seriously, give me that shell brooch NOW. 

The earrings were $18.00. 

The pink part is SUEDE! How amazing! They are hollow, so not too heavy. Likely late 80s/early 90s. 

The shell is a brooch! 

Only $16.00, a good price.

JJ stands for Jonette Jewelry, about them here. 

I spotted this same shell with coloured "gems" on it and matching earrings, so there were probably clip-ons that went with this at some point. I saw a few online for $25-35. This is probably from the 80s.

As I was leaving with my purchases, I realized I'd missed a rack...and look what was waiting on it for me! 

Oh my. This is a HEAVY leather jacket, with a huge V of fringe and a sturdy plastic zipper. 

I adore the medallions and braided leather trim.

Be still my heart! 

Fringe and more braid along the sleeves, and more industrial zips on the cuffs.

I believe this is a riding jacket for actually wearing on a motorcycle. 

Big pockets.

Oh, that fringe. You know I can't resist it. 

The back has more! And another medallion. 

The rear elasticated area is to keep the jacket snug while you're on your bike - keeps the wind from riding up your back. You can also see the side lace-up grommets for an extra-snug fit. 

It's fully lined, and the lining unzips for removal. 

There is a little bit of damage on the lining - one of the elastic loops that keeps it in place has undone (the elastic is stretched out with age). 

A bit of undone seam here as well, but showing off the inside pocket that leads to the inner pocket of the leather section. 

Excellent detail. It still looks barely worn, even though it must have been used many times.

It's real leather. 

It was $120.00 but for a jacket this elaborate, that's a great price. I spotted a similar one for over $1,000! 

The brand is Unik Leather Apparel. Odd that it's made in Pakistan - you don't see much from there. 

It was big on me, so I waffled over it, but bought it anyway (I love supporting local, and I knew I could find a home for it). Once we took the lining out of it, it fit L perfectly, so he has claimed it. Can't wait to see him rocking it...perhaps at an upcoming music gig?

I loved Kool Things - link here, and a shout-out to owners/partners Mysa (pr. Misha) and Forrest, who were so lovely to chat with. I'll be back for sure!

After a bit of a nap - I was tired from all my shopping - L and I got ready to meet up with Louise, her boyfriend Dave, and Virgil for dinner at the Shinglemill Pub, one of the original old pubs in town. We've eaten there many times over the nearly 30 years I've been coming to PR.

Time to wear my dress! 

I layered up - it was a little windy out.

We drove north of town, to the edge of Powell Lake. 

A view of the marina, and the lake beyond. 

Harbour Air flies here, but only from Vancouver. 

Louise and I after dinner. 

Good to see you, honey! Love you! 

We went over to Virgil's house after to see the work he's been doing on his porch and backyard. 

I'll travel to the ends of the earth with you, my love. Also to Virg's house.

His neighbour has a couple of cats who came to investigate these new people. 

Nothing to see here, just a black tail. 

Oh, come on, little guy, I see you.

Nothing doing. 

This is as close as I got.

What a pretty kitty! 

However, this ginger girl was very friendly. 

Virg is using some sort of Force-like cat powers on her. 

She came right over for a visit with me, and rolled all over my feet.

She knows a sucker when she sees one. She's a chonky girl, gets fed regularly.

She came out to say goodbye.

A gorgeous hibiscus bush in that yard. 

Visiting done, and goodbyes said, we drove back to the hotel. 

A pink sunset - it's going to be a nice day on Saturday.

I liked the peek of the Hulks in the water - they are the largest floating breakwater in the world, so the interwebz tells me (here).

This is "old" Powell River, near Townsite which was housing built for the paper mill workers over a century ago (here).

We were up at 6am on Saturday morning to quickly shower and to catch the ferry on time for our reservations.

The Eames tee! I loved it, and am keeping it. Mine!

L and I always buy breakfast in the ferry cafeteria. Sunshine Breakfast all the way, baby! 

It's call the "Traditional" now (lame!), but it's still delicious eggs, a side of protein (ham for me, bacon for L), potatoes and toast. Yum! 

We arrived at Comox/Little River to sunshine.

I'm always happier when I'm on the Island again. 

Coming into Courtenay.

Instead of going down the hill and hanging a left/going south, we turned off and had a visit and coffee with my little brother Dave and his gorgeous fiancée Shelley.

Me and my bro. So good to see you.

I've called him "Cowboy" for years, and had never realized that neither L or Shelley knew the origin of the nickname. Dave (who used to strictly be David when he was pre-teen) was asked by Mom to do some sort of chore when he was a kid. He sassed back at her, "Not this cowboy!" After a brief foray into calling him "Cowpie" (aka a big glop of cowsh*t), he's affectionately been "Cowboy" to me for decades. There you go. 

Shel and Dave.

What a couple of cuties. Thank you so much for the visit and for the amazing coffee! Love you both so much! 

Off we head, down-Island. 

Wide highway, swaths of evergreens, rolling hills and mountains...the "spine" of Vancouver Island. 

For the very first time, we made a stop in Qualicum Beach/Parksville to see my dad's sister, my Aunt Lois, and my uncle Brent. 

I inherited such good genes! Lois is gorgeous, and Brent hasn't changed in 40 years. I remember their wedding vividly (I was 9), and they were at my wedding - here's a picture of them smooching at it.

They have a magazine-worthy home and garden. 

WOW. 

Their fluffy white kitty Sophie is a princess.

She's obviously heard from Mabel that I am Not To Be Trusted. Hey, Ginger Cat said I was cool!

She hissed at me! 

You are a very rude cat, missy.

My lovely aunt.

She looks so much like how I remember my Grandma J (she of the copper jewelry).  We have the same nose and our bone structure of our hands is the same. 

They took us to their local pub, where we enjoyed a massive spread (I couldn't finish!). 

Peace out and rock on! Love to you both! Let's do this again! 

It was mid-afternoon by the time we were back on the road.

It was warm (low 20s) and the sun was out. Cloud Drama! 

We arrived home just in time to feed Vizzini, who was thrilled to see us and drooled all over.

"Oh, you're here."

Picture courtesy of Ross, capturing him perfectly. 

L brought home a bunch of his mom's/late step-dad's CDs to sell (or keep) - they filled a big box. Our previous kitty Inigo was a Box Cat, but Vizzini has never had any inclination...UNTIL NOW.

"I must investigate!"

We were trying to be sneaky while we played board games and listened to some of L's folks' music.

"Do you mind?"

Aw, I'm glad you're enjoying the box, bud. It's all yours. 

And now, Gentle Reader, I'm signing off for a little while again to enjoy the end of my vacation. I hope you had fun following us along on our travels. What purchase are you excited to see the most? Have you ever been to Canada's west coast? How's life?