Saratoga Beach

We're at the beach now, the longest stay of our vacation, and it's been heavenly. Well, apart from the fact that our beach house is a dump. But to back up, we left Victoria Friday and had a pretty nice drive up the island. About 20 km from our destination, Frankie couldn't take it anymore, so we pulled off the road so I could nurse her. We ended up at the Courtenay Japanese and Chinese cemetary (they were side by side) and got out and looked around.


Then we got back in the car and after a quick drive, we arrived at "Taylor's Sandy Beach Resort". We were supposed to stay in a log cabin, but when we got there, the owner decided to upgrade us to one of the condos. It is better than the cabin (especially since it smelled like it had a gas leak), but it is grimy. Like the kind of place a bunch of college-aged beach bums would stay. Everything is falling apart or has already been broken. Like our coffee table, that is about to fall apart just from Frankie pulling up on it. Or the fact that we don't have any hooks or towel racks because they were pulled out of the wall at some point. It's like indoor camping. However, it is right off the beach and right next to the "playgroup" and has a fabulous view. Julia was heartbroken that we weren't going to be in the cabin as we'd been talking it up and there was no explaining to her the benefits of a bigger place. Especially since they both looked pretty junky. We really try to stay out all day and I've tried not to freak out every time the girls flop down on the carpet. Another bonus is that two other families are staying in the other two downstairs units and all our kids have been having a blast. It's been really nice sharing their campfire and getting to know them. They're from Victoria and Vancouver, so we've been getting some local tips.

The girls have been enjoying the low tide, which goes out 1/4 mile in this area. The water is so shallow and the waves are so gentle that they've all enjoyed getting in the water and playing in the sand. We went over to Miracle Beach Provincial Park, where my family camped when I was a kid, this morning and the girls had so much fun looking at the crabs, sand dollars, clams and even a sea anenome. Francesca finally stopped trying to eat handfuls of sand, so I had a better time, too. It was a great stroll down memory lane, but it's so much easier to deal with sandy kids with a shower and bathtub.

It's been a great, lazy time and we all really wish it could go on longer, but tomorrow will be our last full day here. We'll probably spend the morning on the beach and then play "mini golf" in the afternoon. Julia has been dying to play ever since we played at the museum in Victoria and won't forgive us if we don't make time for it.





Frankie sleeping under a makeshift umbrella:
















Beach at high tide right behind our condo