Galiano Island

I often get a little restless at this time of year and with the late arrival of winter, this year was no different. I was itching to explore somewhere new with my boys…and excited for what would be our first adventure as a family of four. Get your adventure hat ready Elliot! We have a few bigger trips planned for the year and starting off slow, with a nice ferry ride rather than a chaotic airport seemed like a great idea. It was. It was so relaxing and can I just say that the breakfast on the Salish Orca ferry was one of my favourite breakfasts I’ve had. Like, period. Oliver always finds the greatest enjoyment in the journey…not the destination. Boats, buses, planes, trams, monorails… that’s the bees knees to him.

We chose 2-3 big things to do a day and would spend the rest of the day at the our little cabin at Bodega Cove which I highly recommend! We had one of five restored 1960s era Panabode cabins. No TV’s… poor internet connection. It was exactly what we were looking for. Being there in the off season meant that the island was even sleepier than usual. We found ourselves having the most beautiful crowd worthy spots all to ourselves. There was no traffic buzz, just birds and only a couple of places to go for a meal or a great cup of something. In fact, the two places that became our ‘go-to’ were right across from each other. Babes in the Woods, and Bowline Cafe. I think that we each found different things to love about this beautiful island, and of course there were a few things (like the ice cream sandwiches at Bowline) that were indisputably exceptional.

Crystal’s top 5:
Breakfast on the ferry (huevos rancheros, coconut chia bowl, and the crispiest hash browns)
Ice cream sandwiches at the Bowline Cafe
Bluffs Park ( gentle rolling hills and an unparalleled view)
Building a driftwood house at Morning Beach
Wildlife journalling

Colin’s top 5:
Ice cream sandwiches at the Bowline Cafe
Making a fire every night in the cabin and roasting marshmallows
Bluffs park
Morning Beach
Peaceful Cabin

Oliver’s top 5:
Ice cream sandwiches at the Bowline Cafe
Making a fire every night in the cabin and roasting marshmallows
Building a driftwood house at Morning Beach
Sandstone caves at Retreat Cove
Wildlife journalling

Elliot’s top 5:
The lighting fixtures in our cabin
Sitting on the front porch
Lying on a blanket at the beach
Green smoothie with coconut milk at the Bowline cafe
Watching Oliver do anything