Upon arising this morning, it was a chilly -10 Celsius, and throughout the day it hasn’t warmed up appreciably, so we bundled up — earmuffs, toque, gloves, scarf, winter jacket — for our very cool walk along Long Beach.

In 2004, when Corinne and VanRamblings traveled to Tofino for a brief respite on the west coast, we stayed at the Inlet cottage in Tofino, providing easy access to the town which has become justly famous for kickstarting British Columbia’s then nascent environmental movement.
In 1984, the protest of the Nuu-chah-nulth peoples — with significant cooperation from environmental groups (most particularly Greenpeace) — who erected a blockade, prevented MacMillan Bloedel from logging Meares island, traditional native land located just across the harbour from Tofino. Eventually, the Meares Island protest lead to a cessation of clear-cut logging across British Columbia, and the adoption of sustainable practices for the logging of old growth forest across the province, a globally recognized sustainable forestry practice that remains in effect to this day.
As for VanRamblings and family, for more than 40 years we have made the sojourn to Long Beach / Florencia Bay / Tofino, on Vancouver Island’s west coast, an annual practice about which we’ll write at greater length before week’s end. For VanRamblings, there is no more beautiful, nor more serene environment anywhere on the planet than can be found amidst the old growth rainforest and utterly pristine Pacific Ocean on Canada’s west coast.
Over the years, we’ve built lean-to’s on Florencia Bay and hunkered down for the summer, camped with our children, and vacationed in many of the quietening bed and breakfastses and oceanside cabins that dot the west coast landscape. Prior to our 2010 visit, we had never stayed at the Middle Beach Lodge, although we had breakfasted in the Lodge lounge (pictured above). We’re glad we made the decision to stay at the Lodge this time.
Last evening, once we were settled in, had uploaded our videos for the day (wifi is spotty at the Lodge, but in concert with our iPhone tethering met our necessary posting criteria), at 8 p.m. we repaired to the Lounge, where we partook of the fresh-baked cookies on offer (we decided on a couple of oatmeal cookies), had ourselves a cup of herbal tea, and along with the habitués of the Lodge snuggled into a comfy sofa chair by the window and read late into the night, before retiring for the evening shortly after 11 p.m.
This Wednesday morning, we partook of a scrumptious free breakfast (free works for our parsimonious nature): oatmeal with yogurt and a smattering of granola, hot coffee with cream and a bit of brown sugar, a selection of fresh fruit, orange juice and a fresh-baked and warm cinnamon bun, during which time we caught up on the events of the day on our ever-handy iPhone, glancing up every now and then to admire the palatial view through the windows of the restaurant of the storm-tossed Pacific Ocean.
Having posted for the morning, we’re now heading out to Florencia Bay (on the same road which accesses the oceanside Wickannanish Restaurant), about which we’ll write — and hopefully post some video — at some point later today, after which we intend to head into Tofino in the afternoon to do a bit of exploring, visit The Common Loaf and walk down to the wharf.
See you back here later today.

Those of us who reside in British Columbia are experiencing extremely chilly, record low temperatures in these latter days of November.
Across Vancouver Island record snow blankets the ground and the surrounding flora and fauna as a cold front from B.C.’s Interior has snuck in, creating a beautiful Pacific, pre-Christmas winter wonderland.
Surprisingly, the roads were not all that treacherous along Highway 4, as we were able to make pretty good time on our sojourn, on the way to Middle Beach Lodge, near Tofino, for a few days of rest and relaxation.
We stopped in at Tim Horton’s in Port Alberni for a bit of lunch (an oh so delicious warming chili, garlic toast and a coffee), and by noon were on our way again, arriving at our destination on Canada’s west coast a bit before 2 p.m. Once we registered at the front desk, up we went to Room 44, with a private balcony, and a spectacular view of the pristine Pacific Ocean.
Later tonight, we’ll post our final video of the day: the pacific view from Middle Beach Lodge’s Room 44