Fun in the Sunshine Coast

View from the terrace

Not really in the mood for out-of-town trips lately, but my dear 🐻, suggested a short getaway in one of the Islands of British Columbia.

Me: "Okies my dear 🐻, but...do all the planning!"

🐻: "Challenge accepted."

One day, he said that he is looking at Sechelt, and wants my input in choosing our accommodation. Soon we found ourselves a good catch in AirBnb.

Friday, just right off from work, my dear teddy bear picked me and with no time to waste, we zoomed to Horseshoe Bay, because of my dear fiancé's superb driving skills, we managed to catch the ferry right on time😝!

Reminders: You don't need to ferry reservation; just plan ahead and arrive early at the terminal!

Watch out of the fish sign!

Catch of the Day Cottages...and it's indeed a catch!

It's my first time staying in a log cottage, and it looks like exactly what I have in mind - like the one in old fairytale illustrations, rustic, charming, but it's equipped with modern appliances to fit modern living needs.

There's terrace garden outside, nice patio where we can enjoy the gorgeous view of Straight of Georgia; sometimes cruise ships can be seen passing by according to our host.

Our Cottage!

After few minutes of rest, we started exploring the town and noticed instantly how quiet it is for a Friday evening, a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of big city during weekends, it's a nice short escape from the chaotic feel of the city; we stopped at a liquor store to grab ourselves some drinks to enjoy our evenings with. 

We watched the sunset in the garden terrace, we were hoping there's a luxury cruise ship passing by to watch. Theres none but the gentle sound of the water rushing to the rocks was enough to sooth our tired body, then call it a night.

Saturday in Sechelt

Smoked salmon bennies waffles

My teddy bear chose Gourmet Girl @ Pier 17 for breakfast. Conveniently located beside the Davis Bay, their waffles were very good starting meal for a busy day.

Berries and cream waffles 💖

We started our day walking along Davis Bay, while reminiscing our recent trip in the Philippines, we reminded each other that this would be one of our countless great memories together and there will be more to come.
Being raised from the east, now based in the west coast and had a chance to travel around the globe, I am glad that I experienced immersing in the waters of the east and west part of the Pacific Ocean, It's like listening to a story from opposite perspectives.

I started beach combing right away and found myself some nice  treasures --- sunbaked driftwoods for my air plants (see photo below); the shores were covered with pebbles and there are stacked rocks on display which inspired me to make my own, although I am no master of stone stacking but I added a playful touch on mine:

Make it stylish!

One of the suggested activity by our cottage host was to check out the Farmers' Market, the biggest on the Sunshine Coast.

Sechelt Farmers' Market banner

Morning shoppers in Sechelt farmers market

It's my first farmers market outside Vancouver, and was looking forward what their market has to offer. I noticed right away the abundance of art works made of beached trinkets, can't help admiring them that I admit that I splurged a bit 😉 and bought something for my mom back in the city. 

Dried lavenders

Aside from artworks, there's plenty of local produce, preserved fruits, and baked goods; we were intrigued by the melonpan being sold by one of the vendors as it resembles concha,  my 🐻's favourite bun. We were both too full to try all the goodies, we told ourselves that we will be back in Sechelt farmers' market anytime soon.

Driftwood chimes

More chimes!

One of the residents of Porpoise Bay

Happy as a Clam

Trying to avoid ourselves from further temptations of buying more than we need, it's time to go to stop no.3 - Porpoise Bay Provincial Park for a nice relaxing afternoon. 

Finding a picnic spot can be challenging, this park is popular among families and group of young people. For camp sites, reservation is highly recommended.

We brought our blanket and mat on which I had the most restful power nap that had me totally recharged for a second round beach combing and clam digging for fun.

Yikes!...jellyfish!

<---This is the first time my 🐻 saw a jelly fish.

Being surrounded with other visitors with barbecue grills, the scent of grilled meat was intoxicating and made us crave for barbecue; we didn't bring our own grill at that time; thankfully Lucky's Smokehouse is just a few minutes drive from Porpoise Bay to satisfy our appetite.

Our last stop of the day was the "hidden" waterfall as described by my fiancé.
Burnett Falls Park is just a couple of minutes drive from the downtown Sechelt. In order to reach the waterfalls, a 5 - 10 minutes of moderate steep hike is needed; you would know that you are almost there when the sound of the water splashing can be heard.

Watch out for this sign along Porpoise Bay Rd.

I am not a hiking person in general but I found the trail doable; seeing the waterfall in the end for me was rewarding.

Voila!

Going Back Home

We checked the nice coffee shop The Bakery in Downtown Sechelt for breakfast before heading to the town of Gibsons, the small town located near the port going back to the Lower Mainland.
In Gibsons Landing, I found a nice coat rack from the Beachcomber's Daughter. I've been wanting to own an artsy furniture for quite sometime, now that we're also on the process of buying a bigger place together. This coat rack would be an interesting conversation piece and great practical souvenir from one of our travels.

driftwood coat rack

Sechelt is a great place even for a day trip and being just less than 2 hours from Metro Vancouver, it's a perfect brief getaway for few days!

driftwood from Sechelt

Melonpan

As usual we took several photos during our trip in Sechelt, check When Emily Goes Out Facebook page for more photos.