Dicky Says Whatever

July 26 Trip:  Sooke to Port Renfrew (~1.5hr) Activities/Visits: Kayaking, Shirley, Sheringham Point Lighthouse,  Pacheedaht Beach (Port Renfrew) It was another beautiful day at Sooke. The harbour was majestic and quiet in the morning. Importantly, the kids woke up on time to do sea kayaking in the morning. We met our kayaking tour guide , Randal,  at Kaltasin Park,  who ran Mystic Beach Adventures Inc , which guided people on nature and wildlife tours at Sooke. The kids weren't strong enough to paddle on their own, so I towed Frederick's kayak, while Randal towed Charlotte's. My Son and his Kayak There were many starfishes, moon jellies and crabs. We even saw a few blue herons fly around to catch the fish. Moon Jelly Video Purple Starfish I got a drone shot of myself kayaking. Kayaking was a lot of work when towing your kid who paddled backward, but it was fun. I wished that I lived closer to the water so that I could do more kayaking. This is one of the few sports that co

July 25 Trip: Sooke to Victoria, 45 mins Activities: Whale Watching, Fisherman's Whaft Park, Victoria waterfront walk After two days of driving, we finally got to do something exciting: Whale Watching! We booked a 3.5 hrs with Eagle Wing Tours. The cool thing about this company was there were a few boat options you could pick from. Because of the little one, we picked the boat with a semi-covered boat. Eagle Wing semi-covered tour boat Surprisingly, this was a full 50-person tour. I was glad we booked it ahead online. Front of the boat The weather couldn't be better. It was warm, with some cloud coverage. Awesome for taking pictures. I didn't know what to expect, but I was delighted there were multiple tour guides who explained to us what to look for and helped us understand the marine ecosystem. Definitely better than watching Octanauts (a kid cartoon) From all the excitement on the boat, it was rare to see these many humpback whales this close. I felt lucky! Here was an o

Thanks for visiting my long-lost blog. I haven't posted anything in many years. I hope you will enjoy this post and the upcoming ones. July 23 Trip: Calgary to Kamloops, 7 hrs Hotel: The Hue Hotel, Kamloops After months of  on-and-off  planning, this was the big day! My first time bringing the family out for a 12-day road trip. What could go wrong! My wife, Hilda, packed all the kids' stuffs, and I picked toys like the Nintendo Switch, iPad, drone (DJI Mavic Mini Pro 3), action cam (ASKSO V50X), and many accessories I could have thought of. As much as I want to limit my kid's screen time, age six and ten, these gadgets were tremendous assets for a long road trip for the driver with kids. This trip wouldn't be cheap. The average hotel cost was $300/night. We could have picked the cheaper options: camping, air B&B, motel, etc. But for the peace of mind, hotel it was! Map from Calgary to Kamloops 20 minutes out from my house, just about to leave Calgary city limit, I a