And it wasn’t just the Saturday morning farmer’s market, or the great kids stores – they had a blast touring the art galleries (obeying the no running, no touching rules as they went!), finding their way through one of the most unusual hardware stores you’ll ever see and sipping a cool drink under the branches (literally) of the Tree House Cafe.

Then we discovered a very special way of seeing Salt Spring and the surrounding islands – a sight-seeing excursion with Salt Spring Air.  Now the kids love it when we occasionally take a seaplane over to Vancouver, but that’s mostly water-seeing.  On this tour of Salt Spring, you circle the island at low enough altitude to really take in the magnificent scenery, homes, and some of the surrounding islands.  The take-off and landing from the harbour at Ganges is great fun in itself!  Our pilot Harold Kirkpatrick was really helpful (you’re wearing headsets so you can easily hear) in describing what we were seeing.  The cost is quite reasonable when you can get a group of 4 to 6 people, and they have lots of other tours available as well.

Of course we have to start with the beaches.  At Qualicum Beach our picnic place of choice is the grassy area next to the parking lot on the left side of the Beach Hut.  While no picnic spot along there is more than a stone’s throw from the beach, being a stone’s throw from great take out food and ice cream is a great bonus, plus there’s good shade if things get too not (we should be so lucky!).  With smaller kids, you just need to be careful at Qualicum Beach because you’re close to the traffic.  On the other hand, if the tide is right, you can  just move the picnic out onto the sand.

Parksville’s community beach has a lot of picnic options, but our favourite is to find a good tree by the playground.  George has a couple of trees staked out because they’re equidistant to the playground and the concession stand.  Lineups might be long sometimes, but those fries are worth the wait and the kids love the soft ice cream with coloured edges.  We dare you to stay less than an hour at this spot on a beautiful sunny day…

Spider Lake, just off the Horne Lake exit of the Island Highway, is another favourite picnic spot by the water.  If it’s looking like a nice day, we recommend getting out there as early as possible (for George and Ella that would be 7am!) because the park fills up fast close to noon.  There are two main picnic areas facing each other across one arm of the lake, joined by a trail – we call them the forest side and the sandy side.  We’ve never been sand people, but they always eem to having a good time too.  For us, it’s the forest side all the way.  There’s also a little island that Grace is anxious to paddle over to this year – or perhaps just sit in the boat while George paddles.  By the way, part of the attraction of Spider Lake is that there are nothing motorized on the water to disturb the tranquility – that’s the jog of the kids screaming while catching tadpoles and frogs.

A new spot we discovered this year is at Morningstar Farm and Little Qualicum Cheeseworks.  Aside from the fun of visiting the farm animals (watch for goats on an overhead walkway!), there’s a lovely picnic area with a fabulous view of Mount Arrowsmith.  There’s also a little trail to walk off the picnic.

Even though we’re not in the dog world these days – not that our daughters don’t try their best to return us there – we love dogs (and cats and pets in general) and we’re not going to miss the Oceanside Doggy Dayz Festival coming up May 15 – 17.  Martin would have loved to have been in the parade, where he could have vied for Most Senior dog (if they had a Weirdest Teeth category he’d have walked away with that) or one of the many other prizes.  You have to register to be in the parade and compete, and you can do that online.

The weekend is really broken in two parts – a pet fair on Saturday at the Parksville Community Centre with displays just for the humans (groomers, breeders, retailers, etc.) and lots of useful seminars as well.  And then on Sunday, the dogs can bring their owners to Qualicum Beach for a doggy breakfast, a fashion show, the parade at 1:30pm and much more!

Oh, it’s actually ok to talk to dog owners, but you should ask the name of their pet first

Heather’s work is collected around the world and this is a chance to see her workshop and how she produces her enchanting creations, including her new air-brushed 3-D wall plaques celebrating the rugged west coast of the Island.  Joining Heather will be photographers, quilters, water colourists, and glass artists, not just displaying their works but showing you how it’s done.

In addition to seeing all  the beautiful art, kids can make their own wind chimes, get their faces painted, and enjoy the musicians and singers who will be entertaining throughout the weekend.

This art spectacular runs both days 10am – 4pm, and there’s plenty of cover, so stop by rain or shine! Admission is free and delicious picnic lunches from Lantzville’s popular Black Dog cafe can be pre-ordered for just $10.00 by calling 250-390-1514.

The address is 6998 Strait Road in Lantzville.

So we’re motoring up the island highway past Parksville, then Qualicum Beach, the sun is blazing, the kids are singing along to ‘Come On Eileen,’ when up ahead we see dark ominous clouds. That’s way past Bowser, no worries we said.  We pull off the highway and head up the Seaside route and those dark clouds seem a little closer.  By the time we pull up to the beach, it’s hailing!

Now, as we huddled on the beach, the magnificent mountain scenery somewhere in front of us behind a mass of grey cloud, we looked to the left – sunshine – and we looked to the right – sunshine – and we looked at each other and ran back to the car.

Fortunately, this is Vancouver Island and if one fun trip doesn’t pan out, you’ve got another waiting for you just down the road.  Ours turned out to be Qualicum Beach.  First a stop at the Shady Rest with a beautiful window seat on the ocean (pretty much every table has a great view and lots of light anyway, but it’s always nice to be right at the window) and delicious fish and chips.

Then it was out on the beach for more than an hour of dodging geoduck sprays, spelling practice in the sand (my husband says that having fun is no excuse not to be learning every second… yea, he’s a barrel of laughs), and skating on the flat sand.  You’d be surprised how many skating moves the girls got in.

Boy did the generation gap show out there on the sunny, but windy April beach.  I in my kerchief and pa in his cap… or at least three layers of clothing, while the kids were running around in just their bathing suits.  I vaguely remember that metabolism.  Meanwhile George is trying to conduct a lesson on the effect of the sun’s rays on epidermal layers.  That’s right Grace, put that dead crab on his shoulder.

As for that beach near Bowser, we’ll report back when we’ve seen it in the sunshine.

The chocolate part of the day has its own challenges.  Like figuring out new places to hide the eggs.  After four years they know enough to go straight to the little lip at the top of the wooden water wheel or they develop clever chocolate-maximizing strategies like shaking every tree until the leaves fall off.  But we’ve got a few tricks up our sleeves this year, like the half tennis ball that will be sitting innocently out on the lawn.  You have to get up pretty early… well, 10am, to fool this bunny.

Now the chocolate madness doesn’t end at our driveway.  After loading up here, we’re off to one of our favourite public easter egg hunts, down at Seaview School in Lantzville.  That’s where the Lantzville Rotary Club puts on its annual hunt on Sunday, complete with prizes, best Easter hat contest, and non-candy food to eat.  Things get underway at 1pm. [my apologies, we got this wrong in the newspaper and it said 11am]

Up in Errington every day of the long weekend from 10am – 4pm, Tiger Lily Farm has a “Candy in the Hay” game along with easter egg and basket decorating, and of course visits by the Easter Bunny (second only to Santa Claus in being in several places at once).

On Saturday, Sunday and Monday, enjoy the annual Milner Gardens Children’s Easter Bunny Hunt from 10am – 4:30pm. Armed with clues, the kids have to find the bunnies hidden around the grounds and then trade in the bunnies for treats.  Adults are $7.50 and kids under 12, accompanied by an adult, are free.

Down in Cedar on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Yawning Acres is holding their 2nd Annual Easter Egg Hunt and Hayride.  After a mile and a half ride in the covered hay wagons, you’ll stop by the banks of the Nanaimo River, where adults can settle around the campfire with a hot chocolate, while the kids search through the forest for easter eggs.  Runs from 10am to 4pm each day – $10 for adults and $5 for kids.

If you’re looking for pre-planned days for the kids, I really like what the Boys and Girls clubs offer. You’ll find them all over, from Duncan to Lantzville, and they have week-long programs or you can pick and choose days over Spring Break. The kids go on great outings including hikes and tours, do artwork and games at the club facilities, and all with excellent supervision.

Local parks and rec departments also offer Spring Break camps by the day or the week. Among the many offerings I’ve seen in the program guides, some of the more intriguing include the 3D animation camp and the diving camp in Nanaimo. Up in Parksville, the rec department has a week-long Junior golf camp for 7 to 13 year olds, while the 11-15 year olds can enjoy a rock-climbing camp.

The 23rd Annual Pacific Rim Whale Festival offers the possibility of nice family getaway to the west coast of the Island. Running from March 14-22 in Tofino, Ucluelet, and Pacific Rim National Park, you can not only spot some migrating grey whales, but take in great music – the Juno-nominated Kerplunks will be there! – great food, storytelling, demonstrations, and much more!

On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of Spring Break, you can see The Great Green Adventure show at Nanaimo North Town Centre. Safari Jeff and Shannon will be bringing their message of conservation and a whole host of snakes, turtles, alligators and lots of other reptiles. There are two shows daily, and it’s all free.

I’m also looking forward to us getting out in the fresh air more during Spring Break, so fingers crossed that we keep these mild temperatures. Grace keeps reminding me that it shouldn’t snow again until April (remember last year?).

This month I went all out for Ella Rose’s birthday celebration… High Tea for Little Ladies. I baked, researched the best kid-friendly fruit punch recipes, had invitations made by a talented friend, took cake decorating classes (Yup – I really did), got a butler outfit for my husband, a maid outfit for our elder daughter and I was the chef. All servants for the beck and call of four little girls. It was cute, fun and truth be told, exhausting.

I was talking to a mom today, telling her about the lovely and tiring birthday party and all she said was “Jumping Jiminy’s is a much saner option”. I have to agree – but it was an experience our whole family enjoyed and the little ones had a blast. Being able to include everyone in the event was fun and I know we will remember the experience for a long, long time… but first I have to catch up on my rest.

So, Saturday morning we woke up at… ok, the kids woke up at 6:30 (we woke up at 6:31) and the first thing they wanted to do was make a giant snowman. Second thing, of course; put on the bathing suits – no, really…

When it came time to tie her own fly, our youngest insisted that hers be bright pink and, as it turns out, the colour can be very useful for imitating certain bugs. Who knew? Well, you can find out this weekend. On Saturday April 26 there’s the Fly Fishing Trade Show at the Grand Hotel in Nanaimo and then on Sunday April 27, the Nanaimo Fish & Game Club is holding a Fly Fishing Open House.