Kidding Around Vancouver Island

We have a yearly excursion to Mount Washington to do a bit of snow tubing. It is a whole lot of winter fun – and a great family outing. We skip out of school and work for the day and head to the hill. We wear our warmest snow gear and eye up our favourite [...]

What makes a trip with the kids to the Chemainus Theatre Festival extra special is that there’s so much to enjoy in the town before and after the theatre, including the world famous murals. An ice cream cone at Billy’s Delight Ice Cream Parlour is always a must, no matter the weather. Then it was [...]

If you haven’t had a chance to introduce your children to the magic of live theatre, there’s no better time than the Christmas season. Most theatre companies have something for families at this time of year and a set of theatre tickets makes a great Christmas gift. Both of our kids attended their first live [...]

We did a story some time back about the Via Rail train between Victoria and Courtenay. We described traveling from Nanaimo down to Victoria, but to keep it a day trip, you’ll need someone to pick you up in Victoria. That prompted a note from reader Kate Britton, who really knows her Via Rail schedule! [...]

As we were driving around the Cowichan Valley last weekend, we happened upon Cowichan Bay, a quintessential seaside village about a half hour from Victoria or Nanaimo. We spent an afternoon strolling the quaint shops that line the harbour – from deciding on a real or a fake shark’s tooth necklace, to checking out pottery [...]

If you’re looking for an all-day outing for the family, our favourite is still the community beach at Parksville. The huge playground and small water park, combined with a concession stand and the spectacular long shallow beach mean hours and hours of fun. If you can, plan your day around the tide tables – arrive [...]

Qualicum Beach (here’s a map) is great for a few hours by the water – and here the focus really is on the water because there aren’t playground or other park facilities. There is however, lots of great food all along this big stretch of highway. Just so you know, the highway is down to [...]