Oh what a lovely excursion 90 minutes north of Victoria on Vancouver Island this was.
For Raven's birthday, I surprised him with a two night stay at a bed & breakfast in Nanaimo.
Firstly, the reason I selected this bed and breakfast, (as I have learned, b&bs are a very hot thing in Canada) is because the owner is extremely easy to talk to.
Living in Seattle and being too cheap to place international phone calls, I was in a slew of emails with various bed and breakfast owners in making reservations for our trip for Raven's birthday. I have learned that the way-of-life overview of British Columbians is very leisurely.... they think about things a lot.... and act very infrequently.
I would send out emails to people and not receive word back for one, two, or three full business days and to me, when I am trying to reserve something, that is unacceptable.
I emailed the owner, Peter Hardie, and received a response nearly instantly. He and I moved back and forth about reservations and what not, and he was a pleasure to work with via email.
So we drove up 1.5 hours north of Victoria up "the Canadian highway." We found that every step of the way, everything we needed was just an exit off the highway, which was amusing.
Approaching the bed and breakfast is very dreamy. You drive by Departure Bay, which is a gorgeous water front with crystal blue water and amazing views. Once you arrive at the b&b (which I abruptly passed every time driving to it) you drive up an elongated driveway, where we had the opportunity to take photos of deer at night and also took glamour shots with the really pretty entrance sign.
When we arrived, Peter was coming in and out of the front door, greeted us jovially, and told us to come back in ten minutes. For Raven's birthday he upgraded our room to the Lancaster Suite and was still preparing it... SO we walked down the drive way and took a left, and instantly ended up in the Canadian wilderness. The bed and breakfast is situated on the end of a road, but the road continues and everything was still and peaceful.
The rooms, I must say, are everything one could expect. It was all very clean and new. I personally appreciate that it wasn't old and kitsch, but rather new and comfortable. I was at ease with our room.
Breakfast was terrific. Peter made us maple pancakes (and maple waffles on the second day as a request!). We chatted with Peter for hours, and connected with him on a myriad of levels. Peter is an Englishman from northern UK, and his outside-looking-in perspective of the Nanaimo natives, and British Columbians as a whole, was a hoot to talk over with us Americans. We had a great time laughing at all the social and political differences of the States, Canada, and England. It was particularly nice to be able to have conversation with someone and NOT have to deal with American politics for once. It was lovely.
All in all, I highly recommend Peter and Maple View Bed & Breakfast. One day we will return, to see him and his dog (a black lab named Kate) and drink coffee in the kitchen while looking out over the deck. It's an extremely romantic and secluded area, but still in society. If you are looking to go somewhere that is out of the way (on Vancouver Island, so I mean, remote is as remote does) then this is your place. We spent our trip enjoying the Cathedral Forest and eating at GOATS ON ROOF RESTAURANT in Coombs.
Thank you Peter for an awesome birthday that Raven will never forget. :) read more
