Bucket List Week for the Niemans

It's been a whirlwind couple weeks for the Niemans (and we are loving being back home together for a change!) but as much as we hate being separated by time differences and thousands of miles, we did each knock an item off our respective bucket lists- and couldn't be more thrilled about it. Seth has always wanted to kill an elk. I think I've known that since our first date. And oh boy, did he... and got to enjoy the experience with his Dad, in Washington state. It was really special for them both. And I salvaged the long weekend he was gone with an impulsive trip to Tofino, BC, which has always been high on my travel bucket list (and the bonus was getting to share the adventure with Missy!)

Seth had this to say about his elk hunt:

 

I killed this magnificent 7x7 Warrior Bull in Washington state with Archery Outwest Outfitters.
http://archery-outfitter.com/
He was a 7x7 36 hours before I harvested him with my T/C Pro Hunter .50 muzzleloader. He broke off 4 points on th...e left side defending his harem of 30 cows in the interim. My outfitter and guide was DJ.

The whole hunt was very special because my Dad and lifetime hunting buddy was there with me.

This was a special hunt organized by Scott Marvin of Warroad, MN.
Scott organized this hunt because he had read an article about me being wounded in combat in our local newspaper.

 

As for the long-overdue and much-needed Sister Trip Minus One (we missed you, Sary! even if you would've been REALLY cold...), it was idyllic. We cracked up about the sign at the border: "British Columbia: Best Place on Earth," but, as Missy said, "it turned out that we agreed completely."

 

I fled after a long work week and flew out Friday morning, which gave me enough time to go for a run at Point Defiance (an old favorite from my Ft. Lewis days) and spend a terrific night catching up with Shelly and the Taylor- Chavez clan in Gig Harbor. We took a bottle of wine down to watch the sunset on their private beach surrounded by lodgepole pines, and I turned a few shades of green with envy. I miss the West Coast madly. Life is just better there.

 

The next morning I picked Missy up waayyyy before dawn. My fault completely. I believe in squeezing every last second out of a long weekend, so I was taking the redeye home Monday- and I made her take one that left Anchorage at midnight and arrived at an ungodly Saturday morning. Her flight was late, of course, so I took a nap in my car in the cell phone lot at Sea-Tac. We cracked up when we realized how often our vacations together involve sleeping in airports. (Here's to you, Bustamantes and the awful benches in the Lima Aeropuerto.)

And then we headed for Canada! After a whistlestop tour of Vancouver (and a quick pilgrimage to the original lululemon), we refueled with coffee in Horsheshoe Bay and enjoyed the breathtaking ferry ride across the Strait of Georgia. We arrived in Nanaimo in time for lunch at the falsely-advertised (but still delicious) "only brewery on the island," and headed for Parksville and our yurt.

It was everything we dreamed of and more. (A definite Missy-ism, but highly appropriate.) We had been so looking forward to staying in the yurt, we were worried it wouldn't live up to our expectations, but- with a skylight, gas fireplace, full kitchen, and all the amenities- we were soon wondering if it would be practical to live in one year round. We spent the afternoon beachcombing, discovering real-ish texas barbecue, and hiking along waterfalls in the lush temperate coastal rainforest. For dinner, we picked up Thai and were cheerfully (everyone in BC is cheerful and friendly) ridiculed by the owner, who wondered if our government was "still having argument?" He then welcomed us to Canada's National Parks, since "yours are closed, yes?" Thank you, shutdown. We are officially an international laughingstock.

Although we didn't want to leave our cozy yurt, we were anxious to get to Tofino, so we headed over the mountains on the winding and beautiful Pacific Rim highway and spent a sun-drenched, perfect day hiking in Pacific Rim National Park (Reserve, apparently, due to some small hangup negotiating with the native people), exploring the picturesque towns of Ucluelet and Tofino, and contenting ourselves with wandering the unspoiled beaches instead of surfing or paddleboarding (since the water was a chilly 49 degrees). We would just have to come back for the legendary cold-water surf, which was OK with us. We discovered a secret beach ("the beach of our dreams," according to Missy), perfect for our traditional Walters  family baguette & cheese lunch.

We were later delighted to discover that our hotel- chosen somewhat at random from a quick internet search- was an offbeat cliffside rambler literally at the end of the highway, right before it dropped into the sea. We watched the sunset on our balcony with wine (after a death-defying cliff scramble/ tide race) and had dinner at a groovy bar/restaurant where we enjoyed Tofino Brewing Company beer and were wished a Happy Canadian Thanksgiving by everyone. (We had no idea it was this weekend, but it really did feel like a holiday! And a highly preferable one to Columbus Day.)

Monday was a haul back to the airport, although we stopped along the way to discover Tim Horton's (apparently the way-better Canadian version of Dunkin' Donuts) and had coffee with The Big Tree (taller than the Leaning Tower of Pisa and 800 years old!) in Cathedral Grove. We took a different ferry ride back and were once again amazed by the view. And- as usual- we found ourselves racing for the airport, since my flight was moved forward an hour (who's ever heard of that?) as we were on our way to one last brewery lunch (at the funky-cool Chuckanut Brewpub in Bellingham) and we decided we had time for a beer anyway.

We did (barely- poor Missy almost choked on her burger, although she pronounced it delish), and we both made our flights. Everything had worked out perfectly from start to finish. And, although the redeye followed by a long workday was a little rough, I came home to flowers and wine and pizza and a husband who had missed me and even done his own hunting laundry.

Not a bad week for the Niemans.

There were way too many great photos this week between the two of us to pick just one, so top honors goes to this one from Ben & Lisa's visit a couple weeks ago, of Nat and I going for a jog. It cracks me up.