They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, likewise you should not make decisions for side trips based on the attraction’s name – specifically Petroglyph Provincial Park. The original petroglyphs in the park were hardly visible as they were covered in moss and fallen leaves. We were done in 10 minutes and onwards to Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park..

We spent one day visiting Denman and Hornby Islands. The ferry fare turned out to be quite a deal with the BC Ferries Experience Card. Good thing we drove the truck across as both islands were quite hilly with narrow roads and not much of a shoulder to cycle on. Our first stop was the Farmers Market where we picked up some fruits. We drove around Denman Island and visited Morning Beach where you have to walk down a steep stairs built right against the bluff down to the beach.

Stairs to Morning Beach

Morning Beach

We saw many black-tailed deers on Denman Island. After exploring Denman Island, we drove to the other ferry terminal to catch the ferry to Hornby Island.

Hornby Island is smaller than Denman Island and has more interesting places to explore. We visited Fillongley Provincial Park and Tribune Bay Provincial Park, both have very nice sandy beaches. We had Mexican food at a small restaurant at the Ring Market which seems to be the gathering spot on Hornby.

This morning we went for a walk to see the falls close to the campground. There are a couple falls in this park but the upper falls was more interesting to look at.

It has been more than a week since the kids had a shower.. yeeesss, over a WEEK!!! We made a trip into town for family swim at the Ravensong Aquatic Centre in Qualicum. They have a very nice facility and we had a lot of fun swimming and jumping off the diving board. Scaredy cat me also gathered enough courage to jump and swim around the deep end – I’m happy that my swimming lessons have paid off! Lunch was at a place called the Shady Restaurant that is right on the waterfront. The view was awesome but lunch was mediocre. We stopped by Coombs on our way back – it’s just a tourist place you have to visit and get your ice-cream.

One of the things Jeff does regularly is to ask the kids to recall the names of places we visited. It aggravates him each and every time but he continues to ask them anyways. (They are still trying to get Deroche and Dewdney sorted out.) So, when asked about the islands we visited, they both came up with Derman Island and Humly Island… sigh

We leave for the Green Point campground at Long Beach tomorrow. This will be a long drive in and I will possibly be car-sick, maybe the kids too.. we will see.