Years ago in a New Orleans restaurant, Dave Adlard pointed out the States he had already visited on a huge wall map. Most of them. Today he’s only missing one – Arkansas.
I’d been to only about 15 States at that time.
But today I’m only missing West Virginia, Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Maryland Connecticut — one road trip visiting Barbecue spots.
Surprisingly, I’d never visited Moorecroft Regional Park near Parksville though it’s considered one of the best parks on Vancouver Island.
Moorecroft was established 1934 as a summer camp for girls by Gertrude Moore.
My mother’s maiden name is Moore.
I cycled out. Ran about an hour on nearby trails. Then cycled back to Tim Hortons.
It operated continuously by her until 1954, when her failing health necessitated the decision to sell the waterfront property. The United Church of Canada purchased the property for $50,000, and continued to run it as a camp. It decided to sell the 85 acre property in 2010 and the property was put up for sale for $7.95 million and there was great concern that this great place would be lost to a future subdivision or some other type of development. Concerned local citizens and conservation groups were preparing for the worst-case scenario when three factors made a good resolution possible. The United Church agreed to put a conservation covenant on the property that zoned most of the lands for the protection of its ecological interests.
Not long afterwards it was purchased by the Regional District of Nanaimo and the Nature Trust of BC for $4.8 million down from the asking price of 7.98 million. It opened as Moorecroft Regional Park in 2011. It is a credit to the United Church and the district for preserving this historic property.
Most mornings I wake early. Head directly to Tim Hortons to pick up coffee.
Continue on to Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park, one of the most beautiful beaches I know in the Pacific N.W.
At low tide, it stretches nearly a kilometre out into the Strait of Georgia.
The park is an important stopover area for migratory birds, notably brant geese, which use the beach as a staging area from March 1 to April 15.
Birds stop in the spring for the annual herring spawn … which also attracts large numbers of seals.
There are plenty of friendly, feral rabbits too.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Brant can be distinguished from Canada Geese by their smaller size; dark brown body with a black head and shorter neck and white collar. …
Brant breed in the north, in coastal Alaska and the Canadian Arctic on tundra and coastal islands. During winter, they are found along the Pacific coast and further south into Baja California, Mexico. Brant geese form long-term, monogamous pair-bonds and family units migrate together. …
First morning in Parksville, B.C. I headed to Rathtrevor Beach at dawn to see and hear the mob of several hundred. They are noisy.
Brant feed on coastal mudflats and only rarely come inland.
The Brant Wildlife Festival in Parksville/Qualicum Beach runs from March 5th to April 28th, 2020 — but some of the events have been cancelled due to COVID-19.
Winter is the best weather in Bermuda, as far as I’m concerned.
It rains. It’s windy. But little humidity. Not much heat. Few insects. Ideal for running.
I’m now back in Canada.
Same day Trudeau announced Canada is shutting the border to non-Canadian citizens, with limited exceptions, to limit the spread of COVID-19.
My flight Bermuda to Toronto was quite normal. I was asked to self-quarantine for 14 days when I get to my final destination. Just in case. No testing on arrival.
Air Canada postponed my ongoing flights by a day claiming Government travel advisory. No compensation.
Sounds bogus to me.
But by luck we managed to complete the annual Bermuda Gymnastics competition on Sunday — before schools closed Tuesday.
The Gymnastics Club has now shut down, as well, for 2 weeks out of an abundance of caution.
There are still no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Bermuda.
I’ve added this to my bucket list.
EuroVelo 6 (EV6), named the “Rivers Route”, is a long-distance cycling route that runs along 3,653 km (2,270 mi) some of Europe’s major rivers, including much of the Loire, some of the Saône, a short section of the upper Rhine and almost the entire length of Europe’s second longest river, the Danube — from the Atlantic coast of France to the city of Constanța on the Black Sea.
The EV6 traverses ten countries …
Lauren Pears went for a 3 month solo bike ride across Europe last summer – from London to Istanbul – whereby she used the EuroVelo 6 – Atlantic-Black Sea for most of the way. …
Read Lauren’s Guide To Cycling EuroVelo 6
